It's Just Like The Movies

* – original nominee that subsequent became a runner-up
^ – runner-up that was originally a nominee
^^ – runner-up that was a nominee and then became a runner-up again
” – film seen after original ballot was posted

Picture

1. Time, dir. Garrett Bradley
2. Never Rarely Sometimes Always, dir. Eliza Hittman
3. Dear Comrades!, dir. Andrei Konachlovsky
4. Graves Without a Name, dir Rithy Pahn
5. Ghost Tropic, dir. Bas Devos
6. The Wild Goose Lake, dir. Diao Yinan
7. Wolfwalkers, dirs. Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart
8. Dick Johnson is Dead, Kirsten Johnson^
9. Babyteeth, dir. Shannon Murphy
10. The Wolf House, Cristobal Leon and Joaquin Cocina^

Runners-Up: Martin Eden, David Byrne’s American Utopia, First Cow*, The Assistant, Zombi Child, Welcome to Chechnya, Bloody Nose Empty Pockets*, Ride Your Wave, Lingua Franca, I Carry You With Me, Swallow, La Llorona, Finding Yingyinh.

Director

• Garrett Bradley, Time^
• Yinan Diao, The Wild Goose Lake^
• Eliza Hittman, Never Rarely Sometimes Always
• Kirsten Johnson, Dick Johnson is Dead^
• Andrei Konachlavsky, Dear Comrades!^

Runners-Up: Shannon Murphy (Babyteeth), Bas Devos (Ghost Tropic)*, Pietro Marcello (Martin Eden), Isabel Sandoval (Lingua Franca)^^, Bertrand Bonello (Zombi Child), Kelly Reichardt (First Cow)*, Kitty Green (The Assistant), Oliver Laxe (Fire Will Come), Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart (Wolfwalkers), Spike Lee (David Byrne’s American Utopia), Chloé Zhao (Nomadland), Bill Ross and Turner Ross (Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets)*, Cristobal Leon and Joaquin Cocina (The Wolf House)^^, Matthew Rankin (The Twentieth Century), Jayro Bustamente (La Llorona), Miranda July (Kajillionaire).

Documentary

• David Byrne’s American Utopia, dir. Spike Lee
• Dick Johnson is Dead, dir. Kirsten Johnson
• Graves Without a Name, dir. Rithy Pahn
• Time, dir. Garrett Bradley
• Welcome to Chechnya, dir. David France^

Runners-Up: Bloody Nose Empty Pockets*, Finding Yingying, Born to Be, Collective, Rewind, Crip Camp, 76 Days.

International Film

• Careless Crime, Iran, dir. Shahram Mokri^”
• Days, Taiwan, dir. Tsai Ming-liang
• Notturno, Italy, dir. Gianfranco Rosi
• Quo Vadis, Aida?, Bosnia and Herzegovina, dir. Jasmila Zbanic
• Sweat, dir. Magnus van Horne^”

Runners-Up: Atlantis”, Welcome to Chechnya, Collective, Night of the Kings, Impetigore, Preparations to be Together for an Unknown Period of Time, 76 Days, My Little Sister.

Animated Film

• Ride Your Wave, dir. Masaaki Yuasa
• The Wolf House, dirs. Cristobal Leon and Joaquin Cocina
• Wolfwalkers, dirs. Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart

Ensemble

• Babyteeth, Kristy McGregor and Stevie Ray
• Bloody Nose Empty Pockets, Bill Ross IV and Turner Ross^
• Minari, Chris Freifhofer, Tori Hartley,  Jenn Rader, and Seth Stuart
• Nomadland, Nathan Harrison, Hannah Peterson, and Georgia Simon^
• Saint Frances, Alexis Jade Links, Mickie Paskal, and Jennifer Rudnicke

Runners-Up: Bacurau, Sibyl, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom*, Let Them All Talk, Mangrove, Emma., Mank, Kajillionaire, The Surrogate, The Twentieth Century, The Assistant, The Father, Sorry We Missed You, True History of the Kelly Gang, She Dies Tomorrow, I’m Your Woman.

Actress

• Jasmine Batchelor, The Surrogate
• Nicole Beharie, Miss Juneteenth
• Olivia Colman, The Father
• Carrie Coon, The Nest
• Frances McDormand, Nomadland^

Runners-Up: Kate Winslet (Ammonite)^^, Viktoria Miroschnichenko (Beanpole), Vasilina Perelygina (Beanpole), Julia Vysotoskaya (Dear Comrades!), Sidney Flanigan (Never Rarely Sometimes Always), Yeri Han (Minari), Michelle Pfeiffer (French Exit), Haley Bennett (Swallow), Viola Davis (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom), Hong Chau (Driveways), Carey Mulligan (Promising Young Woman), Julia Garner (The Assistant), Mariko Tsutsui (A Girl Missing), Eliza Scanlan (Babyteeth), Jessie Buckley (i’m thinking of ending things), Kwei Lun-Mei (The Wild Goose Lake), Aubrey Plaza (Black Bear)*, Debbie Honeywood (Sorry We Missed You), Isabel Sandoval (Lingua Franca), Kelli O’Sullivan (Saint Frances), Wunmi Mosaku (His House), Margot Robbie (Birds of Prey), Virginia Efira (Sibyl), Radha Blank (The Forty-Year-Old Version), Meryl Streep (Let Them All Talk), Darya Zhovner (Closeness), Vanessa Kirby (Pieces of a Woman), Evan Rachel Wood (Kajillionaire), Maria Bakalova (Borat Subsequent Moviefilm).

Actor

• Riz Ahmed, Sound of Metal
• Brian Dennehy, Driveways^
• Delroy Lindo, Da 5 Bloods
• Luca Marianelli, Martin Eden^
• Mads Mikkelsen, Another Round

Runners-Up: Ishii Yuichi (Family Romance LLC)*, Anthony Hopkins (The Father), Luca Marianelli (Martin Eden), Shaun Parks (Mangrove), Chadwick Boseman (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom)*, Steven Yeun (Minari), Dan Bierne (The Twentieth Century), Toby Wallace (Babyteeth), John Magaro (First Cow), Orion Lee (First Cow), Levan Gelbakhiani (And Then We Danced), Ben Affleck (The Way Back), Sope Dirisu (His House), Jean Dujardin (Deerskin), John Boyega (Red, White, and Blue), Gary Oldman (Mank), Jesse Plemmons (i’m thinking of ending things), Kris Hitchens (Sorry We Missed You), Christopher Abbott (Possessor), Eamon Farren (Lingua Franca), Jude Law (The Nest).

Supporting Actress

• Jane Adams, She Dies Tomorrow
• Charín Alvarez, Saint Frances
• Candice Bergen, Let Them All Talk
• Essie Davis, Babyteeth and True History of the Kelly Gang
• Norma Kuhling, Fourteen

Runners-Up: Youn Yuh-jung (Minari)^^, Valerie Mahaffey (French Exit), Mia Goth (Emma.), Ramona Edith Williams (Saint Frances), Talia Ryder (Never Rarely Sometimes Always), Letitia Wright (Mangrove), Amanda Seyfried (Mank), Sônia Braga (Bacurau), Molly Parker (Pieces of a Woman), Miranda Hart (Emma.), Gina Rodriguez (Kajillionaire), Sandra Hüller (Sibyl), Swankie (Nomadland), Gemma Chan (Let Them All Talk), Glenn Close (Hillbilly Elegy), Debra Winger (Kajillionaire), Dianne Wiest (Let Them All Talk), Marissa Anita (Impetigore), Allison Brie (Promising Young Woman), Andrea Riseborough (Possessor), Robyn Nevin (Relic), Mikako Ichikawa ( A Girl Missing), Fiona Shaw (Ammonite), Linda May (Nomadland), Olga Dragunovna (Closeness), Lynn Cohen (Lingua Franca), Marsha Stephanie Blake (I’m Your Woman), Denise Gough (The Other Lamb), Jessica Raine (Carmilla), Katiana Milfort (Zombi Child), Christine Hakim (Impetigore).

Supporting Actor

• Richard Jenkins, Kajillionaire^
• Matthew Macfayden, The Assistant
• Michael Scott Martin, Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets^
• Ben Mendelsohn, Babyteeth
• Glynn Turman, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Runners-Up: Ventura (Vitalina Varela)^^, Aldis Hodge (One Night in Miami)*, Colman Domingo (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom), Steve Toussaint (Red, White, and Blue)*, Toby Jones (First Cow), Johnny Flynn (Emma.), Charles Dance (Mank), Paul Raci (Sound of Metal), Udo Kier (Bacurau), Silvio Pereira (Bacurau), Yahya Abdul-Maheen III (The Trial of the Chicago 7), Kendrick Sampson (Miss Juneteenth), Eli Goree (One Night in Miami), David Strathairn (Nomadland), Bob Wells (Nomadland), Robin de Jesús (Boys in the Band), Chadwick Boseman (Da 5 Bloods), Russell Crowe (True History of the Kelly Gang), Nicolas Hoult (True History of the Kelly Gang), Giorgi Tsereteli (And Then We Danced), Arliss Howard (Mank), Sean Bean (Wolfwalkers), Michael Stuhlbarg (Shirley), Michael Benjamin Washington (The Boys in the Band).

Original Screenplay

• Dear Comrades!, Andrei Konachlovsky and Elena Kiseleva
• Ghost Tropic, Bas Davos
• A Girl Missing, Kôji Fukada & Kasumasa Yonemitsu
• Never Rarely Sometimes Always, Eliza Hittman
• Ride Your Wave, Reiko Yushida^

Runners-Up: Bacurau*, The Assistant, The Kid Detective, Swallow, Zombi Child, The Assistant, Wolfwalkers, The Nest, Saint Frances, Kajillionaire, Sibyl, Collective, Bloody Nose Empty Pockets, She Dies Tomorrow, The Twentieth Century, The Forty-Year-Old Version, Fourteen, Lingua Franca, Let Them All Talk, La Llorona, Finding Yingying, Mangrove, Minari, Education, The Surrogate, Black Bear, Night of the Kings, Impetigore, Promising Young Woman, Palm Springs, Sorry We Missed You, The Wild Goose Lake, I’m Your Woman.

Adapted Screenplay

• Babyteeth, Rita Kalnejais
• The Father, Florian Zeller
• French Exit, Patrick deWitt
• i’m thinking of ending things, Charlie Kaufman
• Martin Eden, Maurizio Braucci & Pietro Marcello^

Runners-Up: First Cow*, The Painted Bird, Emma., Carmilla, The Personal History of David Copperfield.

Cinematography

• Beanpole, Ksenia Sereda
• First Cow, Christopher Blauvelt^
• Ghost Tropic, Grimm Vandekerckhove
• Never Rarely Sometimes Always, Hélène Louvart
• The Wild Goose Lake, Jingsong Dong

Runners-Up: Vitalina Varela^^, Martin Eden, David Byrne’s American Utopia, Bloody Nose Empty Pockets*, Babyeeth, Ammonite, Bait, Lovers Rock, I Carry You With Me, Song Without a Name, Impetigore, Nomadland, La Llorona, The Nest, And Then We Danced, Lingua Franca, Fire Will Come, The Painted Bird, Da 5 Bloods, Dear Comrades!, Birds of Prey, She Dies Tomorrow, Night of the Kings, Swallow, Zombi Child, So Pretty, The Twentieth Century, Color Out of Space, Sorry We Missed You, Carmilla.

Editing

• The Assistant, Kitty Green and Blair McClendon^
• The Father, Yorgos Lamprinos
• Sibyl, Laurent Sénéchal
• Time, Gabriel Rhodes
• The Wild Goose Lake, Jinlei Kong and Matthieu Laclau

Runners-Up: Rewind*, Never Rarely Sometimes Always, The Painted Bird, Fire Will Come, Zombi Child, Collective, And Them We Danced, Babyteeth, On the Rocks, Lingua Franca, i’m thinking of ending things, Sound of Metal, Night of the Kings, Let Them All Talk, Bloody Nose Empty Pockets, The Nest, David Byrne’s American Utopia, Minari, First Cow, Palm Springs, Finding Yingying, Dear Comrades!, Wolfwalkers, Sorry We Missed You, Nomadland.

Sound Design

• Ammonite, Johnnie Burn
• La Llorona, Eduardo Cáceres Staackman & Juan Pablo Huerta Estrada
• Residue, Alex J. Bledsoe & Isiah Clarke
• Sound of Metal, Jaime Baksht, Nicolas Becker, Philip Bladh, Carlos Cortés & Michelle Couttolenc
• The Wild Goose Lake, Yang Zhang

Runners-Up: Nomadland^^, The Assistant^^, The Wolf House, Bacurau, Bloody Nose Empty Pockets, Bait, First Cow, Fire Will Come, Zombi Child, Lovers Rock, Impetigore, She Dies Tomorrow, Soul, Possessor, David Byrne’s American Utopia, Birds of Prey, Monster Hunters, The Painted Bird, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Wolfwalkers, Da 5 Bloods, His House, Ghost Tropic, Tenet, So Pretty, Wendy.

Score

• Ema, Nicolas Jaar
• Ghost Tropic, Brecht Ameel
• Kajillionaire, Emile Mosseri
• Minari, Emile Mosseri
• Zombi Child, Bertrand Bonello

Runners-Up: Soul^, Tenet, Mank, Da 5 Bloods, Wendy, Color Out of Space, Wolfwalkers, La Llorona, First Cow.

Production Design

• Beanpole, Sergey Ivanov
• Martin Eden, Roberto De Angelis & Luca Servino
• The Nest, James Price^
• The Personal History of David Copperfield, Cristina Cassali & Charlotte Dirickx
• The Twentieth Century, Danny Boivin

Runners-Up: First Cow*, The Father, News of the World, Birds of Prey, i’m thinking of ending things, Swallow, Emma., The Wild Goose Lake, Babyteeth, Ammonite, His House, Promising Young Woman, Mank, Night of the Kings, Soul, Vitalina Varela, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Zombi Child, Wendy, Impetigore.

Costume Design

• Ammonite, Michael O’Connor^
• Emma., Alexandra Byrne
• First Cow, April Napier
• Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Ann Roth
• True History of the Kelly Gang, Alice Babidge

Runners-Up: Closeness*, Birds of Prey^^, Beanpole, Let Them All Talk, The Twentieth Century, Promising Young Woman, Martin Eden, The Personal History of David Copperfield, Tenet, Lovers Rock, Kajillionaire, Mank, Monster Hunters, The Wild Goose Lake, The Prince, News of the World.

Visual Effects

• Love & Monsters, Genevieve Camilleri, Matt Sloan, & co.
• Possessor, Derek Luscoumb, Murray Barber, & co.
• Tenet, Andrew Jackson, Mark Patch, & co.
• Welcome to Chechnya, Ryan Laney, Eugen Bräunig, & co.
• The Wolf House, Joaquín Cociña & Cristóbal León

Runners-Up: Monster Hunters, Soul, Onward, The Invisible Man, Wendy, His House, Color Out of Space, Ride Your Wave, Mank, The Twentieth Century.

Makeup & Hairstyling

• Birds of Prey, Deborah Lamia Denaver, Adruitha Lee, & co.
• Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, Katy Fray, Lisa Layman, Thomas Kolarek, Kimberly Boyenger and Tyler Ely 
• Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Matiki Anoff, Larry M. Cherry, & co.
• Pinocchio, Dalia Colli, Mark Coulier, and Francesco Pegoretti
• Relic, Angela Conte and Larry Van Duynhoven

Runners-Up: The Twentieth Century, True History of the Kelly Gang, Color Out of Space, Emma., Promising Young Woman, i’m thinking of ending things, Hillbilly Elegy, Monster Hunters, Ammonite, Martin Eden, News of the World, The Personal History of David Copperfield, First Cow.

Films with multiple nominations:

5 – Babyteeth, The Wild Goose Lake.
4 – Ghost Tropic, Never Rarely Sometimes Always, Time.
3 – Dear Comrades!, Dick Johnson is Dead, The Father, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Martin Eden, The Wolf House.
2 – Ammonite, The Assistant, First Cow, Graves Without a Name, Kajillionaire, The Nest, Nomadland, Ride Your Wave, Saint Frances, Sound of Metal, True History of the Kelly Gang, Welcome to Chechnya, Wolfwalkers.
1 – Another Round, Beanpole, Birds of Prey, Bloody Nose Empty Pockets, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, Careless Crime, Da 5 Bloods, Days, Driveways, Ema, Emma., Fourteen, French Exit, A Girl Missing, i’m thinking of ending things, Let Them All Talk, Love & Monsters, Miss Juneteenth, Notturno, The Personal History of David Copperfield, Pinocchio, Possessor, Quo Vadis Aida?, Relic, Residue, She Dies Tomorrow, Sibyl, The Surrogate, Sweat, Tenet, The Twentieth Century, Vitalina Varela, Zombi Child.

Best films with no nominations:

76 Days, Bacurau*, Born to Be, Collective, Finding Yingying, Fire Will Come, The Forty-Year-Old Version, His House, I Carry You With Me, Impetigore, The Kid Detective, La Llorona, Lingua Franca, Lovers Rock, Mangrove, Mank, Night of the Kings, The Painted Bird, So Pretty, Songs Without a Name, Swallow, Wendy.

Still to see:

12 Hour Shift, A Sun, Bad Education, Better Days, Careless Crime, City Hall, Cuties, Disclosure, Divine Love, Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, Farewell Amor, Feels Good Man, Gretel & Hansel, Gunda, The Half of It, The Happiest Season, Happy Old Year, Hope Gap, I’m No Longer Here, Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Story, Kill It And Leave This Town, Kindred, The Life Ahead, Luxor, Malmkrog, The Man Who Sold His Skin, The Midnight Sky, Miss Americana, Mulan, No. 7 Cherry Lane, No Hard Feelings, The Old Guard, Over the Moon, The Painter and the Thief, Project Power, The Prom, Proxima, The Rental, A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon, Space Dogs, Swerve, System Crashers, Technoboss, Tommaso, The Truffle Hunters, We Are Little Zombies, What the Constitution Means to Me, The White Tiger, A White White Day, Wonder Woman 1984, Your Bones Your Eyes, Your Name Engraved Herein.

Click here for a list of the 2020 releases I’ve seen!

Other Ballots:

2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 (pt. 1, pt. 2, pt. 3, pt. 4) |