Look across the board at the Greater Western New York Film Critics Association Award winners and it’s easy to see why they made “Nomadland” their Best Picture winner. Chloé Zhao, herself, won three awards for the film, for Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Editing. The film also won Best Cinematography and Frances McDormand won Best Lead Actress. The other darlings of the GWNYFA were “Sound Of Metal,” which won a total of four awards, and “Minari,” which won Best Supporting Actress and, I’m sure to much uproar, Best Foreign Language Film.
BEST PICTURE
“Nomadland”
NOMINEES
- “Da 5 Bloods”
- “Driveways”
- “The Father”
- “First Cow”
- “I’m Thinking of Ending Things”
- “Mank”
- “Never Rarely Sometimes Always”
- “Small Axe: Lovers Rock”
- “Sound of Metal”
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
“Minari” (United States)
NOMINEES
- “Another Round” (Denmark)
- “Bacurau” (Brazil)
- “Ema” (Chile)
- “Undine” (Germany)
BEST ANIMATED FILM
“Wolfwalkers”
NOMINEES
- “Onward”
- “Soul”
- “The Wolf House”
- “World of Tomorrow Episode Three”
BEST DOCUMENTARY
“Time”
NOMINEES
- “Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets”
- “Boys State”
- “Collective”
- “Dick Johnson is Dead”
BEST DIRECTOR
Chloé Zhao
“Nomadland”
NOMINEES
- Spike Lee — “Da 5 Bloods”
- Darius Marder — “Sound of Metal”
- Steve McQueen — “Small Axe: Lovers Rock”
- Kelly Reichardt — “First Cow”
BEST LEAD ACTOR
Riz Ahmed
“Sound of Metal”
NOMINEES
- Chadwick Boseman — “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
- Anthony Hopkins — “The Father”
- Delroy Lindo — “Da 5 Bloods”
- Steven Yeun — “Minari”
BEST LEAD ACTRESS
Frances McDormand
“Nomadland”
NOMINEES
- Viola Davis — “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
- Sidney Flanigan — “Never Rarely Sometimes Always”
- Vanessa Kirby — “Pieces of a Woman”
- Carey Mulligan — “Promising Young Woman”
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Paul Raci
“Sound of Metal”
NOMINEES
- Sasha Baron Cohen — “The Trial of the Chicago 7”
- Brian Dennehy — “Driveways”
- Bill Murray — “On the Rocks”
- Leslie Odom Jr. — “One Night in Miami …”
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Youn Yuh-jung
“Minari”
NOMINEES
- Maria Bakalova — “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm”
- Ellen Burstyn — “Pieces of a Woman”
- Olivia Colman — “The Father”
- Amanda Seyfried — “Mank”
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
“Never Rarely Sometimes Always”
Eliza Hittman
NOMINEES
- Hannah Bos & Paul Thureen — “Driveways”
- Lee Isaac Chung — “Minari”
- Emerald Fennell — “Promising Young Woman”
- Darius Marder & Abraham Marder — “Sound of Metal”
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
“Nomadland”
Chloé Zhao
NOMINEES
- Eleanor Catton — “Emma.”
- Christopher Hampton & Florian Zeller — “The Father”
- Jonathan Raymond & Kelly Reichardt — “First Cow”
- Charlie Kaufman — “I’m Thinking of Ending Things”
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
“Nomadland”
Joshua James Richards
NOMINEES
- Christopher Blauvelt — “First Cow”
- Erik Messerschmidt — “Mank”
- Martin Ruhe — “The Midnight Sky”
- Shabier Kirchner — “Small Axe: Lovers Rock”
BEST EDITING
“Nomadland”
Chloé Zhao
NOMINEES
- Andy Canny — “The Invisible Man”
- Kirk Baxter — “Mank”
- Mikkel E.G. Nielsen — “Sound of Metal”
- Alan Baumgarten — “The Trial of the Chicago 7”
BEST SCORE
“Soul”
Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross
NOMINEES
- Terence Blanchard — “Da 5 Bloods”
- Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross — “Mank”
- Alexandre Desplat — “The Midnight Sky”
- Emile Mosseri — “Minari”
BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE
Paul Raci
“Sound of Metal”
NOMINEES
- Kiera Allen, “Run”
- Sidney Flanigan — “Never Rarely Sometimes Always”
- Paul Raci — “Sound of Metal”
- Talia Ryder — “Never Rarely Sometimes Always”
- Isabel Sandoval — “Lingua Franca”
BREAKTHROUGH DIRECTOR
Darius Marder
“Sound of Metal”
NOMINEES
- Max Barbakow — “Palm Springs”
- Radha Blank — “The Forty-Year Old Version”
- Emerald Fennell — “Promising Young Woman”
- Florian Zeller — “The Father”
QUICK LIST
Best Picture: “Nomadland”
Best Foreign Language Film: “Minari” (United States)
Best Animated Film: “Wolfwalkers”
Best Documentary: “Time”
Best Director: Chloé Zhao — “Nomadland”
Best Lead Actor: Riz Ahmed — “Sound of Metal”
Best Lead Actress: Frances McDormand — “Nomadland”
Best Supporting Actor: Paul Raci — “Sound of Metal”
Best Supporting Actress: Youn Yuh-jung — “Minari”
Best Original Screenplay: “Never Rarely Sometimes Always” — Eliza Hittman
Best Adapted Screenplay: “Nomadland” — Chloé Zhao
Best Cinematography: “Nomadland” — Joshua James Richards
Best Editing: “Nomadland” — Chloé Zhao
Best Score: “Soul” — Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross
Breakthrough Performance: Paul Raci — “Sound of Metal”
Breakthrough Director: Darius Marder — “Sound of Metal”
Greater Western New York Film Critics Association
Founded in 2018 as a way to bring the disparate voices from the area together, the GWNYFCA membership includes writers from daily newspapers, weekly newspapers, magazines, and online venues. We’re here to amplify each others’ work as well as champion the best cinema has to offer each year with regular polls and a year-end awards vote.
