Priding themselves on stepping outside of the box, the New Mexico Film Critics Association picked their winners of the year. “West Side Story” and Steven Spielberg winded up in the top spot, also winning Editing and Production Design. “Cry Macho” was honored with Best Actor and Original Song while films like “The Falls,” “One Second,” and “Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time” were honored for the first time this year. Despite winning Best Actress and Original Screenplay, one would have thought “Licorice Pizza” would have taken Best Ensemble, but instead “The Last Duel” surprised by winning that one. Another surprise was Anya-Taylor Joy winning Best Supporting Actress for her role in “Last Night in Soho.”
BEST PICTURE
“West Side Story”
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Produced by Steven Spielberg, Kristie Macosko Krieger, and Kevin McCollum
20th Century Studios
RUNNER-UP
| “Licorice Pizza” (MGM) |
BEST DIRECTOR
Steven Spielberg
“West Side Story”
Produced by Steven Spielberg, Kristie Macosko Krieger, and Kevin McCollum
20th Century Studios
RUNNER-UP
| Jane Campion — “The Power of the Dog” (Netflix) |
BEST ACTOR
Clint Eastwood
“Cry Macho”
Directed by Clint Eastwood
Warner Bros. Pictures
RUNNER-UP
| Alessandro Nivola — “The Many Saints of Newark” (Warner Bros. Pictures) |
BEST ACTRESS
Alana Haim
“Licorice Pizza”
Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
RUNNER-UP
| Alyssa Chia — “The Falls” (Mirror Fiction) |
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Kodi Smit-McPhee
“The Power of the Dog”
Directed by Jane Campion
Netflix
RUNNER-UP
| Mike Faist — “West Side Story” (20th Century Studios) |
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Anya Taylor-Joy
“Last Night in Soho”
Directed by Edgar Wright
Focus Features
RUNNER-UP
| Judy Greer — “Halloween Kills” (Universal Pictures) |
BEST ENSEMBLE
“The Last Duel”
Cast: Jodie Comer, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, and Adam Driver
20th Century Studios
RUNNER-UP
| “West Side Story” (20th Century Studios) |
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
“Licorice Pizza”
Written by Paul Thomas Anderson
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
RUNNER-UP
| “The Falls” — Chung Mong-hong and Chang Yao-sheng (Mirror Fiction) |
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
“Drive My Car”
Written by Ryusuke Hamaguchi and Takamasa Oe
Based on “Drive My Car” by Haruki Murakami
Janus Films
RUNNER-UP
| “West Side Story”— Tony Kushner (20th Century Studios) |
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
“Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time”
Produced by Hideaki Anno, Kazuya Tsurumaki, Katsuichi Nakayama, and Mahiro Maeda
Toho
RUNNER-UP
| “Belle” (Toho) |
BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM
“The Falls”
(Taiwan)
Directed by Chung Mong-hong
Mirror Fiction
RUNNER-UP
| “Drive My Car” (Japan) (Janus Films) |
BEST EDITING
“West Side Story”
Edited by Michael Kahn and Sarah Broshar
20th Century Studios
RUNNER-UP
| “Should the Wind Drop” — Nora Martirosyan and Yorgos Lamprinos (MUBI) |
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
“One Second”
Cinematography by Zhao Xiaoding
Neon
RUNNER-UP
| “The Power of the Dog” — Ari Wegner (Netflix) |
BEST MUSIC/SCORE
“Dune”
Composed by Hans Zimmer
Warner Bros. Pictures
RUNNER-UP
| “Last Night in Soho” (Focus Features) |
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
“West Side Story”
Production Design by Adam Stockhausen and Rena DeAngelo
20th Century Studios
RUNNER-UP
| “Last Night in Soho” — Marcus Rowland (Focus Features) |
BEST DOCUMENTARY
“Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)”
Directed by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson
Searchlight Pictures
RUNNER-UP
| “The Rescue” (National Geographic) |
BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS
Emilia Jones
“CODA”
Directed by Sian Heder
Apple Original Films
RUNNER-UP
| Cooper Hoffman — “Licorice Pizza” (MGM) |
BEST ORIGINAL SONG
“Find a New Home”
from “Cry Macho”
Preformed by Will Banister
Written by Mark Mancina
Warner Bros. Pictures
RUNNER-UP
| “Down to Joy” from “Belfast” — Van Morrison (Focus Features) |
Glenn Strange Honorary Award
(A mention for the great characters that have marked us, great performances and excellent movies)
Vera Miles
Richard Beymer
Jamie Lee Curtis
Richard Roundtree
Molly Ringwald
U.S. ROUTE 66 HONORARY AWARD
(A mention for a film that in 2020 went unnoticed, this retroactive recognition)
“Summer of 85”
Directed by François Ozon
Music Box Films
Albuquerque American Award
“The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” (1920)
Directed by Robert Wiene
Decla-Bioscop
QUICK LIST
Best Picture: “West Side Story”
Best Director: Steven Spielberg — “West Side Story”
Best Actor: Clint Eastwood — “Cry Macho”
Best Actress: Alana Haim — “Licorice Pizza”
Best Supporting Actor: Kodi Smit-McPhee — “The Power of the Dog”
Best Supporting Actress: Anya Taylor-Joy — “Last Night In Soho”
Best Ensemble: “The Last Duel”
Best Original Screenplay: “Licorice Pizza” — Paul Thomas Anderson
Best Adapted Screenplay: “Drive My Car” — Ryusuke Hamaguchi and Takamasa Oe
Best Animated Feature: “Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time”
Best Foreign Language Film: “The Falls” (Taiwan)
Best Editing: “West Side Story” — Michael Kahn and Sarah Broshar
Best Cinematography: “One Second” — Zhao Xiaoding
Best Music/Score: “Dune” — Hans Zimmer
Best Production Design: “West Side Story” — Adam Stockhausen and Rena DeAngelo
Best Documentary: “Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)”
Best Young Actor/Actress: Emilia Jones — “CODA”
Best Original Song: “Find a New Home” from “Cry Macho” — Will Banister
