The Greater Western New York Film Critics Association has picked Michael Sarnoski’s “Pig” as their Best Picture of the Year, with Jane Campion and her film “The Power of the Dog” taking Best Director and Adapted Screenplay. “Pig” also won the Best Breakthrough Director for Michael Sarnoski and Lead Actor for Nicolas Cage. The Association also did not adhere to the Academy’s release window and picked “Judas and the Black Messiah” as Best Original Screenplay and Supporting Actor for Daniel Kaluuya. “Spencer” also won a pair of awards, with Best Original Score and Lead Actress.
BEST PICTURE
“Pig”
Directed by Michael Sarnoski
Produced by Vanessa Block, Dimitra Tsingou, Joseph Restaino, Nicolas Cage, Steve Tisch,
David Carrico, Adam Paulsen, Thomas Benski, Ben Giladi, and Dori Rath
Neon
NOMINEES
| “C’mon C’mon” (A24) |
| “CODA” (Apple Original Films) |
| “Dune” (Warner Bros. Pictures) |
| “The Green Knight” (A24) |
| “Judas and the Black Messiah” (Warner Bros. Pictures) |
| “The Last Duel” (20th Century Studios) |
| “Licorice Pizza” (MGM) |
| “The Power of the Dog” (Netflix) |
| “Spencer” (Neon) |
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
“Drive My Car”
(Japan)
Directed by Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
Janus Films
NOMINEES
| “Flee” (Denmark) (Neon) |
| “Parallel Mothers” (Spain) (Sony Pictures Classics) |
| “Titane (France) (Neon) |
| “The Worst Person in the World (Norway) (Neon) |
BEST ANIMATED FILM
“The Mitchells vs. the Machines”
Directed by Michael Rianda
Netflix
NOMINEES
| “Belle” (GKIDS) |
| “The Boss Baby 2: Family Business” (Universal Pictures) |
| “Flee” (Neon) |
| “Luca” (Pixar Animation) |
BEST DOCUMENTARY
“Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)”
Directed by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson
Searchlight Pictures
NOMINEES
| “Flee” (Neon) |
| “No Ordinary Man” (Oscilloscope Laboratories) |
| “Procession” (Netflix) |
| “The Sparks Brothers” (Focus Features) |
BEST DIRECTOR
Jane Campion
“The Power of the Dog”
Produced by Emile Sherman, Iain Canning, Roger Frappier, Jane Campion, and Tanya Seghatchian
Netflix
NOMINEES
| Pablo Larraín — “Spencer” (Neon) |
| Michael Sarnoski — “Pig” (Neon) |
| Ridley Scott — “The Last Duel” (20th Century Studios) |
| Denis Villeneuve — “Dune” (Warner Bros. Pictures) |
BEST LEAD ACTOR
Nicolas Cage
“Pig”
Directed by Michael Sarnoski
Neon
NOMINEES
| Benedict Cumberbatch — “The Power of the Dog” (Netflix) |
| Andrew Garfield — “tick, tick … BOOM!” (Netflix) |
| Joaquin Phoenix — “C’mon C’mon” (A24) |
| Will Smith — “King Richard” (Warner Bros. Pictures) |
BEST LEAD ACTRESS
Kristen Stewart
“Spencer”
Directed by Pablo Larraín
Neon
NOMINEES
| Olivia Colman — “The Lost Daughter” (Netflix) |
| Jodie Comer — “The Last Duel” (20th Century Studios) |
| Emilia Jones — “CODA” (Apple Original Films) |
| Renate Reinsve — “The Worst Person in the World” (Neon) |
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Daniel Kaluuya
“Judas and the Black Messiah”
Directed by Shaka King
Warner Bros. Pictures
NOMINEES
| Robin de Jesús — “tick, tick … BOOM!” (Netflix) |
| Mike Faist — “West Side Story” (20th Century Studios) |
| Jason Isaacs — “Mass” (Bleecker Street) |
| Troy Kotsur — “CODA” (Apple Original Films) |
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Ruth Negga
“Passing”
Directed by Rebecca Hall
Netflix
NOMINEES
| Jessie Buckley — “The Lost Daughter” (Netflix) |
| Ariana Debose — “West Side Story” (20th Century Studios) |
| Ann Dowd — “Mass” (Bleecker Street) |
| Aunjanue Ellis — “King Richard” (Warner Bros. Pictures) |
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
“Judas and the Black Messiah”
Written by Will Berson & Shaka King and Kenneth Lucas & Keith Lucas
Warner Bros. Pictures
NOMINEES
| “C’mon C’mon” — Mike Mills (A24) |
| “Licorice Pizza” — Paul Thomas Anderson (MGM) |
| “Mass” — Fran Kranz (Bleecker Street) |
| “Titane” — Julia Ducournau (Neon) |
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
“The Power of the Dog”
Written by Jane Campion
Based on “The Power of the Dog” by Thomas Savage
Netflix
NOMINEES
| “The Last Duel” — Ben Affleck, Matt Damon & Nicole Holofcener (20th Century Studios) |
| “The Lost Daughter” — Maggie Gyllenhaal (Netflix) |
| “Passing” — Rebecca Hall (Netflix) |
| “West Side Story” — Tony Kushner (Kino Lorber) |
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
“The Green Knight”
Cinematography by Andrew Droz Palermo
A24
NOMINEES
| “Dune” — Greig Fraser (Warner Bros. Pictures) |
| “The Power of the Dog” — Ari Wegner (Netflix) |
| “Spencer” — Claire Mathon (Neon) |
| “The Tragedy of Macbeth” — Bruno Delbonnel (A24) |
BEST EDITING
“The Power of the Dog”
Edited by Peter Sciberras
Netflix
NOMINEES
| “Dune” — Joe Walker (Warner Bros. Pictures) |
| “The French Dispatch” — Andrew Weisblum (Searchlight Pictures) |
| “The Last Duel” — Claire Simpson (20th Century Studios) |
| “Spencer” — Sebastián Sepúlveda (Neon) |
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
“Spencer”
Composed by Jonny Greenwood
Neon
NOMINEES
| “Dune” — Hans Zimmer (Warner Bros. Pictures) |
| “Parallel Mothers” — Alberto Iglesias (Sony Pictures Classics) |
| “The Power of the Dog” — Jonny Greenwood (Netflix) |
| “The Tragedy of Macbeth” — Carter Burwell (Kino Lorber) |
BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE
Rachel Sennott
“Shiva Baby”
Directed by Emma Seligman
Utopia
NOMINEES
| Mike Faist — “West Side Story” (20th Century Studios) |
| Alana Haim — “Licorice Pizza” (MGM) |
| Emilia Jones — “CODA” (Apple Original Films) |
| Agathe Rousselle — “Titane” (Neon) |
BREAKTHROUGH DIRECTOR
Michael Sarnoski
“Pig”
Produced by Vanessa Block, Dimitra Tsingou, Joseph Restaino, Nicolas Cage, Steve Tisch,
David Carrico, Adam Paulsen, Thomas Benski, Ben Giladi, and Dori Rath
Neon
NOMINEES
| Maggie Gyllenhaal — “The Lost Daughter” (Netflix) |
| Rebecca Hall — “Passing” (Netflix) |
| Fran Kranz — “Mass” (Bleecker Street) |
| Emma Seligman — “Shiva Baby” (Utopia) |
QUICK LIST
Best Picture: “Pig”
Best Foreign Language Film: “Drive My Car” (Japan)
Best Animated Film: “The Mitchells vs. the Machines”
Best Documentary: “Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)”
Best Director: Jane Campion — “The Power of the Dog”
Best Lead Actor: Nicolas Cage — “Pig”
Best Lead Actress: Kristen Stewart — “Spencer”
Best Supporting Actor: Daniel Kaluuya — “Judas and the Black Messiah”
Best Supporting Actress: Ruth Negga — “Passing”
Best Original Screenplay: “Judas and the Black Messiah” — Will Berson & Shaka King and Kenneth Lucas & Keith Lucas
Best Adapted Screenplay: “The Power of the Dog” — Jane Campion
Best Cinematography: “The Green Knight” — Andrew Droz Palermo
Best Editing: “The Power of the Dog” — Peter Sciberras
Best Original Score: “Spencer” — Jonny Greenwood
Breakthrough Performance: Rachel Sennott — “Shiva Baby”
Breakthrough Director: Michael Sarnoski — “Pig”
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.
