The Pandora International Film Critics presented their 3rd annual awards ceremony with “Titane” and director Julia Ducournau taking the top prizes of Best International Motion Picture and Best Director. “The Power of the Dog” still won Best English Language Motion Picture as well as Cinematography and Score Composing. I find these enlightening as it shows what films are showing up on an international level, and many of them are the same as they are here in the States.
INTERNATIONAL MOTION PICTURE
“Titane”
Directed by Julia Ducournau
Produced by Jean-Christophe Reymond
Neon
NOMINEES
| “Drive My Car” (Janus Films) |
| “Flee” (Neon) |
| “The Hand of God” (Netflix) |
| “A Hero” (Amazon Studios) |
| “Identifying Features” (Kino Lorber) |
| “Lamb” (A24) |
| “Parallel Mothers” (Sony Pictures Classics) |
| “Petite Maman” (Canal+) |
| “The Worst Person in the World” (Neon) |
ENGLISH LANGUAGE MOTION PICTURE
“The Power of the Dog”
Directed by Jane Campion
Produced by Emile Sherman, Iain Canning, Roger Frappier, Jane Campion, and Tanya Seghatchian
Netflix
NOMINEES
| “Dune” (Warner Bros. Pictures) |
| “The French Dispatch” (Searchlight Pictures) |
| “The Green Knight” (A24) |
| “Mass” (Bleecker Street) |
| “Passing” (Netflix) |
| “Pig” (Neon) |
| “Spencer” (Neon) |
DIRECTING
Julia Ducournau
“Titane”
Produced by Jean-Christophe Reymond
Neon
NOMINEES
| Jane Campion — “The Power of the Dog” (Netflix) |
| Ryusuke Hamaguchi — “Drive My Car” (Janus Films) |
| Pablo Larraín — “Spencer” (Neon) |
| Denis Villeneuve — “Dune” (Warner Bros. Pictures) |
ACTOR LEAD
Hidetoshi Nishijima
“Drive My Car”
Directed by Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
Janus Films
NOMINEES
| Nicolas Cage — “Pig” (Neon) |
| Benedict Cumberbatch — “The Power of the Dog” (Netflix) |
| Andrew Garfield — “tick, tick… BOOM!” (Netflix) |
| Dev Patel — “The Green Knight” (A24) |
ACTRESS LEAD
Renate Reinsve
“The Worst Person In The World”
Directed by Joachim Trier
Neon
NOMINEES
| Olivia Colman — “The Lost Daughter” (Netflix) |
| Penélope Cruz — “Parallel Mothers” (Sony Pictures Classics) |
| Kristen Stewart — “Spencer” (Neon) |
| Tessa Thompson — “Passing” (Netflix) |
ACTOR SUPPORT
Jason Isaacs
“Mass”
Directed by Fran Kranz
Bleecker Street
NOMINEES
| Anders Danielsen Lie — “The Worst Person in the World” (Neon) |
| Colman Domingo — “Zola” (A24) |
| Troy Kostur — “CODA” (Apple Original Films) |
| Vincent Lindon — “Titane” (Netflix) |
| Kodi Smit-McPhee — “The Power of the Dog” (Netflix) |
ACTRESS SUPPORT
Ruth Negga
“Passing”
Directed by Rebecca Hall
Netflix
NOMINEES
| Ariana DeBose — “West Side Story” (20th Century Studios) |
| Ann Dowd — “Mass” (Bleecker Street) |
| Kirsten Dunst — “The Power of the Dog” (Netflix) |
| Aunjanue Ellis — “King Richard” (Warner Bros. Pictures) |
| Martha Plimpton — “Mass” (Bleecker Street) |
ENSEMBLE CAST
“Mass”
Directed by Fran Kranz
Bleecker Street
NOMINEES
| “CODA” (Apple Original Films) |
| “Dune” (Warner Bros. Pictures) |
| “The French Dispatch” (Searchlight Pictures) |
| “The Harder They Fall” (Netflix) |
SCREENWRITING ADAPTED
“Drive My Car”
Written by Ryusuke Hamaguchi and Takamasa Oe
Based on “Drive My Car” by Haruki Murakami
Janus Films
NOMINEES
| “CODA” — Sian Heder (Apple Original Films) |
| “The Lost Daughter” — Maggie Gyllenhaal (Netflix) |
| “Passing” — Rebecca Hall (Netflix) |
| “The Power of the Dog” — Jane Campion (Netflix) |
SCREENWRITING ORIGINAL
“Mass”
Written by Fran Kranz
Bleecker Street
NOMINEES
| “Belfast” — Kenneth Branagh (Focus Features) |
| “Parallel Mothers” — Pedro Almodóvar (Sony Pictures Classics) |
| “Spencer” — Steven Knight (Neon) |
| “Titane” — Julia Ducournau (Neon) |
| “The Worst Person in the World” — Eskil Vogt and Joachim Trier (Neon) |
DOCUMENTARY MOTION PICTURE
“Flee”
Directed by Jonas Poher Rasmussen
Neon
NOMINEES
| “The Rescue” (Greenwich Entertainment) |
| “The Sparks Brothers” (Focus Features) |
| “Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)” (Searchlight Pictures) |
| “Val” (Amazon Studios) |
ANIMATED MOTION PICTURE
“Flee”
Directed by Jonas Poher Rasmussen
Neon
NOMINEES
| “Belle” (GKIDs) |
| “Encanto” (Walt Disney Pictures) |
| “Luca” (Walt Disney Pictures) |
| “The Mitchells vs. the Machines” (Netflix) |
| “Raya and the Last Dragon” (Warner Bros. Pictures) |
CINEMATOGRAPHY
“The Power of the Dog”
Cinematography by Ari Wegner
Netflix
NOMINEES
| “Dune” — Greig Fraser (Warner Bros. Pictures) |
| “The Green Knight” — Andrew Droz Palermo (A24) |
| “Spencer” — Claire Mathon (Neon) |
| “The Tragedy of Macbeth” — Bruno Delbonnel (A24) |
COSTUME DESIGN
“Cruella”
Costume Design by Jenny Beavan
Walt Disney Pictures
NOMINEES
| “Dune” — Jacqueline West and Bob Morgan (Warner Bros. Pictures) |
| “The Green Knight” — Malgosia Turzanska (A24) |
| “Spencer” — Jacqueline Durran (Neon) |
| “West Side Story” — Paul Tazewell (20th Century Studios) |
EDITING
“Titane”
Edited by Jean-Christophe Bouzy
Neon
NOMINEES
| “Dune” — Joe Walker (Warner Bros. Pictures) |
| “The Power of the Dog” — Peter Sciberras (Netflix) |
| “Spencer” — Sebastián Sepúlveda (Neon) |
| “West Side Story” — Michael Kahn and Sarah Broshar (20th Century Studios) |
HAIR & MAKEUP
“Cruella”
Hair and Makeup by Nadia Stacey and Carolyn Cousins
Walt Disney Pictures
NOMINEES
| “Cruella” (Walt Disney Pictures) |
| “Dune” (Warner Bros. Pictures) |
| “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” (Searchlight Pictures) |
| “The Green Knight” (A24) |
| “Spencer” (Neon) |
SET DESIGN
“The French Dispatch”
Production Design by Adam Stockhausen and Rena DeAngelo
Searchlight Pictures
NOMINEES
| “Dune” (Warner Bros. Pictures) |
| “Nightmare Alley” (Searchlight Pictures) |
| “Spencer” (Neon) |
| “West Side Story” (20th Century Studios) |
SCORE COMPOSING
“The Power of the Dog”
Composed by Jonny Greenwood
Netflix
NOMINEES
| “Dune” — Hans Zimmer (Warner Bros. Pictures) |
| “The French Dispatch” — Alexandre Desplat (Searchlight Pictures) |
| “The Green Knight” — Daniel Hart (A24) |
| “Spencer” — Jonny Greenwood (Neon) |
SONG COMPOSING
“No Time To Die”
from “No Time To Die”
Music and Lyrics by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
NOMINEES
| “So May We Start” from “Annette” (Amazon Studios) |
| “Beyond the Shore” from “CODA” (Apple Original Films) |
| “Dos Oruguitas” from “Encanto” (Walt Disney Pictures) |
| “Be Alive” from “King Richard” (Warner Bros. Pictures) |
SOUND DESIGN
“Dune”
Sound Design by Mac Ruth, Mark A. Mangini, Theo Green, Doug Hemphill, and Ron Bartlett
Warner Bros. Pictures
NOMINEES
| “The Green Knight” (A24) |
| “No Time to Die” (MGM) |
| “Spencer” (Neon) |
| “tick, tick… BOOM!” (Netflix) |
| “West Side Story” (20th Century Studios) |
SPECIAL EFFECTS
“Dune”
Special Effects by Paul Lambert, Tristan Myles, Brian Connor, and Gerd Nefzer
Warner Bros. Pictures
NOMINEES
| “Godzilla vs. Kong” (Warner Bros. Pictures) |
| “The Matrix Resurrections” (Warner Bros. Pictures) |
| “No Time To Die” (MGM) |
| “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” (Walt Disney Pictures) |
FILMMAKING BREAKTHROUGH
Maggie Gyllenhaal
“The Lost Daughter”
Produced by Osnat Handelsman-Keren, Talia Kleinhendler, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Charlie Dorfman
Netflix
NOMINEES
| Rebecca Hall — “Passing” (Netflix) |
| Fran Kranz — “Mass” (Bleecker Street) |
| Michael Sarnoski — “Pig” (Neon) |
| Emma Seligman — “Shiva Baby” (Utopia) |
ACTING BREAKTHROUGH
Agathe Rousselle
“Titane”
Directed by Julia Ducournau
Neon
NOMINEES
| Alana Haim — “Licorice Pizza” (MGM) |
| Emilia Jones — “CODA” (Apple Original Films) |
| Woody Norman — “C’mon C’mon” (A24) |
| Rachel Sennett — “Shiva Baby” (Utopia) |
| Rachel Zegler — “West Side Story” (20th Century Studios) |
QUICK LIST
Best International Motion Picture: “Titane”
Best English Language Motion Picture: “The Power of the Dog”
Best Directing: Julia Ducournau — “Titane”
Best Actor Lead: Hidetoshi Nishijima — “Drive My Car”
Best Actress Lead: Renate Reinsve — “The Worst Person In The World”
Best Actor Support: Jason Isaacs — “Mass”
Best Actress Support: Ruth Negga — “Passing”
Best Ensemble Cast: “Mass”
Best Screenwriting Adapted: “Drive My Car” — Ryusuke Hamaguchi and Takamasa Oe
Best Screenwriting Original: “Mass” — Fran Kranz
Best Documentary Motion Picture: “Flee”
Best Animated Motion Picture: “Flee”
Best Cinematography: “The Power of the Dog” — Ari Wegner
Best Costume Design: “Cruella” — Jenny Beavan
Best Editing: “Titane” — Jean-Christophe Bouzy
Best Hair & Makeup: “Cruella”
Best Set Design: “The French Dispatch”
Best Score Composing: “The Power of the Dog” — Jonny Greenwood
Best Song Composing: “No Time to Die” from “No Time to Die”
Best Sound Design: “Dune”
Best Special Effects: “Dune”
Best Filmmaking Breakthrough: Maggie Gyllenhaal — “The Lost Daughter”
Best Acting Breakthrough: Agathe Rousselle — “Titane”
Pandora International Film Critics
Established in 2019, the Pandora International Film Critics set out to celebrate the world of cinema through the annual awards. It’s frustratingly a tough ask given the influx of mainstream cinema and the American film market. Availability plays a part in the general absence of international cinema – most notably those films outside of the English language arena. But striving to bring the vast array of world cinema to the forefront is our bread and butter. It’s a marvellous, inspiring journey. One which the Pandoras aim to spotlight even more.
