The New Mexico Film Critics Association was one of the first groups to go against the grain this awards season. Winning the Best Picture award was “Top Gun: Maverick,” which also won Ensemble, Editing, Cinematography, and Song, totaling five honors altogether. “The Fabelmans” was also loved by the critics in New Mexico, winning Steven Spielberg the Best Director award and Original Screenplay with Tony Kushner. Brendan Fraser and Sadie Sink both won acting awards for “The Whale,” which also won its first Best Adapted Screenplay honor. And “Decision to Leave,” although runner-up in the main categories of Best Picture and Director, did end up winning the Best Foreign Language category. My favorite award was Best Actress going to Ana de Armas for her performance in “Blonde.”
BEST PICTURE
“Top Gun: Maverick”
Directed by Joseph Kosinski
Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, Tom Cruise, David Ellison, and Christopher McQuarrie
Paramount Pictures
RUNNER-UP: “Decision to Leave”
BEST DIRECTOR
Steven Spielberg
“The Fabelmans”
Produced by Kristie Macosko Krieger, Steven Spielberg, and Tony Kushner
Universal Pictures
RUNNER-UP: Park Chan-wook — “Decision to Leave”
BEST ACTOR
Brendan Fraser
“The Whale”
Directed by Darren Aronofsky
Produced by Jeremy Dawson, Ari Handel, and Darren Aronofsky
A24
RUNNER-UP: Tom Cruise — “Top Gun: Maverick”
BEST ACTRESS
Ana de Armas
“Blonde”
Directed by Andrew Dominik
Produced by Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Tracey Landon, Brad Pitt, and Scott Robertson
Netflix
RUNNER-UP: Lauren LaVera — “Terrifier 2”
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Barry Keoghan
“The Banshees of Inisherin”
Directed by Martin McDonagh
Produced by Graham Broadbent, Peter Czernin, and Martin McDonagh
Searchlight Pictures
RUNNER-UP: Ben Whishaw — “Women Talking”
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Tang Wei
“Decision to Leave”
Directed by Park Chan-wook
Produced by Park Chan-wook
MUBI
RUNNER-UP: Jamie Lee Curtis — “Everything Everywhere All at Once”
BEST ENSEMBLE
“Top Gun: Maverick”
Directed by Joseph Kosinski
Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, Tom Cruise, David Ellison, and Christopher McQuarrie
Paramount Pictures
RUNNER-UP: “The Northman”
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
“The Fabelmans”
Steven Spielberg and Tony Kushner
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Produced by Kristie Macosko Krieger, Steven Spielberg, and Tony Kushner
Universal Pictures
RUNNER-UP: “Nope” — Jordan Peele
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
“The Whale”
Samuel D. Hunter
Directed by Darren Aronofsky
Produced by Jeremy Dawson, Ari Handel, and Darren Aronofsky
A24
RUNNER-UP: “Bones and All” — David Kajganich
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
“Inu-Oh”
Directed by Masaaki Yuasa
Produced by Eunyoung Choi and Fumie Takeuchi
GKIDS
RUNNER-UP: Guillermo del Toro’s “Pinocchio”
BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM
“Decision to Leave”
(South Korea)
Directed by Park Chan-wook
Produced by Park Chan-wook
MUBI
RUNNER-UP: “The Quiet One” (Ireland)
BEST EDITING
“Top Gun: Maverick”
Eddie Hamilton
Directed by Joseph Kosinski
Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, Tom Cruise, David Ellison, and Christopher McQuarrie
Paramount Pictures
RUNNER-UP: “Women Talking” — Christopher Donaldson and Roslyn Kalloo
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
“Top Gun: Maverick”
Claudio Miranda
Directed by Joseph Kosinski
Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, Tom Cruise, David Ellison, and Christopher McQuarrie
Paramount Pictures
RUNNER-UP: “TÁR” — Florian Hoffmeister
BEST MUSIC/SCORE
“The Quiet Girl” (An Cailín Ciún)
Stephen Rennicks
Directed by Colm Bairead
Produced by Cleona Ní Chrualaoi
Super LTD
RUNNER-UP: Guillermo del Toro’s “Pinocchio” — Alexandre Desplat
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
“Avatar: The Way of Water”
Directed by James Cameron
Produced by James Cameron and Jon Landau
20th Century Studios
RUNNER-UP: “Elvis”
BEST DOCUMENTARY
“All the Beauty and the Bloodshed”
Directed by Laura Poitras
Produced by Nan Goldin, Howard Gertler, John S. Lyons, Yoni Golijov, and Laura Poitras
NEON
RUNNER-UP: “Good Night Oppy”
BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS
Sadie Sink
“The Whale”
Directed by Darren Aronofsky
Produced by Jeremy Dawson, Ari Handel, and Darren Aronofsky
A24
RUNNER-UP: Gabriel LaBelle — “The Fabelmans”
BEST ORIGINAL SONG
“Hold My Hand”
from “Top Gun: Maverick”
Preformed by Lady Gaga
Directed by Joseph Kosinski
Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, Tom Cruise, David Ellison, and Christopher McQuarrie
Paramount Pictures
RUNNER-UP: “Lift Me Up” from “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”
Glenn Strange Honorary Award
(A mention for the great characters that have marked us, great performances and excellent movies)
Bruce Willis
Joe Pesci
Diane Keaton
Whoopi Goldberg
U.S. ROUTE 66 HONORARY AWARD
(A mention for a film that in 2021 went unnoticed, this retroactive recognition)
“Nizhal”
Directed by Appu N. Bhattathiri
Produced by Anto Joseph, Abhijith M. Pillai, Badusha, Fellini T. P., and Ginesh Jose
Aan Mega Media
Albuquerque American Award
“The Searchers” (1956)
Directed by John Ford
Produced by C.V. Whitney
Warner Bros. Pictures
New Mexico Film Critics Association
BEST PICTURE:
BEST DIRECTOR:
BEST ACTOR:
BEST ACTRESS:
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
BEST ENSEMBLE:
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE:
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FEATURE:
BEST EDITING:
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY:
BEST MUSIC/SCORE:
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN:
BEST DOCUMENTARY:
BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS:
BEST ORIGINAL SONG:
“Top Gun: Maverick”
Steven Spielberg — “The Fabelmans”
Brendan Fraser — “The Whale”
Ana de Armas — “Blonde”
Barry Keoghan — “The Banshees of Inisherin”
Tang Wei — “Decision to Leave”
“Top Gun: Maverick”
“The Fabelmans” — Steven Spielberg and Tony Kushner
“The Whale” — Samuel D. Hunter
“Inu-Oh”
“Decision to Leave” (South Korea)
“Top Gun: Maverick” — Eddie Hamilton
“Top Gun: Maverick” — Claudio Miranda
“The Quiet Girl” — Stephen Rennicks
“Avatar: The Way Of Water”
“All the Beauty and the Bloodshed”
Sadie Sink — “The Whale”
“Hold My Hand” from “Top Gun: Maverick” — Lady Gaga
