The Los Angeles Film Critics Association – the respected critical institution that incorporates all of the most prolific film writers in L.A. – is often held to be a good indicator of the actual best films of the year, beyond the hype of the Academy Awards. That said, they are also one of the more accurate predictors of the Academy Awards. Additionally, LAFCA is known for, in the past, sharing the love between great films, often naming co-winners in many different categories, including Best Picture.
This year, we’re beginning to see some trends among the various critical outlets, most of whom have been putting in their final votes this week. O.J.: Made in America is an 8-hour documentary all about the notorious O.J. Simpson murder case, and seems to be gaining a good deal of traction, although LAFCA awarded its best documentary honor to I Am Not Your Negro. Mahershala Ali, one of the main actors from the coming-of-age drama Moonlight is still getting attention, and LAFCA has chosen to shed some light on Issei Ogata, one of the Japanese actors from Martin Scorsese’s Silence.
The biggest winners across the board, however, are Kenneth Lonergan’s Manchester By the Sea, Moonlight, and Damian Chazelle’s La La Land, at least two of which earned the op honors this year.
Also: The Winners of the New York Film Critics Circle Awards
The winners are as follows:
Best Picture: Moonlight. Runner-Up: La La Land.
Best Director: Barry Jenkins for Moonlight. Runner-Up: Damiaen Chazelle for La La Land.
Best Actress: Isabelle Huppert for Elle and for Things to Come. Runner-Up: Rebecca Hall for Christine.
Best Actor: Adam Driver for Paterson. Runner-Up: Casey Affleck for Manchester By the Sea.
Best Animated Feature: Your Name. Runner-Up: The Red Turtle.
Best Foreign Language Film: The Handmaiden. Runner-Up: Toni Erdmann.
Best Screenplay: Yorgos Lanthimos, Efthimis Filippou for The Lobster. Runner-Up: Kenneth Longergan for Manchester By the Sea.
Best Documentary: I Am Not Your Negro. Runner-Up: O.J.: Made in America.
Best Supporting Actress: Lily Gladstone for Certain Women. Runner-Up: Michelle Williams for Manchester by the Sea.
Best Editing: Bret Granato, Maya Mumma, and Ben Sozanski for O.J.: Made in America. Runner-Up: Tom Cross for La La Land.
Best Production Design: Seong-hie Ryu for The Handmaiden. Runner-Up: David Wasco for La La Land.
Best Supporting Actor: Mahershala Ali for Moonlight. Runner-Up: Issei Ogata for Silence.
Best Music/Score: Justin Hurwitz, Benj Pasek, and Justin Paul for La La Land. Runner-Up: Mica Levi for Jackie.
Best Cinematography: James Laxton for Moonlight. Runner-Up: Linus Sandgren for La La Land.
Top Image: A24
Witney Seibold is a longtime contributor to the CraveOnline Film Channel, and the co-host of The B-Movies Podcast and Canceled Too Soon. He also contributes to Legion of Leia and to Blumhouse. You can follow him on “The Twitter” at @WitneySeibold, where he is slowly losing his mind.
