The National Society of Film Critics (NSFC) has announced its annual award winners, culminating a voting process involving over 60 critics from across the nation. Established in 1966, the NSFC employs a weighted ballot system where critics rank their top three choices in each category. The nominee accumulating the most points and appearing on the most ballots claims victory. Multiple rounds of voting occur if necessary, continuing until a nominee secures a majority.
This year’s Best Picture accolade went to “Nickel Boys,” with “Anora” and “All We Imagine Is Light” as runners-up. Colman Domingo secured Best Actor for his performance in A24’s “Sing Sing,” while Marianne Jean-Baptiste won Best Actress for “Hard Truths.” “The Brutalist” garnered three runner-up awards: Adrien Brody (Best Actor), Guy Pearce (Best Supporting Actor), and Lol Crawley (Best Cinematography). Payal Kapadia’s direction of “All We Imagine Is Light” earned her the Best Director award.
The complete list of winners and runners-up is as follows:
BEST PICTURE: “Nickel Boys” (47 points)
* Runners-up: “All We Imagine as Light” and “Anora” (34 points)
BEST DIRECTOR: Payal Kapadia, “All We Imagine as Light” (49 points)
* Runners-up: RaMell Ross, “Nickel Boys” (42 points); Sean Baker, “Anora” (33 points)
BEST ACTRESS: Marianne Jean-Baptiste, “Hard Truths” (79 points)
* Runners-up: Mikey Madison, “Anora” (35 points); Ilinca Manolache, “Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World” (32 points)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Michele Austin, “Hard Truths” (55 points)
* Runners-up: Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, “Nickel Boys,” and Natasha Lyonne, “His Three Daughters” (39 points)
BEST ACTOR: Colman Domingo, “Sing Sing” (60 points)
* Runners-up: Adrien Brody, “The Brutalist” (51 points); Ralph Fiennes, “Conclave” (45 points)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Kieran Culkin, “A Real Pain” (52 points)
* Runners-up: Guy Pearce, “The Brutalist” (50 points); Edward Norton, “A Complete Unknown,” and Adam Pearson, “A Different Man” (41 points)
BEST SCREENPLAY: Jesse Eisenberg, “A Real Pain” (47 points)
* Runners-up: Radu Jude, “Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World” (46 points); Sean Baker, “Anora” (45 points)
BEST FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE: “All We Imagine as Light” (49 points)
* Runners-up: “Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World” (41 points); “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” (28 points)
BEST NONFICTION FILM: “No Other Land” (70 points)
* Runners-up: “Dahomey” (51 points); “Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat” (24 points)
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Jomo Fray, “Nickel Boys” (80 points)
* Runners-up: Lol Crawley, “The Brutalist” (38 points); Jarin Blaschke, “Nosferatu” (21 points)
BEST EXPERIMENTAL FILM: “The Ballad of Suzanne Césaire”
SPECIAL CITATION FOR A FILM AWAITING U.S. DISTRIBUTION: “No Other Land”
FILM HERITAGE AWARDS: The NSFC also presented Film Heritage Awards to Scott Eyman, IndieCollect, and To Save and Project: The MoMA International Festival of Film Preservation, recognizing their significant contributions to film preservation and scholarship.