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Awards Round: NYFCC, National Board of Review and AFI selection

The awards season has begun with the first award bodies announcing their respective nominees/winners. New York Film Critics Awards are one of the most prestigious prizes of the season - and the oldest critics association's prize in the U.S. - and they often put some early contenders right in the front of the awards race or they can start some strong buzz around a specific (overlooked) film or individual achievement in film. This year, NYFCC just boosted the early predictions regarding a Killers of the Flower Moon & Oppenheimer triumph, while the NBR and AFI made very clear which films are "a thing" this season. Only Barbie, The Holdovers, Killers of the Flower Moon, Maestro, Oppenheimer, Past Lives and Poor Things have made both NBR Top 10 and AFI Motion Pictures of the Year lists, which makes a solid case for Oscar prospects for these.
Here are the lists:

NEW YORK FILM CRITICS WINNERS
Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon gets a huge boost here as it takes home the association's top prize and lands its female lead a win in Best Actress - I believe this is only the beginning of Lily Gladstone's train. Interesting to see May December doing so good here, taking both Best Supporting Actor and Best Screenplay (original or adapted)... I confess I didn't see it coming this enthusiastic. A note about The Boy and the Heron, which might actually give Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse some strong competition for the Best Animated trophy at the Oscars. Also, big support for Oppenheimer and for Christopher Nolan's case for a Best Director win (but let's keep in mind that many NYFCC Best Director winners didn't make the final shortlist at the Oscars!).

Best Film: Killers of the Flower Moon
Best Director: Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer
Best Actor: Franz Rogowski, Passages
Best Actress: Lily Gladstone, Killers of the Flower Moon
Best Supporting Actor: Charles Melton, May December
Best Supporting Actress: Da’Vine Joy Randolph, The Holdovers
Best Screenplay: May December — Samy Burch, Alex Mechanik
Best Animated Film: The Boy and the Heron
Best Cinematography: Oppenheimer — Hoyte van Hoytema
Best First Film: Past Lives — dir. Celine Song
Best International: Anatomy of a Fall — dir. Justine Triet
Best Non-Fiction Film: Menus-Plaisirs - Les Troisgros — dir. Frederick Wiseman
Special mention: Mick Gaw (New York University, undergraduate) and Katherine Prior (Brooklyn College, graduate)
Special Award: Karen Cooper for five decades of creative leadership as director of Film Forum.

NATIONAL BOARD OF REVIEW
National Board of Review can be said as one of the most "conservative" critics groups in the US as they often go for their "classic" names and more traditional filmmaking, but there are also a couple of bold picks here! Apart from a non-surprising love for Marty and for his latest film (Killers of the Flower Moon won 3 categories here), there's also some kindness towards the nostalgic The Holdovers and a traditional fighting-family drama The Iron Claw, which took home Best Ensemble and made the final TOP 10 films of the year. Hail for Teyana Taylor for winning Breakthrough Performance for her role as Inez in A Thousand and One (a performance I feel it's getting more and more buzz and it might lead to a strong path to an Oscar nomination for her) and for Celine Song, who won Best Directing Debut for Past Lives.

Best Film: Killers of the Flower Moon
Best Director: Martin Scorsese, Killers of the Flower Moon
Best Actor: Paul Giamatti, The Holdovers
Best Actress: Lily Gladstone, Killers of the Flower Moon
Best Supporting Actor: Mark Ruffalo, Poor Things
Best Supporting Actress: Da’Vine Joy Randolph, The Holdovers
NBR Icon Award: Bradley Cooper
Best Original Screenplay: David Hemingson, The Holdovers
Best Adapted Screenplay: Tony McNamara, Poor Things
Breakthrough Performance: Teyana Taylor, A Thousand and One
Best Directorial Debut: Celine Song, Past Lives
Best Animated Feature: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Best International Film: Anatomy of a Fall
Best Documentary: Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie
Best Ensemble: The Iron Claw
Outstanding Achievement in Stunt Artistry: Director Chad Stahelski and Stunt Coordinators Stephen Dunlevy & Scott Rogers, John Wick: Chapter 4
Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography: Rodrigo Prieto, Barbie & Killers of the Flower Moon
Top Films (in alphabetical order): Barbie |  The Boy and the Heron | Ferrari | The Holdovers | The Iron Claw | Maestro | Oppenheimer | Past Lives | Poor Things
Top 5 International Films (in alphabetical order): La Chimera” | Fallen Leaves | The Teachers’ Lounge | Tótem | The Zone of Interest
Top 5 Documentaries (in alphabetical order): 20 Days in Mariupol | 32 Sounds | The Eternal Memory | The Pigeon Tunnel | A Still Small Voice
Top 10 Independent Films (in alphabetical order): All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt | All of Us Strangers | BlackBerry | Earth Mama | Flora and Son | The Persian Version | Scrapper
Showing Up | Theater Camp | A Thousand and One


AMERICAN FILM INSTITUTE (AFI)
AFI Fest is the American Film Institute's annual celebration of artistic excellence and it works as a showcase for the best festival films of the year, boosting their awards hopes. The mention of a movie here alone is a prestigious recognition and AFI and AMPAS have a strong co-relation, with AFI being an institution of great influence between Academy members.

AFI Motion Pictures of the Year:
American Fiction
Barbie
The Holdovers
Killers of the Flower Moon
Maestro
May December
Oppenheimer
Past Lives
Poor Things
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

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