The Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA) voted on Saturday for the best cinematic achievements of 2021, announcing its winners via its Twitter account.
The organization named Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s breakout drama “Drive My Car” as the best film of the year, with “The Power of the Dog” taking second place. LAFCA toppled the two in the Best Director category, awarding “Power of the Dog” director Campion with Hamaguchi as a finalist. With its Best Picture award, “Drive My Car” became one of fourteen films to win top LAFCA and New York Film Critics Circle awards. Each of these films became a nominee for Best Picture.
Other big winners included Simon Rex in “Red Rocket” for Best Actor, Penélope Cruz in “Parallel Mothers” for Best Actress and Ariana DeBose in “West Side Story” for Best Supporting Actress. Best Supporting Actor went as a tie between Vincent Lindon for “Titanium” and Kodi Smit-McPhee for “The Power of the Dog”.
As previously announced, Mel Brooks received the Association’s 2021 Career Excellence Award. This year’s award winners will be honored alongside Brooks at a ceremony in 2022.
Last year, LAFCA named director Steve McQueen “Small Ax”. Chloe Zhao won the Best Director award for “Nomadland”, which won her two Oscars, for Best Director and Best Picture. Chadwick Boseman and Carey Mulligan won for their main performances in “My Rainey’s Black Bottom” and “Promising Young Woman”, respectively.
Earlier this month, the New York Film Critics Circle (NYFCC) awarded Lady Gaga the Best Actress award for Ridley Scott’s “House of Gucci”, while Benedict Cumberbatch won the Best Actor award for ” The Power of the Dog ”by Jane Campion. The NYFCC named Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s drama “Drive My Car” as Best Picture of 2021, while Campion won the Best Director Award.
Check out the full list of winners below, updated as announcements are made:
Better picture: “Drive my car”
Finalist: “The power of the dog”
Best Director: Jane Campion, “The Power of the Dog”
Finalist: Ryusuke Hamaguchi, “Drive my car”
Best Actor: Simon Rex, “Red Rocket”
Finalist: Benedict Cumberbatch, “The Power of the Dog”
Best Actress: Penélope Cruz, “Parallel Mothers”
Finalist: Renate Reinsve, “The Worst Person in the World”
Best Supporting Actor: Vincent Lindon, “Titanium” and Kodi Smit-McPhee, “The Power of the Dog” (TIE)
Best Supporting Actress: Ariana DeBose, “West Side Story”
Finalist: Aunjanue Ellis, “King Richard”
Best animated film: “To flee”
Finalist: “Beautiful”
Best Documentary / Non-Fiction: “The summer of the soul”
Finalist: “Procession”
Best Foreign Language Film: “Little Mum”
Finalist: “Quo vadis, Aida?
Best Screenplay: “Drive My Car”, Ryusuke Hamaguchi and Takamasa Oe
Finalist: “Licorice Pizza”, Paul Thomas Anderson
Best photography: “The power of the dog”, Ari Wegner
Finalist: “Dune”, Greig Fraser
Best Editing: “Summer of Soul”, Joshua L. Pearson
Finalist: “Licorice Pizza”, Andy Jurgensen
Best Music / Score: “Parallel Mothers”, Alberto Iglesias
Finalist: “The Power of the Dog” and “Spencer”, Jonny Greenwood
Best Production Design: “Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar”, Steve Saklad
Finalist: “Nightmare Alley”, Tamara Deverell
New Generation Price: Shatara Michelle Ford, “Test Pattern” and Tatiana Huezo, “Prayers for the Stolen” (TIE)
Douglas Edwards Award for Experimental Film: The Works and the Days (by Tayoko Shiojiri in the Shiotani Basin)
Career achievement: Mel brooks
