FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 21, 2020

MIAMI, FL – In a year marked by theater closings and remote viewings thanks to COVID-19 fears, the Florida Film Critics Circle awarded its Best Picture prize to FIRST COW. Kelly Reichardt’s adaptation of Jonathan Raymond’s The Half Life also scored a runner-up in the Best Actor category for John Magaro.

MINARI and NOMADLAND led in nominations with six apiece. The Circle awarded NOMADLAND the Best Actress award to Frances McDormand and Best Director to Chloé Zhao. Disney Pixar’s SOUL for Best Animated Film and Best Score (Trent Reznor/Atticus Ross/Jon Batiste), and MANK for Cinematography (Erik Messerschmidt) and Best Art Direction/Production (Donald Graham Burt) also won two awards each. MINARI’s Lee Isaac Chung also won Best Original Screenplay. Anthony Hopkins won Best Actor for playing the aging father opposite Olivia Colman in THE FATHER, Florian Zeller’s adaptation of his own play.

In the secondary acting categories, Maria Bakalova won Best Supporting Actress for her role in the mockumentary BORAT SUBSEQUENT MOVIE FILM, and Paul Raci Best Supporting Actor as the recovering alcoholic in SOUND OF METAL.

The Circle’s Breakout Award went to Sidney Flanigan as the young woman agonizing over an abortion in NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS. TENET’s Andrew Jackson lost Best Visual Design to Murray Barber for his work in Brandon Cronenberg’s horror film POSSESSOR.

Other noteworthy winners included LOS FUERTES, the Chilean drama about young men in love, in the Best Foreign Film category; and YOU DON’T NOMI, about the filming of the 1995 camp classic SHOWGIRLS, in Best Documentary.

The Florida Film Critics Circle also awards the Golden Orange each year to a person, film, or organization in Florida that embodies the essence of filmmaking in the Sunshine State.  This year’s winner was Maitland, Florida’s non-profit Enzian Theater, a strong voice for arthouse cinema.  Like all cinemas this year, it closed for a time and, once reopened, persevered with unique programming, reduced capacity and an expansion of an outdoor area.  In August, against the odds,  the theater  held the Florida Film Festival, arguably the first major in-person festival in the Southeast United States during the pandemic. Enzian managed to hold a combination in-person/virtual festival following CDC protocols safely. Lastly, the Enzian is hoping to build a second screen, which would represent a dramatic improvement to arthouse cinema in Central Florida. 

The Florida Film Critics Circle is an organization of 25 writers from Florida-based print and online publications. Founded in 1996, the FFCC strives to recognize outstanding work in film, further the cause of good movies, and maintain the highest level of professionalism among film critics in Florida. Allison Hazlett of FlickDirect has served as chair of the organization since the beginning of 2020.

Complete List of 2020 Winners:

BEST PICTURE First Cow

Runner up: Nomadland/Trial of the Chicago 7/Minari

BEST ACTOR

Anthony Hopkins, The Father Runner up: John Magaro, First Cow

BEST ACTRESS

Frances McDormand, Nomadland

Runners up: Viola Davis, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom/Carey Mulligan, Promising Young Woman

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Paul Raci, Sound of Metal

Runner up: Brian Dennehy; Driveways BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS Maria Bakalova, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm Runner up: Yuh-Jung Youn, Minari

BEST ENSEMBLE Mangrove Runner up: The Trial of the Chicago 7

BEST DIRECTOR

Chloé  Zhao, Nomadland Runner up: Kelly Reichardt, First Cow, Aaron Sorkin, The Trial of the Chicago 7

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Lee Isaac Chung, Minari Runner up:  Aaron Sorkin, The Trial of the Chicago 7

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Charlie Kaufman, I’m Thinking of Ending Things Runners up: Chloé Zhao, Nomadland/ Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

BEST CINEMATOGRPHY

Erik Messerschmidt, Mank

Runner up:  Shabier Kirchner, Lovers Rock

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Murray Barber, Possessor Runner up: Andrew Jackson, Tenet

BEST ART DIRECTION/PRODUCTIOIN Donald Graham Burt, Mank Runner up: Adam Marshall, Lovers Rock

BEST SCORE

Trent Reznor/Atticus Ross/Jon Batiste, Soul

Runner up:  Ludwig Göransson, Tenet

BEST DOCUMENTARY

You Don’t Nomi

Runner up:  Dick Johnson is Dead BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM Los Fuertes Runner up:  Minari

BEST ANIMATED FILM

Soul Runner up:  Wolfwalkers

BEST FIRST FILM Promising Young Woman Runner up:  The Father

BREAKOUT AWARD Sidney Flanigan, Never Rarely Sometimes Always Runner up: Maria Bakalova, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm

THE GOLDEN ORANGE AWARD ENZIAN Theater