2016. The movies took us to some great places and times. Some not so memorable, some disappointing, some ruined somewhat by hype. A lot of fine films and filmmaking stayed with us for the journey – some came early, some turned up right at the last minute. Zombies boarded our train. We climbed through a mirror. Found ourselves trapped in an underground bunker. Confined to a small Turkish village. And we won’t be frequenting that music venue any time soon. We hung our with a panther, a bear, wolves. Almost learnt a new form of language. Sung and danced in L.A. Saw a boy grow into a man. Helped as nuns gave birth. We robbed banks in the West. Played thoughtful games on a boat. And shook our heads at the British benefits system. And in the end it comes down to this — Film Honors 2016 Nominations.
It is that time of the year again. There were two new categories this year. I simply could not resist with the astonishing amount of breakthroughs in cinema this year gone by – so now we honor acting and filmmaking. Choosing just 5 in each was a real gut-buster by the way. The 10 films nominated for Motion Picture will by default reveal my top 10 of 2016. Again, with all Film Honors, these are that impossible blend of personal choices and objective merit. Some films you will be surprised to see missing, many reasons for this including those that were inches away, those that were popular but had no chance with me, and those deemed beyond February 2017 releases here in the UK – which is why you won’t see The Lobster being as it was released last year here. Being in the UK you are likely to see some movies you saw in 2015. Welcome to England.
Remind yourselves of the 2015 Film Honors.
Check out the Longlists published earlier in the month.
The nominations for the 2016 Film Honors were announced 9pm London time, live on Twitter – hashtag #FilmHonors2016.
Filmmaking Breakthrough
Bi Gan (Kaili Blues)
Alex Lehmann (Blue Jay)
Alice Winocour (Disorder)
Chris Kelly (Other People)
Barry Jenkins (Moonlight)
Acting Breakthrough
Markees Christmas (Morris from America)
Laia Costa (Victoria)
Alden Ehrenreich (Hail Caesar!)
Kim Tae-ri (The Handmaiden)
Anya Taylor-Joy (The Witch)
Costume Designing
Alice Through The Looking Glass
The Handmaiden
Love And Friendship
Pride And Prejudice And Zombies
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Set Designing
10 Cloverfield Lane
Alice Through The Looking Glass
Hail, Caesar!
The Handmaiden
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Actor Support
Jeff Bridges (Hell or High Water)
John Goodman (10 Cloverfield Lane)
Michael Shannon (Nocturnal Animals)
Patrick Stewart (Green Room)
John Turturro (Mia Madre)
Special Effects
Alice Through The Looking Glass
Doctor Strange
Captain America: Civil War
The Jungle Book
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Sound Designing
Arrival
Deadpool
The Jungle Book
Kubo And The Two Strings
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Actress Support
Naomie Harris (Moonlight)
Günes Sensoy (Mustang)
Molly Shannon (Other People)
Hayley Squires (I, Daniel Blake)
Kalieaswari Srinivasan (Dheepan)
Picture Editing
La La Land
Moonlight
Train to Busan
Under the Shadow
The Wailing
Cinematography
Bradford Young (Arrival)
Chung-hoon Chung (The Handmaiden)
Caroline Champetier (Les Innocentes)
James Laxton (Moonlight)
Sturla Brandth Grøvlen (Victoria)
Directing
Babak Anvari (Under the Shadow)
Robert Eggers (The Witch)
Deniz Gamze Ergüven (Mustang)
Sebastian Schipper (Victoria)
Makoto Shinkai (Your Name)
Cast Ensemble
Chevalier
Hail, Caesar!
Moonlight
Mustang
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2
Score Composing
Alexandre Desplat (The Light Between Oceans)
Jóhann Jóhannsson (Arrival)
Mark Korven (The Witch)
Mica Levi (Jackie)
Jo Yeong-wook (The Handmaiden)
Actor Lead
Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea)
Vincent Cassel (Mon Roi)
Dave Johns (I, Daniel Blake)
Géza Röhrig (Son of Saul)
Matthias Schoenaerts (Disorder)
Screenplay Adapted
Pedro Almodóvar (Julieta)
Seo-kyeong Jeong, Chan-wook Park (The Handmaiden)
Sabrina B. Karine, Pascal Bonitzer, Anne Fontaine, Alice Vial (Les Innocentes)
Makoto Shinkai (Your Name)
Whit Stillman (Love And Friendship)
Screenplay Original
Babak Anvari (Under the Shadow)
Robert Eggers (The Witch)
Deniz Gamze Ergüven, Alice Winocour (Mustang)
Kenneth Lonergan (Manchester By The Sea)
Taylor Sheridan (Hell Or High Water)
Actress Lead
Emmanuelle Bercot (Mon Roi)
Ruth Negga (Loving)
Narges Rashidi (Under the Shadow)
Emma Suárez (Julieta)
Adriana Ugarte (Julieta)
Motion Picture
The Handmaiden (Chan-wook Park)
Julieta (Pedro Almodóvar)
Moonlight (Barry Jenkins)
Mustang (Deniz Gamze Ergüven)
Son of Saul (László Nemes)
Train to Busan (Yeon Sang-ho)
Under the Shadow (Babak Anvari)
Victoria (Sebastian Schipper)
The Witch (Robert Eggers)
Your Name (Makoto Shinkai)
Great post! It really was an exceptional year for movies, just not necessarily the obvious ones — and personally speaking, it was that very exploratory factor that seemed to enhance our journey, elevating the viewing pleasure to new heights. I cannot wait for you to share your preferences with the world; there will be a lot to talk about after so get comfortable.
In the meanwhile, with a worn down compass, a broadened mind and a soothed spirit, I wave goodbye to 2016 in quiet awe.