Awards season is in full swing now, and it looks like Roma is beginning to dominate the awards shows. New York Film Critics Circle awarded Roma as its best film winner, as well as awarding its director Alfonso Cuarón with best director and best cinematography. Is this an indication of what is to come at this year’s Oscars?
Perhaps it’s too early in the day to be making any safe bets, as it is worth mentioning that only two NYFCC best film winners have gone on to win best picture at the Oscars since 2008: The Hurt Locker, and The Artist. However, it is also worth adding that each of the NYFCC’s best film victors since 2008 (apart from 2015’s Carol) have received a corresponding Oscar nomination for best picture, which may reassure some of you at home.
In the acting categories; we saw Regina Hall make history as she became the NYFCC’s first black leading actress to win for her role in the comedy Support the Girls, while likely Oscar contender Regina King (If Beale Street Could Talk) picked up her second supporting actress trophy of the week following her National Board of Review win on Tuesday.
First Reformed star Ethan Hawke also picked up his second major accolade of the week after taking best actor at the Gotham Awards on Monday, and Richard E. Grant picked up best supporting actor for his role opposite Melissa McCarthy in Marielle Heller’s Lee Israel biopic Can You Ever Forgive Me?
The NYFCC’s winners could be a good indicate of who will be walking away the Oscar. There have only be two NYFCC best actress winners, Rachel Weisz (2012’s The Deep Blue Sea) and Sally Hawkins (Happy-Go-Lucky), who didn’t pick up an Oscar nomination. In regards to the best actors, only NYFCC best actor winners over the last decade who didn’t receive an Oscar nomination were Robert Redford (All Is Lost), Timothy Spall (Mr. Turner), and Michael Keaton (Spotlight).
Writer-director Paul Schrader’s First Reformed further won the NYFCC prize for best screenplay, with Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse taking best animated feature and Pawel Pawlikowski’s Cold War picking up best foreign language film. Other winners included Bing Liu’s Minding the Gap which was awarded Best Documentary, and Bo Burnham picking up Best First Film for his debut picture, Eighth Grade. David Schwartz, the chief Film Curator at Museum of the Moving Image (who will be stepping down after 33 years) and Kino Classics Box Set “Pioneers: First Women Filmmakers were also given awards.
With Roma winning, it may help establish Netflix as an important player in the industry, It is worth mentioning that Roma was produced and financed by Participant Media, and was later shopped around town to specialty distributors. Netflix scooped up the movie for a reported $20M. Roma will be expanding to other locations prior to its streaming date with showtimes in Dolby Atmos, but many will view it via Netflix. Whether or not, Roma will win the big prize at the Oscars, there’s no denying that its win at NYFCC, is a major breakthrough for the streaming title which will be release on Netflix on Dec. 14.
Best Film: Roma
Best Director: Alfonso Cuarón – Roma
Best Actor: Ethan Hawke – First Reformed
Best Actress: Regina Hall – Support the Girls
Best Supporting Actor: Richard E. Grant – Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Best Supporting Actress: Regina King – If Beale Street Could Talk
Best Screenplay: Paul Schrader – First Reformed
Best Cinematography: Alfonso Cuarón – Roma
Best Foreign Language Film: Pawel Pawlikowski – Cold War
Best Documentary: Bing Liu – Minding the Gap
Best Animated Film: Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman – Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Best First Film: Bo Burnham – Eighth Grade