The Power of the Dog Named Best Film by Alliance of Women Film Journalists

Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog has been named Best Film by the Alliance of Women Film Journalists. The film also picked awards for Best Director and Adapted Screenplay for Campion, Best Actor for Benedict Cumberbatch, Best Supporting Actress for Kirsten Dunst, Best Supporting Actor for Kodi Smit-McPhee, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, and Best Ensemble Cast.

“Although our beloved film industry was plagued by the pandemic, 2021 turned out to be a rather magnificent year for movies — especially for films made by and about women,” said AWFJ president Jennifer Merin. “We at the Alliance of Women Film Journalists are delighted to note that last year’s crop of brilliant femme-helmed and femme-centric films are getting the awards recognition they deserve — as shown in our list of EDA Award winners, and in films and talent on our roster of nominees, as well as in awards presented by other film critics’ groups.”

Winners in bold below.

Best Film

Belfast
Licorice Pizza
The Lost Daughter
Passing
The Power Of The Dog

Best Director

Paul Thomas Anderson – Licorice Pizza
Kenneth Branagh –Belfast
Jane Campion – The Power Of The Dog
Maggie Gyllenhaal- The Lost Daughter
Rebecca Hall – Passing

Best Actress

Jessica Chastain – The Eyes Of Tammy Faye
Olivia Colman – The Lost Daughter
Kristen Stewart – Spencer
Lady Gaga – House Of Gucci
Tessa Thompson – Passing

Best Actress In A Supporting Role

Jessie Buckley – The Lost Daughter
Ann Dowd – Mass
Kirsten Dunst – The Power Of The Dog
Aunjanue Ellis – King Richard
Ruth Negga – Passing

Best Actor

Benedict Cumberbatch – The Power Of The Dog
Peter Dinklage – Cyrano
Andrew Garfield – tick, tick…BOOM!
Will Smith – King Richard
Denzel Washington – The Tragedy Of Macbeth

Best Actor In A Supporting Role

Jamie Dornan – Belfast
Troy Kostur – CODA
Ciarán Hinds – Belfast
Jesse Plemons – The Power Of The Dog
Kodi Smit-McPhee – The Power Of The Dog

Best Screenplay, Original

Being The Ricardos – Aaron Sorkin
Belfast – Kenneth Branagh
Don’t Look Up – Adam McKay
Licorice Pizza – Paul Thomas Anderson
Mass – Fran Kranz

Best Screenplay, Adapted

CODA – Sian Heder
Dune – Jon Spaihts, Denis Villeneuve, Eric Roth
The Lost Daughter – Maggie Gyllenhaal
Passing – Rebecca Hall
The Power Of The Dog – Jane Campion

Best Documentary

Ascension
Flee (tie)
Julia
Summer Of Soul (tie)
Val

Best Animated Film

Encanto (tie)
Flee
Luca
The Mitchells Vs The Machines (tie)
Raya And The Last Dragon

Best Ensemble Cast – Casting Director(s)

Belfast – Lucy Bevan, Emily Brockmann
The French Dispatch – Douglas Aibel, Antoinette Boulat
The Harder They Fall – Victoria Thomas
King Richard – Rich Delia, Avy Kaufman
The Power Of The Dog – Nikki Barrett, Tina Cleary, Carmen Cuba, Nina Gold

Best Cinematography

Belfast – Haris Zambarloukos
Dune – Greig Fraser
Passing – Eduard Grau
The Power Of The Dog – Ari Wegner
The Tragedy Of Macbeth – Bruno Delbonnel

Best Editing

Belfast – Una Ní Dhonghalle
Don’t Look Up – Hank Corwin
Dune – Joe Walker
The Power Of The Dog – Peter Sciberras
West Side Story – Sarah Broshar, Michael Kahn

Best Non-English-language Film

Drive My Car
Flee
A Hero
I’m Your Man
Titane

EDA Female Focus Awards


Best Woman Director

Jane Campion – The Power Of The Dog
Julia Ducournau – Titane”
Maggie Gyllenhall – The Lost Daughter
Rebecca Hall – Passing
Sian Heder – CODA

Best Woman Screenwriter

Jane Campion – The Power Of The Dog
Maggie Gyllenhaal – The Lost Daughter
Rebecca Hall – Passing
Sian Heder – CODA
Maria Schrader – I’m Your Man

Best Animated Female

Mirabel, Stephanie Beatriz – Encanto
Katie, Abbi Jacobsen –The Mitchells Vs The Machine
Raya, Kelly Marie Tran – “Raya And The Last Dragon
Giulia, Emma Berman – Luca
Sisu, Awkwafina – Raya And The Last Dragon

Best Woman’s Breakthrough Performance

Ariana DeBose -West Side Story
Alana Haim – Licorice Pizza
Emilia Jones – CODA
Renate Reinsve – The Worst Person In The World
Rachel Zegler – West Side Story

Outstanding Achievement By A Woman In The Film Industry

Victoria Alonzo For Her Achievements At Marvel Studios
Maya Cade For Establishing The Black Film Archive
Anna Serner For 20 Years Of Female-forward Work At The Swedish Film Institute
EDA Special Mention Awards

Grand Dame Award For Defying Ageism

Dame Judi Dench (tie)
Ms. Rita Moreno (tie)
Dame Diana Rigg

Most Egregious Lovers’ Age Difference Award

The Many Saints Of Newark – Ray Liotta and Michela Derossi (38 Years)
Red Rocket – Simon Rex and Suzanna Son (21 Years)
The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard – Salma Hayek and Samuel L. Jackson (21 Years)
Nightmare Alley – David Strathairn and Toni Collette (22 Years)
No Time to Die – Daniel Craig and Lea Seydoux (17 years)
Licorice Pizza – Alana Haim and Cooper Hoffman (10 Years)

She Deserves A New Agent Award

Amy Adams – The Woman In The Window and Dear Evan Hansen
Melissa McCarthy – The Starling
Chlöe Grace Moretz – Tom And Jerry

Most Daring Performance Award

Sandra Bullock – The Unforgivable
Olivia Colman – The Lost Daughter
Ruth Negga – Passing
Renate Reinsve – The Worst Person In The World
Agatha Rouselle – Titane

Time Waster Remake or Sequel Award

The Boss Baby: The Family Business
Cruella
Ghostbusters: Afterlife
Space Jam: A New Legacy
Tom And Jerry

AWFJ Hall Of Shame Award
Gina Carano, Nicki Minaj and Letitia Wright for using celeb status for anti-vax propaganda
Producers, crew and cast of Rust for not following proper safety protocol and causing the tragic death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins
Warner Bros for contributing to Mel Gibson’s resurgence by hiring him to direct Lethal Weapon 5

Author: Doug Jamieson

From musicals to horror and everything in between, Doug has an eclectic taste in films. Both a champion of independent cinema and a defender of more mainstream fare, he prefers to find an equal balance between two worlds often at odds with each other. A film critic by trade but a film fan at heart, Doug also writes for his own website The Jam Report, and Australia’s the AU review.