Online Film Critics Society Awards 2019
Posted on January 6, 2020 at 10:30 pm
Confirming the overall quality of Bong Joon-ho’s work on “Parasite,” the Korean production also won awards for Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Editing, a special award for its production design, and Best Film Not in the English Language. Bong co-wrote the screenplay with Jin Won Han based on his own idea.
Other feature awards went to Josh Cooley’s “Toy Story 4″ for Best Animated Feature and Todd Douglas Miller’s “Apollo 11” for Best Documentary. Director Olivia Wilde won Best Debut Feature with “Booksmart”.
Steven Zaillian won Best Adapted Screenplay for his screenplay for “The Irishman“. This was Zaillian’s second nomination from the OFCS. The previous citation was in 2012 for “Moneyball.” This is his first win.
Seven years after her OFCS victory for “12 Years a Slave,” Lupita Nyong’o won a second award from the OFCS, this time in the lead actress category for her dual role in “Us.” Adam Driver’s third OFCS Awards nomination in four years yielded his first award for Best Lead Actor for his performance in “Marriage Story.” The supporting awards went to Brad Pitt on his second nomination for “Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood” and Jennifer Lopez in “Hustlers,” her first nomination.
“Us” was also the winner of the Best Original Score award while fellow Best Picture nominee “1917” was given the award for Best Cinematography. In addition to these three creative categories and the award to “Parasite” for its production design, five special achievement awards were given for technical achievements.
“John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum” was honored for its stunt coordination, “Ad Astra” for its visual effects, “1917” for its production design, and “Knives Out” for its acting ensemble.
Each year, the OFCS also asks its members to nominate people and organizations for special recognition. These special achievement awards are given to achievements that aren’t directly related to filmmaking or even to the film industry itself. This year, the OFCS has chosen to honor the Agência Nacional de Cinema (the National Cinema Agency of Brazil) for their work supporting art against attacks from their fascist government.
The OFCS also recognizes five individuals each year who have given tremendously to the art of cinema over lengthy careers, representing various aspects of the filmmaking process including this year’s honorees: actors Julie Andrews and Olivia de Havilland, producer Roger Corman, director Martin Scorsese, and multi-hyphenate John Waters.
The OFCS, which represents 284 film critics from around the world, recognizes the global nature of film and encourages international producers to screen their films for U.S. audiences. To that end, the OFCS recognizes ten films each year that have not yet been released in the United States. These films represent a broadly diverse set of nations from Brazil to Russia to Japan.
And Then We Danced (A European co-production)
Bacurau (Brazil)
Bait (United Kingdom)
Beanpole (Russia)
A Good Woman Is Hard To Find (United Kingdom)
A Rainy Day in New York (USA)
The Truth (France-Japan)
Vitalina Varela (Portugal)
The Whistlers (A European co-production)
Zombi Child (France)
In addition to films that haven’t seen release in the United States, they also want to recognize films that are released on digital platforms, but which are not afforded theatrical distribution. This list includes narrative features and documentaries alike.
Between Two Ferns: The Movie
The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open
El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie
Homecoming: A Film by Beyoncé
Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror
Little Monsters
One Cut of the Dead
The Perfection
See You Yesterday
The Wind
Based on the votes of our members, the following are the year’s top ten films based on their ranked voting during the awards process.
1. Parasite
2. The Irishman
3. Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood
4. Marriage Story
5. Knives Out
6. Portrait of a Lady on Fire
7. Us
8. Uncut Gems
9. 1917
10. Jojo Rabbit