2022 National Society of Film Critics (NSFC) awards: ‘TÁR,’ Cate Blanchett, Ke Huy Quan earn trifecta wins

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The National Society of Film Critics (NSFC), arguably the most prestigious critics group in the U.S., has revealed their winners and runners-up for the best in film for 2022 where Todd Field’s TÁR triumphed in Best Picture, securing its trifecta wins that includes the New York Film Critics Circle (NYFCC) and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA). Field was also the winner in the group’s singular screenplay category.

With her NSFC win today, Cate Blanchett also became a trifecta winner this year, with Best Actress awards from New York Film Critics Circle and Los Angeles Film Critics Association for her performance in TÁR. This is Blanchett’s second Best Actress trifecta sweep; she did it first with 2013’s Blue Jasmine and then won the Oscar. She had a previous NSFC win in Supporting Actress for 2007’s I’m Not There.

Colin Farrell continued his very healthy run with another Best Actor win, his second of the trifecta. Like NSFC, he also won NYFCC for his performances in both The Banshees of Inisherin and After Yang.

Kerry Condon was named Best Supporting Actress for Martin McDonagh’s The Banshees of Inisherin, extended her critics’ wins as the leader in this category, although this is her first major win so far. Ke Huy Quan became the second trifecta acting winner of the 2022 season (after Blanchett) with his supporting actor win here for Everything Everywhere All At Once and has been the winningest performer overall in any acting category. He is the first ever Asian trifecta winner in supporting actor.

After a 40-minute long deliberation, first-time director Charlotte Wells won Best Director for her semi-autobiographical film Aftersun, starring Paul Mescal and newcomer Frankie Corio. The film was the group’s runner-up in Best Picture and Mescal was the Best Actor runner-up. Despite Todd Field’s and Martin McDonagh’s films winning the most awards, neither placed in Best Director where the runners-up were Park Chan-wook for Decision to Leave and Jafar Panahi for No Bears.

Jerzy Skolimowski’s EO, which chronicles the journey of a donkey across Europe earned wins for its cinematography and as Best Film Not in the English Language. It also became a trifecta winner today, as did All the Beauty and the Bloodshed in the documentary/non-fiction film category.

Voting is conducted via a weighted ballot system. On the first ballot, members vote for their top three choices (first choice = 3 points, second choice = 2 points, third choice = 1 point). The nominee that receives the most points and appears on a majority of ballots wins.

The Film Heritage Awards went to Screen Slate, published and edited by Jon Dieringer, an essential daily online publication that has done much to build and sustain the filmmaking, theatrical exhibition and film critical communities of New York City and by extension the world at large and Jeanine Basinger, one of our most esteemed and important film scholars, whose work at Wesleyan University and beyond has continually bridged the divide between Hollywood and academia, film studies and movie love.

If no winner is declared on the first ballot, the category goes to a second ballot, this time without the proxies. Voting continues with as many rounds as needed until a nominee receives the most points and appears on a majority of ballots.

This year’s awards were dedicated to Sheila Benson, an esteemed Society member and the warmest, most gracious of colleagues. As film critic for the L.A. Times and other publications, she wrote about movies with infectious joy and enviable skill.

Here is the complete list of winners and runners-up with vote totals for all.

Best Picture: TÁR (61 points)

Runners-up: AFTERSUN (49 points) NO BEARS (32 points)

Best Director: Charlotte Wells, AFTERSUN (60 points)

Runners-up: Park Chan-wook, DECISION TO LEAVE (47 points) Jafar Panahi, NO BEARS (36 points)

Best Actor: Colin Farrell, AFTER YANG and THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN (71 points)

Runners-up: Paul Mescal, AFTERSUN (55 points) Bill Nighy, LIVING (33 points)

Best Actress: Cate Blanchett, TÁR (59 points)

Runners-up: Michelle Yeoh, EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE (38 points) Tilda Swinton, THE ETERNAL DAUGHTER, and Michelle Williams, THE FABELMANS (27 points)

Best Supporting Actress: Kerry Condon, THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN (57 points)

Runners-up: Nina Hoss, TÁR (43 points) Dolly De Leon, TRIANGLE OF SADNESS (35 points)

Best Supporting Actor: Ke Huy Quan, EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE (45 points)

Runners-up: Brian Tyree Henry, CAUSEWAY (35 points) Barry Keoghan, THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN (27 points)

Best Screenplay: Todd Field, TÁR (61 points)

Runners-up: Martin McDonagh, THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN (42 points) James Gray, ARMAGEDDON TIME (18 points)

Best Cinematography: Michał Dymek, EO (62 points)

Runners-up: Hoyte van Hoytema, NOPE (37 points) Kim Ji-yong, DECISION TO LEAVE (34 points)

Best Film Not in the English Language: EO (43 points)

Runners-up: NO BEARS (37 points) DECISION TO LEAVE (34 points)

Best Nonfiction Film: ALL THE BEAUTY AND THE BLOODSHED (46 points)

Runners-up: DESCENDANT (40 points) ALL THAT BREATHES (27 points)

Film Heritage Award: Screen Slate

Film Heritage Award: Jeanine Basinger