2024 Houston Film Critics Society (HFCS) Winners: ‘Anora,’ ‘The Brutalist,’ ‘The Wild Robot’ Lead

Sean Baker’s Anora was the big winner from the Houston Film Critics Society (HFCS), earning Best Picture, Best Actress (Mikey Madison) and Best Screenplay honors from the org.

The Brutalist earned Best Director for Brady Corbet and Best Cinematography for Lol Crawley. The Wild Robot was also a double winner, for Best Animated Feature and. Best Original Song for “Kiss the Sky.”

The HFCS named Ralph Fiennes Best Actor for Conclave, with the film also winning the award for Best Ensemble Cast. Honored as the year’s Best Supporting Actor was Kieran Culkin in A Real Pain and, as Best Supporting Actress, Zoë Saldaña in Emilia Pérez, which also won Best Foreign Language Film. Winning the Texas Independent Film Award – for the best film made in Texas – was Runaway Radio about the magic created by Houston’s 101 KLOL (101.1 FM).

“Small, intimate, character-driven stories seemed to be the soup du jour favored by many of our members this year,” says Travis Leamons, President of the organization. “2024 may not have been a great cinema year overall, but if you string together the films enjoyed most by the Houston critics you’ll see a year defined by obstacles in one’s pursuit of happiness, virtue, and prosperity. All of which mirror this particular moment in time.”

Here is the complete list of winners.

Best Picture: Anora

Best Director: Brady Corbet, The Brutalist

Best Actor – Leading Role: Ralph Fiennes, Conclave

Best Actress – Leading Role: Mikey Madison, Anora

Best Actor – Supporting Role: Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain

Best Actress – Supporting Role: Zoë Saldaña, Emilia Pérez

Best Screenplay: Sean Baker, Anora

Best Animated Feature: The Wild Robot

Best Cinematography: Lol Crawley, The Brutalist 

Best Documentary Feature: Will & Harper

Best Foreign Language Feature: Emilia Pérez 

Best Original Score: Challengers, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross

Best Original Song: The Wild Robot, “Kiss the Sky”

Best Visual Effects: Dune: Part Two

Best Stunt Coordination Team: The Fall Guy

Best Ensemble Cast: Conclave

Texas Independent Film Award: Runaway Radio