Phoenix Critics Circle (PCC) Chooses Moonlight as Best Pic, Jenkins and Chazelle Tie in Best Director

[divider style=”solid” top=”20″ bottom=”20″]

The Phoenix Critics Circle (not the Phoenix Film Critics Society) have chosen their winners for the best in film for 2016. Moonlight is their Best Picture and its director, Barry Jenkins, shares Best Director with La La Land‘s Damien Chazelle.

Down the line looks a lot like what we’ve seen coming down the pike from these regional critics groups with Casey Affleck, Natalie Portman, Mahershala Ali and Viola Davis winning the acting prizes.

Here is the full list of winners:

BEST PICTURE
Moonlight

BEST COMEDY FILM
Hunt for the Wilderpeople

BEST SCIENCE FICTION FILM
Arrival

BEST HORROR FILM
The Witch

BEST MYSTERY OR THRILLER FILM
Hell or High Water

BEST ANIMATED FILM
Kubo and the Two Strings

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
The Handmaiden

BEST DOCUMENTARY
O.J.: Made in America

BEST ACTOR
Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea

BEST ACTRESS
Natalie Portman, Jackie

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Mahershala Ali, Moonlight

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Viola Davis, Fences

BEST DIRECTOR (tie)
Damian Chazelle, La La Land
Barry Jenkins, Moonlight

BEST SCREENPLAY
Efthimis Filippou, Yorgos Lanthimos, The Lobster

BEST SCORE
Justin Hurwitz, La La Land

• Author
• Recent Posts

Erik Anderson

Erik Anderson is the founder/owner and Editor-in-Chief of AwardsWatch and has always loved all things Oscar, having watched the Academy Awards since he was in single digits; making lists, rankings and predictions throughout the show. This led him down the path to obsessing about awards. Much later, he found himself in film school and the film forums of GoldDerby, and then migrated over to the former Oscarwatch (now AwardsDaily), before breaking off to create AwardsWatch in 2013.

He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Critics Choice Association (CCA), San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle (SFBAFCC) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.

Latest posts by Erik Anderson (see all)

• 2026 Tribeca Festival Celebrates 25th Anniversary with World Premieres of ‘Hadestown: The Musical,’ ‘Earth, Wind & Fire’ Doc - April 16, 2026
• ‘Beef’ Season 2 Review: Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, Cailee Spaeny and Charles Melton Sink Their Teeth Into Lee Sung Jin’s Meaty Morality Tale [A-] - April 16, 2026
• George Clooney to be Honored at 51st Chaplin Award Gala by Stephen Colbert, Sam Rockwell and More - April 15, 2026