Bong Joon-Ho’s PARASITE wins NSFC (National Society of Film Critics) Best Picture

Founded in 1966 by Hollis Alpert and Pauline Kael, the National Society of Film Critics supplies the official critic delegate to the National Film Registration Board of the Library of Congress and the U.S. delegate to FIPRESCI (Fédération Internationale de la Presse Cinématographique) abroad.

The National Society of Film Critics counts among its members many of the country’s leading film critics.  Its purpose is to promote the mutual interests of film criticism and filmmaking. 

The 60 members include the critics from major papers and outlets in Los Angeles, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago. Its members also include critics not just of The Wall St. Journal, The L.A. Times and The New Yorker, but also of The Christian Science Monitor and NPR.

The Society’s most recent anthology, published in December 2019, is For Kids of All Ages:  The National Society of Film Critics on Children’s Movies.  Prior anthologies include The B List: The National Society of Film Critics on the Low-Budget Beauties, Genre-Bending Mavericks, and Cult Classics We Love; The X List: The National Society of Film Critics’ Guide to the Movies That Turn Us On; and The A List: 100 Essential Films.  In the1990’s, the Society published  Produced and Abandoned: The Best Films You’ve Never Seen; Foreign Affairs, its counterpart for foreign films; Love and Hisses, a guide to the most controversial films and issues; They Went Thataway: Redefining Film Genres; and Flesh and Blood: The National Society of Film Critics on Sex, Violence, and Censorship. Earlier, the Society published six volumes of annual reviews, as well as The National Society of Film Critics on Movie Comedy and The Movie Star. The group can genuinely be said to represent the best of contemporary American film criticism.

NSFC’s voting is a tiered and weighted system. Per Justin Chiang via Twitter, “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.”

Bong Joon Ho‘s PARASITE wins Best Picture and Best Screenplay in the 54th annual National Society of Film Critics awards, announced earlier today at the Film Society of Lincoln Center in New York.

Mary Kay Place and Antonio Banderas win Best Actress/Actor for DIANE and PAIN AND GLORY. Supporting actors Brad Pitt and Laura Dern win for ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD and MARRIAGE STORY/LITTLE WOMEN, respectively.

2019 NSFC Winners:

Best Picture: PARASITE (44 points)
Runners-up: LITTLE WOMEN (27 points); ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD (22 points)

Best Actor: Antonio Banderas, PAIN AND GLORY (69 points)
Runners-up: Adam Driver, MARRIAGE STORY (43 points); Adam Sandler, UNCUT GEMS (41 points)

Best Actress: Mary Kay Place, DIANE (40 points)
Runners-up: Zhao Tao, ASH IS PUREST WHITE (28 points) Florence Pugh, MIDSOMMAR (25 points)

Best Supporting Actor: Brad Pitt, ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD (64 points)
Runners-up: Joe Pesci, THE IRISHMAN (30 points) Wesley Snipes, DOLEMITE IS MY NAME and Song Kang Ho, PARASITE (18 points each)

Best Supporting Actress: Laura Dern, MARRIAGE STORY and LITTLE WOMEN (57 points)
Runners-up: Florence Pugh, LITTLE WOMEN (44 points) Jennifer Lopez, HUSTLERS (26 points)

Best Director: Greta Gerwig, LITTLE WOMEN (39 points)
Runners-up: Bong Joon Ho, PARASITE (36 points); Martin Scorsese, THE IRISHMAN (31 points)

Best Screenplay: Bong Joon Ho and Han Jin Won, PARASITE (37 points)
Runners-up: Quentin Tarantino, ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD (34 points); Greta Gerwig, LITTLE WOMEN (33 points)

Best Cinematography: Claire Mathon, PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE and ATLANTICS (41 points)
Runners-up: Robert Richardson, ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD (29 points); Yorick Le Saux, LITTLE WOMEN (22 points)

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Rubin Safaya

Rubin Safaya is a member of the Dallas-Ft. Worth Film Critics Association and an annual guest speaker on international cinema at Richland College’s Multicultural Center.

Mr. Safaya is also a listed Tomatometer Critic at Rotten Tomatoes.

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