‘Belfast’ leads San Diego Film Critics nominations, Caitríona Balfe nodded in Best Actress
The 2021 San Diego Film Critics Society nominations were announced today and Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast led in a big way with 12 mentions including Best Picture, Best Director and, interestingly, Caitríona Balfe for Best Actress. She has largely competed and been nominated for supporting actress so far this season.
Rounding out the Best Picture nominees and their nominations totals are Dune with 9, The Power of the Dog with 8, Mass with 7 and CODA with 6. Nightmare Alley also received seven nominations, including one for Guillermo del Toro in Best Director, but missed Best Picture.
Among the seven nominations for Mass were three individual supporting nods for Jason Isaacs, Martha Plimpton and Ann Dowd. The film also received an Ensemble nomination.
Here is the full list of nominations. Winners will be announced on January 10.
Best Picture
BELFAST
CODA
DUNE
MASS
THE POWER OF THE DOG
Best Director
Kenneth Branagh, BELFAST
Jane Campion, THE POWER OF THE DOG
Guillermo del Toro, NIGHTMARE ALLEY
Maggie Gyllenhaal, THE LOST DAUGHTER
Denis Villeneuve, DUNE
Best Actor
Nicolas Cage, PIG
Benedict Cumberbatch, THE POWER OF THE DOG
Peter Dinklage, CYRANO
Andrew Garfield, TICK, TICK…BOOM!
Jude Hill, BELFAST
Best Actress
Caitríona Balfe, BELFAST
Olivia Colman, THE LOST DAUGHTER
Penelope Cruz, PARALLEL MOTHERS
Emilia Jones, CODA
Kristen Stewart, SPENCER
Best Supporting Actor
Ben Affleck, THE TENDER BAR
Ciarán Hinds, BELFAST
Jason Isaacs, MASS
Troy Kotsur, CODA
Kodi Smit-McPhee, THE POWER OF THE DOG
Best Supporting Actress
Cate Blanchett, NIGHTMARE ALLEY
Arian DeBose, WEST SIDE STORY
Ann Dowd, MASS
Ruth Negga, PASSING
Martha Plimpton, MASS
Best Comedic Performance
Bradley Cooper, LICORICE PIZZA
Leonardo DiCaprio, DON’T LOOK UP
Jamie Dornan, BARB AND STAR GO TO VISTA DEL MAR
David Harbour, BLACK WIDOW
Simon Rex, RED ROCKET
Best Youth Performance (Performers under the age of 16)
Mckenna Grace, GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE
Jude Hill, BELFAST
Daniel Ranieri, THE TENDER BAR
Saniyya Sidney, KING RICHARD
Demi Singleton, KING RICHARD
Best Original Screenplay
Pedro Almodovar, PARALLEL MOTHERS
Kenneth Branagh, BELFAST
Fran Kranz, MASS
Adam McKay, DON’T LOOK UP
Michael Sarnoski, PIG
Best Adapted Screenplay
Jane Campion, THE POWER OF THE DOG
Joel Coen, THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH
Guillermo del Toro, Kim Morgan, NIGHTMARE ALLEY
Rebecca Hall, PASSING
Sian Heder, CODA
Best Documentary
FLEE
MY NAME IS PAULI MURRAY
SUMMER OF SOUL
VAL
THE VELVET UNDERGROUND
Best Animated Film
ENCANTO
FLEE
LUCA
THE MITCHELLS VS. THE MACHINES
RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON
Best Foreign Language Film
DRIVE MY CAR
I’M YOUR MAN
LAMB
PARALLEL MOTHERS
THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD
Best Editing
Úna Ní Dhonghalle, BELFAST
Paula Huidobro, CODA
Myron Kerstein, IN THE HEIGHTS
Joshua L. Pearson, SUMMER OF SOUL
Joe Walker, DUNE
Best Cinematography
Alice Brooks, IN THE HEIGHTS
Bruno Delbonnel, THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH
Greig Fraser, DUNE
Dan Laustsen, NIGHTMARE ALLEY
Ari Wegner, THE POWER OF THE DOG
Best Production Design
Jim Clay, BELFAST
Tamara Deverell, NIGHTMARE ALLEY
Grant Major, THE POWER OF THE DOG
Adam Stockhausen, Rena DeAngelo, THE FRENCH DISPATCH
Patrice Vermette, Richard Roberts, Zsuzsanna Sipos, DUNE
Best Visual Effects
DUNE
THE GREEN KNIGHT
NIGHTMARE ALLEY
SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS
SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME
Best Costumes
Jenny Beavan, CRUELLA
Odile Dicks-Mireaux, LAST NIGHT IN SOHO
Antionette Messam, THE HARDER THEY FALL
Jacqueline West, Bob Morgan, DUNE
Janty Yates, HOUSE OF GUCCI
Best Sound Design
Malte Bieler, Brandon Jones, A QUIET PLACE PART II
Simon Chase, James Mather, BELFAST
Theo Green, Dave Whitehead, DUNE
Nathan Robitaille, NIGHTMARE ALLEY
Dave Whitehead, THE POWER OF THE DOG
Best Use of Music
BELFAST
CRUELLA
IN THE HEIGHTS
LAST NIGHT IN SOHO
WEST SIDE STORY
Breakthrough Artist
Alana Haim, LICORICE PIZZA
Jude Hill, BELFAST
Emilia Jones, CODA
Fran Kranz, MASS
Anthony Ramos, IN THE HEIGHTS
Best Ensemble
DON’T LOOK UP
DUNE
THE HARDER THEY FALL
IN THE HEIGHTS
MASS
Photo: Rob Youngson / Focus Features
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), Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) 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.
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