‘Dune’ and ‘The Power of the Dog’ lead Minnesota Film Critics winners, Kristen Stewart wins Best Actress

Erik Anderson March 8, 2022

Dune and The Power of the Dog led the 2nd Minnesota Film Critics Alliance (MNFCA) winners with Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi epic earning five awards in the technical categories while Jane Campion’s western mood piece nabbed Best Picture, Screenplay and Director. The two films had tied for the most nominations, with each film earning 11 mentions.

Nicolas Cage (Pig) and Kristen Stewart (Spencer) were named Best Actor and Best Actress, respectively and the supporting awards went to Troy Kotsur for CODA and Ariana DeBose for West Side Story. Spencer also picked up the Best Music award while West Side Story also nabbed Best Ensemble.

The MNFCA is a 21 person group with members working in print, digital, broadcast and podcast media. Members are from across the state, with some in the Twin Cities metro region and others located in Greater Minnesota communities such as Brainerd, Duluth, Fargo-Moorhead, Rochester, and Wahpeton-Breckenridge.

Here is the complete of winners and runners-up.

BEST PICTURE

“Dune.”
“Licorice Pizza.”
“Nightmare Alley.”
“The Power of the Dog.”
“West Side Story.”

WINNER: “The Power of the Dog”
RUNNERS UP: “Dune” and “West Side Story”

BEST DIRECTOR

Paul Thomas Anderson, “Licorice Pizza.”
Jane Campion, “The Power of the Dog.”
Ryusuke Hamaguchi, “Drive My Car.”
Steven Spielberg, “West Side Story.”
Denis Villeneuve, “Dune.”

WINNER: Jane Campion, “The Power of the Dog
RUNNER UP: Steven Spielberg, “West Side Story”

BEST ACTOR

Nicolas Cage, “Pig.”
Benedict Cumberbatch, “The Power of the Dog.”
Andrew Garfield, “Tick, Tick… Boom.”
Will Smith, “King Richard.”
Denzel Washington, “The Tragedy of Macbeth.”

WINNER: Nicolas Cage, “Pig”
RUNNER UP: Benedict Cumberbatch, “The Power of the Dog”

BEST ACTRESS

Jessica Chastain, “The Eyes of Tammy Faye.”
Penelope Cruz, “Parallel Mothers.”
Alana Haim, “Licorice Pizza.”
Emilia Jones, “CODA.”
Kristen Stewart, “Spencer.”

WINNER: Kristen Stewart, “Spencer”
RUNNER UP: Alana Haim, “Licorice Pizza”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Bradley Cooper, “Licorice Pizza.”
Ciaran Hinds, “Belfast.”
Troy Kotsur, “CODA.”
Kodi Smit-McPhee, “The Power of the Dog.”
Jesse Plemons, “The Power of the Dog.”

WINNER: Troy Kotsur, “CODA”
RUNNER UP: Kodi Smit-McPhee, “The Power of the Dog”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Ariana DeBose, “West Side Story.”
Kirsten Dunst, “The Power of the Dog.”
Aunjanue Ellis, “King Richard.”
Kathryn Hunter, “The Tragedy of Macbeth.”
Ruth Negga, “Passing.”

WINNER: Ariana DeBose, “West Side Story”
RUNNER UP: Kirsten Dunst, “The Power of the Dog”

BEST ENSEMBLE

“Belfast.”
“Dune.”
“The Harder They Fall.”
“The Power of the Dog.”
“West Side Story.”

WINNER: “West Side Story”
RUNNER UP: “Belfast”

BEST SCREENPLAY

“Dune,” by Jon Spaihts, Denis Villeneuve and Eric Roth.
“Licorice Pizza,” by Paul Thomas Anderson.
“Parallel Mothers,” by Pedro Almodovar.
“Pig,” by Vanessa Block.
“The Power of the Dog,” by Jane Campion.

WINNER: “The Power of the Dog” by Jane Campion
RUNNER UP: “Dune,” by Jon Spaihts, Denis Villeneuve and Eric Roth

BEST EDITING

“Dune.”
“The Last Duel.”
“The Power of the Dog.”
“Tick, Tick… Boom.”
“West Side Story.”

WINNER: “Dune”
RUNNER UP: “The Last Duel”

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

“Dune.”
“Nightmare Alley.”
“The Power of the Dog.”
“The Tragedy of Macbeth.”
“West Side Story.”

WINNER: “Dune”
RUNNER UP: “The Tragedy of Macbeth”

BEST MUSIC

“Dune.”
“Encanto.”
“The Green Knight.”
“The Power of the Dog.”
“Spencer.”

WINNER: “Spencer”
RUNNERS UP: “Dune” and “Encanto”

BEST COSTUME/MAKE-UP

“Cruella.”
“Dune”
“The Eyes of Tammy Faye.”
“Nightmare Alley.”
“Spencer.”

WINNER: “Dune”
RUNNER UP: “Cruella”

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

“Dune.”
“Last Night in Soho.”
“Nightmare Alley.”
“The Tragedy of Macbeth.”
“West Side Story.”

WINNER: “Nightmare Alley”
RUNNER UP: “Dune”

BEST SOUND WORK

“Dune.”
“Last Night in Soho.”
“No Time to Die.”
“A Quiet Place Part II.”
“West Side Story.”

WINNER: “Dune”
RUNNER UP: “West Side Story”

BEST SPECIAL EFFECTS

“Dune.”
“Godzilla Vs. Kong.”
“No Time to Die.”
“Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.”
“Spider-Man: No Way Home.”

WINNER: “Dune”
RUNNER UP: “Spider-Man: No Way Home”

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

“Encanto.”
“Flee.”
“Luca.”
“Mitchells Vs. The Machines.”
“Raya and the Last Dragon.”

WINNER: “Encanto”
RUNNER UP: “Mitchells Vs. the Machines”

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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), 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.