Kansas City Film Critics: ‘The Power of the Dog’ triumphs in spread out winners list
The Kansas City Film Critics Circle (KCFCC), the 2nd oldest professional film critics association in the U.S. (1966), has revealed its winners for the best in film for 2021 and The Power of the Dog reigned with wins for Best Film, Best Director (Jane Campion) and Best Actor (Benedict Cumberbatch), the only film to win more than one award.
Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story found itself a bridesmaid with runner-up mentions in Best Film, Best Director and Best Supporting Actress (Ariana DeBose). The film did win one, Adapted Screenplay. Elsewhere, the group spread the wealth quite a bit, with all acting, screenplay and technical winners going to different films, including Olivia Colman in The Lost Daughter for Best Actress, Ciarán Hinds in Belfast for Supporting Actor and Ann Dowd in Mass for Supporting Actress.
The KCFCC, the second oldest professional film critic organization in the United States, was founded in 1966 by the late Dr. James Loutzenhiser (1931-2001) who served as the group’s president for over 30 years.
Last year, the group was deadlocked in their Best Film category, which resulted in a tie between Nomadland and Promising Young Woman.
Here is the full list of nominees, winners and runners-up from the 56th Kansas City Film Critics Circle.
Best Film: The Power of the Dog
Runner–up: West Side Story
Robert Altman Award for Best Director: Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog
Runner–up: Steven Spielberg, West Side Story
Best Actor: Benedict Cumberbatch, The Power of the Dog
Runner–up: Andrew Garfield, tick, tick…BOOM!
Best Actress: Olivia Colman, The Lost Daughter
Runner–up: Kristen Stewart, Spencer
Best Supporting Actor: Ciarán Hinds, Belfast
Runner–up: Kodi Smit–McPhee, The Power of the Dog
Best Supporting Actress: Ann Dowd, Mass
Runner–up: Ariana DeBose, West Side Story
Best Adapted Screenplay: West Side Story
Runner–up: Drive My Car
Best Original Screenplay: Licorice Pizza
Runner–up: The French Dispatch
Best Cinematography: The Tragedy of Macbeth
Runner–up: Dune
Best Animated Feature: The Mitchells vs. the Machines
Runner–up: Flee
Best Documentary: Summer of Soul
Runner–up: Procession
Best Foreign Film: Drive My Car
Runner–up: The Worst Person in the World
The Tom Poe Award for Best LGBT Film: Flee
Runner–up: The Power of the Dog
Vince Koehler Award for Best Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror Film: The Green Knight
Runner–up: Dune
FULL LIST OF NOMINATIONS:
Best Film
- Belfast
- Cyrano
- Dune
- The Green Knight
- Licorice Pizza
- Pig
- The Power of the Dog
- Spider-Man: No Way Home
- The Tragedy Of Macbeth
- West Side Story
Best Director
- Kenneth Branagh – Belfast
- Jane Campion – The Power of the Dog
- Joel Coen – The Tragedy of Macbeth
- Steven Spielberg – West Side Story
- Denis Villeneuve – Dune
Best Actor
- Nicolas Cage – Pig
- Benedict Cumberbatch – The Power of the Dog
- Peter Dinklage – Cyrano
- Andrew Garfield – Tick, Tick…Boom!
- Will Smith – King Richard
Best Actress
- Olivia Colman – The Lost Daughter
- Lady Gaga – House of Gucci
- Alana Haim – Licorice Pizza
- Frances McDormand – The Tragedy of Macbeth
- Kirsten Stewart – Spencer
Best Supporting Actor
- Bradley Cooper – Licorice Pizza
- Mike Faist – West Side Story
- Ciaran Hinds – Belfast
- Troy Kotsur – Coda
- Kodi Smit-Mcphee – The Power of the Dog
Best Supporting Actress (There Was A Tie For Fifth In This Category)
- Ariana Debose – West Side Story
- Ann Dowd – Mass
- Kirsten Dunst – The Power of the Dog
- Gabby Hoffmann – C’mon, C’mon
- Regina King – The Harder They Fall
- Ruth Negga – Passing
Best Original Screenplay (There Was A Tie For Fifth In This Category)
- Being The Ricardos
- Belfast
- C’mon C’mon
- The French Dispatch
- Licorice Pizza
- Mass
Best Adapted Screenplay (There Was A Tie For Fifth In This Category)
- Drive My Car
- Dune
- The Green Knight
- The Power of the Dog
- The Tragedy of Macbeth
- West Side Story
Best Cinematography
- Belfast
- Dune
- The Power Of The Dog
- The Tragedy Of Macbeth
- West Side Story
Best Animated Feature
- Encanto
- Flee
- Luca
- The Mitchells Vs the Machines
- Raya and the Last Dragon
Best Foreign Film
- Drive My Car
- Flee
- The Hand of God
- Petite Maman
- The Worst Person In The World
Best Documentary (There Was A Tie For Fifth In This Category)
- A Cop Movie
- Flee
- Procession
- The Rescue
- The Sparks Brothers
- Summer of Soul
Vince Kohler Award
- Dune
- The Green Knight
- Malignant
- Spider-Man: No Way Home
- Werewolves Within
Tom Poe Award
- Benedetta
- Flee
- Passing
- Parallel Mothers
- The Power of the Dog
Photo: Kirsty Griffin/Netflix
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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