North Dakota Film Society (NDFS): ‘Nomadland’ picks up 5 wins including Best Picture
The 2nd North Dakota Film Society Awards celebrate the best achievements in cinema of 2020. On January 8, the nominations were announced, with David Fincher’s Mank leading the pack with 8. Of the Best Picture nominations (Mank was shut out of the top award category), both Nomadland and Promising Young Woman earned 6 mentions.
NDFS members had one week to review nominations and place their final votes. Once counted, Chloé Zhao’s Nomadland was deemed the best film of 2020. The moving drama also picked up awards for Best Director, Best Actress (Frances McDormand, who is also a producer of the film), Best Cinematography, and Best Film Editing.
Mank and Borat Subsequent Moviefilm were the only other films to earn multiple wins. The former earned the prizes for Best Production Design and Best Original Score. The latter earned wins for Best Supporting Actress (Maria Bakalova) and Best Original Song (“Wuhan Flu”).
Runners-up are listed for each category.
Best Picture
NOMADLAND
Directed by Chloé Zhao
Produced by Mollye Asher, Dan Janvey, Frances McDormand, Peter Spears, Chloé Zhao
Runners-up (TIE): FIRST COW and I’M THINKING OF ENDING THINGS
Best Director
Chloé Zhao
NOMADLAND
Runner-up: David Fincher, MANK
Best Actress
Frances McDormand
NOMADLAND
Runner-up: Carey Mulligan, PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN
Best Actor
Riz Ahmed
SOUND OF METAL
Runner-up: Delroy Lindo, DA 5 BLOODS
Best Supporting Actress
Maria Bakalova
BORAT SUBSEQUENT MOVIEFILM
Runners-up (TIE): Ellen Burstyn, PIECES OF A WOMAN, Amanda Seyfried, MANK, and Yuh-Jung Youn, MINARI
Best Supporting Actor
Sacha Baron Cohen
THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7
Runner-up: Orion Lee, FIRST COW
Best Screenplay
PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN
Emerald Fennell
Runner-up: I’M THINKING OF ENDING THINGS
Best Production Design
MANK
Donald Graham Burt (production designer)
Jan Pascale (set decorator)
Runner-up: THE PERSONAL HISTORY OF DAVID COPPERFIELD
Best Cinematography
NOMADLAND
Joshua James Richards
Runner-up: MANK
Best Film Editing
NOMADLAND
Chloé Zhao
Runner-up: TENET
Best Original Score
MANK
Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross
Runner-up: SOUL
Best Original Song
BORAT SUBSEQUENT MOVIEFILM
”Wuhan Flu”
Written by Sacha Baron Cohen, Erran Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines, Peter Baynham, Erica Rivinoja, Dan Swimer, Jena Friedman, Jim Russell, Jerry Holleman
Runner-up: “Rocket to the Moon”, OVER THE MOON
Best International Feature
AND THEN WE DANCED
Directed by Levan Akin
(Georgia)
Runners-up (TIE): BEANPOLE and COLLECTIVE
Best Documentary Feature
ALL IN: THE FIGHT FOR DEMOCRACY
Directed by Liz Garbus, Lisa Cortés
Produced by Liz Garbus, Lisa Cortés, Dan Cogan, Stacey Abrams
Runner-up: DICK JOHNSON IS DEAD
Best Animated Feature
SOUL
Directed by Pete Docter, Kemp Powers
Produced by Pete Docter, Dana Murray
Runner-up: WOLFWALKERS
Photo Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures
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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