Online Film Critics Society (OFCS) award ‘Nomadland’ Best Picture, Director, Actress

The Online Film Critics Society (OFCS) announced its Top Ten List as well as winners of its annual film awards on Monday. Nomadland, directed by Chloé Zhao, tops the list for Best Picture by OFCS, which is comprised of nearly 300 film critics from around the world. Also, making the list is Soul, which nabbed Best Animated Feature.  

Nomadland also won the group’s Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Editing prizes, both for Zhao, as well as Best Cinematography (to Joshua James Richards) for a total of six wins. Best Actor went to Delroy Lindo (Da 5 Bloods) and the supporting awards went to Leslie Odom, Jr. (One Night in Miami) and Maria Bakalova (Borat Subsequent Moviefilm).

Here is the full list of nominees and winners of the 2020 Online Film Critics Society Awards.

The OFCS Top Ten:

1. Nomadland

2. Da 5 Bloods

3. Promising Young Woman

4. Never Rarely Sometimes Always

5. First Cow

6. Minari

7. Sound of Metal

8. I’m Thinking of Ending Things

9. Soul

10. The Trial of the Chicago 7

Despite an unusual movie-going season with the pandemic in play, OFCS handed out nods in a variety of categories, including Best Director, Best Actor and Best Actress as well as Best Debut Feature.

“This list of nominations showcases the diversity and broad expressiveness of the film community. In a year where nothing was as we expected, and those expectations had to shift, cinema not only maintained its creativity and expansive canvas, but it managed to give new voices a chance to speak louder than they might have in any other year,” said Wesley Lovell, a member of the Governing Committee of OFCS, and founder of CinemaSight.com.

He added, “In our directing category alone, we have four women, each at varying points in their careers, alongside one of the major voices of his generation. It is one of our most diverse slates ever. As for the nominees of Best Picture, the feature films represent filmmakers from a wide array of backgrounds and experiences who are able to explore subjects that exemplify the breadth of American life in unique and compelling ways. I don’t think we could be more proud of the selections our members have made this year.”

And so, without further ado, here’s the list of nominees, winners  and special achievement awards from OFCS: 

BEST PICTURE

·      Da 5 Bloods

·      First Cow

·      I’m Thinking of Ending Things

·      Minari

·      Never Rarely Sometimes Always

·      Nomadland — WINNER

·      Promising Young Woman

·      Soul

·      Sound of Metal

·      The Trial of the Chicago 7

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

·      Onward

·      Over the Moon

·      Soul — WINNER

·      The Wolf House

·      Wolfwalkers

BEST DIRECTOR

·      Emerald Fennell — Promising Young Woman

·      Eliza Hittman — Never Rarely Sometimes Always

·      Spike Lee — Da 5 Bloods

·      Kelly Reichardt — First Cow

·      Chloé Zhao – Nomadland WINNER

BEST ACTOR

·      Riz Ahmed — Sound of Metal

·      Chadwick Boseman — Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

·      Anthony Hopkins — The Father

·      Delroy Lindo — Da 5 Bloods WINNER

·      Steven Yeun — Minari

BEST ACTRESS

·      Jessie Buckley — I’m Thinking of Ending Things

·      Viola Davis — Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

·      Sidney Flanigan — Never Rarely Sometimes Always

·      Frances McDormand – Nomadland WINNER

·      Carey Mulligan — Promising Young Woman

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

·      Sacha Baron Cohen — The Trial of the Chicago 7

·      Chadwick Boseman — Da 5 Bloods

·      Bill Murray — On the Rocks

·      Leslie Odom Jr. — One Night in Miami WINNER

·      Paul Raci — Sound of Metal

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

·      Maria Bakalova — Borat Subsequent Moviefilm WINNER

·      Olivia Colman — The Father

·      Talia Ryder — Never Rarely Sometimes Always

·      Amanda Seyfried — Mank

·      Youn Yuh-jung —  Minari

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

·      Da 5 Bloods

·      Minari

·      Never Rarely Sometimes Always

·      Promising Young Woman, Emerald Fennell WINNER

·      The Trial of the Chicago 7

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

·      First Cow

·      I’m Thinking of Ending Things

·      Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

·      Nomadland, Chloe Zhao WINNER

·      One Night in Miami

BEST EDITING

·      Da 5 Bloods

·      Mank

·      Nomadland, Chloe Zhao WINNER

·      Tenet

·      The Trial of the Chicago 7

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

·      Da 5 Bloods

·      First Cow

·      Mank

·      Nomadland, Joshua James Richards WINNER

·      Tenet

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

·      Da 5 Bloods

·      Mank

·      Minari

·      Soul, Trent Reznor Atticus Ross WINNER

·      Tenet

BEST DEBUT FEATURE

·      Radha Blank — The Forty-Year-Old Version

·      Emerald Fennell — Promising Young Woman WINNER

·      Regina King — One Night in Miami

·      Darius Marder — Sound of Metal

·      Andrew Patterson –The Vast of Night

BEST FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

·      Another Round

·      Bacurau

·      Collective

·      La Llorona

·      Minari (United States) WINNER

BEST DOCUMENTARY

·      Boys State

·      Collective

·      Dick Johnson Is Dead WINNER

·      The Painter and the Thief

·      Time

TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS:

·      Sound of Metal – Sound Design

·      Emma. – Costume Design

·      Tenet – Visual Effects

·      Mank – Production Design

·      The Invisible Man – Visual Effects

SPECIAL AWARDS

BEST NON-UNITED STATES RELEASE:

(This award is for the best films released outside the United States in 2020 that were not released in the United States during the eligibility period.)

·      A Beast in Love (Japan)

·      The Disciple (India)

·      Ghosts (Turkey)

·      Mogul Mowgli (United Kingdom)

·      New Order (Mexico)

·      Notturno (Italy)

·      Rocks (United Kingdom)

·      Saint Maud (United Kingdom)

·      Summer of 85 (France)

·      Undine (Germany)

SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS:

·      “Small Axe” — Director Steve McQueen created a series of films for the small screen that rivals the best of the theatrical features of the year, that can be seen individually and yet work together to explore a cultural experience largely unseen on big screens, television, or streaming to date.

·      Distributor Kino Lorber for being the first company to offer virtual film distribution as a way to help independent theaters during the pandemic through the Kino Marquee.

·      Kudos to the independent theater entities that participated in presenting “Virtual Cinema” when forced to close due to the pandemic. Films that otherwise may not have been seen were made available through online platforms, with ticket prices shared by the distributor with the theater.

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS:

·      Rob Bottin (Makeup Artist)

·      David Byrne (Composer)

·      Jane Fonda (Actor)

·      Jean-Luc Godard (Director)

·      Frederick Wiseman (Documentarian)

ABOUT THE ONLINE FILM CRITICS SOCIETY

Founded is 1997 by film critic Harvey Karten, OFCS is a professional association that comprises of online film critics, film journalists, historians and scholars from around the world. The membership is dedicated to its mission of furthering the growth of the informed film audience by utilizing the Internet as a valuable source of news and commentary. OFCS provides a forum for its members to communicate and discuss ideas about journalism and cinema and encourage a high standard of journalism across online media platforms.

In 2001, OFCS began a 10-year partnership with the film and television review website, Rotten Tomatoes, until it was purchased by Flixster, now owned by Fandango. Despite changes in the relationship, many OFCS critics still contribute to Rotten Tomatoes.