‘Parasite’ tops 26th Chlotrudis Awards

The Oscar-winning Best Picture nabs top Chlotrudis award while Matthias Schoenaerts, Lorraine Toussaint, Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir and Jonathan Major win acting prizes

Just when you thought awards season was over.

This past weekend, the members of the Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film voted on the nominees for its Trudy awards.  This year’s crop of winners, the society’s 26th, will be celebrated with a dinner event later in the year, since the event originally scheduled for March 22nd was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

10 films won awards, with South Korean director Bong Joon-ho’s masterpiece, PARADISE dominant, taking 4 awards, including Best Movie and Best Director. A pair of Icelandic films, AND BREATHE NORMALLY and WOMAN AT WAR came away with 3, including Best Actress and Best Director.  In all, 11 of the 16 categories were claimed by filmmakers outside of the US.   Tops among American winners was THE LAST BLACK MAN IN SAN FRANCISCO, a visual stunner which won 2 Trudies for Best Supporting Actor and Best Cinematography.

Other countries among the winners were China with Zhang Yimou’s SHADOW earning Best Editing and Best Production Design; the documentary HONEYLAND from Macedonia; and Turkey for MUSTANG, reining in a Best Actor Trudy.

The society’s most prestigious award, the Buried Treasure, went to CUBBY, a black comedy and feature directorial debuts of Ben Mankoff and Mark Blane, the latter of whom also wrote and stars in the film as an eccentric, naive 20-something as he fumbles his way towards a new life in the Big Apple.  Getting by as a babysitter when not getting high with his roommates, he reverts to childhood fantasies of his personal gay superhero as he struggles against the biggest hurdle to his goals: himself.

In order to be eligible, Buried Treasure nominees must have earned less than $250,000 in US box office.  Chlotrudis created the category in order to shine a spotlight on those films the group feels deserve wider attention and a second look. In order to vote, members must have watched all five nominated films.

The Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film is a Boston-based non-profit group that teaches people to view film actively and experience the world through independent film, and encourages discussion.  The group works with film festivals, local art-houses and theaters, production companies, directors and actors to bring creative, quality films to the attention of audiences and film-lovers.

Here is the full list of nominees and winners (in bold).

BEST MOVIE
And Breathe Normally
Clemency
The Last Black Man in San Francisco
The Mustang
Parasite – WINNER
Woman at War

BURIED TREASURE
The Chambermaid
Cubby – WINNER
Fast Color
Give Me Liberty
Under the Silver Lake

BEST DIRECTOR (tie)
And Breathe Normally – Isold Uggadottir – WINNER
The Farewell – Lulu Wang
The Last Black Man in San Francisco – Joe Talbot
The Lighthouse – Robert Eggers
Parasite – Bong Joon Ho – WINNER
Shadow – Zhang Yimou

BEST ACTRESS
Karen Allen – Colewell
Jessie Buckley – Wild Rose
Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir – Woman at War – WINNER
Kristín Þóra Haraldsdóttir – And Breathe Normally
Elisabeth Moss – Her Smell
Tessa Thompson – Little Woods

BEST ACTOR
Antonio Banderas – Pain and Glory
Jimmie Fails – The Last Black Man in San Francisco
Kelvin Harrison Jr. – Luce
Jonathan Pryce – The Two Popes
Matthias Schoenaerts – The Mustang – WINNER

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Susan Blackwell – Auggie
Babetida Sadjo – And Breathe Normally
Octavia Spencer – Luce
Lorraine Toussaint – Fast Color – WINNER
Julie Walters – Wild Rose
Shuzhen Zhao – The Farewell

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Brian Dennehy – Driveways
Ralph Fiennes – Official Secrets
Jonathan Majors – Last Black Man in San Francisco – WINNER
Alessandro Nivola – The Art of Self-Defense

PERFORMANCE BY AN ENSEMBLE CAST
The Farewell
The Last Black Man in San Francisco
Marriage Story
Parasite – WINNER
Sword of Trust

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
I Lost My Body – Jérémy Clapin and Guillaume Laurant
Luce – J.C. Lee and Julius Onah – WINNER
Official Secrets – Gregory Bernstein, Sarah Bernstein and Gavin Hood
Rafiki – Wanuri Kahiu and Jenna Cato Bass

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
And Breathe Normally – Isold Uggadottir
The Farewell – Lulu Wang
The Last Black Man in San Francisco – Joe Talbot, Jimmie Fails, Rob Richert
Parasite – Bong Joon Ho, Jin Won Han – WINNER
Woman at War – Benedikt Erlingsson, Ólafur Egilsson

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
In Fabric – Paki Smith
The Last Black Man in San Francisco – Jona Tochet
The Lighthouse – Craig Lathrop
Parasite – Ha-jun Lee
Shadow – Horace Ma – WINNER

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Honeyland – Fejmi Daut, Samir Legume
The Last Black Man in San Francisco – Adam Newport-Berra – WINNER
The Lighthouse – Jarin Blaschke
Pain and Glory – José Luis Alcaine
Shadow – Xiaoding Zhao

BEST EDITING
Honeyland – Atanas Georgiev
Hotel Mumbai – Anthony Maras, Peter McNulty
Pain and Glory – Teresa Font
Parasite – Jinmo Yang
Shadow – Xiaolin Zhou – WINNER

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Aquarela
The Biggest Little Farm
Hail Satan?
Honeyland – WINNER
Maiden

BEST USE OF MUSIC IN FILM
Her Smell – Keegan Dewitt
Jojo Rabbit – Michael Giacchino
The Last Black Man in San Francisco – Emile Mosseri
Waves – Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross
Woman at War – Davíð Þór Jónsson – WINNER