Phoenix Film Critics Society Loves La La Land, Hacksaw Ridge, Hell or High Water

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The Phoenix Film Critics Society (not to be confused with the Phoenix Critics Circle) has chosen La La Land as their Best Picture of 2016 as well as Best Director, Best Actress (Emma Stone), Original Song, Score, and Cinematography. It was the big winner by far but Hell or High Water picked up three wins: Supporting Actor (Jeff Bridges), Ensemble and Original Screenplay. Mel Gibson’s Hacksaw Ridge snagged Adapted Screenplay and Film Editing.

Here is the full list of winners in bold and nominees following alphabetically.

BEST PICTURE
La La Land (Winner)
A Monster Calls
Arrival
Florence Foster Jenkins
Hacksaw Ridge
Hell or High Water
Manchester By The Sea
Moonlight
Nocturnal Animals
Sing Street

BEST DIRECTOR
Damien Chazelle – La La Land (Winner)
Barry Jenkins – Moonlight
David Mackenzie – Hell or High Water
Kenneth Lonergan – Manchester by the Sea
Mel Gibson – Hacksaw Ridge

BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Casey Affleck – Manchester By The Sea (Winner)
Andrew Garfield – Hacksaw Ridge
Denzel Washington – Fences
Ryan Gosling – La La Land
Tom Hanks – Sully
BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Emma Stone – La La Land (Winner)
Amy Adams – Arrival
Meryl Streep – Florence Foster Jenkins
Natalie Portman – Jackie
Ruth Negga – Loving

BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Jeff Bridges – Hell or High Water (Winner)
Ben Foster – Hell or High Water
Hugh Grant – Florence Foster Jenkins
Mahershala Ali – Moonlight
Michael Shannon – Nocturnal Animals

BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Viola Davis – Fences (Winner)
Felicity Jones – A Monster Calls
Greta Gerwig – 20th Century Women
Michelle Williams – Manchester by the Sea
Naomie Harris – Moonlight

BEST ENSEMBLE ACTING
Hell or High Water (Winner)
Fences
Hidden Figures
La La Land
Manchester by the Sea
Moonlight

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Hell or High Water (Winner)
La La Land
Manchester by the Sea
Moonlight
The Lobster

BEST SCREENPLAY ADAPTED FROM OTHER MATERIAL
Hacksaw Ridge (Winner)
Arrival
Fences
Lion
Love & Friendship

THE OVERLOOKED FILM OF THE YEAR
Sing Street (Winner)
Anthropoid
Captain Fantastic
Hunt for the Wilderpeople
The Lobster

BEST ANIMATED FILM
Zootopia (Winner)
Finding Dory
Kubo and the Two Strings
Moana
Trolls

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Elle (Winner)
A Man Called Ove
Between Sea and Land
Desierto
The Handmaiden

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Gleason (Winner)
13th
Oasis:  Supersonic
OJ: Made in America
Weiner

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
La La Land – City Of Stars (Winner)
La La Land – Audition (The Fools Who Dream)
Moana – How Far I’ll Go
Rules Don’t Apply – The Rules Don’t Apply
Sing Street – Drive it Like You Stole It

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
La La Land (Winner)
Arrival
Jackie
Lion
Nocturnal Animals

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
La La Land (Winner)
Arrival
Hacksaw Ridge
Lion
Silence

BEST FILM EDITING
Hacksaw Ridge (Winner)
La La Land
Moonlight
Nocturnal Animals
Sully

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
La La Land (Winner)
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Hacksaw Ridge
Jackie
Silence

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Winner)
Florence Foster Jenkins
Hacksaw Ridge
Jackie
La La Land

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Doctor Strange (Winner)
Arrival
Captain America: Civil War
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
The Jungle Book

BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE
Anya Taylor-Joy – The Witch (Winner)
Lewis MacDougall – A Monster Calls
Lucas Hedges – Manchester by the Sea
Mahershala Ali – Moonlight
Ruth Negga – Loving

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A YOUTH
Alex R. Hibbert – Moonlight (Winner)
Lewis MacDougall – A Monster Calls
Lucas Hedges – Manchester by the Sea
Neel Sethi – The Jungle Book
Sunny Pawar – Lion

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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), Critics Choice Association (CCA), San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle (SFBAFCC) 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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