Seattle Film Critics name ‘Nomadland’ Best Picture of 2020, Daniel Kaluuya nabs another win

The Seattle Film Critics Society (SFCS) announced the winners in 20 categories for the 2020 Seattle Film Critics Society Awards on Monday, February 15, 2021.

Chloé Zhao’s Nomadland proved the big winner this year, landing five awards, including Best Picture of the Year. The film, documenting one woman’s turn to a modern-day nomadic lifestyle following the 2008 economic recession, also earned Zhao the Best Director award and a win for Best Film Editing. Frances McDormand was named Best Actress in a Leading Role, while Joshua James Richards’ work behind the camera secured a win for Best Cinematography.

“As we continue to encounter challenges with COVID-19, movies have become more accessible to audiences. A movie like Nomadland is as beautiful and emotionally resonant as any film in recent memory,” said SFCS President Erik Samdahl. “Nomadland highlights how, though we may be more physically apart from one another, a sense of community and knowing we are not alone in the world can bring us all together.” 

Lee Isaac Chung’s Minari, a semi-autobiographical drama about a Korean-American family’s pursuit of “The American Dream” in 1980s Arkansas, led all films with eight nominations, winning three SFCS awards: Best Film Not in the English Language, Best Youth Performance, honoring 7-year-old Alan Kim’s role as David, the family’s youngest child often tasked with dealing with his eccentric grandmother, played by Best Supporting Actress recipient Yuh-jung Youn.

Riz Ahmed was named Best Actor for his powerful performance as Ruben in Sound of Metal, portraying a punk rock drummer forced to deal with the rapid onset of hearing loss and changes in his life he seemingly cannot control.

Daniel Kaluuya’s blistering work as civil rights activist Fred Hampton in Judas and the Black Messiah earned him the Best Supporting Actor prize. 

Emerald Fennell’s Promising Young Woman earned the first-time writer/director the Best Screenplay award. Christopher Nolan’s Tenet earned two awards for Best Action Choreography and Best Visual Effects. 

Jon Bois’ unique and innovative 220-minute YouTube documentary The History of the Seattle Mariners: Supercut Edition won the Best Documentary Feature prize. Bois’ collaboration with writer and producer Adam Rubenstein received wide acclaim from sports and non-sports fans alike.  

The Villain of the Year was awarded to the title character in The Invisible Man, portrayed (in human form) by Oliver Jackson-Cohen.

After formation in the fall of 2016, The Seattle Film Critics Society officially became a non-profit organization in 2017, with a membership now consisting of 31 film critics, representing print, broadcast, podcasting, and online film criticism. This year’s awards are the fifth to be held under the banner of the SFCS, honoring the best films and performances of the year.

The full list of winners of the 2020 Seattle Film Critics Society Awards are as follows:

Best Picture of the Year

• Nomadland (Searchlight Pictures)

Best Director

• Chloé Zhao – Nomadland

Best Actor in a Leading Role

• Riz Ahmed – Sound of Metal

Best Actress in a Leading Role

• Frances McDormand – Nomadland

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

• Daniel Kaluuya – Judas and the Black Messiah

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

• Yuh-jung Youn – Minari

Best Ensemble Cast

• Da 5 Bloods – Kim Coleman, casting director

Best Action Choreography

• Tenet

Best Screenplay

• Promising Young Woman – Emerald Fennell

Best Animated Feature

• Wolfwalkers – Tomm Moore, Ross Stewart, director

Best Documentary Feature

• The History of the Seattle Mariners: Supercut Edition – Jon Bois, director

Best Film Not in the English Language

• Minari – Lee Isaac Chung, director

Best Cinematography

• Nomadland – Joshua James Richards

Best Costume Design

• Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom – Ann Roth

Best Film Editing

• Nomadland – Chloé Zhao

Best Original Score

• Soul – Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, Jon Batiste

Best Production Design

• Mank – Donald Graham Burt (Production Design); Jan Pascale (Set Decorator)

Best Visual Effects

• Tenet – Andrew Jackson, Andrew Lockley, Scott Fisher, Mike Chambers

Best Youth Performance (18 years of age or younger upon start of filming):

• Alan Kim – Minari

Villain of the Year:

•  The Invisible Man/Adrian Griffin – The Invisible Man – portrayed by Oliver Jackson-Cohen

Photos courtesy of Searchlight Pictures and Warner Bros

• Author
• Recent Posts

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), 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.

Latest posts by Erik Anderson (see all)

• 2025 Oscars: Eligibility Lists for Animated Feature, Documentary Feature and International Feature Film for the 97th Academy Awards - November 21, 2024
• Nava Mau, Sean Wang Among 2024 BAFTA Breakthroughs Championing New ‘Must-Watch’ Creatives - November 21, 2024
• Hans Zimmer, ‘Emilia Pérez,’ Diane Warren Top 2024 Hollywood Music in Media Awards - November 21, 2024