A24
In just one weekend, the race for Best Picture picked up steam and became a certifiable three-way race as Barry Jenkins’ moving three-act drama Moonlight took home the top prize from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. This win follows Manchester by the Sea being named Best Film by the National Board of Review and La La Land getting the top honors from the New York Film Critics Circle.
Although it is worth pointing out that the Academy Awards are still a handful of months away and the race will likely change over time, as it does every year, but for now, these three films are the clear front-runners. Jenkins also continued his winning streak for Best Director.
Meanwhile, the LAFCA shook up numerous acting races, with Adam Drive taking Best Actor for Paterson (Casey Affleck got runner-up for Manchester) and Lily Gladstone winning Best Supporting Actress for Certain Women (Michelle Williams took runner-up for Manchester). Isabelle Huppert continued her surprising domination by winning Best Actress for Elle and Things to Come, which now follows wins from both the NYFCC and the Gotham Awards. She’s also scored nominations from the Independent Spirit Awards and Critics Choice Awards. Mahershala Ali also scored another win for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Moonlight, making him the frontrunner in that category.
Other notable, non-conformist wins include Your Name winning Best Animated Film and Efthymis Filippou and Yorgos Lanthimos winning Best Screenplay for The Lobster.
A special award was given to Turner Classic Movies for preserving cinema and Shirley MacLaine was honored with a lifetime achievement award. See below for the full list of winners. And read our coverage on the State of the Race here.
Best Picture
MOONLIGHT
Runner-up
LA LA LAND
Best Director
Barry Jenkins, MOONLIGHT
Runner-up
Damien Chazelle, LA LA LAND
Best Actress
Isabelle Huppert, ELLE and THINGS TO COME
Runner-up
Rebecca Hall, CHRISTINE
Best Actor
Adam Driver, PATERSON
Runner-up
Casey Affleck, MANCHESTER BY THE SEA
Best Supporting Actress
Lily Gladstone, CERTAIN WOMEN
Runner-up
Michelle Williams, MANCHESTER BY THE SEA
Best Supporting Actor
Mahershala Ali, MOONLIGHT
Runner-up
Issey Ogata, SILENCE
Best Animated Film
YOUR NAME
Runner-up
THE RED TURTLE
Best Foreign-Language Film
THE HANDMAIDEN
Runner-up
TONI ERDMANN
Best Documentary/Non-Fiction
I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO
Runner-up
O.J.: MADE IN AMERICA
Best Screenplay
Efthymis Filippou and Yorgos Lanthimos, THE LOBSTER
Runner-up
Kenneth Lonergan, MANCHESTER BY THE SEA
Best Editing
Bret Granato, Maya Mumma, Ben Sozanski, O.J.: MADE IN AMERICA
Runner-up
Tom Cross, LA LA LAND
Best Production Design
Ryu Seong-hee, THE HANDMAIDEN
Runner-up
David Wasco, LA LA LAND
Best Music score
Justin Hurwitz, Benj Pasek, Justin Paul, LA LA LAND
Runner-up
Micah Levi, JACKIE
Best Cinematography
James Laxton, MOONLIGHT
Runner-up
Linus Sandgren, LA LA LAND
Douglas Edwards Independent/Experimental Film/Video Prize
THE ILLINOIS PARABLES from writer-director Deborah Stratman
Next Generation
Trey Edward Shults, Krisha Fairchild, KRISHA
Special Citation
Turner Classic Movies for preserving historic cinema and bringing it to a wider audience via FilmStruck.
Lifetime Achievement
Shirley MacLaine
Anya Crittenton | Associate Editor