1st Annual Mid-Year Reel Awards Winners

This year, I’m trying something new with my annual Reel Awards in order to promote films big and small that were released during the first half of the year. To accommodate for the crazy awards season, the winners and nominees listed below were released between March 1st, 2021, and June 30th, 2021. Next year, films released from January 1st To June 30th will be included in my Midseason Reel Awards, and others will be able to vote on their favorite films.

Nikole Beckwith's Together Together won four awards, including Best Overall Film, Best Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Lead for Patti Harrison. Also winning a total of four awards is Mike Rianada & Jeff Rowe's The Mitchells vs. The Machines, including Best Debut Film, Best Debut Screenplay, Best Debut Director, and Best Editing. Walt Disney Studios' Cruella took home three technical awards, including Best Costume Design, Best Hairstyling, and Best Makeup. Also winning three awards is Warner Bros. Pictures' Godzilla vs. Kong, including Best Effects, Best Score, and Best Sound. Magnet Releasing's Censor took home a total of two awards, including Best International Film and Best Production Design. Warner Bros. Pictures' In the Heights also won two technical awards, including Best Song for "96,000" and Best Soundtrack.

One thing I think about 2021’s releases so far is that even if I didn’t love a film, there’s always something I can find in that film that really wowed me. Given just how many films were nominated this year, I hope the films mentioned in my nominations (winners or not) continue to find new viewers as the year progresses.

Below is the full list of nominated films along with the winners:

BEST DOCUMENTARY

• A Glitch in the Matrix (Magnolia Pictures), directed by Rodney Ascher, produced by Ross M. Dinerstein, p.g.a.
• Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It (Roadside Attractions), directed by Mariem Pérez Riera, produced by Mariem Pérez Riera & Brent Miller, p.g.a.
• The Sparks Brothers (Focus Features), directed by Edgar Wright, produced by Nira Park & Edgar Wright - WINNER
• Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street (Screen Media Films), directed by Marilyn Agrelo, produced by Trevor Crafts & Ellen Scherer-Crafts
• Summer of Soul (…or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) (Searchlight Pictures), directed by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, produced by Joseph Patel, p.g.a., Robert Fyvolent, p.g.a., & David Dinerstein, p.g.a.
• The Truffle Hunters (Sony Pictures Classics), directed by Michael Dweck & Gregory Kershaw, produced by Michael Dweck & Gregory Kershaw

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM

• Censor (Magnet Releasing), directed by Prano Bailey-Bond, produced by Helen Jones - WINNER
• I Carry You With Me (Sony Pictures Classics), directed by Heidi Ewing, produced by Mynette Louie, p.g.a. & Heidi Ewing, p.g.a.
• Prime Time (Netflix), directed by Jakub Piatek, produced by Jakub Razowski

BEST OVERALL FILM

• Cruella (Walt Disney Studios), directed by Craig Gillespie, produced by Kristin Burr, p.g.a., Andrew Gunn, and Marc Platt
• In The Heights (Warner Bros. Pictures), directed by Jon M. Chu, produced by Anthony Bregman, p.g.a., Quiara Alegría Hudes, Mara Jacobs, Lin-Manuel Mirada & Scott Sanders
• Raya and the Last Dragon (Walt Disney Studios), directed by Don Hall & Carlos López Estrada, produced by Peter Del Vecho, p.g.a. & Osnat Shurer
• Summer of Soul (…or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) (Searchlight Pictures), directed by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, produced by Joseph Patel, p.g.a., Robert Fyvolent, p.g.a., & David Dinerstein, p.g.a.
• Prime Time (Netflix), directed by Jakub Piatek, produced by Jakub Razowski
• The Sparks Brothers (Focus Features), directed by Edgar Wright, produced by Nira Park & Edgar Wright
• Together Together (Bleecker Street Media), directed by Nikole Beckwith, produced by Anthony Brandonisio, p.g.a. & Daniela Taplin Lundberg, p.g.a. - WINNER

BEST DEBUT FILM

• Censor (Magnet Releasing), directed by Prano Bailey-Bond, produced by Helen Jones
• My Heart Can’t Beat Unless You Tell It To (Dualist), directed by Jonathan Cuartas, produced by Jesse Brown, Patrick Fugit, & Anthony Pedone
• The Mitchells vs. The Machines (Netflix), directed by Mike Rianda & Jeff Rowe, produced by Phil Lord, p.g.a., Christopher Miller, p.g.a., & Kurt Albrecht, p.g.a. - WINNER

BEST DEBUT SCREENPLAY

• Censor (Magnet Releasing), written by Prano Bailey-Bond & Anthony Fletcher
• The Mitchells vs. The Machines (Netflix), written by Mike Rianda & Jeff Rowe - WINNER
• My Heart Can’t Beat Unless You Tell It To (Dualist), written by Jonathan Cuartas

BEST DEBUT DIRECTOR

• Censor (Magnet Releasing), directed by Prano Bailey-Bond
• The Mitchells vs. The Machines (Netflix), directed by Mike Rianda & Jeff Rowe - WINNER
• My Heart Can’t Beat Unless You Tell It To (Dualist), directed by Jonathan Cuartas

BEST DEBUT ACTOR

• Godzilla vs. Kong (Warner Bros. Pictures), Kaylee Hottle as Jia
• Luca (Walt Disney Studios), Emma Berman as Giulia Marcovaldo - WINNER
• In the Heights (Warner Bros. Pictures), Leslie Grace as Nina Rosario

BEST SCREENPLAY

• In The Heights (Warner Bros. Pictures), screenplay by Quiara Alegría Hudes
• Malcolm & Marie (Netflix), written by Sam Levinson
• Our Friend (Gravitas Ventures), written by Brad Ingelsby
• Prime Time (Netflix), directed by Jakub Piatek, produced by Jakub Razowski
• Raya and the Last Dragon (Walt Disney Studios), screenplay by Qui Nguyen & Adele Lim
• Together Together (Bleecker Street Media), written by Nikole Beckwith - WINNER

BEST DIRECTOR

• In The Heights (Warner Bros. Pictures), directed by Jon M. Chu
• Prime Time (Netflix), directed by Jakub Piatek
• Raya and the Last Dragon (Walt Disney Studios), directed by Don Hall & Carlos López Estrada,
• Together Together (Bleecker Street Media), directed by Nikole Beckwith - WINNER

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

• Censor (Magnet Releasing), director of photography Annika Summerson
• Cruella (Walt Disney Studios), director of photography Nicolas Karakatsanis
• In The Heights (Warner Bros. Pictures), director of photography Alice Brooks
• Land (Focus Features), cinematography by Bobby Bukowski
• Malcolm & Marie (Netflix), cinematography by Mercell Rév - WINNER
• My Heart Can’t Beat Unless You Tell It To (Dualist), director of photography Michael Cuartas
• Prime Time (Netflix), cinematography by Michal Luka
• Spiral: From the Book of Saw (Lionsgate), director of photography Jordan Oram
• The Woman in the Window (Netflix), director of photography Bruno Delbonnel, AFC, ASC

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

• Censor (Magnet Releasing), costume design by Saffron Cullane
• Cruella (Walt Disney Studios), costume design by Jenny Beavan - WINNER
• Godzilla vs. Kong (Warner Bros. Pictures), costume design by Ann Foley
• In The Heights (Warner Bros. Pictures), costume design by Mitchell Travers
• Land (Focus Features), costume design by Kemal Harris
• Malcolm & Marie (Netflix), costume design by Law Roach & Samantha McMillen
• Mortal Kombat (Warner Bros. Pictures), costume design by Cappi Ireland
• Prime Time (Netflix), costume design by Hanna Podraza
• Spiral: From the Book of Saw (Lionsgate), costume design by Laura Montgomery

BEST EFFECTS

• Censor (Magnet Releasing), special effects supervisors Ben Ashmore & Scott MacIntyre
• Cruella (Walt Disney Studios), special effects supervisor Steve Warner, visual effects supervisors Ed Bruce, Damien Stump & Max Wood
• A Glitch in the Matrix (Magnolia Pictures), Mindbomb Films, and Davy Force
• Godzilla vs. Kong (Warner Bros. Pictures), special effects supervisors Bruce Edwin Bright, Mike Meinardus, miniature effects supervisors Alec Gillis & Tom Woodruff Jr., aviation effects supervisor Doug Scroggins III, effects supervisors Gerardo Aguilera, Hartwell Simpson Durfor, Jonathan Freisler, visual effects supervisors John ‘D.J.’ Des Jardin, Bryan Hirota, Pier Lefebvre, Brendan Seals, Kevin Andrew Smith, and creature effects supervisor Kishore Singh - WINNER
• Luca (Walt Disney Studios), visual effects by Greg Gladstone, Jillian Underwood Harwin, Jon Reisch, David Ryu, Angelo Stanco & Mary Van Escobar
• The Mitchells vs. The Machines (Netflix), visual effects supervisor Michael Lasker
• Mortal Kombat (Warner Bros. Pictures), special effects supervisor Peter Stubbs, visual effects supervisors Dan Bethell, Jason Billington, David Booth, Bryn Farrelly, Chris Godfrey, Avi Goodman, Dennis Jones, Glenn Melenhorst, Nick Pill, & Olcun Tan
• My Heart Can’t Beat Unless You Tell It To (Dualist), visual effects by Malgorzata Grzyb & Maciej Sankowski
• Raya and the Last Dragon (Walt Disney Studios), effects supervisors Marc Bryant, Christopher Hendryx, Dale Mayeda, and visual effects supervisor Kyle Odermatt
• Spiral: From the Book of Saw (Lionsgate), special effects supervisor Jeff Skochko

BEST EDITING

• Censor (Magnet Releasing), edited by Mark Towns
• Cruella (Walt Disney Studios), edited by Dan Boccoli, Emily Cramer, Kaitlin Hollingsworth Hecker, Melissa McLeary, Chad Schermerhorn & Alexandra Scratch
• A Glitch in the Matrix (Magnolia Pictures), edited by Rodney Ascher
• Godzilla vs. Kong (Warner Bros. Pictures), edited by Debajit Barman, Pete Beaudreau, Jesse Chapman, Bob Ducsay, Bernie E. Gomez, Mitchell Goodwin, Joe Ken, John Ottman, Rick Pearson, Christos Voutsinas, Kyle Walczak & Clark Zhu
• In The Heights (Warner Bros. Pictures), edited by Gina Kalim, Andrew Pang, & Elliott Traeger
• Malcolm & Marie (Netflix), edited by Julio C. Perez IV, ACE
• The Mitchells vs. The Machines (Netflix), edited by Greg Levitan - WINNER
• Prime Time (Netflix), edited by Tomasz Poszwinski
• Raya and the Last Dragon (Walt Disney Studios), edited by Todd Fulkerson, Rick Hammel, Tim Mertens & Brian Millman
• The Sparks Brothers (Focus Features), edited by Johnathan Wei Dickinson, Nick J. Webb & Tobias Zaldua
• Spiral: From the Book of Saw (Lionsgate), edited by Dev Singh
• Summer of Soul (…or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) (Searchlight Pictures), edited by Cooper Conley-Currier, Colin Fowler & Timothy Ziegler
• The Woman in the Window (Netflix), edited by Patrick Clancey, Morgan Heller, Phillip Kimsey, Daniel Triller, Samantha Uber & Zach Wolf

BEST HAIRSTYLING

• Censor (Magnet Releasing), hair styled by Bethany Lewis
• Cruella (Walt Disney Studios), hair styled by Carolyn Cousins & Julia Vernon - WINNER
• The Woman in the Window (Netflix), hair styled by Nicole Bridgeford, Patricia Dehaney, Betsy Elisa, Christine Fennell-Harlan, Claire Mahony & Karrie Smith

BEST MAKEUP

• Censor (Magnet Releasing), makeup by Bethany Lewis
• Cruella (Walt Disney Studios), makeup by Guy Common, Carolyn Cousins, Ellen D’Andrade Brown & Nadia Stacey - WINNER
• Prime Time (Netflix), makeup by Ewa Blach, Magdalena Chmiel, Malgorzata Jakubowska, Janusz Kaleja & Zuzanna Swieboda
• The Woman in the Window (Netflix), makeup by Kimberly Felix, Joanna McCarthy, Louise McCarthy, Vinny Schicchi, Brian Spears, & Joshua Turi

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

• Censor (Magnet Releasing), production design by Paulina Pzeszowska - WINNER
• Cruella (Walt Disney Studios), production design by Fiona Crombie
• Falling (Sony Pictures Classics) production design by Carol Spier
• I Carry You With Me (Sony Pictures Classics), production design by Sandra Cabriada
• In The Heights (Warner Bros. Pictures), production design by Nelson Coates
• Malcolm & Marie (Netflix), production design by Michael Grasley
• Mortal Kombat (Warner Bros. Pictures), production design by Naaman Marshal
• Our Friend (Gravitas Ventures), production design by Cara Brower
• Prime Time (Netflix), production design by Katarzyna Jedrzejczyk
• Spiral: From the Book of Saw (Lionsgate), production design by Anthony Cowley
• Together Together (Bleecker Street Media), production design by Ashley Fenton
• The Woman in the Window (Netflix), production design by Kevin Thompson

BEST SONGIn The Heights (Warner Bros. Pictures), original songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda

• “96,000”, performed by Anthony Ramos, Corey Hawkins, Gregory Diaz IV, Noah Catala, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Stephanie Beatriz, Dascha Polanco & Melissa Barrera, written by Lin-Manuel Miranda - WINNER
• “Benny’s Dispatch”, performed by Corey Hawkins & Leslie Grace, written by Lin-Manuel Miranda
• “Paciencia Y Fe” performed by Olga Merediz, written by Lin-Manuel Miranda
• “The Club”, performed by Anthony Ramos, Corey Hawkins & Melissa Barrera, written by Lin-Manuel Miranda
• “When The Sun Goes Down”, performed by Leslie Grace & Corey Hawkins, written by Lin-Manuel Miranda

Land (Focus Features), music by Ben Sollee & Time for Three

• “So You Remember Me” written & performed by Daniel Tashian

The Mitchells vs. The Machines (Netflix), music by Mark Mothersbaugh

• “On My Way”, performed by Alex Lahey, written by Alex Lahey, Gab Strum & Sophie Payton

Raya and the Last Dragon (Walt Disney Studios), music by James Newton Howard

• “Lead the Way”, written & performed by Jhené Aiko

Spiral (Lionsgate), music by Charlie Clouser

• “Zepp Nine”, written & performed by Charlie Clouser

BEST SCORE

• Censor (Magnet Releasing), original score composed and performed by Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch
• Cruella (Walt Disney Studios), music by Nicholas Britell
• A Glitch in the Matrix (Magnolia Pictures), music by Jonathan Snipes
• Godzilla vs. Kong (Warner Bros. Pictures), music by Tom Holkenborg - WINNER
• I Carry You With Me (Sony Pictures Classics), music by Jay Wadley
• Luca (Walt Disney Studios), music by Dan Romer
• The Mitchells vs. The Machines (Netflix), music by Mark Mothersbaugh
• Mortal Kombat (Warner Bros. Pictures), music by Benjamin Wallfisch
• Prime Time (Netflix), original music by Teoniki Rozynek
• Raya and the Last Dragon (Walt Disney Studios), music by James Newton Howard

BEST SOUNDTRACK

• Cruella (Walt Disney Studios), music supervisor Susan Jacobs
• In The Heights (Warner Bros. Pictures), original songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda - WINNER
• Malcolm & Marie (Netflix), Music by Labrinth
• The Sparks Brothers (Focus Features), music supervisor Gary Welch

BEST SOUND

• A Glitch in the Matrix (Magnolia Pictures), sound by Jonathan Snipes
• Godzilla vs. Kong (Warner Bros. Pictures), sound by Erik Aadahl, Malete Bieler, Jason W. Jennings, Brandon Jones, John Marquis & Ryan Murphy - WINNER
• Malcolm & Marie (Netflix), sound design by Johnnie Burn
• Mortal Kombat (Warner Bros. Pictures), sound by James Ashton, Mick Boraso, Dylan Burgess & Steve Burgess
• The Mitchells vs. The Machines (Netflix), sound by Gregg Barbanell, Tom Burns, Elliott Elsey, Kevin Froines, Aaron Hasson, Dan Kenyon, Corey Krueger, Oleg Kulchytskyi, Tony Lamberti, James Morioka, Rick Owens, Alec Rubay, Geoffrey G. Rubay, Kai Scheer, Andy Sisul, Kip Smedley, Greg ten Bosch & Chris Whiteside
• Prime Time (Netflix), sound by Michal Fojcik
• Spiral: From the Book of Saw (Lionsgate), sound by Robert Woolfson, Tom Bjelic, John Laing, Mark Gingras, Nathan Robitaille, Keith Elliott, Mark Zsifkovits, lana Marie Hattar, Devin Doucette, Bianca Monteiro, Steve Baine, Peter Persaud, Gina Wark, Shane Allan, Mike Baskerville, Peter Freeman & Chas Smith
• The Woman in the Window (Netflix), sound by James B. Appleton, Justine Baker, Craig Berkey, David Boulton, Paul Carter, Matthew Casuccio, Jack Cheetham, Cary Clark, Paul Cotterell, Chris Fondulas, David Lucarelli, Michael Maroussas, Chris Navarro, Keith Patridge, Kobi Quist, & Bobby Roelofs

BEST STUNTS

• Censor (Magnet Releasing), stunt coordinator Peter Pedrero
• Cruella (Walt Disney Studios), stunt coordinator Jason Hunjan
• Godzilla vs. Kong (Warner Bros. Pictures), stunt coordinators Kyle Gardiner, Riley Harper, Thomas Robinson Harper, Shawn Kautz & Todd Warren
• In The Heights (Warner Bros. Pictures), stunt coordinator Scott Burik
• Mortal Kombat (Warner Bros. Pictures), stunt coordinator Kyle Gardiner - WINNER
• Prime Time (Netflix), stunt coordinator Tomasz Krzemieniecki
• Spiral: From the Book of Saw (Lionsgate), stunt coordinator Robert Racki

BEST LEAD

• Censor (Magnet Releasing), Niamh Algar as Enid Baines
• Cruella (Walt Disney Studios), Emma Stone as Estella/Cruella
• I Carry You With Me (Sony Pictures Classics), Armando Espitia as Iván
• In The Heights (Warner Bros. Pictures), Anthony Ramos as Usnavi
• In The Heights (Warner Bros. Pictures), Melissa Barrera as Vanessa
• Malcolm & Marie (Netflix), John David Washington as Malcolm
• Malcolm & Marie (Netflix), Zendaya as Marie
• The Mitchells vs. The Machines (Netflix), Abbi Jacobson as Katie Mitchell/Dog Cop
• My Heart Can’t Beat Unless You Tell It To (Dualist), Patrick Fugit as Dwight
• My Heart Can’t Beat Unless You Tell It To (Dualist), Ingrid Sophie Schram as Jessie
• Prime Time (Netflix), Bartosz Bielenia as Sebastian
• Raya and the Last Dragon (Walt Disney Studios), Kelly Marie Tran as Raya
• Together Together (Bleecker Street Media), Ed Helms as Matt
• Together Together (Bleecker Street Media), Patti Harrison as Anna - WINNER

BEST SUPPORTING

• Cruella (Walt Disney Studios), Emma Thompson as The Baroness
• I Carry You With Me (Sony Pictures Classics), Christian Vázquez as Gerardo
• In The Heights (Warner Bros. Pictures), Leslie Grace as Nina Rosario
• In The Heights (Warner Bros. Pictures), Olga Merediz as Abuela Claudia
• Land (Focus Features), Demián Bichir as Miguel
• The Mitchells vs. The Machines (Netflix), Danny McBride as Rick Mitchell
• The Mitchells vs. The Machines (Netflix), Maya Rudolph as Linda Mitchell
• The Mitchells vs. The Machines (Netflix), Mike Rianda as Aaron Mitchell
• The Mitchells vs. The Machines (Netflix), Beck Bennett as Eric/PAL Max Robots
• My Heart Can’t Beat Unless You Tell It To (Dualist), Owen Campbell as Thomas
• Mortal Kombat (Warner Bros. Pictures), Josh Lawson as Kano
• Our Friend (Gravitas Ventures), Jason Segel as Dane Faucheux - WINNER
• Raya and the Last Dragon (Walt Disney Studios), Gemma Chan as Namaari
• Together Together (Bleecker Street Media), Julio Torres as Jules

Until next time!