2021 National Society of Film Critics Awards Winners

Since 1966, the National Society of Film Critics, a US-based critics association has been handing out yearly awards to celebrate the best films of the previous year.

Before we get to who won, please note that the NSFC does not have a nominations process. Instead, the winner, runner-up and third place prices are announced for each category alongside the number of votes the associated film received. Last year, Nomadland was named Best Picture with First Cow losing by two votes.

Without further ado, let’s get to who won! As with all winners and nominees lists, there will be links to any film I’ve reviewed.

Best Picture

1. Drive My Car (48)

2. Petite Maman (25)

3. The Power of the Dog (23)

Per the NSFC’s annual awards voting procedures, there is no award for Best Foreign-Language Film since the top two films are not in the English language.

Best Director

1. Ryusuke Hamaguchi (46) - Drive My Car and Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy

2. Jane Campion (36) - The Power of the Dog

3. Céline Sciamma (28) - Petite Maman

Best Screenplay

1. Drive My Car (46) - Ryusuke Hamaguchi and Takamasa Oe

2. Parallel Mothers (22) - Pedro Almodóvar

3. Licorice Pizza (20) - Paul Thomas Anderson

Best Nonfiction Film

1. Flee (41)

2. Procession (28)

3. The Velvet Underground (28)

Best Cinematography

1. The Green Knight - Andrew Droz Palermo

2. The Power of the Dog (40) - Ari Wegner

3. Memoria (35) - Sayombhu Mukdeeprom

Best Actress

1. Penélope Cruz (55) - Parallel Mothers

2. Renate Reinsve (42) - The Worst Person in the World

3. Alana Haim (32) - Licorice Pizza

Best Supporting Actress

1. Ruth Negga (46) - Passing

2. Ariana DeBose (22) - West Side Story

3. Jessie Buckley (21) - The Lost Daughter

Best Actor

1. Hidetoshi Nishijima (63) - Drive My Car

2. Benedict Cumberbatch (44) - The Power of the Dog

3. Simon Rex (30) - Red Rocket

Best Supporting Actor

1. Anders Danielsen Lie (54) - The Worst Person in the World

2. Vincent Lindon (33) - Titane

3. Mike Faist (26) - West Side Story

Special Citation for a Film Awaiting U.S. Distribution

Jean-Gabriel Périot - Returning to Reims

Film Heritage Awards

1. Maya Cade for founding the Black Film Archive, which expands knowledge of and access to Black films made between 1915 and 1979, and includes her critical essays that define the project and consider the films in relation to each other and to the cinema overall.

2. The late Bertrand Tavernier and Peter Bogdanovich, distinguished critic-filmmakers who never lost their passion for other people’s movies and film history. Both crowned their careers with invaluable chronicles of their engagement with the cinema: Tavernier with the documentary My Journey Through French Cinema and the books 50 Years of American Cinema and American Friends, and Bogdanovich with the books Who the Devil Made It and Who the Hell’s In It.

Dedications

The NSFC dedicates this year’s awards to the memory of two esteemed colleagues and longtime members who are no longer with us. Morris Dickstein brought warmth, enthusiasm, and prodigious analytic skills as a literary critic and cultural historian to writing about movies in journals like Dissent and Partisan Review and in books like Dancing in the Dark: A Cultural History of the Great Depression. Michael Wilmington wrote beautifully and passionately about cinema as a critic for many publications, including the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times, and co-authored the critical study, John Ford. They will both be deeply missed.

The NSFC also dedicates their awards, with deepest appreciation and gratitude, to Liz Weis, who is stepping down after serving 47 years as Executive Director of the National Society of Film Critics. For her decades of extraordinary leadership and tireless service to the organization, the NSFC owes her an immeasurable debt.

What do you think of the winners? What have you seen? What haven't you seen? What do you think got snubbed? Let me know in the comments below or any of my social media platforms below!

Until next time!

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