Barry Jenkins' feature earns best picture, best director and best cinematography distinction
The National Society of Film Critics has voted “Moonlight” the best picture of 2016.
Society members who gathered Saturday at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York also gave Barry Jenkins the best director award and James Laxton the best cinematography honor for the film.
The movie is a coming-of-age tale about a young, gay, black kid growing up in a poor, drug-ridden neighborhood of Miami.
The critics also passed out best acting awards to Casey Affleck for “Manchester by the Sea” and Isabelle Huppert for both “Elle” and “Things to Come.”
Best supporting actor and actress are Mahershala Ali in “Moonlight” and Michelle Williams in “Manchester by the Sea.”
In addition to best actor and supporting actress, “Manchester by the Sea” earned the best screenplay honor for writer-director Kenneth Lonergan.
Here’s a full rundown of National Society of Film Critics’ honors with vote totals in parentheses showing the winner and runners-up in each category
BEST ACTOR
*1. Casey Affleck (65) – Manchester by the Sea
Denzel Washington (21) – Fences
Adam Driver (20) – Paterson
BEST ACTRESS
*1. Isabelle Huppert (55) – Elle and Things to Come
Annette Bening (26) – 20th Century Women
Sandra Hüller (26) – Toni Erdmann [tied with Bening]
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
*1. Mahershala Ali (72) – Moonlight
Jeff Bridges (18) – Hell or High Water
Michael Shannon (14) – Nocturnal Animals
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
*1. Michelle Williams (58) – Manchester by the Sea
Lily Gladstone (45) – Certain Women
Naomie Harris (25) – Moonlight
BEST SCREENPLAY
*1. Manchester by the Sea (61) – Kenneth Lonergan
Moonlight (39) – Barry Jenkins
Hell or High Water (16) – Taylor Sheridan
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
*1. Moonlight (52) – James Laxton
La La Land (27) – Linus Sandgren
Silence (23) – Rodrigo Prieto
BEST PICTURE
*1. Moonlight (54)
Manchester by the Sea (39)
La La Land (31)
BEST DIRECTOR
*1. Barry Jenkins (53) – Moonlight
Damien Chazelle (37) – La La Land
Kenneth Lonergan (23) – Manchester by the Sea
FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM
*1. Toni Erdmann (52)
The Handmaiden (26)
Elle (19) and
Things to Come (19) tied
BEST NON-FICTION FILM
*1. O.J.: Made in America (64)
I Am Not Your Negro (36)
13th (20)
SPECIAL CITATION for a film awaiting American distribution: Sieranevada (Romania) Cristi Puiu
FILM HERITAGE AWARD: Kino Lorber’s 5-disc collection “Pioneers of African-American Cinema”
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