Dispatches From the Room Where It Happens (2024 Edition)
As you’re reading this, I’ve recently spent (probably) 8 or so hours in a room at MIT with the other members of the Boston Society of Film Critics, where we voted on our annual awards. This comes as the climax to “screener season,” the period of about three weeks around Thanksgiving when studios and distributors send out copies of the year’s offerings for us to catch up on—or preview—and judge. It’s been a blur of high-caliber movie watching, and it’s been a blast, just like (I assume) the annual meeting just was.
I say probably and I assume because, technically, I’m reporting to you from the past. What I’m doing right now—much like I did last year—is writing in dual timelines. Half the following sections are being written before the meeting, wherein I’ll be discussing what I plan to do with my first-round ballot. The other sections will be written after the meeting, and I’ll report on what went down, and share our big winners.
Before we start off, there’s the issue of how the BSFC votes. This year, there’s actually a fairly major change to voting procedures: we’re cutting the traditional first round. In the past, the first round has consisted of a single vote from each member, representing the usually vain hopes of reaching an immediate consensus. After last year’s meeting, it was suggested that this is more or less a waste of time, and we decided to instead proceed directly to a round of three ranked choices. Each member will rank their three favorites for each category, with the top pick being awarded three points, the second pick being awarded two, and the third pick being awarded one. The winner must not only have a majority, but appear on more than half the ballots—our group currently has 26 members, so we’re looking for a big number 14.
This half-the-ballots business has impacted my calculus a little bit this year. In 2023, I was happy throwing my third-choice, single-point vote to a personal favorite without much wide support. It was fun to hear certain names read aloud. This year, though, I’m taking the whole “appear on half the ballots” part seriously—I want all three of my picks to at least feel like contenders when I walk in, because this meeting is long, and I don’t want to throw away any votes when they could count towards moving things forward.
OK, enough throat clearing. The first vote of the day will be for:
Best Original Score
- Notes On My Ballot
A fun round to kick things off, at least if you listen to as many movie scores as I do. Here’s what I’m planning to do:
- The Brutalist
- Sing Sing
- Conclave
I’ll call The Brutalist my heavy favorite in this category—I am decidedly cool on that film, but Daniel Blumberg’s score is a real thunderbolt, powerful at times and intimate at others, a standout element that doesn’t distract from the story. It’s a really impressive feat of composition, and I’ve been enjoying listening to the few available tracks while doing everything from driving to walking the dog. Sing Sing, meanwhile, is such a mood and tone piece that the score has to do a lot of work in tying everything together and elevating things emotionally, which Bryce Dessner does beautifully. And then, finally, I’ll throw one point to Volker Bertelmann’s work on Conclave, which has a nice, tense nerviness that carries a lot of weight in establishing the movie’s tone.
- Notes From the Room
This category was a real blowout. We did it in one round, and it was a landslide. I’m happy with the results.
And the winner was: The Brutalist (Daniel Blumberg)
Hell yeah. Can’t wait to hear the rest of that album once it’s actually streaming in full. Another of my favorites, Conclave, had a strong showing, but the only votes for Sing Sing came from me. Meanwhile, popular favorite Challengers put up a good fight, but I’m glad we didn’t go in that direction myself. The Challengers score is just fine. The Brutalist wallops it.
Best Editing
- Notes On My Ballot
OK, editing…is kind of a tricky category for me in that I always worry I’m doing that thing where you vote for most editing. But still, a lot of kinetic editing is a tough thing to pull off, so I do tend to vote for the collages and kaleidoscopes. To that end:
- Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
- Flipside
- Kneecap
I’m mildly cool on Furiosa, but I can’t deny it as a feat of technical craft, so let’s give it up. Meanwhile, Flipside is one of the collages, a documentary in which dead ends and abandoned scraps are rewoven into something transcendent. And Kneecap—the largely Irish-language true story of a hip-hop trio that became a sensation—is such a blast of energy that you have to admire its construction.
- Notes From the Room
This one took two rounds to sort out, with none of my favorites doing much damage.
And the winner was: Challengers (Marco Costa)
OK, that’s fine. If I can say anything about Challengers it’s that it was…edited. A lot. (I didn’t love Challengers.) The Brutalist and Nickel Boys came to play, too, but Challengers was a big favorite. (OK, I admit the part where he smacks the other guy’s boner is good.)
Best Cinematography
- Notes On My Ballot
OK, this is a strong round. I’m thinking:
- Nickel Boys
- The Brutalist
- Nosferatu
Nickel Boys has proven a divisive movie in the BSFC email threads, but I’m hoping its supporters can push it through in a few spots, and we’ll start here: this movie—an adaptation of the Colson Whitehead novel, directed by RaMell Ross in his narrative filmmaking debut—is told entirely through point-of-view shots (we call this “pulling a Peep Show”) which sounds disorienting and alienating, and I guess it is for some, but for me, it was intensely immersive and very effective at conveying the characters’ interiority. Then there’s The Brutalist, making its second and final appearance on my ballot. The imagemaking is terrific, all in support of a story I didn’t really care for. And then there’s Nosferatu, which features Robert Eggers’s typical eye for setting and mood, as well as a few remarkably innovative visual techniques I can’t even quite describe. Eggers makes visual feasts and this is no exception.
- Notes From the Room
Another category that was over in one round!
And the winner was: The Brutalist (Lol Crawley)
I put The Brutalist down in two categories and it won both. I’m very pleased about that. As I say, as a collection of images, it’s great. I’m still working on why I didn’t like that movie. I’m afraid to say it may insist upon itself. Pleased to say Nickel Boys and Nosferatu were both strong contenders, too, but when The Brutalist wins with the BSFC, it wins big.
Best Animated Film
- Notes On My Ballot
The battle of the cartoons commences, and I am so very interested in how this one’s going to go. My plan is:
- Memoir of a Snail
- The Wild Robot
- Flow
I had initially considered The Wild Robot a favorite here, but again, email sentiment suggests some underwhelmed viewers, which feels like a foot in the door for the very special, very grown-up claymation project Memoir of a Snail, which is just such an extraordinary work of art that I’d love to see us recognize it. I adored The Wild Robot, personally (the robot loves the goose!), so I’m very happy giving it two points. And then there’s Flow, the Latvian silent CGI spectacle in which animals ride around in a boat. As that descriptor might suggest, I wasn’t overly impressed by this movie, which has a lot of smart critics absolutely rapt. I’m not sure what I’m missing, but I’m definitely missing it. Still, here’s where the “half the ballots” consideration comes in—I don’t want to prolong things with a dead-end vote for, say, Inside Out 2 (which I considered). If there’s momentum behind it, I can go with the Flow.
- Notes From the Room
We knocked this one out in one round, too, and it wasn’t particularly close.
And the winner was: Flow.
OK. It’s fine. I’m disappointed, but people were really moved by that movie. I’m not sure how to account for the fact that I wasn’t except that I may lack sufficient empathy to be moved by the plight of the cat in the boat. It’s fine. (My eight-year-old’s review, for what it’s worth: “If those animals just talked this would be a great movie.”) Memoir fought tooth and snail for the top spot, but couldn't get there, while The Wild Robot just didn't have widespread support. Come on, guys. The robot loves the goose!
Best Documentary
- Notes On My Ballot
I’ve shifted these picks around a lot over the past few weeks, swapped some things in and out, but here’s where I’ve landed:
- No Other Land
- Flipside
- Daughters
No Other Land, if you haven’t heard, is a first-hand documentary concerning Israel’s assault on Palestine. It currently doesn’t have distribution, due (presumably) to the subject matter. There has been some suggestion among some members that—among the other reasons to vote for this work—by picking it, we could make a statement. That’s fine with me. Three points. Flipside feels positively lightweight by comparison, but I was taken by its loose and ramshackle approach to a composite story of lost opportunities and wistful stock-taking. And then I was pretty walloped by Daughters, which is on Netflix right now, and tells the story of a father-daughter dance held in a prison. It’s tremendously powerful nonfiction storytelling, and while it’s probably more a personal favorite than a contender, I liked it a lot more than some of the titles being thrown around by other members.
- Notes From the Room
We had a lot of momentum built up after a few quick rounds, and this one was over in one, as well.
And the winner was: No Other Land
I don’t necessarily think No Other Land is a feat of, like, the art of cinema. But it’s a demonstration of its power. I hope people are able to see it. They will somehow. Anyway, this one was a real blowout, but Queendom put up a strong showing, too, and Porcelain War made its presence known. But no, this was the year of No Other Land, as it has been for a lot of critics’ groups.
Best New Filmmaker
I have three really strong picks this year, and each has taken its turn in the top slot before reconsideration, but I’m pretty comfortable landing here:
- Mike Cheslik (Hundreds of Beavers)
- Annie Baker (Janet Planet)
- Vera Drew (The People’s Joker)
OK, so I had Vera Drew in first for a while—that movie is an irreverent, surprisingly poignant blast, and it sits higher on my own “Best of 2024” list than the other two movies do. But then I decided, no, let’s put Annie Baker first, her movie is such an accomplishment of mood and perspective, and she’s my favorite playwright, so let’s put three points behind her. But then, finally, I’ve landed on Mike Cheslik, and I like the sound of the choice. Hundreds of Beavers is such a singular piece—part Looney Tunes, part old fashioned video game, all invention and glee—and I’ve been swayed by the bootstraps campaign the team is running. I hope we can recognize it. Really curious to see how this one shakes out.
- Notes From the Room
There was an impassioned speech from one member stumping (har har) for Hundreds of Beavers, and I had high hopes that it would come out on top. But after two rounds of voting, we had a different result.
And the winner was: Annie Baker (Janet Planet)
As I say, I had her at the top for a while. This is so great; Annie Baker is a certified genius (if you like reading this newsletter, you’d like reading her play The Flick, so grab a copy stat), but it’s a little sad to see the beavers go home empty-pawed. That was such a grassroots success story that going with Annie Baker’s A24-approved vision feels almost like unfair competition. Still, Janet Planet is a special movie. This is good. The People’s Joker didn’t do too badly, and Anna Kendrick emerged as a real contender for Woman of the Hour. I didn’t prioritize that one–Anna Kendrick’s Netflix movie wasn’t, like, the most initially grabby sales pitch. But hey, I guess I better watch it.
Best Original Screenplay
Ah, the screenplay. Some call it the skeleton of the movie. Maybe. I haven’t heard that, but they might. Anyway:
- I Saw the TV Glow
- Problemista
- A Real Pain
I’m a big fan of what Jane Schoenbrun is building with their burgeoning directorial career (I had their debut, We’re All Going To the World’s Fair, at the top of my Best New Filmmaker ballot two years ago), and I Saw the TV Glow features storytelling that’s really hung with me, plus a showstopping monologue for good measure. Worth three points! I was surprised by how much I liked Problemista, and I’ve been happy to keep rolling that one around in my head the past couple of months—it’s got such a very particular, very cockeyed lens on the world, it’s amazing how Julio Torres has really staked out his own voice and viewpoint so quickly. And then I wanted to put A Real Pain on the ballot somewhere, and this felt like a good spot. It’s a well-told movie that goes down smooth for how prickly the subject matter is.
- Notes From the Room
Now this one was a close call, and we went into a second round. Movies were leading points but falling behind on ballot count, it was exciting stuff.
And the winner was: Anora (Sean Baker)
Y’know what, I’m not super pumped about this one. I don’t think Anora works in particular; I find the story impossible to empathize with given what a fucking shit Ivan is, making Ani’s goals hard to root for. Like, I guess it would be great if she ended up rich. I want that for her. But every time she claimed to love Ivan, I was like…him? Anyway, there’s a lot that’s fun and funny about this movie, I guess the screenplay sparkled if you find stories like that sparkly. It was no Florida Project. Meanwhile, A Real Pain and His Three Daughters both nipped at Anora's heels, and I would have preferred either significantly (even if I found His Three Daughters maybe a touch stagey for my liking). But Sean Baker is a critical darling I suppose.
Best Adapted Screenplay
Ah, the adapted screenplay. Some call it the skeleton of the book mushed into the movie. Actually, they don’t. Anyway:
- Nickel Boys
- Small Things Like These
- Conclave
Now I will cop to having read neither Nickel Boys nor Conclave. But I tend to think an adapted screenplay needs to work as a screenplay first and foremost, and how good it is in relation to the book isn’t a huge issue for me. Last year, there were some yelps in the room that Poor Things was a bad adaptation. Maybe! But it was a good screenplay. To wit, I can’t say if Nickel Boys or Conclave are good adaptations, but I can say Nickel Boys has a story strong enough to provide coherence for that big POV swing, and Conclave is deviously fun. On the other hand, I have read Small Things Like These, so I can say that’s a really impressive feat of adaptation, taking a very interior story and rendering it in the exterior reality of film.
- Notes From the Room
We needed two rounds to get this one done, with a strong points leader that needed a little nudging to get on half the ballots. On the second round, we had a champion.
And the winner was: Nickel Boys
Super psyched about this one! I haven’t read the book so I can hardly talk about the adaptation, but from everything I understand of that book, there were a lot of smart choices made in bringing the story to the screen. A big win for my favorite movie of the year! That’s good news. Nothing else was particularly close, but Hit Man—an early choice of mine that fell off the ballot at a certain point—was in the mix, as was one of my picks, Conclave. Not a bad round.
Best Supporting Actress
- Notes On My Ballot
Now here’s a category I didn’t have a strong favorite in until recently, but that favorite is now definitely strong. Her name (along with two other names):
- Carol Kane (Between the Temples)
- Margaret Qualley (The Substance)
- Julianne Nicholson (Janet Planet)
Between the Temples is a movie with…a lot going on both stylistically and narratively, and I mean that as both a good and a mildly bad thing. One thing that’s unquestionably good is Kane’s performance. She’s been so good for so long, and I’ve never taken her particular comic rhythms for granted. Here, those rhythms are applied not just to comedy but to more dramatic ends, and the cocktail is beautiful. Turning to the second tier, I don’t really need a lot of The Substance in my life, but the performances are daring and well calibrated—here’s Qualley, and you’ll see her counterpart later. And then Nicholson puts in nice low-key work as the magnetic mom in Janet Planet—she’s offscreen for large chunks of time, but you need her to be compelling for the movie to work, and she is.
- Notes From the Room
This category was a mess. We had to go three rounds after the first one introduced something like 30 names. We had a leader from the start, and she prevailed, but it took a while for her to cobble together the necessary ballots.
And the winner was: Danielle Deadwyler (The Piano Lesson)
OK guys, listen…don’t tell anyone…but I skipped The Piano Lesson. I heard it was sort of crummy, so I didn’t prioritize it. I whiffed on this one. I did end up casting later-round votes for Tilda Swinton, who put up a strong showing for her gonzo Problemista performance, and I didn’t mind seeing Leslie Manville show up on plenty of ballots for her…let’s say unrecognizable work in Queer. Emily Watson was a contender for her work as the quietly villainous nun in Small Things Like These, but Carol Kane couldn’t do much with the few points she cobbled together, and the one point I put in for Julianne Nicholson was the one point she received. Ah well.
Best Supporting Actor
- Notes On My Ballot
Here, meanwhile, I’ve had a strong favorite for a while. His name (along with two other names):
- Adam Pearson (A Different Man)
- Yura Barisov (Anora)
- Jeremy Strong (The Apprentice)
I loved A Different Man, and I especially loved Adam Pearson in it. You might remember Pearson from Under the Skin—he’s the guy with neurofibromatosis. He’s incredibly warm and winning in A Different Man playing this sort of perversely kind foil to Sebastian Stan’s embittered protagonist. As for Anora, I’m again in the position of saying “I’m not super hot on that movie” but Barisov is a strong, silent core, and he anchors that absolutely wild swing of a final shot. Then we have another of Sebastian Stan’s onscreen foils, Jeremy Strong as Roy Cohn to Stan’s young Donald Trump. A lot of what Strong does verges on caricature (in a good way), which makes it all the more impressive when he lands the plane dramatically in the third act.
- Notes From the Room
There was another impassioned speech before this category, this time for Edward Norton’s Pete Seeger in A Complete Unknown. It took two rounds to determine whether Ed’s inhabitation of Pete could go the distance.
And the winner was: Edward Norton (A Complete Unknown)
One of the first things I realized about A Complete Unknown—a thoroughly mediocre movie—is that Norton is an absolute revelation. There’s a scene early on where he leads a crowd in an ecstatic round of “In the Jungle” and the way Norton owns the moment is a beauty to behold. There’s a reason he was considered the guy of his generation for a while. I’m pumped about this win even if he was nowhere near my ballot. Pearson, I was pleased to see, had a lot of passionate support—he wasn't on a ton of ballots, but the people who picked him almost uniformly put him first. Two of my favorites—Barisov for Anora and Strong for The Apprentice—were favorites, but even if it took a couple rounds, Norton ran away with this one.
Best Actress
- Notes On My Ballot
I, myself, am sort of surprised by at least one thing happening on this one, but here goes:
- Demi Moore (The Substance)
- Mikey Madison (Anora)
- Amy Adams (Nightbitch)
I did some last minute shuffling here—Demi wasn’t at the top of the list until recently, but the more I sit with it, the more I want to throw some weight behind that strange, committed, perfectly realized performance, which could (should) have been a disaster in so many ways. Meanwhile, Madison is a firecracker in Anora, and I don’t buy the suggestion that the character is less than three dimensional, especially not in her hands. But the surprise for me is Amy Adams—I was not looking forward to Nightbitch in particular, but Adams does a lot with the role, essentially playing a form of psychosis but walking a fine line in keeping it feeling grounded and everyday. There’s this weird pressure on every Amy Adams performance to be the one that gets her the Oscar, and I don’t suspect it will be this one, but it’s worth a single point.
- Notes From the Room
It took two rounds to settle things, even if the eventual winner was a clear favorite from the beginning.
And the winner was: Mikey Madison (Anora)
As my two-point vote indicates, I have no issue with this win. Madison is great; she’s been great for a while and she’s clearly made a leap here. It’ll be cool to see what happens next. Meanwhile, Marianne Jean-Baptiste was another favorite for her work in Hard Truths, a movie that made me finally say OK I guess Mike Leigh just isn’t for me. His particular brand of mannered semi-realism just grinds a certain gear for me, and I’ve rarely seen a movie of his I liked all that much (Naked, of all of them, comes the closest I guess). I was surprised to see Ilinca Manolache make a splash as the lead of the Romanian satire Do Not Expect Too Much of the End of the World, but she definitely put up a fight. Cool to see.
Best Actor
- Notes On My Ballot
Oh boy, there’s a twofer on this one…
- Coleman Domingo (Sing Sing)
- Sebastian Stan (A Different Man & The Apprentice)
- Timothée Chalamet (A Complete Unknown)
So technically you can’t vote for two performances, which means I’ll vote Stan for A Different Man. But, in a world where he wins, I’d then be able to suggest we consider rolling The Apprentice into the win as well. So that’s where my heart’s at with the Sebastian Stan vote: it’s meant to be a twofer for a couple of performances I really didn’t think Bucky had in him. Those performances fall second to Domingo, though, who brings tremendous weight and tenderness to his role at the heart of Sing Sing. And then one point goes to Chalamet, who’s really impressive in a movie I have…pretty mixed-to-negative feelings on. It’s easy to imagine the version of this performance that descends into parody, but Chalamet makes Dylan feel real, and has several moments of evident spiritual hollowness that have really hung with me.
- Notes From the Room
Sebastian Stan got votes for A Different Man, and he got votes for The Apprentice, but we couldn’t coalesce behind one of them, so he was doomed to split the Stan-stan vote. It didn’t matter, though. There was an early favorite.
And the winner was: Timothée Chalamet (A Complete Unknown)
I will admit to being a little chagrined that we gave both male acting awards to the same movie, but I also shouted out Chalamet during the meeting, playing the “I’m writing a book about Bob Dylan and he really is that good” card. I’m amped that he won, even if I would have been more amped for Domingo to win. He did his damndest, and it was almost enough, but—along with Cillian Murphy for Small Things Like These, and like Daniel Craig for Queer—he had to settle for also-ran status. Timmy was unstoppable.
Best Ensemble
It’s fun that we have this category. The Oscars don’t have this one, but we do, so it’s fun to consider. And it’ll be fun to vote for these:
- Sing Sing
- His Three Daughters
- Conclave
Sing Sing captured my heart with its lineup of formerly incarcerated actors playing themselves. There’s spiritual warmth just pouring off of that movie, and it comes down to those men. Meanwhile, it’s a good thing we have this category, because it saves me the trouble of choosing between the leads of His Three Daughters in the Actress category—Carrie Coon, Elizabeth Olsen, and Natasha Lyonne are absolutely co-leads, and it’s a great triple header. And last but not least we have the papal machinations of Conclave, with a roster of great actors bouncing off one another in the halls of the Vatican, making it all more fun than it has any right to be.
- Notes From the Room
Someone gave an impassioned speech for Sing Sing, and I threw in a similarly impassioned “Hell yeah.” Was it enough? Read the next line to find out.
And the winner was: Sing Sing
The good guys win again! This is such a special ensemble in an equally special movie. I can’t urge you enough to check it out. Anora and His Three Daughters (one of my picks!) did solid business, too, but Sing Sing cleared the hurdle ably (albeit after two rounds). I’m really happy about that one.
Best Director
OK, we’re getting to the heavyweight categories now. Here’s what I’m thinking:
- RaMell Ross (Nickel Boys)
- Jane Schoenbrun (I Saw the TV Glow)
- Greg Kwedar (Sing Sing)
It was true last year, and it’s true again this year: my director lineup is a carbon copy of my Best Film lineup. I feel like I’ve extolled the virtues of these three movies by now in other categories, so we’ll just get to…
- Notes From the Room
It took two rounds again, and there were a ton of names in the mix. In the end, it was a bit of a grudge match between two picks, but a winner did emerge.
And the winner was: Sean Baker (Anora)
I think Baker is a super gifted filmmaker with a really unique eye. That’s why it was such a bummer to find Anora lacking in the sort of ecstatic grace, or at least vim and vigor, that I associate with his work at its best. The set piece in the mansion as the heavies try to neutralize Ani was great. The quick Vegas montage was…like, a little ecstatically graceful? But no, I’m not in the Anora camp, I’m afraid. And also Sean Baker apparently maybe has dodgy politics, so…I don’t know. Not my champion. Brady Corbet for The Brutalist put up a brutal fight, and two of my darlings, Schoenbrun and Ross, both had standout rounds. But this one was Baker’s all the way.
Best Film
OK, as previously indicated. I’m going:
- Nickel Boys
- I Saw the TV Glow
- Sing Sing
Once more for all the marbles: Nickel Boys is head and shoulders above any movie this year, I Saw the TV Glow got under my skin half a year ago and stayed there, and Sing Sing is a work of transcendent beauty.
- Notes From the Room
There were 35 movies in the mix for Best Film. It only took us two rounds to agree on a winner.
And the winner was: Anora.
I’ve moaned enough about this movie by now. It was probably the odds-on favorite from the outset, but—like The Holdovers last year—it just sort of feels like a middle-of-the-road agreeable choice. Which I guess is what happens when you’re trying to balance out the tastes of 26 diverse viewpoints. But even something like The Brutalist—a strong contender!—would have been preferable for me. That movie is (ugh) monumental or whatever. I Saw the TV Glow did well, and I sure would have preferred that, but such a prickly movie was never destined for the big prize. Emilia Perez reared its head periodically throughout the day, and did again here, but I admit, I skipped that one (an epic-length and aggressively stylized cartel musical that’s, I have heard, arguably transphobic? I have other things to do, I’m sorry). At least we didn’t finish the day on a note that disappointed me. We had one more category to go.
Best Non-English Language Film/Best English Language Film
- Notes On My Ballot
Right, so here’s where things get a little messy. We hold off voting on Non-English Language in case a non-English language movie wins Best Film, in which case we proceed to vote for a Best English Language film. I’m not a fan of this practice, but I won’t belabor the point. If I were betting, I’d say this year we won’t give Best Film to a non-English language movie—nothing has really emerged from the Non-English email discussions to cross over into the Best Film thread, so my guess is we’ll be getting a final round of non-English language picks. So with that in mind, I’ll be voting:
- Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World
- Evil Does Not Exist
- All We Imagine As Light
It’s hard to account for what’s so compelling about Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World, a three-hour Romanian movie about a woman driving around chewing gum. But I can say that it’s interwoven with snatches of an older Romanian film, and when you realize why, it’s a real hit of movie magic. Evil Does Not Exist is a really interesting follow-up to Drive My Car, compact and oblique as opposed to that movie’s lengthy emotional expansiveness, but I can’t deny it’s haunted me. And then I’m perhaps cooler on All We Imagine As Light than some, but it’s a lovely, gentle tone poem that evokes a place and a people beautifully.
- Notes From the Room
We just didn’t want to say goodbye to one another after all those hours—we went to three rounds this time. There were a lot of strong favorites in this category, even if the frontrunner only gathered steam with each successive round.
And the winner was: Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World
I doubt a lot of people will have the patience for this movie, but it’s a fascinating work of art with a lot on its mind. It was at the top of my ballot all three rounds—no reason to mess with what was working. I did end up swapping Kneecap in for All We Imagine As Light as I saw it gathering some support—there’s enough English in there that I left it off my first ballot, but that movie rocks, I wanted to throw some support behind it. Evil Does Not Exist did well, too, as did I’m Still Here and The Seed of the Sacred Fig. But—as presaged by the lead actress’ strong showing in Best Actress—we had a major favorite here. I’m glad it happened to be my favorite, too.
And that’s a wrap on the BSFC Awards! It was a long day, but we ended up getting it done in 6 hours rather than the 8 I predicted. Not too shabby for a chilly Sunday. I’m already disappointed it’s over for another year, but I’m psyched to see what 2025 has in store for us movie-wise. I have my blank ballot all cued up, ready to be filled with prospective winners throughout the year. Let next year’s grudge matches commence.