Claudio Miranda Wins Best Cinematography Award from Black Film Critics Circle

Claudio Miranda is still flying high…

The Black Film Critics Circle has announced its award-winners of the year, with the 57-year-old Chilean Oscar-winning cinematographer earning a shout out.

Claudio MirandaMiranda earned the award for Best Cinematography for his acclaimed work on Top Gun: Maverick.

The award follows Miranda’s previous wins from the National Board of Review and New York Film Critics Circle.

BFCC co-president Mike Sargent revealed the winners Thursday after votes were cast and tabulated in New York City at the organization’s annual meeting on December 17.

Recognizing achievements in theatrical motion pictures, the BFCC awarded prizes in 13 categories. Special Signature awards were also given to industry pioneers and rising stars, with Viola Davis winning the Pioneer AwardHonk For Jesus. Save Your Soul‘s Adamma Ebo winning Rising Star and Nanny director Nikyatu Jusu winning Special Mention.

Meanwhile, Guillermo del Toro’s latest project picked up two awards.

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio tied for Best Adapted Screenplay and won Best Animated (film).

“2022 has been a banner year for films by and starring people of color. The fact that we have films from multiple countries in multiple genres and their success has amplified a significant shift that actors like Sidney Poitier broke the doors open for many decades ago,” Sargent said. “We may have lost a giant this year in the film industry but everything he stood for and broke down barriers for has come to fruition. Our stories matter and the world is taking notice.”

Co-president Wilson Morales adds “Elvis Mitchell’s documentary Is That Black Enough For You?! ” examines the history, craft and legacy of African-American cinema and shines a spotlight on the rich history of our contributions to the medium of film. One day the time we are living in will be looked at as a new renaissance of Black film. Congratulations to all of the winners.”

Here’s the complete list of winners:

Best Film
The Woman King

Best Director
Gina Prince-Bythewood – The Woman King

Best Actor
Brendan Fraser: – The Whale

Best Actress
Danielle Deadwyler – Till

Best Supporting Actor
Ke Huy Quan Everything Everywhere All At Once

Best Supporting Actress
Angela Bassett Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Best Original Screenplay
Everything Everywhere All At Once

Best Adapted Screenplay
(Tie) The Whale and Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio

Best Cinematography
Top Gun Maverick

Best Documentary
Fire of Love

Best Animated
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio

Best Foreign Film
RRR

Best Ensemble
The Woman King

SIGNATURE AWARDS

Pioneer
Viola Davis

This year’s BFCC Pioneer Award is given to Viola Davis who, to quote BFCC Member K.A. GRANT (KAGrant.com), “The Woman King was truly a labor of love for her as a producer and as an actress. Not only did she work tirelessly to bring this story to life, but she changed her physical appearance to be combat ready for the film. Her contribution is immeasurable in what she has done for black women on the big screen. Her passion, and dedication to her craft embodies the very essence of the word Pioneer.”

Rising Star
Adamma Ebo

This year’s BFCC Rising star Award for producing, writing, directing, goes to Adamma Ebo for her feature-length directorial debut for Honk For Jesus. Save Your Soul to quote BFCC Member Harrison Martin (FLIXFROG), “A truly outstanding film that is well-written, acted, and directed. This is a great example of improving on a short film while keeping the same message.”

SPECIAL MENTION
Nikyatu Jusu

Special Mention this year goes to Nikyatu Jusu, for her horror film Nanny which was the first horror film to win Sundance’s Grand Jury Prize, is a deeply personal look at the American immigrant experience through the eyes of its lead character Immigrant nanny Aisha.

TOP TEN FILMS OF 2022

  1. The Woman King
  2. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
  3. Top Gun: Maverick
  4. Everything Everywhere All At Once
  5. RRR
  6. Nope
  7. Avatar: The Way of Water
  8. Women Talking
  9. Till
  10. The Batman

Ariana DeBose Earns Two BAFTA Film Awards Nominations

Ariana DeBose has made a splash across the pond…

Nominations for the 2022 BAFTA Film Awards have been announced, with the 31-year-old half-Puerto Rican actress/singer and recent Golden Globe winner earning two nods.

Ariana DeBose, West Side StoryDeBose is nominated in the Best Supporting Actress category for her role in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story redo. Her performance as Anita earned her a Golden Globe in December, as well as several recognitions from critics organizations around the U.S.

In addition DeBose is nominated in the EE Rising Star Award, which will be voted for by the public.

Tessa Thompson has earned a nod in the Leading Actress category.

The 38-year-old part-Panamanian and part-Mexican American actress is nominated for her work in Passing, a performance that earned her a Best Actress trophy from the Black Film Critics Circle.

Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar earned a nomination in the Film Not in the English Language for directing the Spanish-language film Parallel Mothers.

Winners will be announced at the 2022 BAFTA Film Awards ceremony, hosted by Rebel Wilson, on March 13 at London’s Royal Albert Hall.

Full list of 2022 BAFTA Film Awards Nominations:

BEST FILM
BELFAST Laura Berwick, Kenneth Branagh, Becca Kovacik, Tamar Thomas
DON’T LOOK UP Adam McKay, Kevin Messick
DUNE Mary Parent, Cale Boyter, Denis Villeneuve
LICORICE PIZZA Sara Murphy, Paul Thomas Anderson, Adam Somner
THE POWER OF THE DOG Jane Campion, Iain Canning, Roger Frappier, Tanya Seghatchian, Emile Sherman

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
AFTER LOVE Aleem Khan, Matthieu de Braconier
ALI & AVA Clio Bernard, Tracy O’Riordan
BELFAST Kenneth Branagh, Laura Berwick, Becca Kovacik, Tamar Thomas
BOILING POINT Philip Barantini, Bart Ruspoli, Hester Ruoff, James Cummings
CYRANO Joe Wright, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Guy Heely, Erica Schmidt
EVERYBODY’S TALKING ABOUT JAMIE Jonathan Butterell, Peter Carlton, Mark Herbert, Tom MacRae
HOUSE OF GUCCI Ridley Scott, Mark Huffam, Giannina Scott, Kevin J Walsh, Roberto Bentivegna, Becky Johnston
LAST NIGHT IN SOHO Edgar Wright, Tim Bevan & Eric Fellner, Nira Park, Krysty Wilson-Cairns
NO TIME TO DIE Cary Joji Fukunaga, Barbara Broccoli, Michael G. Wilson, Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, Phoebe Waller-Bridge
PASSING Rebecca Hall, Margot Hand, Nina Yang Bongiovi, Forest Whitaker

OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
AFTER LOVE Aleem Khan (Writer/Director)
BOILING POINT James Cummings (Writer), Hester Ruoff (Producer) [also written by Philip Barantini and produced by Bart Ruspoli]
THE HARDER THEY FALL Jeymes Samuel (Writer/Director) [also written by Boaz Yakin]
KEYBOARD FANTASIES Posy Dixon (Writer/Director), Liv Proctor (Producer)
PASSING Rebecca Hall (Writer/Director)

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
DRIVE MY CAR Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, Teruhisa Yamamoto
THE HAND OF GOD Paolo Sorrentino, Lorenzo Mieli
PARALLEL MOTHERS Pedro Almodóvar, Agustín Almodóvar
PETITE MAMAN Céline Sciamma, Bénédicte Couvreur
THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD Joachim Trier, Thomas Robsahm

DOCUMENTARY
BECOMING COUSTEAU Liz Garbus, Dan Cogan
COW Andrea Arnold, Kat Mansoor
FLEE Jonas Poher Rasmussen. Monica Hellström
THE RESCUE Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin, John Battsek, P. J. van Sandwijk
SUMMER OF SOUL (OR, WHEN THE REVOLUTION COULD NOT BE TELEVISED) Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, David Dinerstein, Robert Fyvolent, Joseph Patel

ANIMATED FILM
ENCANTO Jared Bush, Byron Howard, Yvett Merino, Clarke Spencer
FLEE Jonas Poher Rasmussen. Monica Hellström
LUCA Enrico Casarosa, Andrea Warren
THE MITCHELLS VS THE MACHINES Mike Rianda, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller

DIRECTOR
AFTER LOVE Aleem Khan
DRIVE MY CAR Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
HAPPENING Audrey Diwan
LICORICE PIZZA Paul Thomas Anderson
THE POWER OF THE DOG Jane Campion
TITANE Julia Ducournau

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
BEING THE RICARDOS Aaron Sorkin
BELFAST Kenneth Branagh
DON’T LOOK UP Adam McKay
KING RICHARD Zach Baylin
LICORICE PIZZA Paul Thomas Anderson

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
CODA Siân Heder
DRIVE MY CAR Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
DUNE Denis Villeneuve
THE LOST DAUGHTER Maggie Gyllenhaal
THE POWER OF THE DOG Jane Campion

LEADING ACTRESS
LADY GAGA House of Gucci
ALANA HAIM Licorice Pizza
EMILIA JONES CODA
RENATE REINSVE The Worst Person in the World
JOANNA SCANLAN After Love
TESSA THOMPSON Passing

LEADING ACTOR
ADEEL AKHTAR Ali & Ava
MAHERSHALA ALI Swan Song
BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH The Power of the Dog
LEONARDO DICAPRIO Don’t Look Up
STEPHEN GRAHAM Boiling Point
WILL SMITH King Richard

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
CAITRÍONA BALFE Belfast
JESSIE BUCKLEY The Lost Daughter
ARIANA DEBOSE West Side Story
ANN DOWD Mass
AUNJANUE ELLIS King Richard
RUTH NEGGA Passing

SUPPORTING ACTOR
MIKE FAIST West Side Story
CIARÁN HINDS Belfast
TROY KOTSUR CODA
WOODY NORMAN C’mon C’mon
JESSE PLEMONS The Power of the Dog
KODI SMIT-MCPHEE The Power of the Dog

ORIGINAL SCORE
BEING THE RICARDOS Daniel Pemberton
DON’T LOOK UP Nicholas Britell
DUNE Hans Zimmer
THE FRENCH DISPATCH Alexandre Desplat
THE POWER OF THE DOG Jonny Greenwood

CASTING
BOILING POINT Carolyn McLeod
DUNE Francine Maisler
THE HAND OF GOD Massimo Appolloni, Annamaria Sambucco
KING RICHARD Rich Delia, Avy Kaufman
WEST SIDE STORY Cindy Tolan

CINEMATOGRAPHY
DUNE Greig Fraser
NIGHTMARE ALLEY Dan Laustsen
NO TIME TO DIE Linus Sandgren
THE POWER OF THE DOG Ari Wegner
THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH Bruno Delbonnel

EDITING
BELFAST Úna Ní Dhonghaíle
DUNE Joe Walker
LICORICE PIZZA Andy Jurgensen
NO TIME TO DIE Tom Cross, Elliot Graham
SUMMER OF SOUL (OR, WHEN THE REVOLUTION COULD NOT BE TELEVISED) Joshua L. Pearson

PRODUCTION DESIGN
CYRANO Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer
DUNE Patrice Vermette, Zsuzsanna Sipos
THE FRENCH DISPATCH Adam Stockhausen, Rena DeAngelo
NIGHTMARE ALLEY Tamara Deverell, Shane Vieau
WEST SIDE STORY Adam Stockhausen, Rena DeAngelo

COSTUME DESIGN
CRUELLA Jenny Beavan
CYRANO Massimo Cantini Parrini
DUNE Robert Morgan, Jacqueline West
THE FRENCH DISPATCH Milena Canonero
NIGHTMARE ALLEY Luis Sequeira

MAKE UP & HAIR
CRUELLA Nadia Stacey, Naomi Donne
CYRANO Alessandro Bertolazzi, Siân Miller
DUNE Love Larson, Donald Mowat
THE EYES OF TAMMY FAYE Linda Dowds, Stephanie Ingram, Justin Raleigh
HOUSE OF GUCCI Frederic Aspiras, Jane Carboni, Giuliano Mariana, Sarah Nicole Tanno

SOUND
DUNE Mac Ruth, Mark Mangini, Doug Hemphill, Theo Green, Ron Bartlett
LAST NIGHT IN SOHO Colin Nicolson, Julian Slater, Tim Cavagin, Dan Morgan
NO TIME TO DIE James Harrison, Simon Hayes, Paul Massey, Oliver Tarney, Mark Taylor
A QUIET PLACE PART II Erik Aadahl, Michael Barosky, Brandon Proctor, Ethan Van Der Ryn
WEST SIDE STORY Brian Chumney, Tod Maitland, Andy Nelson, Gary Rydstrom

SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
DUNE Brian Connor, Paul Lambert, Tristan Myles, Gerd Nefzer
FREE GUY Swen Gillberg, Brian Grill, Nikos Kalaitzidis, Daniel Sudick
GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE Aharon Bourland, Sheena Duggal, Pier Lefebvre, Alessandro Ongaro
THE MATRIX RESURRECTIONS Tom Debenham, Hew J Evans, Dan Glass, J. D. Schwaim
NO TIME TO DIE Mark Bokowski, Chris Corbould, Joel Green, Charlie Noble

BRITISH SHORT ANIMATION
AFFAIRS OF THE ART Joanna Quinn, Les Mills
DO NOT FEED THE PIGEONS Jordi Morera
NIGHT OF THE LIVING DREAD Ida Melum, Danielle Goff, Laura Jayne Tunbridge, Hannah Kelso

BRITISH SHORT FILM
THE BLACK COP Cherish Oteka
FEMME Sam H. Freeman, Ng Choon Ping, Sam Ritzenberg, Hayley Williams
THE PALACE Jo Prichard
STUFFED Theo Rhys, Joss Holden-Rea
THREE MEETINGS OF THE EXTRAORDINARY COMMITTEE Michael Woodward, Max Barron, Daniel Wheldon

EE RISING STAR AWARD (voted for by the public)
ARIANA DEBOSE
HARRIS DICKINSON
LASHANA LYNCH
MILLICENT SIMMONDS
KODI SMIT-MCPHEE

Tessa Thompson Named Best Actress by Black Film Critics Circle

Tessa Thompson is earning praise for her latest role…

The Black Film Critics Circle has awarded the 38-year-old part-Panamanian and part-Mexican American actress its best actress prize.

Tessa Thompson, PassingThompson earned the award for her powerhouse performance in Passing. It’s her second best actress prize of the awards season so far for her work in the film. The other recognition came from the New York Film Critics, Online.

Thompson had previously won the critics’ group’s best supporting actress award in 2015 for her work in Creed.

Along with recognizing films in 13 categories, the group also gave the Pioneer Award to Zola co-writer and director Janicza Bravo.

Here’s the complete list of winners:

Best Picture: “King Richard” (Warner Bros)
Director: Denis Villeneuve, “Dune” (Warner Bros)
Actor: Will Smith, “King Richard” (Warner Bros)
Actress: Tessa Thompson, “Passing” (Netflix)
Supporting Actor: Kodi Smit-McPhee, “The Power of the Dog” (Netflix)
Supporting Actress: Aunjanue Ellis, “King Richard” (Warner Bros)
Original Screenplay: Zach Baylin, “King Richard” (Warner Bros)
Adapted Screenplay: Jane Campion, “The Power of the Dog” (Netflix)
Cinematography: Greig Fraser, “Dune” (Warner Bros)
Documentary: “Summer of Soul” (Hulu/Searchlight Pictures)
Animated Film: “The Mitchells vs. the Machines” (Netflix)
Foreign Film: “The Hand of God” (Netflix)
Ensemble: “The Harder They Fall” (Netflix) 

BFCC Signature Awards
Pioneer Award:
Janicza Bravo, “Zola” (A24)
Rising Star: Jeymes Samuel, “The Harder They Fall” (Netflix)
Special Mention: Questlove

Top 10 Films
“King Richard” (Warner Bros)
“The Harder They Fall” (Netflix)
“The Power of the Dog” (Netflix)
“West Side Story” (20th Century Studios)
“Respect” (MGM/United Artists Releasing)
“Summer of Soul” (Searchlight Pictures)
“Dune” (Warner Bros)
“The Tragedy of Macbeth” (Apple Original Films/A24)
“Cyrano” (MGM/United Artists Releasing)
“Passing” (Netflix)

Alfonso Cuaron Wins Two Awards from the Black Film Critics Circle for “Roma”

Alfonso Cuaronis adding more awards to his mantel…

The Black Film Critics Circle has announced its prizes for the year, with the 57-year-old Mexican filmmaker taking home two awards.

Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma

Cuaron picked up the award for Best Foreign Film for his deeply personal Spanish-language film Roma.

Additionally, Roma won the Best Cinematographyfor Cuaron’s work behind the lens.

Here ‘s the full list of winners:

Best Picture Black Panther
Best Foreign Film Ryan Coogler
Best Actor Bradley Cooper – A Star Is Born
Best Actress Viola Davis – Widows
Best Supporting Actor Mahershala Ali – Green Book
Best Supporting Actress Regina King – If Beale Street Could Talk
Best Original Screenplay Sorry To Bother You – Boots Riley
Best Adapted Screenplay If Beale Street Could Talk – Barry Jenkins
Best Cinematography Roma
Best Foreign Film Roma
Best Documentary Quincy
Best Animated Film Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse
Best Ensemble Black Panther