Georgia Film Critics Association Winners Revealed - A STAR IS BORN Wins Best Picture
Updated: Jan 13, 2019
After some significant delays, the winners for the Georgia Film Critics Association's, a group in which I am a part of, 2018 awards have been revealed. The Georgia Film Critics Association is comprised of 32 film critics from around the state, representing print, television, radio and online media. A STAR IS BORN took home some of the most significant awards with Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor for Sam Elliot, and Best Song for the Golden-Globe winning "Shallow." ROMA trailed just behind it with three awards, including best director for Alfonso Cuaron. The official list for the winners can be found below.
Best Documentary Film:
Winner: WON'T YOU BE NEIGHBOR?
This was the clear winner for the award, racking up traction and momentum in the recent weeks that will surely lead to an Oscar nomination and win for the film. And in 2019, Tom Hanks will take on the iconic role of Fred Rodgers with his new film A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD, hitting theaters on October 18th.
Best Animated Film:
Winner: SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE
An excellent choice on part of the association, INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE is personally unquestionably the best animated film of the entire year. Bold and stylistically brimming, in our review by Samir Handa, he described the film as "the animated feature of the decade." And with its recent win at the Golden Globes from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE could very well top INCREDIBLES 2 to win the Oscar for producers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller.
Breakthrough Award:
Winner: Elsie Fisher (EIGHTH GRADE)
Nominated also for best actress, Elsie Fisher in EIGHTH GRADE made tidal waves across the industry. Bo Burnham, director and writer of EIGHTH GRADE, was also recognized with a nomination and win for Best Original Screenplay.
Best Foreign Film:
Winner: ROMA
Best Ensemble:
Winner: THE FAVOURITE
Featuring a boundless cast in Academy Award winning Emma Stone, Olivia Colman, and Rachel Weisz, THE FAVOURITE was an obvious and deserving choice for the win.
Best Original Song:
Winner: "Shallow" from A STAR IS BORN
The first of many awards for Bradley Cooper's passionate directing debut, "Shallow" from A STAR IS BORN was also recently commended with a win at the Golden Globes.
Best Original Score:
Winner: FIRST MAN
A project very different from his previous collaborations with Damien Chazelle, composer Justin Hurwitz helped FIRST MAN earn its only win unfortunately. However, it's a worthy achievement, given the score's suspenseful and dreamlike nature.
Best Production Design:
Winner: THE FAVOURITE
Best Cinematography:
Winner: ROMA
Another glorious win for Alfonso Cuaron, ROMA captivated audiences and critics alike with its personal and deceptively beautiful lens of the world.
Best Adapted Screenplay:
Winner: BLACKKKLANSMAN
The only win that BLACKKKLANSMAN took was fittingly its strongest element. Using excellent, stylized dialogue from director and writer Spike Lee, BLACKKKLANSMAN expertly explored its dark and ludicrous themes and brought them to thrillingly new heights.
Best Original Screenplay:
Winner: EIGHTH GRADE
Marking the other win that EIGHTH GRADE took, Bo Burnham crafted a spectacular screenplay that was both socially relevant and accurate. The realism and ability to relate to main protagonist Kayla Day was tangible and heart-wrenchingly real.
Best Supporting Actress:
Winner: Emma Stone in THE FAVOURITE
Refreshingly leaping over the favorites of the category in awards season was Emma Stone's role in THE FAVOURITE. Devilishly vicious and stylistic, Stone proved a fierce character that bolstered her to this win.
Best Supporting Actor:
Winner: Sam Elliot in A STAR IS BORN
Best Actress:
Winner: Toni Collette in HEREDITARY
Pulling the rug out from both Gaga and Colman was Toni Collette in HEREDITARY with a surprising upset. HEREDITARY as a film wasn't honored anywhere else in the list of winners, but proved to have a deserving lead performance.
Best Actor:
Winner: Ethan Hawke in FIRST REFORMED
In what is consistently cited as Hawke's best performance, this role also won recognition during the awards from the Atlanta Film Critics Circle.
Best Director:
Winner: Alfonso Cuaron for ROMA
Easily the most prestigious award that ROMA won was best directing. Also claiming this prize in the Golden Globes, Alfonso Cuaron continues to be the frontrunner heading into the Academy Awards, beating out the likes of Bradley Cooper for A STAR IS BORN and Spike Lee for BLACKKKLANSMAN.
Best Picture:
Winner: A STAR IS BORN
And this is finally the award. After a somewhat muted showing at the Golden Globes, regional critics have still proved to strong showing that A STAR IS BORN should have at the Oscars. Serving as a directorial debut and a remake, Cooper had significant hills to topple and did that handily, delivering a stunning film that we called "...a riveting, touching and overall refreshing take on a story that may not offer any new surprises, but has such a distinct level of polish that it becomes nearly impossible to ignore" in our review here.
Serving as one of GAFCA's exclusive award categories is the Oglethorpe award which is given to either a feature or short film filmed in Georgia that has displayed excellent craft. This year, a notable ten films were considered for the category, including popular fan favorites such as AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR, genre fare such as FIRST MAN, and roaring crowd pleasers such as GAME NIGHT and LOVE, SIMON. However, the award eventually went to the film that merged all three of them...Marvel Studios' BLACK PANTHER, produced by Ryan Coogler and Joe Robert Cole.
It's truly been a fantastic 2018 for film and this list represents that. Directorial debuts such as EIGHTH GRADE and A STAR IS BORN were deemed some of the best of the year, being encouraging messages for aspiring filmmakers. View the winners for the Atlanta Film Critics Circle here to see which films topped the other predominant Georgia film critics group!