Tuesday, December 18, 2018

2018 SFCS Awards: How I Voted


Yesterday, the Seattle Film Critics Society announced their 2018 film awards. I’m fortunate enough to be a member of that group and as such, was compelled to vote. Because I said I would, I decided to share my initial nomination ballot.


The way it works is that members submit their top five choices in each category, ten for best picture. The results are then tabulated and the nominees, the top scoring films and individuals, are released. Once again, the membership votes and that determines the ultimate winners.

Many of my favorites made the first cut, but many didn’t, so my voting in the second round was understandably constrained. That’s why I’m sharing my nomination ballot. Some I used all five slots, others I didn’t for various reasons. I’m also only going to share my top five best picture nominees because I plan to write a top ten style list, likely later this week, and I don’t want to ruin the suspense. (Because I know so, so many of you care deeply what I think, lol.)

One note, when I voted in the SFCS awards, I hadn’t watched If Beale Street Could Talk. I have since rectified that oversight, which would have impacted my ballot. It would have included Barry Jenkins as director, as well as nods for cinematography, score, editing, supporting actor, probably ensemble, and best picture. In short, it’s incredible and I suggest watching it at your earliest convenience.

I am also a member of the Online Film Critics Society. The voting process is quite similar, though the timeline has been pushed back this year—those nominations are forthcoming. I did submit my ballot for that group, and it looks almost identical to what you’ll find below, with If Beale Street Could Talk included this time.

That said, here’s how I voted in the 2018 SFCS Awards:

PICTURE:


DIRECTOR:

Luca Guadagnino, Suspiria
Coraline Fargeat, Revenge
Boots Riley, Sorry to Bother You
Lynne Ramsey, You Were Never Really Here
Crystal Moselle, Skate Kitchen

ACTOR:

Nicolas Cage, Mandy
Daveed Diggs, Blindspotting
Joaquin Phoenix, You Were Never Really Here
Lakeith Stanfield, Sorry to Bother You
Jakob Cedergren, The Guilty


ACTRESS:

Regina Hall, Support the Girls
Toni Collette, Hereditary
Helena Howard, Madeline’s Madeline
Sakura Ando, Shoplifters
Amandla Stenberg, The Hate U Give

SUPPORTING ACTOR:

Russell Hornsby, The Hate U Give
Richard E. Grant, Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Ben Foster, Leave No Trace
Nicholas Hoult, The Favourite
Steven Yeun, Burning

SUPPORTING ACTRESS:

Rachel Weisz, The Favourite
Danai Gurira, Black Panther
Elizabeth Debicki, Widows
Emma Stone, The Favourite
Michelle Yeoh, Crazy Rich Asians

ENSEMBLE CAST:

The Favourite
Suspiria
Crazy Rich Asians

YOUTH PERFORMANCE:

Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie, Leave No Trace
Evan Rosado, We the Animals
Kairi Jo, Shoplifters
Millicent Simmons, A Quiet Place

VILLAIN:

Michael B. Jordan, Black Panther
Linus Roache, Mandy
Steven Yeun, Burning
Michael Myers, Halloween
Daniel Kaluuya, Widows

SCREENPLAY:

Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal, Blindspotting
Boots Riley, Sorry to Bother You
Debra Granik and Anne Rosellini, Leave No Trace
Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty, Can You Ever Forgive Me?
David Kajganich, Suspiria

ANIMATED:

Tito and the Birds
I basically didn’t watch many animated movies this year, and of the ones I did see, nothing blew my hair back.

DOCUMENTARY:

Minding the Gap
Shirkers
Liyana
Three Identical Strangers

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:

Revenge
Let the Corpses Tan
Shoplifters
Border
The Guilty

CINEMATOGRAPHY:

Free Solo
Mission: Impossible--Fallout
Revenge
Mandy
The Favourite

COSTUME:

The Favourite
Black Panther

EDITING:

Minding the Gap
Mission: Impossible--Fallout
The Night Comes For Us
Revenge
Widows

SCORE:

Johann Johannsson, Mandy
Jonny Greenwood, You Were Never Really Here
Thom Yorke, Suspiria

PRODUCTION DESIGN:

The Favourite
Black Panther
Let the Corpses Tan
Annihilation
A Quiet Place

VISUAL EFFECTS:

Mission: Impossible--Fallout
Annihilation

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