The Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA) has announced its awards for 2024, marking the organization's 50th anniversary with standout selections that may serve as a preview for the upcoming Oscars.
- Dec 9, 2024
AceShowbiz - Sean Baker's "Anora" earned the title of the best movie by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association on Sunday, December 8. The film took home several honors, including best picture and two acting awards for Mikey Madison and Yura Borisov. Baker also earned a runner-up spot in the directing and writing categories, edged out in director by exiled Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof for "The Seed of the Sacred Fig" and in screenplay by Jesse Eisenberg for "A Real Pain."
The gender-neutral acting categories saw lead performance awards swept by women, with Marianne Jean-Baptiste honored for her role in "Hard Truths" alongside Madison. In the supporting categories, men took the spotlight as Borisov and Kieran Culkin ("A Real Pain") received accolades. Meanwhile, Demi Moore and Fernanda Torres were runners-up for their roles in "The Substance" and "I'm Still Here" respectively.
On the technical side, "Nickel Boys" and "September 5" tied for best editing while "The Brutalist" took home the award for best production design. Jomo Fray won best cinematography for "Nickel Boys," and Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross received accolades for their score in "Challengers."
In a notable nod to international cinema, the best film not in the English language was awarded to "All We Imagine As Light," with "The Seed of the Sacred Fig" as runner-up. The animation award went to the Latvian film "Flow," and the documentary prize was claimed by the Israeli-Palestinian co-production "No Other Land." Additionally, the Douglas Edward Experimental Film Prize was awarded to Eduardo Williams for "The Human Surge 3."
This year's LAFCA ceremony will also honor John Carpenter with a Lifetime Achievement Award, recognizing his ability to create "stylish, prescient, genre-bending features of otherworldly menace and powerful emotion." The awards will be celebrated at a ceremony slated for January, rounding out a significant milestone year for LAFCA.
The LAFCA awards are often a strong predictor of Oscar success, with past winners such as "Moonlight," "Parasite," and "Everything Everywhere All at Once" going on to claim the Best Picture Oscar. While "Anora" has set a high bar this season, only time will tell if it continues this tradition of success at the Academy Awards.
