The AFCA presents their shortlist for the 2020 awards season
The Austin Film Critics Association (AFCA) announced its 2020 awards nominations today.
Minari leads the nominations with eleven — including Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Ensemble. Other Best Film nominees are First Cow, Never Rarely Sometimes Always, Nomadland, and Promising Young Woman.
Despite 2020 being such a challenge for so many, with unprecedented upheaval in the film industry, we celebrate the emergence of new creative voices, with nominations for Promising Young Woman, The 40-Year-Old Version, One Night in Miami, Palm Springs, and Miss Juneteenth in the Best First Film category.
List of Nominees (in alphabetical order)
Best Film
- First Cow
- Never Rarely Sometimes Always
- Nomadland
- Minari
- Promising Young Woman
Best Director
- Lee Isaac Chung, Minari
- Emerald Fennell, Promising Young Woman
- Eliza Hittman, Never Rarely Sometimes Always
- Kelly Reichardt, First Cow
- Chloé Zhao, Nomadland
Best Actress
- Nicole Beharie, Miss Juneteenth
- Viola Davis, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
- Frances McDormand, Nomadland
- Elisabeth Moss, The Invisible Man
- Carey Mulligan, Promising Young Woman
Best Actor
- Riz Ahmed, The Sound of Metal
- Chadwick Boseman, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
- Anthony Hopkins, The Father
- Delroy Lindo, Da 5 Bloods
- Steven Yeun, Minari
Best Supporting Actress
- Maria Bakalova, Borat Subsequent Movie film
- Olivia Coleman, The Father
- Amanda Seyfried, Mank
- Youn Yuh-jung, Minari
- Helena Zengel, News of the World
Best Supporting Actor
- Daniel Kaluuya, Judas and the Black Messiah
- Leslie Odom Jr, One Night in Miami
- Paul Raci, Sound of Metal
- David Strathairn, Nomadland
- Glynn Turman, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Best Original Screenplay
- Minari
- Palm Springs
- Promising Young Woman
- Sound of Metal
- The Trial of the Chicago 7
Best Adapted Screenplay
- The Father
- The Invisible Man
- Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
- Nomadland
- One Night In Miami
Best Cinematography
- Da 5 Bloods
- Mank
- Minari
- Nomadland
- Tenet
Best Original Score
- Da 5 Bloods
- Mank
- Minari
- Soul
- Tenet
Best Foreign Language Film
- Another Round
- Bacurau
- Beanpole
- La Llorona
- Minari
Best Documentary
- Boys State
- Collective
- Crip Camp
- Dick Johnson is Dead
- Time
Best Animated Film
- Over the Moon
- Onward
- A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon
- Soul
- Wolfwalkers
Best Ensemble
- Da 5 Bloods
- Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
- Minari
- One Night In Miami
- The Trial of the Chicago 7
Best Editing
- The Father
- Mank
- Nomadland
- Tenet
- Sound of Metal
Best Motion Capture/Special Effects Performance
- Luke Davis, The Invisible Man
- Andrew Jackson, Tenet
- Oliver Jackson-Cohen, The Invisible Man
- Matt Kasmir, The Midnight Sky
- Elisabeth Moss, The Invisible Man
- Terry Notary, Call of the Wild
Best Stunts
- Birds of Prey
- Extraction
- The Invisible Man
- The Old Guard
- Tenet
Best First Film
- Miss Juneteenth
- One Night in Miami
- Palm Springs
- Promising Young Woman
- The 40-Year-Old Version
The Robert R. “Bobby” McCurdy Memorial Breakthrough Artist Award
- Radha Blank, The 40-Year-Old Version
- Lee Isaac Chung, Minari
- Sidney Flanigan, Never Rarely Sometimes Always
- Alan Kim, Minari
- Cathy Yan, Birds of Prey
As part of the organization’s annual voting, the Austin Film Critics Association awards titles with local ties — works made in Austin and/or directed by a filmmaker living in town during their film’s production. This award is distinct to our group of critics, recognizing the talent of Austin filmmakers as we celebrate the best films of the year.
In alphabetical order, the five nominees for Best Austin Film 2020 are:
- Bull
- Greenland
- The Orange Years
- Pahokee
- We Can Be Heroes
The AFCA will announce 2020 award winners, including the Austin Film Award, Top 10 Films of 2020, and special awards on Friday, March 19th.
Founded in 2005 by Cole Dabney & Bobby McCurdy, the AFCA has seen its membership grow from single digits to well over 30 members. The diverse outlets our members contribute to include Austin American-Statesman, the Austin Chronicle, Austin360.com, But Why Tho Podcast, Cinapse, Daily Grindhouse, the Daily Dot, the Daily Texan, Double Toasted, Fangoria, Film School Rejects, FirstShowing.net, GotchaMovies, Hammer to Nail, Hill Country News, Horror’s Not Dead, KOOP 91.7 FM Radio, Movies.com, Nerdist, Next Projection, One Movie Punch, One Of Us, ScreenCrush, Slashfilm, Smells Like Screen Spirit, and True View Reviews.