Full winners and runners-up for Kansas City Film Critics Circle’s 59th Annual James Loutzenhiser Awards
The Kansas City Film Critics Circle met Saturday, January 4 to vote on their annual awards for 2024. It was a contentious turnout with so many deserving nominees in all categories, but in the end the body-horror film The Substance, written and directed by Coralie Fargeat and starring Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley, definitively took top honors, winning in multiple categories.
This year notably marks the debut of a new category, The Buster Keaton Award for Best Stunt Ensemble Film, so named in honor of the legendary comedian’s breathtaking stunts and Kansas origins. It’s our hope that this new category will help to encourage recognizing and honoring stunt work and action cinema.
Full Winners and Runners-up for the 59th Annual James Loutzenhiser Awards:
BEST FILM
Winner: THE SUBSTANCE
Runner-Up: DUNE: PART II
ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD FOR BEST DIRECTOR
Winner: Coralie Fargeat, THE SUBSTANCE
Runner-Up: Sean Baker, ANORA
BEST ACTOR
Winner: David Dastmalchian, LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL
Runner-Up: Ralph Fiennes, CONCLAVE
BEST ACTRESS
Winner (Tie): Mikey Madison, ANORA; and Demi Moore, THE SUBSTANCE
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Winner: Kieran Culkin, A REAL PAIN
Runner Up: Yura Borisov, ANORA
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Winner: Margaret Qualley, THE SUBSTANCE
Runner-Up: Danielle Deadwyler, THE PIANO LESSON
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Winner: THE SUBSTANCE, by Coralie Fargeat
Runner-Up: ANORA, by Sean Baker
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Winner: CONCLAVE, adapted by Peter Straughan from the book by Robert Harris
Runner-Up: NICKEL BOYS, adapted by RaMell Ross and Joslyn Barnes from the book by Colson Whitehead
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Winner: THE BRUTALIST, director of photography Lol Crawley
Runner-Up: CIVIL WAR, director of photography Rob Hardy
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Winner: CHALLENGERS, composed by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
Runner-Up: CONCLAVE, composed by Volker Bertelmann
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Winner: THE WILD ROBOT
Runner-Up: FLOW
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Winner: FLOW
Runner-Up: EMILIA PÉREZ
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Winner: WILL & HARPER
Runner-Up: SEEKING MAVIS BEACON
VINCE KOEHLER AWARD FOR BEST SCIENCE FICTION, FANTASY, OR HORROR
Winner: THE SUBSTANCE
Runner-Up: DUNE: PART TWO
TOM POE AWARD FOR BEST LGBTQ FILM
Winner: I SAW THE TV GLOW
Runner-Up: EMILIA PÉREZ
BUSTER KEATON AWARD FOR THE BEST STUNT ENSEMBLE FILM
Winner: THE FALL GUY
Runner-Up (TIE): FURIOSA: A MAD MAX SAGA and DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE
About Kansas City Film Critic’s Circle:
The KCFCC, the second oldest professional film critic organization in the United States, was founded in 1966 by the late Dr. James Loutzenhiser (1931–2001) who served as the group’s president for over 30 years.
You can view the KCFCC’s official press release about this year’s winners here.
