December 19, 2011 – Alexander Payne’s touching drama The Descendants was the big winner at the Florida Film Critics Circle’s (FFCC) annual honors, taking home prizes for Best Picture, Supporting Actress (Shailene Woodley) and Adapted Screenplay (Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash).

No other film won more than two awards. Michael Fassbender won Best Actor for his portrayal of a sex addict in Shame, Michelle Williams won Best Actress for her turn as Marilyn Monroe in My Week with Marilyn, and Albert Brooks won Best Supporting Actor for his performance as a Mafioso in Drive.

Martin Scorsese won Best Director for Hugo, and the film was also honored for its Art Direction/Production Design (Dante Ferretti). Michael Hazanavicius won Best Original Screenplay for his critically acclaimed silent film The Artist, which finished a close second behind The Descendants for Best Picture.

In other awards, The Skin I Live In won for Best Foreign Language Film, The Adventures of Tintin took Best Animated Film and Project Nim was hailed as the Best Documentary. Technical awards went to Emmanuel Lubezki for his cinematography in The Tree of Life and the visual effects team for Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

Martha Marcy May Marlene star Elizabeth Olsen won the Pauline Kael Breakout Award.

 

 

Best Picture:

The Descendants

 

Best Director:

Martin Scorsese – Hugo

 

Best Actor:

Michael Fassbender – Shame

 

Best Actress:

Michelle Williams – My Week with Marilyn

 

Best Supporting Actor:

Albert Brooks – Drive

 

Best Supporting Actress:

Shailene Woodley – The Descendants

 

Best Adapted Screenplay:

Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash – The Descendants

 

Best Original Screenplay:

Michael Hazanavicius – The Artist

 

Best Cinematography:

Emmanuel Lubezki – The Tree of Life

 

Best Visual Effects:

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

 

Best Art Direction/Production Design:

Hugo

 

Best Foreign Language:

The Skin I Live In

 

Best Animated Film:

The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn

 

Best Documentary:

Project Nim

 

Pauline Kael Breakout Award:

Elizabeth Olsen – Martha Marcy May Marlene