2017 FFCC Award Winners
Dunkirk wins top prizes in 2017 Florida Film Critics Awards
The cast and crew of The Florida Project recognized with Golden Orange
TAMPA, FL — The Florida Film Critics Circle has announced its winners for the best films and cinematic performances of 2017 and the awards were, like last year, pretty fairly spread out among an array of films. During the nomination phase, The Shape of Water dominated most categories with ten nominations. But after the final votes came in for the 2017 Florida Film Critics Circle Awards, the fantasy/romance/monster movie was nowhere to be found in the final tally.
Taking the Best Picture prize was Dunkirk, writer-director Christopher Nolan’s epic depiction of the evacuation of Dunkirk during World War II. Writer-director Greta Gerwig’s poignant coming-of-age drama Lady Bird came in as the runner-up. Best Director also went to Dunkirk, recognizing Christopher Nolan with Lady Bird’s Greta Gerwig again in second place. Writer/director Jordan Peele was recognized in the Best Original Screenplay and Best First Film categories for Get Out. Peele was also the runner up for the Pauline Kael Breakout Award. That prize was won by actor Timothée Chalamet, for his roles in Call Me by Your Name, Lady Bird and his brief turn in Hostiles.
But the film with the most awards this year was Blade Runner 2049. Denis Villeneuve’s technical marvel won four prizes – all in the craft categories: Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction/Production, Best Visual Effects and Best Score. Three Billboards outside Ebbing Missouri was recognized in two acting categories: The cast won Best Ensemble and Sam Rockwell won Best Supporting Actor. The Best Actress, according to FFCC voters, was Margot Robbie for her performance as embattled former figure skater Tonya Harding in the black comedy/biopic I, Tonya. That film also found representation in another acting category, Best Supporting Actress, for Allison Janey. Winning Best Actor was, once again, Chalamet, this time for his singular performance in Call Me by Your Name. That film also won Best Adapted Screenplay honors for James Ivory.
In other categories, the winner in Best Documentary was Jane, which edged out Ex Libris: New York Public Library. The French film BPM beat out The Square for Best Foreign Language Film while Disney/Pixar made it on top this year with Coco, topping out the more adult oriented movie, Loving Vincent.
This year, the Florida Film Critics Circle bestowed its annual Golden Orange Award on the cast and crew of The Florida Project. Directing a script he co-wrote with Chris Bergoch, Sean Baker presents a look at “the other side of the highway” in Orlando, Florida. Living in a state of destitution, small children, whose parents have nowhere else to live but the low rent motels near Disney World, make the best of their world. It’s a film that touched the hearts of many critics beyond Florida and deserved some special recognition for its bold view of our state.
Congratulations to all this year’s winners!
The Florida Film Critics Circle is an organization of 25 writers from Florida-based print and online publications. Founded in 1996, the FFCC strives to recognize outstanding work in film, further the cause of good movies, and maintain the highest level of professionalism among film critics in Florida: www.floridafilmcritics.com. Bill Gibron of PopMatters.com and FilmRacket.com has served as chairman since March 2013.
COMPLETE LIST OF WINNERS
BEST PICTURE
Dunkirk (WINNER)
Lady Bird (Runner-Up)
Call Me By Your Name
Get Out
The Shape Of Water
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
BEST DIRECTOR
Christopher Nolan – Dunkirk (WINNER)
Greta Gerwig – Lady Bird (Runner-Up)
Guillermo del Toro – The Shape of Water
Jordan Peele – Get Out
Martin McDonagh – Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
BEST ACTOR
Timothée Chalamet – Call Me By Your Name (WINNER)
Gary Oldman – Darkest Hour (Runner-Up)
Daniel Kaluuya – Get Out
James Franco – The Disaster Artist
Robert Pattinson – Good Time
BEST ACTRESS
Margot Robbie – I, Tonya (WINNER)
Frances McDormand – Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (Runner-Up)
Cynthia Nixon – A Quiet Passion
Sally Hawkins – The Shape of Water
Saoirse Ronan – Lady Bird
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Sam Rockwell – Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (WINNER)
Willem Dafoe – The Florida Project (Runner-Up)
Armie Hammer – Call Me By Your Name
Barry Keoghan – The Killing of A Sacred Deer
Michael Stuhlbarg – Call Me By Your Name
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Allison Janney – I, Tonya (WINNER)
Laurie Metcalf – Lady Bird (Runner-Up)
Holly Hunter – The Big Sick
Hong Chau – Downsizing
Mary J. Blige – Mudbound
BEST ENSEMBLE
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (WINNER)
Dunkirk (Runner-Up)
Get Out
I, Tonya
Lady Bird
The Big Sick
The Shape Of Water
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Get Out (WINNER)
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (Runner-Up)
Lady Bird
The Big Sick
The Shape Of Water
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Call Me By Your Name (WINNER)
The Disaster Artist (Runner-Up)
Marjorie Prime
Molly’s Game
The Lost City of Z
Wonderstruck
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Blade Runner 2049 (WINNER)
Dunkirk (Runner-Up)
Personal Shopper
The Post
The Shape of Water
Wonderstruck
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Blade Runner 2049 (WINNER)
War for the Planet of the Apes (Runner-Up)
Dunkirk
Guardians of the Galaxy 2
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
The Shape of Water
BEST ART DIRECTION/PRODUCTION DESIGN
Blade Runner 2049 (WINNER)
Dunkirk (Runner-Up)
Phantom Thread
The Shape of Water
Wonderstruck
BEST SCORE
Blade Runner 2049 (WINNER)
Dunkirk (Runner-Up)
Phantom Thread
The Shape of Water
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Jane (WINNER)
Ex Libris: New York Public Library (Runner-Up)
Dawson City: Frozen Time
Faces Places
Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold
Kedi
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
BPM (WINNER)
The Square (Runner-Up)
First They Killed My Father
Loveless
The Ornithologist
BEST ANIMATED FILM
Coco (WINNER)
Loving Vincent (Runner-Up)
The Boss Baby
The Breadwinner
The LEGO Batman Movie
BEST FIRST FILM
Get Out (WINNER)
God’s Own Country (Runner-Up)
Ingrid Goes West
Molly’s Game
PAULINE KAEL BREAKOUT AWARD
Timothée Chalamet (WINNER)
Jordan Peele (Runner-Up)
Barry Keoghan
Greta Gerwig
Millicent Simmonds
GOLDEN ORANGE
The cast and crew of The Florida Project