The UK’s leading film critics announced their nominations today at an event hosted by actors Jing Lusi and Ényì Okoronkwo at The May Fair Hotel. Andrew Haigh’s drama All of Us Strangers led the field with nine nominations, followed by Christopher Nolan’s epic biopic Oppenheimer with seven and a trio of powerhouse festival films with six: Celine Song’s Past Lives, Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things and Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone of Interest. Greta Gerwig’s Barbie received five nominations.
All of these films are in the running for Film of the Year alongside the French courtroom drama Anatomy of a Fall, Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers, Todd Haynes’ May December and Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon. Cast members from each of these films are named in the acting categories, including lead actors Andrew Scott, Paul Giamatti and Cillian Murphy and lead actresses Lily Gladstone, Sandra Hüller, Greta Lee and Emma Stone.
In the new Animated Film category, Spain’s Robot Dreams is contending with two films from Japan, The Boy and the Heron and Suzume, plus inventive genre favourites Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. And in the new Breakthrough Performer award, homegrown newcomers Mia McKenna Bruce (How to Have Sex) and Vivian Oparah (Rye Lane) are nominated alongside Greta Lee (Past Lives), Dominic Sessa (The Holdovers) and Venice winner Cailee Spaeny (Priscilla).
At this year’s ceremony, Jeffrey Wright will be presented with the London Critics’ top honour The Dilys Powell Award for Excellence in Film, named after the legendary critic. Wright is also nominated this year as lead actor in American Fiction. He began his career on the stage, transitioning to film in 1996 with the title role in Basquiat. Notable films include Syriana (2005), Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch (2021) and Asteroid City (2023), and Rustin (2023). He played Felix Leiter in three James Bond films opposite Daniel Craig, and also appeared in The Hunger Games and The Batman. Among many accolades, Wright has previously won an Emmy, a Tony and a Golden Globe.
“We are thrilled to present such an iconic actor as Jeffrey Wright with the Dilys Powell Award. And we are planning another special award as well, new this year, to be announced soon. As always, our nominees stand out from other awards because our members actually take the time to watch all of the year’s films,” says Rich Cline, chair of the Critics’ Circle Film Section. “So these nominations represent a cross-section of the very best movies we saw in 2023. Instead of being critical, it’s nice to celebrate films, filmmakers and performances that deserve attention.”
This year’s winners in all categories will be announced at London’s May Fair Hotel on 4th February 2024. Last year’s ceremony saw Todd Field’s Tár take three awards, including Film, Director and Actress of the Year for Cate Blanchett. Michelle Yeoh was also on hand to receive the Dilys Powell Award, and Florence Pugh collected her British/Irish Actress prize.
The 44th London Critics’ Circle Film Awards are voted by the 210-member Film Section of the Critics’ Circle, the UK’s longest-standing and most prestigious critics’ organisation. Films are automatically eligible if they are released in cinemas or on premiere streaming services between mid-February 2023 and mid-February 2024. The May Fair Hotel, part of Edwardian Hotels London, is the main sponsor of the event, alongside non-alcoholic sparkling wine Wild Idol, cocktail specialists Gattertop, Guisborough Brewery, Reddit, MetFilm, Cinemadix, print solutions experts MTA Digital and creative industry accountants Nyman Libson Paul LLP.
The full list of nominations:
FILM OF THE YEAR
Sponsored by Nyman Libson Paul
All of Us Strangers
Anatomy of a Fall
Barbie
The Holdovers
Killers of the Flower Moon
May December
Oppenheimer
Past Lives
Poor Things
The Zone of Interest
FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR
Anatomy of a Fall
The Boy and the Heron
Fallen Leaves
Past Lives
The Zone of Interest
DOCUMENTARY OF THE YEAR
20 Days in Mariupol
Beyond Utopia
The Eternal Memory
Scala!!!
Still: A Michael J Fox Movie
ANIMATED FILM OF THE YEAR
The Boy and the Heron
Robot Dreams
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Suzume
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR
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Greta Gerwig – Barbie
Jonathan Glazer – The Zone of Interest
Yorgos Lanthimos – Poor Things
Christopher Nolan – Oppenheimer
Martin Scorsese – Killers of the Flower Moon
SCREENWRITER OF THE YEAR
Andrew Haigh – All of Us Strangers
Christopher Nolan – Oppenheimer
Justine Triet & Arthur Harari – Anatomy of a Fall
Celine Song – Past Lives
Greta Gerwig & Noah Baumbach – Barbie
ACTRESS OF THE YEAR
Lily Gladstone – Killers of The Flower Moon
Sandra Hüller – Anatomy of a Fall
Greta Lee – Past Lives
Carey Mulligan – Maestro
Emma Stone – Poor Things
ACTOR OF THE YEAR
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Bradley Cooper – Maestro
Paul Giamatti – The Holdovers
Cillian Murphy – Oppenheimer
Andrew Scott – All of Us Strangers
Jeffrey Wright – American Fiction
SUPPORTING ACTRESS OF THE YEAR
Claire Foy – All of Us Strangers
Sandra Hüller – The Zone of Interest
Julianne Moore – May December
Rosamund Pike – Saltburn
Da’Vine Joy Randolph – The Holdovers
SUPPORTING ACTOR OF THE YEAR
Robert Downey Jr – Oppenheimer
Ryan Gosling – Barbie
Charles Melton – May December
Paul Mescal – All of Us Strangers
Mark Ruffalo – Poor Things
BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMER OF THE YEAR
Greta Lee – Past Lives
Mia McKenna-Bruce – How to Have Sex
Vivian Oparah – Rye Lane
Dominic Sessa – The Holdovers
Cailee Spaeny – Priscilla
THE ATTENBOROUGH AWARD: BRITISH/IRISH FILM OF THE YEAR
All of Us Strangers
How to Have Sex
Poor Things
Rye Lane
The Zone of Interest
THE PHILIP FRENCH AWARD: BREAKTHROUGH BRITISH/IRISH FILMMAKER
Raine Allen Miller – Rye Lane
Sam H Freeman & Ng Choon Ping – Femme
Molly Manning Walker – How to Have Sex
Nida Manzoor – Polite Society
Charlotte Regan – Scrapper
BRITISH/IRISH PERFORMER OF THE YEAR (for body of work)
Paul Mescal – All of Us Strangers/God’s Creatures/Foe/Carmen
Carey Mulligan – Maestro/Saltburn
Cillian Murphy – Oppenheimer
Andrew Scott – All of Us Strangers
Tilda Swinton – The Eternal Daughter/The Killer/Asteroid City
YOUNG BRITISH/IRISH PERFORMER OF THE YEAR
Jaeden Boadilla – Raging Grace
Le’Shantey Bonsu – Girl
Samuel Bottomley – How to Have Sex
Lola Campbell – Scrapper
Temilola Olatunbosun – Pretty Red Dress
BRITISH/IRISH SHORT FILM OF THE YEAR
For People in Trouble – Alex Lawther, director
Muna – Warda Mohammed, director
Outlets – Duncan Cowles, director
Predators – Jack King, director
The Veiled City – Nathalie Cubides-Brady, director
TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
All of Us Strangers – casting, Kahleen Crawford
Barbie – production design, Sarah Greenwood
The First Slam Dunk – sound design, Kôji Kasamatsu
Full Time – film editing, Mathilde Van De Moortel
Killers of the Flower Moon – film editing, Thelma Schoonmaker
Medusa Deluxe – makeup & hair, Eugene Souleiman
Oppenheimer – visual effects, Andrew Jackson
Past Lives – cinematography, Shabier Kirchner
Poor Things – costumes, Holly Waddington
Saltburn – casting, Kharmel Cochrane
The Zone of Interest – music & sound, Mica Levi & Johnnie Burn
THE DILYS POWELL AWARD: EXCELLENCE IN FILM
Jeffrey Wright
Winners will be announced at a ceremony on Sunday, 4th February at the May Fair Hotel.
NOMINATIONS BY FILM:
9:
All of Us Strangers (Searchlight)
7:
Oppenheimer (Universal)
6:
Past Lives (StudioCanal)
Poor Things (Searchlight)
The Zone of Interest (A24)
5:
Barbie (Warner Bros)
4:
Anatomy of a Fall (Picturehouse)
The Holdovers (Universal)
How to Have Sex (Mubi)
Killers of the Flower Moon (Apple)
3:
Maestro (Netflix)
May December (Sky)
Rye Lane (Searchlight)
Saltburn (Warner Bros)
2:
The Boy and the Heron (Elysian)
Scrapper (Picturehouse)
1:
20 Days in Mariupol (Dogwoof)
American Fiction (Curzon)
Asteroid City (Universal)
Beyond Utopia (Dogwoof)
Carmen (Miracle)
The Eternal Daughter (BFI)
The Eternal Memory (Dogwoof)
Fallen Leaves (Mubi)
Femme (Signature)
The First Slam Dunk (Anime)
Foe (Metfilm)
Full Time (Parkland)
Girl (Studio Soho)
God’s Creatures (BFI)
The Killer (Netflix)
Medusa Deluxe (Mubi)
Polite Society (Universal)
Pretty Red Dress (BFI)
Priscilla (Mubi)
Raging Grace (Modern)
Robot Dreams (Curzon)
Scala!!! (BFI)
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Sony)
Still: A Michael J Fox Movie (Apple)
Suzume (Sony)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (Paramount)
