Florida Film Critics Circle swoons for ‘The Lobster,’ ‘La La Land’ and ‘Moonlight’
Yorgos Lanthimos’ “The Lobster,” an absurdist comedy about a near-future where being single is illegal, was named the best movie of 2016 by the Florida Film Critics Circle on Friday. The movie also won the Best Original Screenplay award.
“Moonlight,” the arresting made-in-Miami drama about a young man growing up in Liberty City, won the Pauline Kael Breakout prize for its director, Miami native Barry Jenkins. The movie’s cast and crew, which included several non-professional actors from the South Florida area, was awarded the group’s Golden Orange award, which is given for outstanding contributions to film in Florida.
“La La Land,” writer-director Damien Chazelle’s ode to old-school Hollywood musicals, won Best Director, Score, Art Direction and Cinematography.
Oscar favorite Casey Affleck won best actor for his portrayal of a man dealing with the consequences of the sudden death of his brother in “Manchester By the Sea.” Michelle Williams won Best Supporting Actress as Affleck’s ex-wife in that film.
Jeff Bridges took the Best Supporting Actor prize for his performance as a Texas lawman on the trail of bank robbers in “Hell or High Water.”
Paul Verhoeven’s “Elle,” the story of a woman who exacts an elaborate revenge on her rapist, took the Best Foreign Language Film and Best Actress awards for its star Isabelle Huppert.
“Cameraperson,” director Kirsten Johnson’s free-form memoir of her career making movies around the world, was named Best Documentary. Whit Stillman’s “Love and Friendship,” a comedy based on the Jane Austen novella, won Best Adapted Screenplay.
“Kubo and the Two Strings,” the wondrous stop-motion fable from the animation studio Laika, won Best Animated Feature. Writer-director Kelly Fremon Craig’s teenage comedy “The Edge of Seventeen” won Best First Film.
The Florida Film Critics Circle was founded in 1996 and is comprised of 27 writers from print and online publications around the state, including the Miami Herald’s Rene Rodriguez and Connie Ogle.
Here’s the complete list of FFCC winners:
BEST PICTURE
Winner: “The Lobster”
Runner-up: “La La Land”
BEST DIRECTOR
Winner: Damien Chazelle, “La La Land”
Runner-up: Yorgos Lanthimos, “The Lobster”
BEST ACTOR
Winner: Casey Affleck, “Manchester By the Sea”
Runner-up: Joel Edgerton, “Loving”
BEST ACTRESS
Winner: Isabelle Huppert, “Elle”
Runner-up: Emma Stone, “La La Land”
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Winner: Jeff Bridges, “Hell or High Water”
Runner-up: Ralph Fiennes, “A Bigger Splash”
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Winner: Michelle Williams, “Manchester By the Sea”
Runner-up: Viola Davis, “Fences”
BEST ENSEMBLE
Winner: “American Honey”
Runner-up: “Moonlight”
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Winner: “The Lobster”
Runner-up: “Manchester By the Sea”
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Winner: “Love and Friendship”
Runner-up: “Moonlight”
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Winner: “Cameraperson”
Runner-up: “OJ: Made in America”
BEST FOREIGN FILM
Winner: “Elle”
Runner-up: “The Handmaiden”
BEST ANIMATED FILM
Winner: “Kubo and the Two Strings”
Runner-up: “Zootopia”
BEST SCORE
Winner: “La La Land”
Runner-up: “Jackie”
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Winner: “La La Land”
Runner-up: “The Handmaiden”
BEST ART DIRECTION/PRODUCTION DESIGNER
Winner: “La La Land”
Runner-up: “Jackie”
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Winner: “Arrival”
Runner-up: “Doctor Strange”
BEST FIRST FILM
Winner: “The Edge of Seventeen”
Runner-up: “The Witch”
PAULINE KALE BREAKOUT AWARD
Winner: Barry Jenkins, “Moonlight”
Runner-up: Lucas Hedges, “Manchester By the Sea”
GOLDEN ORANGE
Winner: The cast and crew of “Moonlight”
SEFCA AWARDS
Earlier this week, the Southeastern Film Critics Association, which is comprised by 53 print, online and radio journalists in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia, awarded “Moonlight” five prizes, including Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay.
Here’s the complete list of the SEFCA winners, which were announced earlier this week:
TOP TEN FILMS
“Moonlight”
“Manchester by the Sea”
“La La Land”
“Hell or High Water”
“Loving”
“Arrival”
(Tie) “Fences” and “Jackie”
“Nocturnal Animals”
“Hidden Figures”
BEST ACTOR
Winner: Casey Affleck, “Manchester by the Sea”
Runner-up: Denzel Washington, “Fences”
BEST ACTRESS
Winner: Natalie Portman, “Jackie”
Runner-up: Ruth Negga, “Loving”
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Winner: Mahershala Ali “Moonlight”
Runner-up: Jeff Bridges, “Hell or High Water”
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Winner: Viola Davis, “Fences”
Runner-up: Naomie Harris, “Moonlight”
BEST ENSEMBLE
Winner: “Moonlight”
Runner-up: “Manchester by the Sea”
BEST DIRECTOR
Winner (tie): Damien Chazelle, “La La Land”
Winner (tie): Barry Jenkins, “Moonlight”
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Winner: “Manchester by the Sea”
Runner-up: “Hell or High Water”
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Winner: “Moonlight”
Runner-up: “Arrival”
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Winner: “I Am Not Your Negro”
Runner-up: “OJ: Made in America”
BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM
Winner: “The Handmaiden”
Runner-up: “Elle”
BEST ANIMATED FILM
Winner: “Zootopia”
Runner-up: “Kubo and the Two Strings”
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Winner: “La La Land”
Runner-up: “Moonlight”
GENE WYATT AWARD FOR FILM THAT BEST EMBODIES THE SPIRIT OF THE SOUTH
Winner: “Loving”
Runner-up: “Moonlight”
Rene Rodriguez: 305-376-3611, @ReneMiamiHerald
This story was originally published December 23, 2016 at 1:23 PM with the headline "Florida Film Critics Circle swoons for ‘The Lobster,’ ‘La La Land’ and ‘Moonlight’."