2021 Austin Film Critics Association Award Nominations

The AFCA presents their shortlist for the 2021 awards season

The Austin Film Critics Association (AFCA) announced its 2021 awards nominations today.

The Power of the Dog leads the nominations with nine — including Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Adapted Screenplay. Other Best Film nominees are Dune, The Green Knight, Licorice Pizza, and Pig.

Despite 2021 seeing a continuation of our struggle to deal with a global pandemic, and related disruptions to the film industry, we celebrate the emergence of new creative forces, with nominations for Maggie Gyllenhaal (The Lost Daughter), Rebecca Hall (Passing), Fran Kranz (Mass), Michael Samoski (Pig) and Emma Seligman (Shiva Baby) in our Best First Film category. We also celebrate this year’s nominees for the Best Austin Film award.

List of Nominees (all in alphabetical order)

Best Film

• Dune
• The Green Knight
• Licorice Pizza
• Pig
• The Power of the Dog

Best Director

• Paul Thomas Anderson, Licorice Pizza
• Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog
• Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, Drive My Car
• David Lowery, The Green Knight
• Denis Villeneuve, Dune

Best Actress

• Olivia Colman, The Lost Daughter
• Penelope Cruz, Parallel Mothers
• Alana Haim, Licorice Pizza
• Kristen Stewart, Spencer
• Agathe Rousselle, Titane

Best Actor

• Nicolas Cage, Pig
• Benedict Cumberbatch, The Power of the Dog
• Andrew Garfield, Tick Tick… Boom!
• Simon Rex, Red Rocket
• Denzel Washington, The Tragedy of Macbeth

Best Supporting Actress

• Ariana DeBose, West Side Story
• Ann Dowd, Mass
• Kirsten Dunst, The Power of the Dog
• Kathryn Hunter, The Tragedy of Macbeth
• Ruth Negga, Passing

Best Supporting Actor

• Bradley Cooper, Licorice Pizza
• Colman Domingo, Zola
• Vincent Lindon, Titane
• Kodi Smit-McPhee, The Power of the Dog
• Jeffrey Wright, The French Dispatch

Best Ensemble

• Dune
• The French Dispatch
• The Harder they Fall
• Licorice Pizza
• Mass

Best Original Screenplay

• Paul Thomas Anderson, Licorice Pizza
• Wes Anderson, The French Dispatch
• Vanessa Block and Michael Sarnoski, Pig
• Fran Kranz, Mass
• Mike Mills, C’mon C’mon

Best Adapted Screenplay

• Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog
• Ryusuke Hamagucki and Takamasa Oe, Drive My Car
• Sian Heder, CODA
• David Lowery, The Green Knight
• Jon Spaihts, Denis Villeneuve, and Eric Roth, Dune

Best Cinematography

• Bruno Delbonnel, The Tragedy of Macbeth
• Greig Fraser, Dune
• Janusz Kaminski, West Side Story
• Andrew Droz Palermo, The Green Knight
• Ari Wegner, The Power of the Dog

Best Editing

• Andy Jurgensen, Licorice Pizza
• Peter Sciberras, The Power of the Dog
• Claire Simpson, The Last Duel
• Sarah Broshar and Michael Kahn, West Side Story
• Joe Walker, Dune

Best Original Score

• Jonny Greenwood, The Power of the Dog
• Jonny Greenwood, Spencer
• Daniel Hart, The Green Knight
• Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe, Candyman
• Hans Zimmer, Dune

Best International Film

• Drive My Car
• Lamb
• Parallel Mothers
• Titane
• The Worst Person in the World

Best Documentary

• Flee
• The Rescue
• The Sparks Brothers
• Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
• The Velvet Underground

Best Animated Film

• Belle
• Encanto
• Flee
• Luca
• The Mitchells vs. The Machines

Best Voice Acting/Animated/Digital Performance

• Stephanie Beatriz, Encanto
• Abbi Jacobson, The Mitchells vs The Machines
• John Leguizamo, Encanto
• Danny McBride, The Mitchells vs the Machines
• Kaho Nakamura, Belle

Best Stunts

• Dune
• No Time to Die
• Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
• Spiderman: No Way Home
• Raging Fire

Best First Film

• Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Lost Daughter
• Rebecca Hall, Passing
• Fran Kranz, Mass
• Michael Samoski, Pig
• Emma Seligman, Shiva Baby

The Robert R. “Bobby” McCurdy Memorial Breakthrough Artist Award

• Ariana DeBose, West Side Story
• Alana Haim, Licorice Pizza
• Emilia Jones, CODA
• Agathe Rousselle, Titane
• Rachel Sennott, Shiva Baby

As part of the organization’s annual voting, the Austin Film Critics Association awards titles with local ties — works made by directors who live in Austin. This award is distinct to our group of critics, recognizing the talent of Austin filmmakers as we celebrate the best films of the year.

In alphabetical order, the five nominees for Best Austin Film 2021 are:

• The Carnivores (dir. Caleb Michael Johnson)
• The Get Together (dir. Will Bakke)
• Happier Than Ever: A Love Letter to Los Angeles (co-dir. Robert Rodriguez)
• Queens of Pain (co-dir. Cassie Hay)
• Without Getting Killed or Caught (dirs. Tamara Saviano and Paul Whitfield)

The AFCA will announce 2021 award winners, including the Austin Film Award, Top 10 Films of 2021, and special awards on Tuesday, Jan 11th.

Founded in 2005 by Cole Dabney & Bobby McCurdy, the AFCA has seen its membership grow from single digits to well over 35 members. The diverse outlets our members contribute to include Austin American-Statesman, the Austin Chronicle, Austin360.com, Bloody Disgusting, But Why Tho Podcast, Certified Forgotten, Cinapse, Daily Grindhouse, the Daily Dot, the Daily Texan, Double Toasted, Fangoria, Film School Rejects, FirstShowing.net, GotchaMovies, Hammer to Nail, Hill Country News, Horror’s Not Dead, KOOP 91.7 FM Radio, Movies.com, Nerdist, Next Projection, One Movie Punch, One Of Us, Slashfilm, Smells Like Screen Spirit, True View Reviews, and Uproxx.