The NYFCC had their say, the National Board of Review surprised and, now, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association has anointed their Best Film for 2022. Or, should we rephrase that as “films”? For the first time since 1976, LAFCA chose two films for their top prize: Todd Field’s “TAR” and The Daniels’ “Everything Everywhere All At Once.” “Tar” also took Best Director, Best Screenplay and one of the Lead Performance honors.
Nine of the last 10 LAFCA winners have gone on to land an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture.
READ MORE: “Triangle of Sadness” wins top prizes at 2022 European Film Awards
Despite LAFCA removing gender qualifications from its performance categories, one man and one woman took them respectfully. Lead Performance went to Cate Blanchett for “TAR” and Bill Nighy for “Living.” Dolly de Leon, “Triangle of Sadness,” and Ke Huy Quan, “Everything Everywhere All At Once,” took the Supporting Performer honors.
Best Editing went to Blair McClendon for “Aftersun.”
In other categories, Dylan Cole took Best Production Design for “Avatar: The Way of Water,” M.M. Keeravani won Best Music/Score for “RRR” and Michał Dymek took Cinematography for “EO.” The latter also won the Best Film Not in the English-Language honor.
Laura Poitras’ “All The Beauty and All The Bloodshed” took Best Documentary and “Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio” won Best Animation.
A complete list of this year’s winners and runner-ups are as follows:
Best Film: EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE, TAR (TIE)
Best Film Not in the English Language: EO
Runner-up: SAINT OMER
Best Director, Winner: Todd Field, TAR
Runner-up: S.S. Rajamouli, RRR
Best Lead Performance, Winners: Cate Blanchett, TAR and Bill Nighy, LIVING
Runners-up: Danielle Deadwyler, TILL and Michelle Yeoh, EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE
Best Supporting Performer, Winners: Dolly de Leon, TRIANGLE OF SADNESS and Ke Huy Quan, EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE
Runner-ups: Jessie Buckley, WOMEN TALKING and Brian Tyree Henry, CAUSEWAY
Best Screenplay, Winner: Todd Field for TAR
Runner-up: Martin McDonagh for THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN
Best Editing, Winner: Blair McClendon for AFTERSUN
Runner-up: Monika Willi for TAR
Best Production Design, Winner: Dylan Cole, Ben Procter for AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER
Runner-up: Jason Kisvarday for EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE
Best Music/Score, Winner: M.M. Keeravani, RRR
Runner-up: Paweł Mykietyn, EO
Best Documentary/Nonfiction, Winner: ALL THE BEAUTY AND THE BLOODSHED
Runner-up: FIRE OF LOVE
Best Animation, Winner: GUILLERMO DEL TORO’S PINOCCHIO
Runner-up: MARCEL THE SHELL WITH SHOES ON
Best Cinematography, Winner: Michał Dymek, EO
Runner-up: Hoyte van Hoytema, NOPE
Douglas Edwards Experimental Film prize is DE HUMANI CORPORIS FABRICA