ANNOUNCEMENT: The Chicago Film Critics Association Nominations for the 2016 Film Awards

When the Oscars nominees are announced each year, it’s exciting, but I don’t feel a personal involvement in the nominees selected. That’s not the case when the Chicago Film Critics Association (CFCA) announce the nominees they have selected for the best in film each year and that’s because I voted. This is one of the many times during the year when I’m reminding how humbling it is to be a member in this long-standing group, among so many knowledgeable and talented writers, many of whom have become great colleagues and friends, offering valuable advice and input along my own film criticism journey. Now, I can look at our latest nominees – which were just released tonight – and realize where some of my recent votes went and wonder why some of my votes never didn’t make the list (alas, “The Wailing”). Below, is the CFCA official statement and a list of the nominees as well as info on when the winners will be announced….

“Moonlight,” “Jackie” and “Manchester by the Sea” lead the pack with the most nominations for the group’s awards.

“Moonlight,” Barry Jenkins’s acclaimed drama following the journey of self-discovery taken by a young man over the course of three key moments between adolescence and adulthood, clearly struck a chord with members of the Chicago Film Critics Association. The film received the most nominations for the group’s 2016 film awards with eleven nods, including Best Picture, Jenkins for Director and Original Screenplay, Mahershala Ali and Trevante Rhodes for Supporting Actor, Naomie Harris for Supporting Actress, James Laxton for Cinematography, Nicholas Britell for Original Score, Joi McMillon & Nat Sanders for Editing and both Janelle Monae and Rhodes for Most Promising Performer. (Monae’s Promising Performer nomination was shared with “Hidden Figures,” for which she was also nominated for Supporting Actress.)

Two films tied for second place in the nomination count with eight apiece, including Best Picture for each. “Jackie,” the innovative drama looking at the first few days following the assassination of John F. Kennedy through the eyes of his widow earned nominations for Natalie Portman (her fifth to date from the group) for Best Actress, Pablo Larrain for Director, Noah Oppenheim for Original Screenplay and was also shortlisted for Cinematography, Original Score, Art Direction and Editing. “Manchester by the Sea,” the wrenching drama about a troubled man returning home following the death of his brother earned Kenneth Lonergan nominations for Director and Original Screenplay, Casey Affleck for Best Actor, Michelle Williams for Supporting Actress (her fourth CFCA nomination), Lucas Hedges for Supporting Actor and Promising Performer and Jennifer Lame for Editing.

Rounding out the Best Picture nominees were the glorious musical extravaganza “La La Land,” which earned seven nominations, including Damien Chazelle for Director, Emma Stone for Best Actress and additional citations for Cinematography, Original Score, Art Direction and Editing and “The Handmaiden,” the sexy and twisty thriller about a plot to defraud a heiress in 1930s-era Korea that received six, including two for controversial filmmaker Park Chan-wook for Director and Adapted Screenplay (sharing the latter with Seo-Kyung Chung) as well as nods for Cinematography, Art Direction and Foreign-Language Film. Two additional films received three nominations each—the sci-fi drama “Arrival” earned slots for Adapted Screenplay and Original Score and also earned Amy Adams a nod (her fifth) for Best Actress. Among her competitors is Isabelle Huppert, who was nominated for her performance in the electrifying French drama “Elle,” which also received nominations for Adapted Screenplay and Foreign-Language Film.

Among the other films receiving multiple nominations, Denzel Washington received a record eighth nomination from the CFCA with his Best Actor selection for “Fences” and his co-star, Viola Davis, was cited for Supporting Actress. Martin Scorsese’s long-anticipated religious drama “Silence” earned nods for Scorsese and Jay Cocks for Adapted Screenplay and Rodrigo Prieto for Cinematography. The quirky comedy “The Lobster” was cited for Original Screenplay and Colin Farrell was shortlisted for Best Actor. As was the case with Lucas Hedges, Janelle Monae and Trevante Rhodes, newcomer Lily Gladstone received two nominations for one performance as her work in the drama “Certain Women” landed her nods for Supporting Actress and Promising Performer. Another Promising Performer candidate was Royalty Hightower, whose film, “The Fits,” also saw its director, Anna Rose Holmer, nominated for Promising Filmmaker. “Tower,” an innovative look at the killing spree of Charles Whitman, was nominated for both Best Documentary and Animated Feature. In addition to an Animated Feature slot, “Kubo and the Two Strings” also earned a Promising Filmmaker nomination for Travis Knight. “Cameraperson” was shortlisted for both the Documentary and Editing prizes and the contemporary Western “Hell or High Water” earned nominations for Supporting Actor for Ben Foster and Original Screenplay for Taylor Sheridan. And proving that they are even willing to embrace horror, a genre too often ignored by award groups, the CFCA gave nominations to “The Neon Demon” for Original Score and Art Direction and “The Witch” for Art Direction and Robert Eggers for Promising Filmmaker.

Now in its 27th year, the CFCA will announce its winners during their year-end awards dinner to be held on the evening of December 15, 2016. Follow @ChicagoCritics on Twitter for the real-time announcements.

BEST PICTURE
The Handmaiden
Jackie
La La Land
Manchester by the Sea
Moonlight

BEST DIRECTOR
Damien Chazelle (-) La La Land
Barry Jenkins (-) Moonlight
Pablo Larrain (-) Jackie
Kenneth Lonergan (-) Manchester by the Sea
Chan-wook Park (-) The Handmaiden

BEST ACTOR
Casey Affleck (-) Manchester by the Sea
Adam Driver (-) Paterson
Joel Edgerton (-) Loving
Colin Farrell (-) The Lobster
Denzel Washington (-) Fences

BEST ACTRESS
Amy Adams (-) Arrival
Rebecca Hall (-) Christine
Isabelle Huppert (-) Elle
Natalie Portman (-) Jackie
Emma Stone (-) La La Land

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Mahershala Ali (-) Moonlight
Alden Ehrenreich (-) Hail, Caesar!
Ben Foster (-) Hell or High Water
Lucas Hedges (-) Manchester by the Sea
Trevante Rhodes (-) Moonlight
Michael Shannon (-) Nocturnal Animals

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Viola Davis (-) Fences
Lily Gladstone (-) Certain Women
Naomie Harris (-) Moonlight
Janelle Monae (-) Hidden Figures
Michelle Williams (-) Manchester by the Sea

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Hell or High Water (-)Taylor Sheridan
Jackie (-) Noah Oppenheim
The Lobster (-) Yorgos Lanthimos & Efthymis Filippou
Manchester by the Sea (-) Kenneth Lonergan
Moonlight (-) Barry Jenkins

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Arrival (-) Eric Heisserer
Elle (-) David Birke
The Handmaiden (-) Seo-Kyung Chung & Chan-wook Park
Love & Friendship (-) Whit Stillman
Silence(-) Jay Cocks & Martin Scorsese

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Kubo and the Two Strings
Moana
The Red Turtle
Tower
Zootopia

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Cameraperson
Life, Animated
OJ: Made in America
Tower
Weiner

BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM
Elle
The Handmaiden
Julieta
Neruda
Toni Erdmann

BEST ART DIRECTION/PRODUCTION DESIGN
The Handmaiden
Jackie
La La Land
The Neon Demon
The Witch

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
The Handmaiden (-) Chung-hoon Chung
Jackie (-) Stephane Fontaine
La La Land (-) Linus Sandgren
Moonlight (-) James Laxton
Silence (-) Rodrigo Prieto

BEST EDITING
Cameraperson (-) Nels Bangerter
Jackie (-) Sebastian Sepulveda
La La Land (-) Tom Cross
Manchester by the Sea (-) Jennifer Lame
Moonlight (-) Joi McMillon & Nat Sanders

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Arrival (-) Johann Johannsson
Jackie (-) Mica Levi
La La Land (-) Justin Hurwitz
Moonlight (-) Nicholas Britell
The Neon Demon (-) Cliff Martinez

MOST PROMISING FILMMAKER
Kelly Fremon Craig (-) The Edge of Seventeen
Robert Eggers (-) The Witch
Anna Rose Holmer (-) The Fits
Travis Knight (-) Kubo and the Two Strings
Trey Edward Shults (-) Krisha

MOST PROMISING PERFORMER
Lily Gladstone (-) Certain Women
Lucas Hedges (-) Manchester by the Sea
Royalty Hightower (-) The Fits
Janelle Monae (-) Hidden Figures and Moonlight
Trevante Rhodes (-) Moonlight

BY THE NUMBERS

11 Nominations—Moonlight
8 Nominations—Jackie, Manchester by the Sea
7 Nominations—La La Land
6 Nominations—The Handmaiden
3 Nominations—Arrival, Elle
2 Nominations—Cameraperson, Certain Women, Fences, The Fits, Hell or High Water, Hidden Figures, Kubo and the Two Strings, The Lobster, The Neon Demon, Silence, Tower, The Witch
1 Nomination—Christine, The Edge of Seventeen, Hail, Caesar!, Julieta, Krisha, Life, Animated, Love and Friendship, Moana, Neruda, Nocturnal Animals, OJ: Made in America, Paterson, The Red Turtle, Toni Erdmann, Weiner, Zootopia