Three critics voting bodies have weighed in on the best of the best in 2018, and we now officially have three different Best Picture winners. The Gotham Awards—which celebrate independent film—went left-of-center with The Rider, the National Board of Review chose crowdpleaser Green Book, and now the New York Film Critics Circle—the most prestigious of the bunch so far—has named ROMA the Best Film of 2018. Alfonso Cuarón’s masterful Netflix family drama picked up three awards in total, including Best Director and Best Cinematography, both of which went to Cuarón.
But the New York Film Critics Circle refreshingly spread the love around instead of going with the predictable choices. Regina Hall won Best Actress for her critically acclaimed turn in Support the Girls, a performance that has garnered serious critical support but which has been left off Oscar prognosticators’ radars—until now. They also went with the 12-year-spanning domestic abuse documentary Minding the Gap for Best Documentary over season favorite Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, and chose Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse for Best Animated Film over traditional Disney or Pixar staples.
It’s honestly a really solid lineup, and I do hope these choices help raise the profiles of these contenders in the Oscar race. Check out the full list of New York Film Critics Circle Awards winners below, and for my current take on the Oscar race click here.
Best Film – ROMA
Best Director – Alfonso Cuarón, ROMA
Best Screenplay, Paul Schrader, First Reformed
Best Actor – Ethan Hawke, First Reformed
Best Actress – Regina Hall, Support the Girls
Best Supporting Actor – Richard E. Grant, Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Best Supporting Actress – Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk
Best Cinematography – ROMA
Best Animated Film – Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Best Non-Fiction Film – Minding the Gap
Best Foreign Language Film – Cold War
Best First Film – Bo Burnham, Eighth Grade
Special Award – Kino Classics Box Set Pioneers: First Women Filmmakers
Special Award – David Schwartz, stepping down as Chief Film Curator at the Museum of the Moving Image after 33 years