The Southeastern Film Critics Association (SEFCA) announced their award winners today, and the top prize went to Jane Campion's stunning western The Power of the Dog. Full disclosure: I'm also the President of SEFCA, and I can reveal that as a vote counter, The Power of the Dog had a commanding lead in our balloting. It's no surprise since the film is excellent, and it also took home awards for Best Director for Jane Campion, Best Actor for Benedict Cumberbatch, Best Supporting Actor for Kodi Smit-McPhee, and Best Supporting Actress for Kirsten Dunst. Over in the best Best Actress category, Kristen Stewart won for her performance as Princess Diana in Spencer.
Overall, I'm incredibly pleased with the group's selections (and I'm not just saying that because I'm President; you can see my news articles on SEFCA's years past where I voiced my displeasure). In our Top 10 we recognized films that are threatening to fly under the award radar (The Green Knight), foreign-language features (Drive My Car), and documentaries (Summer of Soul). I don't know how these films will fare over the course of the awards season, but I'll also say I wouldn't be surprised if The Power of the Dog is named Best Picture on Oscar night.
Check out our full list of awards below.
Top 10 Films
- The Power of the Dog
- Licorice Pizza
- Belfast
- The Green Knight
- West Side Story
- The French Dispatch
- Tick, Tick…BOOM!
- Drive My Car
- Dune
- Summer of Soul
Best Actor
Winner: Benedict Cumberbatch, The Power of the Dog
Runner-Up: Will Smith, King Richard
Best Actress
Winner: Kristen Stewart, Spencer
Runner-Up: Alana Haim, Licorice Pizza
Best Supporting Actor
Winner: Kodi Smit-McPhee, The Power of the Dog
Runner-Up: Jeffrey Wright, The French Dispatch
Best Supporting Actress
Winner: Kirsten Dunst, The Power of the Dog
Runner-Up: Aunjanue Ellis, King Richard
Best Ensemble
Winner: The French Dispatch
Runner-Up: Mass
Best Director
Winner: Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog
Runner-Up: Steven Spielberg, West Side Story
Best Original Screenplay
Winner: Paul Thomas Anderson, Licorice Pizza
Runner-Up: Wes Anderson, The French Dispatch
Best Adapted Screenplay
Winner: Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog
Runner-Up: Tony Kushner, West Side Story
Best Documentary
Winner: Summer of Soul
Runner-Up: Flee
Best Foreign-Language Film
Winner: Drive My Car
Runner-Up: The Worst Person in the World
Best Animated Film
Winner: The Mitchells vs. The Machines
Runner-Up: Flee
Best Cinematography
Winner: Greig Fraser, Dune
Runner-Up: Ari Wegner, The Power of the Dog
Best Score
Winner: Hans Zimmer, Dune
Runner-Up: Jonny Greenwood, The Power of the Dog