STEVEN SPIELBERG’S WEST SIDE STORY LEADS CHICAGO FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION 2021 AWARD NOMINATIONS
Chicago, IL (December 13, 2021) — The Chicago Film Critics Association (CFCA) today announces nominees for their top film honors of 2021; winners will be announced at the organization’s annual awards ceremony, a virtual event for Association members to be held on Wednesday, December 15. Leading with a record-making 11 total nominations is Steven Spielberg’s WEST SIDE STORY; other films earning multiple nominations include Jane Campion’s THE POWER OF THE DOG (8), David Lowery’s THE GREEN KNIGHT (7) and DRIVE MY CAR, DUNE and LICORICE PIZZA (6 each). A complete list of nominees is below.
Comprised of voting members who represent outlets including the Chicago Sun-Times, The New York Times, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, RogerEbert.com, The A.V Club, Vulture, NPR, and many more, the Chicago Film Critics Association annually presents traditional awards including Best Picture, Director, Actor and Actress, among others. With a particular focus on emerging talents, the CFCA also presents breakthrough awards to both an actor and filmmaker with the most promise for future career achievements.
A reliably diverse voting body, the 2021 Chicago Film Critics Awards again honor a broad list of films and creators, with a total of 36 films nominated across nineteen categories. With 17 nominations, Netflix is the most recognized studio; Disney and A24 share the second most nominations with 13 each. In a first for the CFCA, the Most Promising Performer category is comprised entirely of women: Ariana DeBose (West Side Story), Alana Haim (Licorice Pizza), Emilia Jones (CODA), Rachel Sennott (Shiva Baby) and Rachel Zegler (West Side Story). The complete list of 2021 Chicago Film Critics Awards nominations is as follows:
BEST PICTURE
Drive My Car | The Green Knight | Licorice Pizza | The Power of the Dog | West Side Story
BEST DIRECTOR
Paul Thomas Anderson, Licorice Pizza
Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog
Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, Drive My Car
David Lowery, The Green Knight
Steven Spielberg, West Side Story
BEST ACTOR
Nicolas Cage, Pig
Benedict Cumberbatch, The Power of the Dog
Andrew Garfield, tick, tick...BOOM!
Hidetoshi Nishijima, Drive My Car
Simon Rex, Red Rocket
BEST ACTRESS
Jessica Chastain, The Eyes of Tammy Faye
Olivia Colman, The Lost Daughter
Alana Haim, Licorice Pizza
Agathe Rousselle, Titane
Kristen Stewart, Spencer
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Bradley Cooper, Licorice Pizza
Colman Domingo, Zola
Mike Faist, West Side Story
Kodi Smit-McPhee, The Power of the Dog
Jeffrey Wright, The French Dispatch
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Catriona Balfe, Belfast
Jessie Buckley, The Lost Daughter
Ariana DeBose, West Side Story
Riley Keough, Zola
Ruth Negga, Passing
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Drive My Car by Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, Haruki Murakami & Takamasa Oe
The Green Knight by David Lowery
The Lost Daughter by Maggie Gyllenhaal
The Power of the Dog by Jane Campion
West Side Story by Tony Kushner
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
The Card Counter by Paul Schrader
The French Dispatch by Wes Anderson
Licorice Pizza by Paul Thomas Anderson
Pig by Michael Sarnoski
Red Rocket by Sean Baker & Chris Bergoch
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Belle | Encanto | Flee | Luca | The Mitchells vs. The Machines
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Flee | Procession | The Sparks Brothers | Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) | The Velvet Underground
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Drive My Car | A Hero | Petite Maman | Titane | The Worst Person in the World
BEST ART DIRECTION/PRODUCTION DESIGN
Dune | The French Dispatch | The Green Knight | Nightmare Alley | West Side Story
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Dune, Greig Fraser
The Green Knight, Andrew Droz Palermo
The Power of the Dog, Ari Wegner
The Tragedy of Macbeth, Bruno Delbonnel
West Side Story, Janusz Kaminski
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Cruella, Jenny Beavan
Dune, Robert Morgan & Jacqueline West
The Green Knight, Malgosia Turzanska
Spencer, Jacqueline Durran
West Side Story, Paul Tazewell
BEST EDITING
Drive My Car, Azusa Yamazaki
Dune, Joe Walker
The French Dispatch, Andrew Weisblum
The Power of the Dog, Peter Sciberras
West Side Story, Michael Kahn & Sarah Broshar
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Annette, Ron Mael & Russell Mael
Dune, Hans Zimmer
The French Dispatch, Alexandre Desplat
The Power of the Dog, Jonny Greenwood
Spencer, Jonny Greenwood
BEST USE OF VISUAL EFFECTS
Annette | Dune | The Green Knight | Nightmare Alley | Titane
MOST PROMISING PERFORMER
Ariana DeBose, West Side Story
Alana Haim, Licorice Pizza
Emilia Jones, CODA
Rachel Sennott, Shiva Baby
Rachel Zegler, West Side Story
MILOS STEHLIK BREAKTHROUGH FILMMAKER AWARD
Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Lost Daughter
Rebecca Hall, Passing
Sian Heder, CODA
Michael Sarnoski, Pig
Emma Seligman, Shiva Baby
