Showing posts with label IFJA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label IFJA. Show all posts

Monday, December 15, 2025

2025 IFJA Awards



“Sinners,” Ryan Coogler’s grim, genre-defying ode to horror through a lens of historical racism and music, emerged as the top winner in the annual awards from the Indiana Film Journalists Association. 


In addition to Best Picture, it also won Best Original Screenplay, Best Ensemble Acting, Best Musical Score, Best Cinematography and Best Editing.


“One Battle After Another” took Runner-Up for Best Film and won five awards in total: Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay for Paul Thomas Anderson, Best Supporting Performance for Benicio del Toro, and Chase Infiniti for both the Breakout of the Year and the Edward Johnson-Ott Hoosier Award.


Timothée Chalamet won Best Lead Performance for “Marty Supreme.” Best Animated Film went to “K-Pop Demon Hunters” and “No Other Choice” won Best Foreign Language Film. “Good Boy” was honored for Original Vision. Will Patton won Best Vocal / Motion-Capture Performance for his narration of “Train Dreams.”


IFJA members issued this statement for the Edward Johnson-Ott Hoosier Award, which goes to a film, filmmaker or performer with strong Indiana ties:

 

“Few young actresses have burst onto the scene with such audacious confidence and soulful grounding as Chase Infiniti. Born and raised in Indianapolis, Infiniti held our rapt attention in ‘One Battle After Another’ even while sharing the screen with some of the most celebrated actors working in film today. She is the first performer to win the Hoosier Award in its 17-year history, and we eagerly await her next steps as an artist.”


“The Tenderness Tour,” directed by Andie Redwine (a previous Hoosier Award winner), was named Best Documentary Film for its poignant yet unconventional portrait of disability activist and IFJA member Richard Propes. The IFJA issued the following statement regarding the film’s win:


“The IFJA held in-depth conversations about whether a documentary about one of its members should be eligible for its awards. While acknowledging the potential perception of bias, the group collectively decided the film merited selection for its exploration of the important topic of medical debt and its depiction of Hoosier locales and people usually left unseen. Richard Propes was the primary subject of an outstanding documentary but did not have a role in its production or creative choices. He abstained from discussing the film in awards deliberation or voting in the documentary category.”


Eight other films were voted Finalists for Best Film. Along with the winner and runner-up, they represent the IFJA’s selection as the Top 10 movies of the year. 


Here is the complete list of winners and runners-up:


Best Picture

Winner: Sinners

Runner-up: One Battle After Another

 

Other Best Film Finalists / Top 10 Films: (listed alphabetically)

Bob Trevino Likes It

Hamnet

The Life of Chuck

Marty Supreme

No Other Choice

Train Dreams

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery

Weapons


Best Animated Film

Winner: K-Pop Demon Hunters

Runner-up: The Legend of Hei 2

 

Best Foreign Language Film

Winner: No Other Choice

Runner-up: Sentimental Value

 

Best Documentary Film

Winner: The Tenderness Tour

Runner-up: Orwell: 2+2=5

 

Best Original Screenplay

Winner: Ryan Coogler, “Sinners”

Runner-up: Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie, “Marty Supreme”

 

Best Adapted Screenplay

Winner: Paul Thomas Anderson, “One Battle After Another”

Runner-up: Mike Flanagan, “The Life of Chuck”

 

Best Director

Winner: Paul Thomas Anderson, “One Battle After Another”

Runner-up: Ryan Coogler, “Sinners”

 

Best Lead Performance

Winner: Timothée Chalamet, “Marty Supreme”

Runner-up: Jessie Buckley, “Hamnet”

 

Best Supporting Performance

Winner: Benicio del Toro, “One Battle After Another”

Runner-up: Amy Madigan, “Weapons”

 

Best Vocal / Motion-Capture Performance

Winner: Will Patton, “Train Dreams”

Runner-up: Ebon Moss-Bachrach, “The Fantastic Four: First Steps”

 

Best Ensemble Acting

Winner: Sinners

Runner-up: One Battle After Another

 

Best Musical Score

Winner: Ludwig Göransson, “Sinners”

Runner-up: Jonny Greenwood, “One Battle After Another”

 

Breakout of the Year

Winner: Chase Infiniti (performer), “One Battle After Another”

Runner-up: Miles Caton (performer), “Sinners”

 

Best Cinematography

Winner: Autumn Donald Arkapaw, “Sinners”

Runner-up: Michael Bauman, “One Battle After Another”

 

Best Editing

Winner: Michael P. Shawver, “Sinners”

Runner-up: Andy Jurgensen, “One Battle After Another”

 

Best Stunt / Movement Choreography

Winner: Wade Eastwood (second-unit director / stunt coordinator), “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning”

Runner-up: Brian Machleit (stunt coordinator), “One Battle After Another”


Best Special Effects

Winner: Dennis Berardi, Ayo Burgess and Ivan Busquets (visual effects supervisors) and José Granell (miniatures / models supervisor), “Frankenstein”

Runner-up: Michael Ralla, Espen Nordahl and Guido Wolter (visual effects supervisors) and Donnie Dean (special effects coordinator), “Sinners”

 

Original Vision Award

Winner: Good Boy

Runner-up: The Testament of Ann Lee

 

The Edward Johnson-Ott Hoosier Award*

Chase Infiniti, “One Battle After Another”


*As a special honor, no runner-up is named for the Hoosier Award. It honors founding IFJA member and longtime NUVO Newsweekly critic Edward Johnson-Ott.


About IFJA: Established in 2009 by a dedicated group of Indiana journalists, the Indiana Film Journalists Association endeavors to promote quality film criticism in the Hoosier state and support Indiana’s film industry.

 

For more information, visit http://indianafilmjournalists.com.

Tuesday, December 17, 2024

2024 IFJA Awards

Being a member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association is a point of pride, and as our group grows, I think our awards choices get more interesting. The Substance is one of my favorite films of the year (I'll have my personal top ten list closer to the end of the year or, more likely, early next year), and it's a bold choice for Best Film and Leading and Supporting performances.

The IFJA prides itself on picking movies that interest us whether they are traditional awards-bait movies from big studios or unique visions from independent filmmakers. If we like it, we like it. So with that, here are this year's winners.

“The Substance” dominated the 2024 awards by the Indiana Film Journalists Association (IFJA), earning Best Film, Best Director and both Lead and Supporting performances for Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley, respectively.

A haunting mixture of social satire, cautionary science fiction and body horror, the film also took the prizes for Best Editing and Best Special Effects for a total of six wins.


“The Brutalist,” an ambitious tale of a post-WWII Jewish immigrant struggling to embrace the American Dream, was named runner-up in multiple categories including Best Film, Director, Editing, Cinematography and both Lead and Supporting Performances. It won the awards for Best Original Screenplay and Best Musical Score.


Eight other films were voted Finalists for Best Film. Along with the winner and runner-up, they represent the IFJA’s selection as the Top 10 movies of the year. 


“Mars Express” won both Best Foreign Language Film and Best Animated Film in a rare category crossover. “Daughters” was named Best Documentary and “Nosferatu” earned the prize for Cinematography. 


Writer/director/star Vera Drew earned the Breakout of the Year Award for “The People’s Joker.” The Original Vision award for a film that is especially innovative went to “Hundreds of Beavers.”


“Nickel Boys” won Adapted Screenplay, Best Ensemble Acting went to “His Three Daughters” and Lupita Nyong’o took the prize for Best Vocal/Motion Capture Performance for “The Wild Robot.”


The Edward Johnson-Ott Hoosier Award, which goes to a film or filmmaker with Indiana ties, went to Michael Husain for writing and directing the documentary “The Waiting Game” about American Basketball Association players’ long fight for recognition from the NBA.


IFJA members issued this statement for the Edward Johnson-Ott Hoosier Award:

 

“‘The Waiting Game’ chronicles the David vs Goliath story of the fight to get former ABA players honored by the NBA after blazing a path for a more uptempo, exciting version of the game that today’s league has fully embraced without giving due credit. Filmmaker Michael Husain’s keen and objective eye follows the herculean effort by lawyers, players and fans to right a historic wrong. The roots of the saga run through Indiana, and Husain creates a clear and compelling portrait of those who finally prevailed in the most important contest of all.”


In addition to the winner, IFJA recognizes a runner-up in each category (with one exception, noted below). Here is the complete list:


Best Picture

Winner: The Substance

Runner-up: The Brutalist

 

Other Best Film Finalists: (listed alphabetically)

Civil War

Conclave

A Different Man

I Saw the TV Glow

Mars Express

Nickel Boys

A Real Pain

Sing Sing


Best Animated Film

Winner: Mars Express

Runner-up: The Wild Robot

 

Best Foreign Language Film

Winner: Mars Express

Runner-up: Aattam

 

Best Documentary Film

Winner: Daughters

Runner-up: No Other Land

 

Best Original Screenplay

Winner: Brady Corbet and Mona Fastvold, The Brutalist 

Runner-up: Coralie Fargeat, The Substance

 

Best Adapted Screenplay

Winner: RaMell Ross and Joslyn Barnes, Nickel Boys

Runner-up: Peter Straughan, Conclave

 

Best Director

Winner: Coralie Fargeat, The Substance

Runner-up: Brady Corbet, The Brutalist

 

Best Lead Performance

Winner: Demi Moore, The Substance

Runner-up: Adrien Brody, The Brutalist

 

Best Supporting Performance

Winner: Margaret Qualley, The Substance

Runner-up: Guy Pearce, The Brutalist

 

Best Vocal/Motion Capture Performance

Winner: Lupita Nyong’o, The Wild Robot

Runner-up: Jonno Davies (motion-capture) and Robbie Williams (voice), Better Man

 

Best Ensemble Acting

Winner: His Three Daughters

Runner-up: Sing Sing

 

Best Musical Score

Winner: Daniel Blumberg, The Brutalist

Runner-up: Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, Challengers

 

Breakout of the Year

Winner: Vera Drew (director / co-writer / editor / performer), The People’s Joker

Runner-up: Mikey Madison, Anora

 

Best Cinematography

Winner: Jarin Blaschke, Nosferatu

Runner-up: Lol Crawley, The Brutalist

 

Best Editing

Winner: Jérôme Eltabet, Coralie Fargeat and Valentin Feron, The Substance

Runner-up: Dávid Jancsó, The Brutalist

 

Best Stunt/Movement Choreography

Winner: Guy Norris (action designer / supervising stunt coordinator / second-unit director), Tim Wong (stunt coordinator), Harland Norris (assistant stunt coordinator), Karl Van Moorsel (sequence coordinator) and Michael Roughan (stunt rigging coordinator), Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

Runner-up: Runner-Up: Ashley Wallen (dance choreographer), Nicholas Daines (stunt coordinator), Slavisa Ivanovic (stunt coordinator), Tim Wong (fight choreographer) and Spencer Susser (second-unit director), Better Man


Best Special Effects

Winner: Bryan Jones (visual effects supervisor), Pierre Procoudine-Gorsky (visual effects producer) and Jean Miel (special effects supervisor), The Substance

Runner-up: Mike Cheslik (visual effects) and Jerry Kurek (assistant effects artist), Hundreds of Beavers

 

Original Vision Award

Winner: Hundreds of Beavers

Runner-up: The Substance

 

The Edward Johnson-Ott Hoosier Award*

Michael Husain (writer / director), The Waiting Game


*As a special honor, no runner-up is named for the Hoosier Award. It is named after founding IFJA member and longtime NUVO Newsweekly critic Edward Johnson-Ott.


Established in 2009 by a dedicated group of Indiana journalists, the Indiana Film Journalists Association (IFJA) endeavors to promote quality film criticism in the Hoosier state and support Indiana’s growing film industry.

 

For more information, visit http://indianafilmjournalists.com.