‘Nomadland,’ ‘Minari’ top Southeastern critics’ poll
Chloé Zhao’s “Nomadland” has been named the best picture of 2020 by the Southeastern Film Critics Association. Zhao’s intimate, elegiac drama about life in America after the Great Recession also earned the organization’s awards for Best Actress for Frances McDormand, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay for Zhao, and Best Cinematography for Joshua James Richards.
“’Nomadland’ was an overwhelming favorite among our members in this year’s award season,” said SEFCA President Matt Goldberg. “It’s clear that Zhao’s thoughtful, deeply humanistic and heartfelt portrait of life at the fringes of our country connected with our members across the Southeast, and it is our pleasure to name it the Best Film of 2020.”
SEFCA also bestowed its Gene Wyatt Award, which goes to a film that best embodies the spirit of the South, to Lee Isaac Chung’s “Minari,” the story of a Korean immigrant family that moves to Arkansas so the patriarch can realize his dream of becoming a farmer. Like “Nomadland,” “Minari” was a clear favorite among the members, and there’s no question that Chung’s film is a moving and authentic portrait of our part of the country.
Due to the covid-19 pandemic and changes made across various guilds and academies, SEFCA stretched its voting period from Jan. 1, 2020, to Feb. 15, 2021.
Founded in 1992, the Southeastern Film Critics Association brings together a diverse coalition of critics across the Southeast to celebrate the year’s best films and craftsmanship in cinema. Winners from past years can be found at sefca.net.
TOP 10 FILMS
1. “Nomadland”
2. “Minari”
3. “The Trial of the Chicago 7”
4. “Promising Young Woman”
5. “Sound of Metal”
6. “One Night in Miami …”
7. “Da 5 Bloods”
8. “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
9. “Soul”
10. “Mank”
BEST ACTOR
Winner: Chadwick Boseman, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
Runner-Up: Riz Ahmed, “Sound of Metal”
BEST ACTRESS
Winner: Frances McDormand, “Nomadland”
Runner-Up: Carey Mulligan, “Promising Young Woman”
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Winner: Sacha Baron Cohen, “The Trial of the Chicago 7”
Runner-Up: Paul Raci, “Sound of Metal”
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Winner: Youn Yuh-jung, “Minari”
Runner-Up: Maria Bakalova, “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm”
BEST ENSEMBLE
Winner: “The Trial of the Chicago 7”
Runner-Up: “One Night in Miami …”
BEST DIRECTOR
Winner: Chloé Zhao, “Nomadland”
Runner-Up: Regina King, “One Night in Miami …”
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Winner: Lee Isaac Chung, “Minari”
Runner-Up: Emerald Fennell, “Promising Young Woman”
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Winner: Chloé Zhao, “Nomadland”
Runner-Up: Kemp Powers, “One Night in Miami …”
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Winner: “Time” Runner-Up: “Dick Johnson Is Dead”
BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM
Winner: “Another Round” Runner-Up: “Bacurau”
BEST ANIMATED FILM
Winner: “Soul” Runner-Up: “Wolfwalkers”
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Winner: Joshua James Richards, “Nomadland”
Runner-Up: Erik Messerschmidt, “Mank”
THE GENE WYATT AWARD
Winner: “Minari” Runner-Up: “One Night in Miami …”