IFJA honors ‘The Hate U Give’
“The Hate U Give,” a drama that examines contemporary race relations in America through the eyes of a culturally conflicted young woman, took three prizes at the 2018 Indiana Film Journalists Association (IFJA) awards — including best film, best actress for Amandla Stenberg and best adapted screenplay for Audrey Wells.
“Paddington 2” was named runner-up for best film.
Eight additional films were named best film finalists, collectively representing the group’s picks for the 10 best films of the year.
“Roma,” and “First Reformed” each won two awards in addition to being made best film finalists.
“Roma,” a look at a Mexicanf amily’s cultural and interpersonal struggles from filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón,won best foreign language film. Cuarón also took best director honors.
Ethan Hawke won best actor for his role in “First Reformed” as a reverend whose faith is tested. Writer-director Paul Schrader also took best original screenplay honors for the film.
Other winners included:
• Sam Elliott as best supporting actor for “A Star is Born”
• Regina King as best supporting actress for “If Beale Street Could Talk”
• Thom Yorke for best musical score for “Suspiria”
• “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” for best ensemble acting
• “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” for best animated film
• “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” for best documentary
Josh Brolin won the IFJA’s best vocal / motion-capture performance award for his turn as the mad titan Thanos in “Avengers: Infinity War.”
The IFJA’s original vision award, given to a film with innovative and distinct storytelling, went to “Sorry to Bother You,” a satire of social issues and racial identity from writer-director Boots Riley.
The breakout of the year is given to performers or filmmakers whose work represents the arrival or realization of promising talent, when to writer-director Chloe Zhao for her contemporary Western-drama “The Rider.”
The Hoosier Award, which recognizes a significant cinematic contribution by a person or persons with roots in Indiana, or a film that depicts Hoosier State locales and stories, went to Alan Berry and Mark Enochs for their documentary “Dead Man’s Line: The True Story of Kiritsis.”
IFJA members issued this Hoosier Award statement: “This painstaking presentation of an Indianapolis hostage crisis utilizes a treasure trove of news footage and photos — some previously unseen — as well as exhaustive interviews with nearly 40 witnesses and participants.
“Berry and Enochs throw their audience into the fray with nail-biting intensity. But they also illustrate how a moment in Hoosier history helped usher in news as entertainment, which has — for better or worse — become inseparable from America’s cultural identity.”
Below is a complete list of winners and runners-up in all IFJA categories:
BEST FILM
Winner: “The Hate U Give”
Runner-up: “Paddington 2”
Other finalists (listed alphabetically):
“Black Panther”
“Eight Grade”
“First Reformed”
“The Rider”
“Roma”
“Sorry to Bother You”
“A Star is Born”
“You Were Never Really Here”
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”
Runner-Up: “Isle of Dogs”
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
“Roma”
Runner-Up: “Cold War”
BEST DOCUMENTARY
“Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”
Runner-Up: “Minding the Gap”
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Paul Schrader, “First Reformed”
Runner-Up: Bo Burnham, “Eighth Grade”
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Audrey Wells, “The Hate U Give”
Runner-Up: Eric Roth, Bradly Cooper, and Will Fettes, “A Star Is Born”
BEST DIRECTOR
Alfonso Cuarón, “Roma”
Runner-Up: Lynne Ramsay, “You Were Never Really Here”
BEST ACTRESS
Amandla Stenberg, “The Hate U Give”
Runner-Up: Lady Gaga, “A Star Is Born”
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Regina King, “If Beale Street Could Talk”
Runner-Up: Olivia Colman, “The Favourite”
BEST ACTOR
Ethan Hawke, “First Reformed”
Runner-Up: Bradly Cooper, “A Star Is Born”
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Winner: Sam Elliott, “A Star Is Born.”
Runner-Up: Jonah Hill, “Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot”
BEST VOCAL / MOTION CAPTURE PERFORMANCE
Winner: Josh Brolin, “Avengers: Infinity War”
Runner-Up: Ben Whishaw, “Paddington 2”
BEST ENSEMBLE ACTING
Winner: “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs”
Runner-Up: “BlacKkKlansman”
BEST MUSICAL SCORE
Winner: Thom Yorke, “Suspiria”
Runner-Up: Johnny Greenwood, “You Were Never Really Here”
BREAKOUT OF THE YEAR
Winner: Chloe Zhao, “The Rider” (writer-director)
Runner-Up: Elsie Fisher, “Eighth Grade” (actress)
ORIGINAL VISION AWARD
Winner: “Sorry to Bother You”
Runner-Up: “Eighth Grade”
THE HOOSIER AWARD
Winner: “Dead Man’s Line: The True Story of Tony Kiritsis”
(As a special award, no runner-up is declared in this category.)
About IFJA: The Indiana Film Journalists Association was established in February 2009. Members must reside in the Hoosier State and produce consistent, quality film criticism or commentary in any medium.