Indiana film critics name ‘Mass’ best film
The Indiana Film Journalists Association has named “Mass,” an intimate and harrowing drama about two sets of parents facing off over a shared tragedy, as Best Film of the Year. It won four awards total, including Best Original Screenplay for Fran Kranz, the first-time writer/director who also was named Breakout of the Year, and Best Ensemble Acting for the cast of Reed Birney, Ann Dowd, Jason Isaacs and Martha Plimpton.
“Drive My Car,” a Japanese drama about loss and connections, was runner-up for Best Film and also won Best Foreign Language Film and Best Adapted Screenplay for Ryusuke Hamaguchi and Takamasa Oe.
Eight other films were voted Finalists for Best Film, collectively with the winner and runner-up representing the IFJA’s Top 10 of the Year.
Kristen Stewart took Best Actress for “Spencer” and Gaby Hoffmann won Best Supporting Actress for “C’mon C’mon.” Oscar Isaac was named Best Actor for “The Card Counter” and Troy Kotsur of “CODA” won Best Supporting Actor.
Best Director went to Jane Campion for “The Power of the Dog,” her first feature film in 12 years, which also won Best Musical Score for composer Jonny Greenwood. Other winners include “Flee” as Best Animated Film and Olivia Colman for Best Vocal/Motion Capture Performance for “The Mitchells vs. the Machines.”
The IFJA’s Original Vision Award, recognizing a film with innovative and distinct storytelling, went to “Annette” for its expressive and daring approach to the musical genre.
“Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck in Time,” a documentary about the life and work of the Indiana author, was the winner of the Edward Johnson-Ott 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. It was also named Best Documentary.
IFJA members issued this statement for the Edward Johnson-Ott Hoosier Award, which was renamed earlier this year upon the passing of our beloved founding member:
“Robert B. Weide’s extraordinary undertaking to document the life and writings of Indianapolis’ iconic native son leaps beyond mere biography, also chronicling the friendship that grew between filmmaker and subject over the course of decades. The resulting film gives a far richer and more revealing portrait of Kurt Vonnegut and his creative life than seen in any medium.”
Below is a complete list of winners and runners-up in all IFJA categories:
BEST FILM
Winner: “Mass”
Runner-Up: “Drive My Car”
Other Finalists (listed alphabetically):
“Annette”
“The Card Counter”
“C’mon C’mon”
“CODA”
“The Green Knight”
“The Last Duel”
“Pig”
“The Power of the Dog”
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Winner: “Flee”
Runner-Up: “Luca”
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Winner: “Drive My Car”
Runner-Up: “Lamb”
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Winner: “Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck in Time“
Runner-Up: “Procession”
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Winner: Fran Kranz, “Mass”
Runner-Up: Mike Mills, “C’mon C’mon”
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Winner: Ryusuke Hamaguchi and Takamasa Oe, “Drive My Car”
Runner-Up: Nicole Holofcener, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, “The Last Duel”
BEST DIRECTOR
Winner: Jane Campion, “The Power of the Dog”
Runner-Up: Fran Kranz, “Mass”
BEST ACTRESS
Winner: Kristen Stewart, “Spencer”
Runner-Up: Jodie Comer, “The Last Duel”
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Winner: Gaby Hoffmann, “C’mon C’mon”
Runner-Up: Ariana DeBose, “West Side Story”
BEST ACTOR
Winner: Oscar Isaac, “The Card Counter”
Runner-Up: Nicolas Cage, “Pig”
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Winner: Troy Kotsur, “CODA”
Runner-Up: Jason Isaacs, “Mass”
BEST VOCAL / MOTION CAPTURE PERFORMANCE
Winner: Olivia Colman, “The Mitchells vs. the Machines”
Runner-Up: Tom Hardy, “Venom: Let There Be Carnage”
BEST ENSEMBLE ACTING
Winner: “Mass”
Runner-Up: “The Humans”
BEST MUSICAL SCORE
Winner: Jonny Greenwood, “The Power of the Dog”
Runner-Up: Hans Zimmer, “Dune”
BREAKOUT OF THE YEAR
Winner: Fran Kranz, “Mass”
Runner-Up: Michael Sarnoski, “Pig”
ORIGINAL VISION AWARD
Winner: “Annette”
Runner-Up: “Titane”
EDWARD JOHNSON-OTT HOOSIER AWARD
Winner: “Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck in Time”
(As a special award named after IFJA founding member Edward Johnson-Ott, no runner-up is declared in this category.)
About IFJA: The Indiana Film Journalists Association was established in 2009 to celebrate cinema and promote quality film criticism in the Hoosier State. To be eligible, a film must have played theatrically in Indiana during the current calendar year, screened to IFJA critics in advance of a following year general release date, or play in a major Indiana film festival.