Austin Film Critics Association Announces 2018's Best Films and More

If Beale Street Could Talk, Barry Jenkins' adaptation of James Baldwin's novel of black life in Seventies America, has swept the major awards on the Austin Film Critics Association, including Best Film, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Supporting Actress.

As is often the case with the AFCA, the Best Film award and the top film in the year's top 10 films list are different, reflecting differing voting methodologies. So while Beale Street picked up Best Film, the number one slot this year goes to The Favourite, Yorgos Lanthimos' crackling black comedy about the court of Queen Anne – for which Olivia Colman also picked up the award for best actress.

As always, the other hotly anticipated prize is the Austin Film Award, open to films either made in Austin or by filmmakers resident here during production. This year the prize goes to Andrew Bujalski for breastaurant comedy Support the Girls: To celebrate the win and the rising local film scene, the AFCA will host a special screening at Jan. 13, 6pm, at AFS Cinema (tickets available soon: find full info at www.austinfilmcritics.org).

The AFCA (which represents 30 members of the Austin print, broadcast, and online critical community, including writers from The Austin Chronicle has always been seen as pushing the edge in its approach. This year the association added two categories to reflect both overlooked artists and developments in filmmaking. This year, the inaugural Best Stunts prize went to the daredevils in front of and behind the camera for Mission: Impossible – Fallout, while Josh Brolin's performance (as well as the digital team that augmented and interpreted him) as Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War picked up the prize for Best Motion Capture/Special Effects Performance.

Now here's the full list of honorees and winners:

Best Film: If Beale Street Could Talk (D: Barry Jenkins)

Best Director: Barry Jenkins, If Beale Street Could Talk

Best Actress: Olivia Colman, The Favourite

Best Actor: Ethan Hawke, First Reformed

Best Supporting Actress: Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk

Best Supporting Actor: Richard E. Grant, Can You Ever Forgive Me?

Best Ensemble: Widows

Best Original Screenplay: Boots Riley, Sorry to Bother You

Best Adapted Screenplay: Barry Jenkins, If Beale Street Could Talk

Best Cinematography: Alfonso Cuarón, Roma

Best Score: Jóhann Jóhannsson, Mandy

Best Editing: Tom Cross, First Man

Best Foreign-Language Film: Burning (D: Chang-dong Lee)

Best Documentary: Won’t You Be My Neighbor? (D: Morgan Neville)

Best Animated Film: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (D: Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman)

Best Stunts: Mission: Impossible - Fallout

Best Motion Capture/Special Effects Performance: Josh Brolin, Avengers: Infinity War

Best First Film: Eighth Grade (D: Bo Burnham)

The Robert R. “Bobby” McCurdy Memorial Breakthrough Artist Award: Brian Tyree Henry, If Beale Street Could Talk, Widows, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Austin Film Award: Support the Girls (D: Andrew Bujalski)

Special Honorary Award: To Bo Burnham, Elsie Fisher, Josh Hamilton for their brilliant collaborative work on Eighth Grade.

AFCA 2018 Top Ten Films:

1: The Favourite
2: Roma
3: Blindspotting
4: You Were Never Really Here
5: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
6: First Reformed
7: If Beale Street Could Talk
8: Eighth Grade
9: Shoplifters
10. Suspiria