The Power of the Dog, Pig Split Austin Film Critics Awards
Plus, which local movie gets an AFCA award screening at AFS?
By Richard Whittaker, 8:19PM, Tue. Jan. 11, 2022
The Austin Film Critics Association must be animal lovers as well as film fans, because this year The Power of the Dog has been selected its best film of the year, and Pig the number one film, as the organization has announced its 2021 film awards.
Such divided decisions have happened before, due to two differing voting processes: in 2018, the AFCA's top 10 was headed by The Favourite while If Beale Street Could Talk was selected as best film, following a similar split between The Shape of Water and Get Out in 2017.
The two films also dominated in multiple categories. Jane Campion's adaptation of Thomas Savage's brutal 1967 Western took five awards in total, including a win for Jonny Greenwood for best score, a double in the supporting performance categories for Kirtsen Dunst and Kodi Smit-Mcphee, and best director for Campion. Meanwhile Pig complimented its number one slot with awards for best first film for director Michael Samoski, best original script for Somarksi and cowriter Vanessa Block, and best actor going to Nicolas Cage for his astounding performance as a truffle hunter in search of his lost pig.
On the local side, there were big wins in two categories. The AFCA membership presented a special award for Best Film Made in Austin by a Non-Austin Filmmaker to writer/Director Shatara Michelle Ford for Test Pattern, while the Austin Film Award went to Without Getting Killed or Caught, Tamara Saviano and Paul Whitfield's documentary about the life, love, and resonances of Guy Clark, the Dean of Texas Songwriters. There will be a special screening of Without Getting Killed or Caught presented by the AFCA, 7pm, Jan. 25 at the AFS Cinema. Tickets available austinfilm.org.
Founded in 2005, the Austin Film Critics Association is comprised of reviewers working in the Austin area, including critics from the Austin Chronicle, Austin American-Statesman, Austin360.com, Bloody Disgusting, But Why Tho Podcast, Certified Forgotten, Cinapse, Daily Grindhouse, the Daily Dot, the Daily Texan, Double Toasted, Fangoria, Film School Rejects, FirstShowing.net, GotchaMovies, Hammer to Nail, Hill Country News, Horror’s Not Dead, KOOP 91.7 FM Radio, Movies.com, Nerdist, Next Projection, One Movie Punch, One Of Us, Slashfilm, Smells Like Screen Spirit, True View Reviews, and Uproxx. All films released between Feb. 27 and Dec. 24, 2021, were eligible for voting.
Congratulations to all the winners in all categories. Here's the full list:
AFCA Top 10 Films of 2021
1: Pig
2: The Power of the Dog
3: Licorice Pizza
4: Dune
5: Drive My Car
6: The Green Knight
7: Titane
8: The Tragedy of Macbeth
9: Parallel Mothers and The Worst Person in the World (tie)
Best Film: The Power of the Dog
Best Director: Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog
Best Actress: Agathe Rousselle, Titane
Best Actor: Nicolas Cage, Pig
Best Supporting Actress: Kirsten Dunst, The Power of the Dog
Best Supporting Actor: Kodi Smit-McPhee, The Power of the Dog
Best Ensemble: The French Dispatch
Best Original Screenplay: Vanessa Block and Michael Sarnoski, Pig
Best Adapted Screenplay: Ryūsuke Hamaguchi and Takamasa Oe, Drive My Car
Best Cinematography: Andrew Droz Palermo, The Green Knight
Best Editing: Joe Walker, Dune
Best Original Score: Jonny Greenwood, The Power of the Dog
Best International Film: Drive My Car
Best Documentary: Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
Best Animated Film: The Mitchells vs. The Machines
Best Voice Acting/Animated/Digital Performance: Abbi Jacobson, The Mitchells vs. The Machines
Best Stunts: No Time to Die
Best First Film: Michael Samoski, Pig
Austin Film Award: Without Getting Killed or Caught
The Robert R. “Bobby” McCurdy Memorial Breakthrough Artist Award: Alana Haim, Licorice Pizza
SPECIAL AWARD: Best Film Made in Austin by a Non-Austin Filmmaker: Writer/Director Shatara Michelle Ford for Test Pattern,
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Austin Film Critics Association, AFCA
