FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 15, 2021

This may be the Chinese year of the Ox, but for the Florida Film Critics Circle, founded in 1996, it is the year of the dog. That’s because The Power of the Dog leads this year’s nominations with nine — that including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and four of the five acting categories. Written and directed by Academy Award winner Jane Campion, the Western drama is favored to bring more acclaim to the filmmaker this awards season.

Annette, the unique musical from Leos Carax, follows with six nominations, including Best Actor for Adam Driver. Carax is nominated for both Original Screenplay and Director for this 2021 Cannes Film Festival Opening Night selection.

Steven Spielberg has been wanting to make his version of West Side Story for decades, and the FFCC has rewarded that effort by giving the film five nominations this year, including one for Rachel Zegler for our Breakout Award.

The films Mass, Licorice Pizza, and Belfast follow with four nominations apiece.

One individual who really stood out this year with FFCC critics was Japanese filmmaker Ryusuke Hamaguchi, who has secured four nominations. His films, Drive My Car and Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy are both up for Best Foreign-Language Film. He is also in contention for Best Director and Original Screenplay for Wheel.

The task now falls on the members of the Florida Film Critics Circle to decide on who was the best of the best in 2021. Winners will be announced on December 21. See below for a complete list of nominations.

Best Picture
Annette
Mass
The Power of the Dog

Best Actor
Nicolas Cage – Pig
Benedict Cumberbatch – The Power of the Dog
Adam Driver – Annette
Andrew Garfield – tick, tick… BOOM!
Oscar Isaac – The Card Counter

Best Actress
Jessica Chastain – The Eyes of Tammy Faye
Lady Gaga – House of Gucci
Alana Haim – Licorice Pizza
Kristen Stewart – Spencer

Best Supporting Actor
Jamie Dornan – Belfast
Jared Leto – House of Gucci
Vincent Lindon – Titane
J.K. Simmons – Being the Ricardos
Kodi Smit-McPhee – The Power of the Dog

Best Supporting Actress
Ariana DeBose – West Side Story
Kirsten Dunst – The Power of the Dog
Ruth Negga – Passing

Best Ensemble
Licorice Pizza
Mass
The Power of the Dog
West Side Story
Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy

Best Director
Kenneth Branagh – Belfast
Jane Campion – The Power of the Dog
Leos Carax – Annette
Ryusuke Hamaguchi – Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy

Best Original Screenplay
Paul Thomas Anderson – Licorice Pizza
Wes Anderson – The French Dispatch
Kenneth Branagh – Belfast
Leos Carax, Ron & Russell Mael – Annette
Ryusuke Hamaguchi  – Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy
Fran Kranz – Mass
Kristen Wiig & Annie Mumolo – Barb & Star Go to Vista Del Mar

Best Adapted Screenplay
Jane Campion – The Power of the Dog
Steven Levenson – tick, tick… BOOM!
Tony Kushner – West Side Story
François Ozon – Summer of 85

Best Cinematography
Greig Fraser – Dune
Mike Gioulakis – Old
Janusz Kamiński – West Side Story
Claire Mathon – Spencer
Ari Wegner- The Power of the Dog

Best Visual Effects
Annette
Dune
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

Best Art Direction/Production Design
Annette
Barb & Star Go to Vista Del Mar
Dune
West Side Story

Best Score
Alexandre Desplat – The French Dispatch
Jonny Greenwood – The Power Of The Dog
Ron and Russell Mael – Annette
Hans Zimmer – Dune

Best Documentary
Flee
Procession
Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)

Foreign Language Film
Drive My Car
The Hand of God
Riders of Justice
Titane
Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy

Best Animated Film
Belle
Encanto
Evangelion 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time
Flee
Josep
Luca
The Mitchells vs. the Machines

Best First Film
The Lost Daughter
Mass
Passing
Pig
Shiva Baby

Breakout Award
Jude Hill – Belfast
Cooper Hoffman – Licorice Pizza
Rachel Zegler – West Side Story