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Edward Berger, hot from his double-whammy Best Film and Outstanding British Film wins for Conclave at the Ee BAFTA Film Awards, wanted to stop by the Searchlight after-party at Soho House’s Greek Street to laud Rising Star winner David Jonsson.

“He’s not a show-off,” an impressed Berger tells me after greeting Jonsson.

“[It] tells you a lot. Feet on the ground, incredibly laid back and I wanted to congratulate him,” Berger adds as he watches the Rye Lane and Alien: Romulus actor being feted by a group that included Olivia Homan, his agent at United Talent, and Ellie Norton his publicist at Track Publicity.

Berger notes that he was taken by a comment Jonsson made during his acceptance speech.

“Star? I don’t know, but rising, I guess,” was the Jonsson line that Berger favored.

David Jonsson with his BAFTA mask. Baz Bamigboye/Deadline

“I liked his humility,” the filmmaker tells me.

The 2025 BAFTAs are taking place today, and we’re bringing you all the looks from the star-studded red carpet.

The 78th annual ceremony is taking place at Royal Festival Hall in London, England. Doctor Who actor David Tennant is hosting for the second year in a row.

The VIP attendees are turning out some incredible looks! We’ll be keeping this post updated with the looks as the celebrities arrive, so stay tuned and keep checking back to see them all.

Scroll down to see every look so far…

Keep reading to find out more…

Ariana Grande

Fyi: Ariana is wearing custom Louis Vuitton.

Selena Gomez

Fyi: Selena is wearing Schiaparelli.

Cynthia Erivo

Fyi: Cynthia is wearing custom Louis Vuitton.

Isabella Rossellini

Fyi: Isabella is wearing Dolce & Gabbana.

Timothée Chalamet

Fyi: Timothée is wearing custom Bottega Veneta.

Lupita Nyong’o

Fyi: Lupita is wearing Chanel.

Demi Moore

Fyi: Demi is wearing Alexander McQueen.

Galeca: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics has announced winners for the 2025 Dorian Awards, and it’s great news for genre fare like The Substance, Wicked, and I Saw the TV Glow.

Mubi’s body-horror movie The Substance won a leading five trophies, including Film of the Year, Demi Moore (Best Lead Performance), and Coralie Fargeat (Best Director), while Universal’s film adaptation of the Wicked musical claimed honors for Ariana Grande (Best Supporting Performance), Cynthia Erivo (Lgbtqia+ Film Trailblazer), and Jonathan Bailey (Rising Star).

Other movies with multiple victories were I Saw the TV Glow (LGBTQ Film of the Year and Jane Schoenbrun for LGBTQ Screenplay of the Year), Will & Harper (Documentary of the Year and LGBTQ Documentary of the Year), and Challengers (Justin Kuritzkes for Screenplay of the Year and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for Film Music of the Year).

In addition to her acting triumph, Moore...

Veteran film director Mike Leigh’s Hard Truths is a powerful drama about two sisters, Pansy and Chantelle, primarily focusing on unresolved trauma and its impact on family dynamics. I felt that the film is wrongfully categorized as a comedy-drama; the slight element of comedy present is deeply rooted in the discomfort of a character, and it is not really the sort of thing you’re supposed to laugh at. Marianne Jean-Baptiste offers a class in acting with the range of emotions she demonstrated as Pansy, and Michele Austin’s calm presence as Chantelle adds balance and warmth. Hard Truths is a family drama where a lot remains unsaid and unaddressed, and one day the bottled-up feelings explode, and what follows is what the film attempts to get at.

Spoiler Alert

Why did Pansy break down after visiting her mother’s grave?

Pansy struggled to enjoy life. She constantly complained...

The winners of the 2025 London Critics’ Circle Film Awards have been announced!

Zoe Saldana, Ralph Fiennes, and Mikey Madison were among the top winners at the awards show that took place on Sunday night (February 2) held at the Mayfair Hotel in London, England.

Along with winning Best Supporting Actress for her role in Emilia Pérez, Zoe was also honored with the Derek Malcolm Award for Innovation while Daniel Craig was honored with the Dilys Powell Award for excellence in film.

Other stars in attendance at the event included Colman Domingo, Jesse Eisenberg, Lesley Manville, America Ferrera, Anora director Sean Baker, Back to Black actress Marisa Abela and fiancé Jamie Bogyo, The Brutalist actress Raffey Cassidy, and Abigail actress Alisha Weir.

Head inside to check out the full list of winners…

Keep scrolling to see the full list of winners…

Film Of The Year

“The Brutalist” – Winner

“All We Imagine As Light...

We present our red carpet interviews from the 2025 Critics Circle Awards in London at the May Fair Hotel. Attending were Daniel Craig, Ralph Fiennes, Jesse Eisenberg, Sean Baker, Mikey Madison, Alisha Weir, Dan Hough, Elliot Heffernan, Raffey Cassidy, Michelle Austin, Nick Park + Merlin Crossingham, Nykika Adams, Amy Liptrot, and Gints Zilbalodis.

Colin Hart and Ethan Hart were on the red carpet, here are their interviews.

2025 Critics Circle Awards Red Carpet Interviews

2025 Critics Circle Awards Winners

Film Of The Year

“The Brutalist” – Winner

“All We Imagine As Light”

“Anora”

“La Chimera”

“Conclave”

“Emilia Pérez”

“Kneecap”

“Nickel Boys”

“Nosferatu”

“The Substance”

Foreign-language Film Of The Year

“All We Imagine As Light” – Winner

“La Chimera”

“Emilia Pérez”

“I’m Still Here”

“Kneecap”

Documentary Of The Year

“No Other Land” – Winner

“Dahomey”

“Grand Theft Hamlet”

“Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger”

“Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story”

Animated Feature Of The Year

“Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl...

Brady Corbet’s epic American immigrant saga “The Brutalist” has been given the top prize by the U.K.’s leading film writers and broadcasters.

At the London Critics’ Circle Film Awards on Sunday night, the feature was named film of the year in a ceremony that saw the honors widely shared across a number of titles, although notably both “The Substance” and “A Complete Unknown” came away empty-handed.

Edward Berger’s Vatican thriller “Conclave” took two awards, including British/Irish film of the year and actor of the year for Ralph Fiennes, while RaMell Ross’s radical Colson Whitehead adaptation “Nickel Boys” was recognised with director of the year and the technical achievement award for Jomo Fray’s first-person cinematography.

Elsewhere on the night, Jesse Eisenberg’s dark comedy “A Real Pain” was another multiple prizewinner, awarded screenwriter of the year for the actor-filmmaker, and supporting actor of the year for co-star Kieran Culkin.

Exclusive: Filming is expected to start later this year on Mike Leigh’s next project, which will see the acclaimed writer-director reuniting with recent collaborators Cornerstone, Bleecker Street, Studiocanal and UK financier Film4.

Desmar will come on board as an equity financier. Georgina Lowe of Leigh’s production company Thin Man Films will again produce.

Bleecker Street released Leigh’s latest drama Hard Truths nationwide in the U.S. on January 10 after an awards qualifying run on December 6, with Studiocanal releasing in the UK today (January 31). Cornerstone handled international sales and is back aboard ahead of the upcoming European Film Market in Berlin.

As is customary with Leigh, the new film will shoot as Untitled 2025, with plot and casting being kept under wraps. It’ll mark the first in a long while without regular DoP collaborator Dick Pope who sadly passed this year.

Hard Truths premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in September,...

Warner Bros horror Companion leads new releases at the UK and Ireland box office this weekend in 561 cinemas.

Sophie Thatcher and Jack Quaid star in the dark comedy about a weekend away that goes wrong when a human android, built for companionship, reveals itself. It marks the feature debut of Drew Hancock while further cast include Rupert Friend, Lukas Gage and Jaboukie Young-White.

Thatcher most recently starred in fellow horror title Heretic which surpassed £6m late last year and Quaid had a role in 2023’s Oppenheimer (£60m). Companionis produced by Zach Cregger who wrote and directed Barbarian which cracked £1m...

Hard Truths, Saturday Night and You’re Cordially Invited are all now out in the world. Some thoughts on each of them here.

When a film has debuted months before at a film festival, has debuted elsewhere in the world, and is now landing in UK cinemas, I’ve got a question for you: is there a lot of point to a written film review on a web page?

Background: I’m a print nerd, a huge believer in the written word, but also realistic. Most outlets, this one included, have a finite amount of resources. A film review eats up, say, four to five hours of people’s time. Yet on the web, when chucked into the Google machine, if you’re an outlet that hasn’t gamed or played the Google system to a certain degree, how do your words get noticed, and do they offer much guide...

Disney’s “A Complete Unknown” held its spot at the top of the U.K. and Ireland box office for a second weekend, earning £1.6 million ($2 million), according to numbers from Comscore. The cumulative total of the Bob Dylan biopic, starring Timothée Chalamet, now stands at $7.3 million.

In second place, Disney’s “Mufasa: The Lion King” added $1.7 million in its sixth weekend, raising its total to $34.7 million. “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” from Paramount remained steady in third, collecting $1.09 million during its fifth weekend and pushing its total to $29 million.

Lionsgate U.K.’s “Flight Risk,” directed by Mel Gibson and starring Mark Wahlberg, debuted in fourth place with a solid $1.01 million. Universal’s awards season favorite “The Brutalist” debuted in fifth, earning $938,452 in its opening weekend.

Universal’s “Nosferatu” dropped to sixth with $666,526 in its fourth weekend. The gothic horror reboot has reached $15.1 million overall and continues to attract genre enthusiasts.

There is no filmmaker alive who understands the mundanity and quiet grace of the human experience quite like Mike Leigh. Over a decades-spanning career he’s found poetry and pathos in the everyday business of being alive. From David Thewlis’ nihilistic Johnny in Naked to Sally Hawkins’ irrepressibly effervescent Poppy in Happy-Go-Lucky, his characters feel intensely real while also reflecting a subdued desperation at the heart of British society.

After taking on a larger canvas with Peterloo, Leigh makes a welcome return to intimate character studies with Hard Truths, shooting in a stripped-down style that echoes the television films that made his name. He reunites with Marianne Jean-Baptiste, who he directed in the Palme d’Or-winning Secrets & Lies, and who here gives a truly astonishing performance as a woman who cannot articulate her abject misery.

An affecting portrait of a woman in crisis

Pansy (Jean-Baptiste) constantly lashes out at everyone around her,...

A new film from the legend that is director Mike Leigh is always an occasion and his latest, the BAFTA-nominated Hard Truths, is no exception. After the Victorian settings of Peterloo (2018) and Mr Turner (2014), he returns to the present day with a family story which could touch a nerve with just about anybody who sees it.

The immaculate outside of Pansy’s (Marianne Jean-Baptiste) suburban house disguises the constant tension inside. For her, life is difficult: she is agoraphobic, depressed and constantly angry with the world, losing her temper at the slightest provocation, real or imaginary. Her husband and son try to keep the peace, but it’s like walking on eggshells, yet her sister Chantal (Michele Austin), who is her complete opposite, is more tolerant and desperately tries to help. Despite her efforts, however, the future for Pansy and her family looks increasingly bleak.

We sat down with the...

Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance took the award for Best Feature at the annual Girls On Film Awards while Emilia Pérez and Hard Truths star Marianne Jean-Baptiste took awards for Best Ensemble and Best Actress respectively.

The fourth edition of the awards, which were held at London’s Curzon Bloomsbury on Sunday, celebrated exceptional achievements by women and people of marginalized genders in the film space. Hosted by Girls On Film co-founders Anna Smith and Hedda Lornie Archbold, the awards put a spotlight on women-led filmmaking with a particular focus on diversity, inclusion and representation.

Fargeat, who is nominated for Best Director at the Academy Awards this year, was in attendance to collect her award and she told the audience that The Substance “was meant for me to mirror what women have to face in their everyday life by society and it’s not nice, it’s not subtle and it’s not delicate.

The co-star of Leigh’s latest film, Hard Truths, on ​h​er bond with the director, portraying mental health issues and ​why she’s loving the awards circuit

Born in London, Michele Austin trained at Rose Bruford College before beginning a wide-ranging career on television, film and stage. She was Yvonne Hemmingway in The Bill for three years from 2003, and more recently starred opposite Ben Whishaw as straight-talking midwife Tracy in This Is Going to Hurt on BBC One. On stage, most recently Austin appeared in Jamie Lloyd’s production of Cyrano and in his revival of Lucy Prebble’s The Effect at the National Theatre. She has worked with director Mike Leigh five times, most notably in 1996’s Palme d’Or-winning Secrets and Lies, and has now been nominated for several awards for her role as Chantelle, the loving sister of Marianne Jean-Baptiste’s character Pansy in Leigh’s latest film,...

Now that the Golden Globes are over, the official Oscar race is set to begin! On January 23rd the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will announce this year’s nominees, with the 97th Oscars Ceremony scheduled to happen on March 2nd. So before the committee announces their list for the Best Picture category, let’s predict 5 films on the list.

A screengrab of the Oscars thumbnail | image: YouTube/Clanhold Cinema

While The Brutalist, The Substance, Anora, A Complete Unknown, Dune: Part Two, Wicked, and Emilia Pérez are already believed to be the Oscar front-runner for the Best Picture category, we’ve 5 films that took people by surprise with their potential to win an Oscar nod. So let’s check out the list below and wait to see if the films ultimately qualify as nominees.

5. Conclave

Director: Edward Berger

Cast: Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Isabella Rossellini

Streaming: Peacock,...

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The Pitt is a medical drama series created by R. Scott Gemmill. The Max series is set in the emergency room at the fictional Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Hospital and follows a group of doctors and nurses working an extremely tense 15-hour shift. The Pitt stars Noah Wyle, Tracy Ifeachor, Patrick Ball, Katherine Lanasa, Supriya Ganesh, Fiona Dourif, Taylor Dearden, Isa Briones, Gerran Howell, and Shabana Azeez. So, if you loved the medical drama, compelling storylines, and complex characters, here are some similar shows you should check out next.

This Is Going to Hurt (AMC+ & Prime Video Add-On) Credit – BBC

This Is Going to Hurt is a British medical dark comedy-drama series created by Adam Kay. Based on Kay’s 2017 nonfiction book of the same name, the AMC series follows Adam Kay as he works as a junior doctor...

Although the big family holiday celebrations are nearly a month in the past, there’s always a need for a new look at sibs, parents, and kids at the movies. This new release is set across the pond and concerns connected family units headed by two sisters who couldn’t be more different. It’s that whole “sweet and sour” dynamic at play here. It’s also funny, sad, and totally engaging thanks to the reunion of a celebration filmmaker and one of his greatest actresses/collaborators after nearly three decades. This time out they’re giving us an intimate look at a damaged soul who really needs to deal with some Hard Truths.

The film’s story begins on a quiet street in a London neighborhood. It’s early on a sunny Spring-like day as a young man on a bicycle meets up with his boss as the enter...

I Saw the TV Glow and The Substance led the way at the Dorian Film Award nominations on Friday. The awards are selected by Galeca — the Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics comprises more than 500 critics, journalists, and media figures. Winners will be announced on Feb. 13.

SEE2025 Independent Spirit Awards nominations: Full list led by ‘Anora,’ ‘I Saw the TV Glow’

From director Jane Schoenbrun, A24’s I Saw the TV Glow tells the eerie story of two friends (Justice Smith and Brigette Lundy-Paine) whose realities start to collapse around their favorite television series. The movie received a leading nine Dorian nominations including Film of the Year, LGBTQ Film of the Year, and Director of the Year, while both Smith and Lundy-Paine were nominated for their performances. The indie feature, hailed as a groundbreaking trans allegory, has mostly flown under the radar this awards season, though it did score three Gotham...

The votes are in for the 2025 Dorian Awards nominations. Galeca: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics said today that Neon’s Anora, Amazon MGM Studios’ Challengers, A24’s I Saw the TV Glow, Orion Pictures/Amazon MGM’s Nickel Boys and Mubi’s The Substance will battle it out for Film of the Year.

Vying for LGBTQ Film of the Year are Challengers, I Saw the TV Glow, Netflix’s Emilia Peréz and A24’s Love Lies Bleeding and Queer.

Nominees for the all-gender Film Performance of the Year prize are Golden Globe winners Adrien Brody (The Brutalist) and Demi Moore (The Substance) along with Daniel Craig (Queer), Colman Domingo (Sing Sing), Karla Sofía Gascón (Emilia Peréz), Cynthia Erivo (Wicked), Marianne Jean-Baptiste (Hard Truths), Nicole Kidman (Babygirl), Mikey Madison (Anora) and Justice Smith (I Saw the TV Glow).

Jane Schoenbrun’s thought-provoking horror tale I Saw the TV Glow leads...

The 2025 BAFTA Film nominees were announced this morning but there was no recognition for high profile movies such as Queer, Challengers, Babygirl, and Paddington In Peru. Meanwhile, musical Wicked was shut out of the Best Film category.

Luca Guadagnino’s duo Queer and Challengers were both Golden Globe nominated, including for leads Daniel Craig and Zendaya, but neither made the cut this morning. Both had made the BAFTA longlist.

Nicole Kidman won a best actress award at Venice and was also Golden Globe nominated but couldn’t woo the BAFTA crowd for her performance in steamy drama Babygirl.

Related: 2025 Awards Season Calendar: Dates For Oscars, Spirits, Grammys, Tonys, Guilds & More

Paddington in Peru, the third film in the beloved bear franchise, had the biggest opening for a British film since 2021 and has made a whopping $43M in the UK, but reviews weren...

Chicago – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com audio film review for the new film “Hard Truths,” written and directed by notable British filmmaker Mike Leigh (“Happy-Go-Lucky’), an urgent character study on how one woman’s angry depressive state affects her entire family. In select theaters since January 10th. See local listings

Pansy (Marianne Jean-Baptiste) is the mother in a family of three, including her husband Curtley (David Webber) and adult son Moses (Tuwaine Barrett). Pansy is constantly angry or withdrawn, lashing out at her family and her loyal sister Chantelle (Michele Austin). Her anger is a poison in the well of her relationships, and as she slides further down the depressive rabbit hole … exacerbated by a visit to her dead mother’s grave … she risks all of her relationships.

”Hard Truths” is in select theaters since January 10th. See local listings. Featuring Marianne Jean-Baptiste, David Webber, Tuwaine Barrett, Michele Austin and Jonathan Livingstone.

The title of Mike Leigh’s latest movie, “Hard Truths,” suggests a remarkable, career-spanning consistency, tracing back to the stage and screen director’s 1971 big-screen debut, “Bleak Moments.”

For more than half a century, Leigh has been bringing audiences into the lives and homes of British citizens of various backgrounds and classes, developing original projects through a unique workshopping process whereby the actors have a hand in creating the characters they play.

“Hard Truths” builds upon the humanistic director’s signature method, reuniting him with Marianne Jean-Baptiste and Michele Austin. The pair first played sisters in Leigh’s 1993 play “It’s a Great Big Shame” and close friends in his Palme d’Or-winning feature “Secrets & Lies” (1996). Their work on this film has been earning them acting kudos far and wide, with Jean-Baptiste scoring top honors from the New York, Los Angeles and Chicago critics groups.

As Leigh told Variety...

This review was originally published on September 9, 2024, as a part of our Toronto International Film Festival coverage.

In Hard Truths, Mike Leigh's beautifully humane drama, the writer-director takes us into the lives of an ordinary British Jamaican family with the easily bothered, miserable Pansy at the center. Starring a ferocious and convincing Marianne Jean-Baptiste in an Oscar-worthy performance, Pansy finds a way to quarrel with everyone. The film concentrates little on plot structure and instead slowly peels back the layers of its characters and challenges us to rethink what we know about our elders. Inherently, witnessing a woman propel insults at people is humorous, but sadness layers the script, making it deeply moving.

Hard Truths, released in 2025, is set in post-covid London and follows Pansy, a working-class Black woman dealing with the aftermath of global panic, navigating a fractured psyche amid ongoing personal and societal challenges.

Director Mike LeighRelease...

There are never enough slots in an Oscar lineup. For performers in films that haven’t been seen by enough voters, breaking through the hustle and bustle of awards season is nearly impossible. Enter a few reminders for voters to watch these six standout performances, each deserving a place in the conversation before ballots are cast.

Michele Austin – “Hard Truths” (Supporting Actress)

In Mike Leigh’s “Hard Truths,” Michele Austin shines as Chantal, a single mother and hairdresser, trying to bridge an emotional chasm between herself and her depressed sister, Pansy (Marianne Jean-Baptiste). Austin brings warmth and empathy to the role, offering a vibrant, hopeful counterpoint to her sister’s unrelenting bitterness. Her nuanced performance captures people’s helplessness when someone they love is in crisis. It’s an unforgettable turn in an intimate character study filled with moments of unexpected joy.

Carrie Coon – “His Three Daughters” (Best Actress)

Emmy...

Everyone has a Pansy Deacon in their life, or has at least encountered someone a lot like her at their job, a get-together, or simply railing against something or someone in a public place. She’s the type of person to find a storm cloud behind every silver lining, to see every glass of water as half full yet also containing an abundance of flesh-eating bacteria. When she unleashes a tsunami of accusations and verbal abuse on whatever her target is — her family, a salesperson, an unlucky someone stuck behind...

It’s amazing watching Mike Leigh’s film Hard Truths, starring the extraordinary Marianne Jean-Baptiste and Michele Austin, in an American theater.

Another layer is added as audience members, mostly women at the regular afternoon screening I attended, engaged in the story of two sisters who are the complete antithesis of each other.

Jean-Baptiste’s Pansy is pernickety, house-proud, and after we’ve had our laugh at her, it’s evident that she’s in so much psychological pain, breaking down before our eyes. Austin’s Chantelle, a hairdresser, is more outgoing, more Happy-Go-Lucky, to borrow the title of one of Leigh’s movies.

I loved hearing folk in the cinema sucking their teeth at Pansy’s antics and cooing with approval when Chantelle braided hair. It was comforting, like being in the presence of my, now long gone, judgmental Nigerian aunties.

Earwigging, after the screening in Century City, I...

As much of Los Angeles burns, it’s hard to think of anything else. But this morning, as Oscar nominations voting opened, SAG-AFTRA announced its nominees for the 31st SAG Awards, so we might as well take a look at what and who the acting guild’s nominating committee — made up of 2,500 members selected from the overall membership of some 160,000 — chose to highlight and ignore.

Not surprisingly, the guild, which leans more populist than most other awards groups, wholeheartedly embraced two acclaimed blockbusters: Universal’s Broadway adaptation Wicked, with a field-leading five noms (including one for stunts!), and Searchlight’s Bob Dylan drama A Complete Unknown, with four. Both films’ tallies included multiple individual acting noms — including far-from-assured noms for supporting actor Jonathan Bailey for the former, and supporting actor Edward Norton and supporting actress Monica Barbaro for the latter — as well as noms for best ensemble, which many treat...

Hard Truths is the latest movie by acclaimed filmmaker Mike Leigh, with options available for audiences to view it. Mike Leigh is an English writer and director who's been making original films since the 1980s, including critically acclaimed masterpieces like Naked and Secrets & Lies. Hard Truths premiered at 2024's Toronto International Film Festival, where Screen Rant's review praised its outstanding, Academy Award-worthy performances and hard-hitting, emotional script. With the Oscars coming up soon, Hard Truths is a movie to keep an eye out for.

Marianne Jean-Baptiste leads the cast of Hard Truths as Pansy, a woman suffering from mental health issues who takes her anger out on family and friends. Despite everything, her sister, Chantelle (Michele Austin), stands by her and supports her. Mike Leigh's new movie is about family and the shaky connections that bind human beings in the modern world. The film has been praised for...

Deadline’s Read the Screenplay series spotlighting the scrips behind the buzziest awards-season movies continues with Hard Truths, the newest film from seven-time Oscar-nominated writer-director Mike Leigh that reunited him with his Secrets & Lies star Marianne Jean-Baptiste.

After its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival, Bleecker Street gave Hard Truths a New York qualifying run in early December and sends it out wide in theaters Friday. The release comes after the pic scored nominations from the Gotham Awards and the Independent Spirit Awards, and Jean-Baptiste winning Best Actress prizes from the Los Angeles and New York film critics and landing a Critics Choice Awards nom.

After a span of period films including Peterloo (2018) and the Jmw Turner biopic Mr. Turner (2014), Leigh returns to contemporary London with the dark but often comical Hard Truths. It centers on Jean-Baptiste’s Pansy, a woman wracked by fear, tormented by afflictions and...

The 2025 BAFTA Awards longlists dropped and, breaking news, Michele Austin is still in the hunt. That was the story on Friday. 24 hours later, the veteran British actress won the most prestigious honor of her career, Best Supporting Actress from the National Society of Film Critics. A massive triumph not only for Austin but the Oscar hopes for Mike Leigh’s “Hard Truths“

Read More: Do Not Sleep On Marianne Jean-Baptiste’s Oscar-worthy Turn In “Hard Truths”

As Chantelle, Austin plays the somewhat happy-go-lucky sister of Pansey (Marianne Jean-Baptiste), who is anything but.

Continue reading Michele Austin Says Mike Leigh Has Another Movie In Him After ‘Hard Truths’ at The Playlist.

BAFTA has announced the longlist of films and talent that has gone through Round Two of voting for the 2025 Ee BAFTA Film Awards.

Round Two of voting kicks off today and will determine the nominations; to be unveiled via global live stream on Wednesday 15 January. Round Three will determine the winners. They will be announced on Sunday 16 February from the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall in London, as part of an unmissable celebration of film hosted by award-winning actor David Tennant.

Best Film

10 films will advance in the Best Film category.

Anora The Apprentice The Brutalist A Complete Unknown Conclave Dune: Part Two Emilia Pérez Kneecap The Substance Wicked Outstanding British Film

15 films will advance in the Outstanding British Film category.

Back to Black Bird Blitz Civil War Conclave Gladiator II Hard Truths Kneecap Lee Love Lies Bleeding The Outrun Paddington in Peru Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl...

Nickel Boys was named best picture in the 59th National Society Of Film Critics vote on Saturday, while Payal Kapadia earned the best director award for her Indian drama All We Imagine As Light.

In the acting categories Marianne Jean-Baptiste from Hard Truths and Colman Domingo from Sing Sing took lead acting honours, with Michele Austin from Hard Truths and Kieran Culkin from A Real Pain earning supporting actor recognition. A Real Pain struck a second time as Jesse Eisenberg took the screenplay prize.

Kapadia’s All We Imagine As Light was named Best Film Not In The English Language...

by Cláudio Alves

Marianne Jean-Baptiste and Michele Austin are keeping Hard Truths in the awards conversation.

It's been a while since our last Weekend Awards Wrap-Up. So long that the year changed, as we all bid adieu to 2024 and welcome 2025 with open arms. Mayhap inspired by a sense of annual renewal, critics groups varied up their game a tad. Colman Domingo is now leading in the number of wins, trumping Adrien Brody in Best Actor, while Margaret Qualley is pulling ahead of her other co-leads masquerading as supporting actresses. Yet, the week's biggest story is Marianne Jean-Baptiste securing the critical trifecta of the NYFCC, Lafca, and Nsfc. This feat has never before been achieved by a woman of color and has only once been given to an actress who AMPAS didn't then herald with an Oscar nomination of their own…...

At its 59th annual meeting on Saturday, the National Society of Film Critics named “Nickel Boys” the Best Picture of 2024. The award reflects the wide range of independent films released this year.

RaMell Ross directed “Nickel Boys,” which also won an award for Best Cinematography, given to Jomo Fray. Congratulations to Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor for her outstanding performance as a supporting actor and the film’s director for winning second place.

He got the award for Best Actor for his part in “Sing Sing.” “Hard Truths” also had two important wins: Marianne Jean-Baptiste won Best Actress, and Michele Austin won Best Supporting Actress.

Kieran Culkin’s award season continued with his win for Best Supporting Actor in “A Real Pain.” Jesse Eisenberg, who wrote and directed the movie, also received the award for Best Screenplay.

It was a big deal that Payal Kapadia’s movie “All We Imagine as Light...

The National Society of Film Critics anointed Nickel Boys as the best film of the year on Saturday, adding some needed luster to a movie that is considered to be on the Oscar bubble.

Based on Colson Whitehead‘s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Nickel Boys tells the story of two teenage boys who struggle to survive at a violent, oppressive reform school in Florida. It has been feted by critics all season, scoring 90 on Metacritic and 87 percent freshness on Rotten Tomatoes. It was also named one of the top 10 movies of the year by the American Film Institute and earned Best Picture noms from the Critics Choice Awards and Golden Globes, but this is the highest-profile Best Picture win for the film so far from a critics group. However, according to Gold Derby’s latest odds, it is currently predicted not to make the Best Picture field when Oscar nominations are announced in two weeks.

Because the Golden Globes shouldn’t have all the fun the first weekend of the new year, the National Society of Film Critics presented its annual film awards this Saturday, with critics gathering in New York and Los Angeles to vote on 2024’s best movies and performances.

This year’s 59th annual award for Best Picture was presented to RaMell Ross’ “Nickel Boys,” with Sean Baker’s “Anora” and Payal Kapadia’s “All We Imagine As Light” serving as runners-up. Kapadia also managed to score Best Director, with Ross and Baker serving as runners-up in that category, as well as Best Foreign-Language Film.

Another highlight from this year’s crop of awards recipients is Marianne Jean-Baptiste’s win for Best Actress, making her one of five actresses to earn the critics association trifecta, the others being Imelda Staunton (“Vera Drake”), Sally Hawkins (“Happy-Go-Lucky”), Cate Blanchett (“Tar” and “Blue Jasmine”), and...

Voting for the National Society of Film Critics is now complete and films like “Nickel Boys” and “A Real Pain” took home top honors.

Nsfc was founded in 1966 and is comprised of over 60 critics hailing from outlets nationally. These journalists mark their annual voting selections for categories such as best picture, director, actor, actress, supporting actor and actress, screenplay and cinematography.

Voting is processed through a weighted ballot system which has critics vote for their top 3 picks. The nominee that garners the most points and is listed on the most ballots wins. The voting process only proceeds to a second round if necessary and voting continues for as long as required until a nominee receives the majority of votes.

“Nickel Boys” took home the Best Picture prize with “Anora” and “All We Imagine Is Light” as runner-ups. For A24’s “Sing Sing,” Colman Domingo earned the Best Actor award alongside...

One year shy of its diamond anniversary, the National Society of Film Critics has announced its winners.

On Saturday, the Nsfc held its 59th voting meeting in which they awarded Nickel Boys the Best Film of 2024, with acting honors for Colman Domingo, Kieran Culkin, Marianne Jean-Baptiste and Michele Austin, as well Best Director for All We Imagine as Light‘s Payal Kapadia and Best Screenplay for A Real Pain‘s Jesse Eisenberg.

The organization also bestowed awards to Sing Sing, Hard Truths and No Other Land. Anora, Conclave, The Brutalist, His Three Daughters, Nosferatu, A Complete Unknown and A Different Man were among the runners-up.

Founded in 1966, the Nsfc consists of more than 60 members from major publications, using a weighted ballot system to determine its annual winners.

See the National Society of Film Critics’ full list of winners below.

Best Picture

Nickel Boys

Runners-up: Anora, All We Imagine as Light

Best Director

Payal Kapadia,...

“Nickel Boys,” the Colson Whitehead adaptation from director RaMell Ross, won best film from the prestigious National Society of Film Critics on Saturday. Jomo Fray’s cinematography was also honored by the organization.

The drama of two young men incarcerated at an inhumane school for boys in Florida, filmed almost entirely in first person, comfortably won the top award over runners-up “Anora” and “All We Imagine as Light.”

“All We Imagine as Light” picked up the best director prize for Payal Kapadia, who emerged victorious over RaMell Ross and “Anora” filmmaker Sean Baker, and also won the prize for best film not in the English language.

Marianne Jean-Baptiste took the best actress prize with a commanding ballot lead over her competition. The Brit won for her role as an irascible Londoner in Mike Leigh’s “Hard Truths,” completing her trifecta of critics awards (after victories from New York and Los...

The National Society of Film Critics has named Nickel Boys its best picture of 2024.

The film also received runner-up recognition for Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor as the best supporting actress, RaMell Ross as best director and received the award for best cinematography.

Colman Domingo took home the prize for best actor for his role in Sing Sing, while Hard Truths star Marianne Jean-Baptiste won best actress. Fellow Hard Truths star Michele Austin was recognized in the best supporting actress category, and Kieran Culkin received the award for best supporting actor for A Real Pain. The film, written and directed by Jesse Eisenberg, also won best screenplay.

The best director prize went to Payal Kapadia for All We Imagine As Light, which was also recognized as the best film not in English.

The Nsfc was founded in 1966 and is made up of more than 60 critics from outlets across the country. They vote on their selections for best picture,...

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January is about new beginnings, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some pieces of the past hanging around this month. For much of the world, 2025 offers the first chance to see some of 2024’s most notable films and performances, including limited December releases like Hard Truths, September 5, Better Man, The Brutalist, and Sing Sing (a summer 2024 release getting a second chance in theaters).

January 2025: Best...

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) has unveiled the “longlists” for 2025 — and “Emilia Pérez” leads the competition, landing 15 spots. The longlists narrow the field in 25 different categories for the 2025 Ee British Academy Film Awards, which will take place on Feb. 16.

“Emilia Pérez” scored slots on lists including best film, director (for Jacques Audiard), leading actress (Karla Sofía Gascón) and supporting actress. Just behind it is “Conclave,” which popped up on 14 lists that include best film, director (Edward Berger) and leading actor (Ralph Fiennes).

Next in line, appearing on 11 lists, are “The Substance,” “The Brutalist” and “A Complete Unknown,” followed by “Wicked” and “Dune: Part Two” on 10 lists and “Anora” and “Gladiator 2” on nine. All but “Gladiator 2” are on the longlist for best film. But bright side: Denzel Washington is on the supporting actor list. (The two-time Oscar winner has never been nominated for a BAFTA.

BAFTA on Friday unveiled its longlists for this year’s film awards with Emilia Pérez, Conclave, A Complete Unknown, The Brutalist and The Substance setting the pace.

Jacques Audiard’s Spanish-language musical tops the longlists (15), including leading actress and supporting actress mentions for Karla Sofia Gascon, Zoe Saldana and Selena Gomez. Edward Berger’s Conclave follows with 14 nods, including leading actor and supporting actor for Ralph Fiennes and Stanley Tucci, respectively.

After that, it’s a three-way tie between Brady Corbet’s The Brutalist, Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown and Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance (11). Sean Baker’s Anora is honored with nine mentions on the longlists, including for lead star Mikey Madison. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande are included for their roles in Jon M. Chu’s Wicked, and Timothée Chalamet is among the leading actor list for his performance in A Complete Unknown.

Round two of voting kicks off Friday,...

Bafta has unveiled the round two voting longlists for its 2024 film awards, with Emilia Perez leading the way with 15 spots followed by Conclave with 14.

Eighty films have been longlisted across 25 categories, including the new children’s and family film award – the first new category at the Bafta film awards for five years.

Scroll down for the full longlists

After Emilia Perez and Conclave, three films tied with 11 spots on the lists: James Mangold’s Bob Dylan story A Complete Unknown, Brady Corbet’s Venice title The Brutalist and Coralie Fargeat’s Cannes Competition entry The Substance.

Blockbusters Dune: Part Two...

Deadpool & Wolverine. Photo by Jay Maidment. © 2024 20th Century Studios / © and 2024 Marvel.

The cinematic landscape in 2024 was indeed exciting, with films tackling profound themes of human connection, imagination, and the pursuit of utopia in a dystopian world. The cinemas offered prequels, sequels and franchises, highly anticipated adaptations and reboots and remakes.

The world witnessed various events in the last 12 months.

International sporting competitions, such as the 2024 Paris Olympics or the Cricket World Cup (first major Icc tournament to feature matches played in the U.S.), brought together athletes and fans from around the world.

2024 saw Americans go to the polls and elect Donald Trump as the 47th president of the United States, four years after he left office as the 45th. Elections and political developments in various other countries influenced national and international landscapes, while efforts to address social issues, humanitarian crises, and global challenges continued to be important areas of focus.

2024 saw its fair share of ups and downs in cinema with several gems surfacing over the year. As the year winds down it is time to look back and reflect on 2024’s best movies and former US President Barack Obama is doing just that. Obama recently took to social media and shared a list of his favorite movies of the year.

Barack Obama recently named his favorite 2024 movies (Credit: CBS News).

Obama singled out the opulent Dune 2, a major commercial success, and the Cannes Grand Prix winner All We Imagine as Light as some of the best cinema the year had to offer. However, the former President missed out on some absolute masterpieces that impressed fans. Here are five 2024 films that you must also check out.

5. A Real Pain Jesse Eisenberg’s A Real Pain is a masterful comedy (Credit: Searchlight Pictures).

A Real Pain is a buddy-comedy movie...

Slamdance Film Festival has announced the line-up for its inaugural edition in Los Angeles running February 20-26, 2025.

The 31st annual festival’s roster comprises 146 films, 21 of which are world premiere features from more than 20 countries including the UK, Australia, Canada, China, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, South Korea, and Uganda.

The selection was culled from nearly 10,000 submissions including 1,795 features. All films in the Narrative Features and Documentary Features competition are directorial debuts without US distribution, budgeted at $1m or less.

The festival takes place at Director’s Guild of America and Quixote - West Hollywood, and opening night is at The Egyptian Theatre.

The UK’s leading film critics announced their nominations for the 45th London Critics’ Circle Film Awards. Sean Baker’s Anora and Brady Corbet’s The Brutalist lead with seven nominations each. This year’s winners in all categories will be announced at London’s May Fair Hotel on 2nd February 2025, hosted by venerable critic Mark Kermode. Last year’s ceremony saw Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone of Interest and Andrew Haigh’s All of Us Strangers lead the 44th annual London Critics’ Circle Awards with three wins apiece. The inaugural Derek Malcolm Award for Innovation was presented to Colman Domingo, while Jeffrey Wright received the Dilys Powell Award for Excellence in Film.

Zoe Saldaña will be honoured with the Derek Malcolm Award for Innovation at this year’s ceremony. The Emilia Pérez actress will become the second recipient of the annual award, named in memory of the legendary critic Derek Malcolm,...

Brady Corbet’s The Brutalist and Sean Baker’s Anora lead the nominations for the London Critics’ Circle Film Awards 2025, announced today, December 19.

Both films are nominated in seven categories, followed by Edward Berger’s Conclave and The Substance on six nominations each and Jacques Audiard’s Emilia Perez with five.

All of the above films are nominated in film of the year alongside Payal Kapadia’s All We Imagine As Light, Alice Rohrwacher’s La Chimera, Rich Peppiatt’s Kneecap, RaMell Ross’ Nickel Boys, and Robert Eggers’Nosferatu.

Conclave and Kneecap are also nominated in British/Irish film of...