“Marriage Story” tops 2019 Indiana Film Journalists Association awards
“Marriage Story,” a humanistic drama that depicts the painful process of a cross-country divorce, took three prizes at the 2019 Indiana Film Journalists Association (IFJA) awards — including Best Film, Best Actor for Adam Driver and Best Original Screenplay for Noah Baumbach.
“Parasite” was named Runner-Up for Best Film, in addition to taking the prizes for Best Foreign Language Film and Best Director for Bong Joon-ho. Eight additional films were named Best Film Finalists, collectively representing the group’s picks for the 10 best films of the year.
“Booksmart” director Olivia Wilde won Breakout of the Year. Her film also placed as a Best Picture finalist.
Lupita Nyong'o was named Best Actress for her dual performance in Us while the film’s composer, Michael Abels, won for Best Musical Score.
Other winners included:
Willem Dafoe as Best Supporting Actor for The Lighthouse
Jennifer Lopez as Best Supporting Actress for Hustlers
Knives Out for Best Ensemble Acting
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World for Best Animated Film
For Sama for Best Documentary
Jason Liles, Alan Maxson and Richard Dorton won the IFJA’s Best Vocal / Motion-Capture Performance award for their collective work to embody Ghidorah the Three-Headed Monster in Godzilla: King of the Monsters.
The IFJA's Original Vision Award, given to a film with innovative and distinct storytelling, went to Robert Eggers for The Lighthouse, a unique horror tale told using period-specific language.
The 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, went to Jason Keller for his work co-writing the script for Ford v Ferrari.
IFJA members issued this Hoosier Award statement: “It may have been a decade ago that Indianapolis native Jason Keller began working on the screenplay to ‘Ford v Ferrari,’ but he fondly invokes the inspiration of his inaugural visit to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as a young boy. Keller’s work on the screenplay brings out the excitement of auto racing and gives vivid life to the actual historical figures who were part of the Ford Racing Team’s journey to Le Mans.”
Below is a complete list of winners and runners-up in all IFJA categories:
BEST FILM Winner: “Marriage Story” Runner-Up: “Parasite”
Other Finalists (listed alphabetically): “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” “Booksmart” “Ford v Ferrari” “Knives Out” “The Lighthouse” “Little Women” “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood” “Portrait of a Lady on Fire”
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE Winner: “How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World” Runner-Up: “I Lost My Body”
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM Winner: “Parasite” Runner-Up: “Portrait of a Lady on Fire”
BEST DOCUMENTARY Winner: “For Sama” Runner-Up: “Apollo 11”
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY Winner: Noah Baumbach, “Marriage Story” Runner-Up: Robert Eggers & Max Eggers, “The Lighthouse”
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY Winner: Greta Gerwig, “Little Women.” Runner-Up: Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”
BEST DIRECTOR Winner: Bong Joon-ho, “Parasite” Runner-Up: Céline Sciamma, “Portrait of a Lady on Fire”
BEST ACTRESS Winner: Lupita Nyong'o, “Us” Runner-Up: Scarlett Johansson, “Marriage Story”
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS Winner: Jennifer Lopez, “Hustlers” Runner-Up: Taylor Russell, “Waves”
BEST ACTOR Winner: Adam Driver, “Marriage Story” Runner-Up: Adam Sandler, “Uncut Gems”
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR Winner: Willem Dafoe, “The Lighthouse” Runner-Up: Brad Pitt, “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood”
BEST VOCAL / MOTION CAPTURE PERFORMANCE Winner: Jason Liles, Alan Maxson and Richard Dorton, “Godzilla, King of the Monsters” Runner-Up: Rosa Salazar, “Alita: Battle Angel”
BEST ENSEMBLE ACTING Winner: Knives Out Runner-Up: Little Women
BEST MUSICAL SCORE Winner: Michael Abels, “Us” Runner-Up: Cavern of Anti-Matter, “In Fabric”
BREAKOUT OF THE YEAR Winner: Olivia Wilde, “Booksmart” (director) Runner-Up: Roman Griffin Davis, “Jojo Rabbit” (actor)
ORIGINAL VISION AWARD Winner: Robert Eggers, “The Lighthouse” Runner-Up: Bong Joon-ho, “Parasite”
HOOSIER AWARD Winner: Jason Keller, “Ford v Ferrari” (screenwriter) (As a special award, no runner-up is declared in this category.)
About the IFJA: The Indiana Film Journalists Association was established in February 2009. Members must reside in the Hoosier State and produce consistent, quality film criticism or commentary in any medium. http://indianafilmjournalists.com