Spotlight shines at 14th annual Central Ohio Film Critics Association awards
(Columbus, January 7, 2016) Tom McCarthy’s investigative drama Spotlight has been named Best Film in the Central Ohio Film Critics Association’s 14th annual awards, which recognize excellence in the film industry for 2015. The film also claimed three other awards. McCarthy was honored as Best Director. The cast, including Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, and Rachel McAdams, was named Best Ensemble. Josh Singer and McCarthy won for Best Original Screenplay.
Columbus-area critics lauded Alicia Vikander with three awards: Best Supporting Actress (Ex Machina); Actor of the Year for her exemplary body of work in Burnt, The Danish Girl, Ex Machina, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Seventh Son, and Testament of Youth; and Breakthrough Film Artist. Other individual screen performers commended for their achievements include Best Actor Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant), who previously was named COFCA’s Best Actor in 2006 for The Departed; Best Actress Brie Larson (Room); and Best Supporting Actor Benicio Del Toro (Sicario).
The Revenant’s Emmanuel Lubezki won Best Cinematography. COFCA members also tabbed him for Best Cinematography in 2011 for The Tree of Life and 2013 for Gravity. Other winners include: Mad Max: Fury Road’s Margaret Sixel for Best Film Editing; The Big Short’s Charles Randolph and Adam McKay for Best Adapted Screenplay; The Hateful Eight’s Ennio Morricone for Best Score; Best Documentary The Look of Silence; Best Foreign Language Film Phoenix; Best Animated Film Inside Out; and The Tribe (Plemya) as Best Overlooked Film.
Founded in 2002, the Central Ohio Film Critics Association is comprised of film critics based in Columbus, Ohio and the surrounding areas. Its membership consists of 21 print, radio, television, and internet critics. COFCA’s official website at www.cofca.org contains links to member reviews and past award winners.
Winners were announced at a private party on January 7.
Complete list of awards:
Best Film
1. Spotlight
2. Inside Out
3. Room
4. Mad Max: Fury Road
5. Ex Machina
6. Sicario
7. Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens
8. The Revenant
9. The Big Short
10. The Martian
Best Director
-Tom McCarthy, Spotlight
-Runner-up: George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road
Best Actor
-Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant
-Runner-up: Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs
Best Actress
-Brie Larson, Room
-Runners-up: Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn and Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl
Best Supporting Actor
-Benicio Del Toro, Sicario
-Runner-up: Oscar Isaac, Ex Machina
Best Supporting Actress
-Alicia Vikander, Ex Machina
-Runner-up: Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Hateful Eight
Best Ensemble
-Spotlight
-Runner-up: The Hateful Eight
Actor of the Year (for an exemplary body of work)
-Alicia Vikander, Burnt, The Danish Girl, Ex Machina, The Man from
U.N.C.L.E., Seventh Son, and Testament of Youth
-Runner-up: Domhnall Gleeson, Brooklyn, Ex Machina, The Revenant, and Star
Wars: Episode VII -The Force Awakens
Breakthrough Film Artist
-Alicia Vikander, Burnt, The Danish Girl, Ex Machina, The Man from
U.N.C.L.E., Seventh Son, and Testament of Youth (for acting)
-Runner-up: Sean Baker, Tangerine (for producing, directing, screenwriting, film editing, cinematography, camera operation, and casting)
Best Cinematography
-Emmanuel Lubezki, The Revenant
-Runner-up: John Seale, Mad Max: Fury Road
Best Film Editing
-Margaret Sixel, Mad Max: Fury Road
-Runner-up: Joe Walker, Sicario
Best Adapted Screenplay
-Charles Randolph and Adam McKay, The Big Short
-Runner-up: Emma Donoghue, Room
Best Original Screenplay
-Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy, Spotlight
-Runner-up: Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve, and Josh Cooley, Inside Out
Best Score
-Ennio Morricone, The Hateful Eight
-Runner-up: Junkie XL, Mad Max: Fury Road
Best Documentary
-The Look of Silence
-Runner-up: Amy
Best Foreign Language Film
-Phoenix
-Runner-up: Wild Tales (Relatos salvajes)
Best Animated Film
-Inside Out
-Runner-up: Anomalisa
Best Overlooked Film
-The Tribe (Plemya)
-Runner-up: The Gift
COFCA offers its congratulations to the winners.
Previous Best Film winners:
2002: Punch-Drunk Love
2003: Lost in Translation
2004: Million Dollar Baby
2005: A History of Violence
2006: Children of Men
2007: No Country for Old Men
2008: WALL·E
2009: Up in the Air
2010: Inception
2011: Drive
2012: Moonrise Kingdom
2013: Gravity
2014: Selma
For more information about the Central Ohio Film Critics Association, please visit www.cofca.org or e-mail info@cofca.org.
The complete list of members and their affiliations:
Richard Ades (Freelance); Dwayne Bailey (Bailey’s Buzz); Logan Burd (Cinema or Cine-meh?); Kevin Carr (www.7mpictures.com, FilmSchoolRejects.com); Bill Clark (www.fromthebalcony.com); Olie Coen (Archer Avenue, DVD Talk); John DeSando (90.5 WCBE); Frank Gabrenya (The Columbus Dispatch); James Hansen (Out 1 Film Journal); Brad Keefe (Columbus Alive); Kristin Dreyer Kramer (NightsAndWeekends.com, 90.5 WCBE); Joyce Long (Freelance); Rico Long (Freelance); Hope Madden (Columbus Underground and MaddWolf.com); Paul Markoff (WOCC-TV3; Otterbein TV); David Medsker (Bullz-Eye.com); Lori Pearson (Kids-in-Mind.com, critics.com); Mark Pfeiffer (Reel Times: Reflections on Cinema; WOCC-TV3; Otterbein TV); Melissa Starker (Columbus Alive, The Columbus Dispatch); George Wolf (Columbus Radio Group and MaddWolf.com); Jason Zingale (Bullz-Eye.com); Nathan Zoebl (PictureShowPundits.com).
The following information is not for publication:
If you would like comments about COFCA and these awards, please contact:
Mark Pfeiffer (mark.pfeiffer@gmail.com)
Reel Times: Reflections on Cinema and Co-host/co-producer, Now Playing, WOCC-TV3 and Otterbein TV
