"12 Years a Slave" Leads Chicago Film Critics Awards Nominations

by Amos Semien

The Chicago Film Critics Association (CFCA) is a tax-exempt, not-for-profit organization that hands out the Chicago Film Critics Awards, hold critics roundtables, and takes on industry and artists’ rights issues. The parent association was founded in 1990 by film critic Sue Kiner after the successful launch of the Chicago Film Critics Awards in 1989.

The nominations for the 2013 Chicago Film Critics Awards were recently announced.  Director Steven McQueen's 12 Years a Slave led all contenders for the group’s annual awards with a stunning 11 nominations. The highly acclaimed drama is a harrowing adaptation of the memoir of a free black man who was kidnapped and sold into slavery in the pre-Civil War era Deep South.  Tying for second place with seven nominations each are the films, Gravity and Her.

The Chicago Film Critics Association will announce its winners in a ceremony to be held on the evening of Monday, December 16, 2013.

2013 Chicago Film Critics Awards nominees:

BEST PICTURE
12 Years A Slave
American Hustle
Gravity
Her
Inside Llewyn Davis

BEST DIRECTOR
Joel & Ethan Coen--Inside Llewyn Davis
Alfonso Cuaron--Gravity
Spike Jonze--Her
Steve McQueen--12 Years A Slave
David O. Russell--American Hustle

BEST ACTOR
Bruce Dern--Nebraska
Chiwetel Ejiofor--12 Years A Slave
Oscar Isaac--Inside Llewyn Davis
Matthew McConaughey--Dallas Buyers Club
Robert Redford--All Is Lost

BEST ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett--Blue Jasmine
Sandra Bullock--Gravity
Adele Exarchopoulos--Blue is the Warmest Color
Brie Larson--Short Term 12
Meryl Streep--August: Osage County

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Barkhad Abdi--Captain Phillips
Michael Fassbender--12 Years A Slave
James Franco--Spring Breakers
James Gandolfini--Enough Said
Jared Leto--Dallas Buyers Club

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Scarlett Johansson--Her
Jennifer Lawrence--American Hustle
Lupita Nyong'o--12 Years A Slave
Lea Seydoux--Blue is the Warmest Color
June Squibb--Nebraska

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
American Hustle--Eric SInger & David O. Russell
Blue Jasmine--Woody Allen
Her--Spike Jonze
Inside Llewyn Davis--Joel & Ethan Coen
Nebraska--Bob Nelson

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
12 Years A Slave--John Ridley
August: Osage County--Tracey Letts
Before Midnight--Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy & Ethan Hawke
Philomena--Steve Coogan & Jeff Pope
The Wolf of Wall Street--Terrence Winter

BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM
The Act of Killing
Blue is the Warmest Color
The Hunt
Wadjda
The Wind Rises

BEST DOCUMENTARY
20 Feet from Stardom
The Act of Killing
The Armstrong Lie
Blackfish
Stories We Tell

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
The Croods
From Up on Poppy Hill
Frozen
Monsters University
The Wind Rises

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
12 Years A Slave--Sean Bobbitt
Gravity--Emmanuel Lubezki
Her--Hoyte Van Hoytema
Inside Llewyn Davis--Bruno Delbonnel
Prisoners--Roger Deakins

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
12 Years A Slave--Hans Zimmer
Blancanieves--Alfonso de Vilallongo
Gravity--Steven Price
Her--Arcade Fire
Spring Breakers--Cliff Martinez and Skrillex

BEST ART DIRECTION/PRODUCTION DESIGN
12 Years A Slave
Gravity
The Great Gatsby
Her
Inside Llewyn Davis

BEST EDITING
12 Years A Slave--Joe Walker
American Hustle--Alan Baumgarten, Jay Cassidy & Crispin Struthers
Gravity--Alfonso Cuaron & Mark Sanger
Upstream Color--Shane Carruth & David Lowery
The Wolf of Wall Street--Thelma Schoonmaker

MOST PROMISING FILMMAKER
Lake Bell--In A World
Ryan Coogler--Fruitvale Station
Destin Cretton--Short Term 12
Joseph Gordon-Levitt--Don Jon
Joshua Oppenheimer--The Act of Killing

MOST PROMISING PERFORMER
Barkhad Abdi--Captain Phillips
Chadwick Boseman--42
Adele Exarchopoulos--Blue is the Warmest Color
Lupita Nyong'o--12 Years A Slave
Tye Sheridan--Mud

http://www.chicagofilmcritics.org/

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