The 2019 Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC) Winners

By Matt Neglia 

The Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC) have announced their winners representing the best in film for 2019.

Click below to see the winners.

​BEST MOVIE ABOUT WOMEN
American Woman (dir. Jake Scott)
Bombshell (dir. Jay Roach)
Booksmart (dir. Olivia Wilde)
The Farewell (dir. Lulu Wang)
Fast Color (dir. Julia Hart)
Harriet (dir. Kasi Lemmons)
Hustlers (dir. Lorene Scafaria)
Little Women (dir. Greta Gerwig) (RUNNER UP)
Portrait of a Lady on Fire (dir. Céline Sciamma) (WINNER)
Honeyland (dir. Tamara Kotevska, Ljubo Stefanov)
Official Secrets (dir. Gavin Hood)
Judy (dir. Rupert Goold)

BEST MOVIE BY A WOMAN
American Factory (Julia Reichert)
Booksmart (Olivia Wilde)
Clemency (Chinonye Chukwu)
The Farewell (Lulu Wang)
Harriet (Kasi Lemmons) (WINNER)
High Life (Claire Denis)
Hustlers (Lorene Scafaria)
Little Women (Greta Gerwig)
The Nightingale (Jennifer Kent)
Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Céline Sciamma) (RUNNER UP)
The Souvenir (Joanna Hogg)

BEST WOMAN STORYTELLER [Screenwriting Award]
Céline Sciamma (Portrait of a Lady on Fire) (RUNNER UP)
Chinonye Chukwu (Clemency)
Claire Denis (High Life)
Emily Halpern, Sarah Haskins, Susanna Fogel, Katie Silberman (Booksmart)
Greta Gerwig (Little Women) (WINNER)
Jennifer Kent (The Nightingale)
Kasi Lemmons (Harriet)
Lena Waithe (Queen & Slim)
Lulu Wang (The Farewell)
Mati Diop (Atlantics)
Nicole Taylor (Wild Rose)

BEST ACTRESS
Aisling Franciosi (The Nightingale)
Cate Blanchett (Where’d You Go, Bernadette?)
Cynthia Erivo (Harriet) (TIE)
Emma Thompson (Late Night)
Florence Pugh (Midsommar)
Jessie Buckley (Wild Rose)
Keira Knightley (Official Secrets)
Lupita Nyong’o (US) (TIE)
Mary Kay Place (Diane)
Rebecca Ferguson (Doctor Sleep)
Renée Zellweger (Judy) (RUNNER UP)
Scarlett Johansson (Marriage Story)
Sienna Miller (American Woman)
Zhao Tao (Ash Is Purest White)

BEST ACTOR
Antonio Banderas (Pain and Glory)
Adam Driver (Marriage Story) (WINNER)
Adam Sandler (Uncut Gems)
Joaquin Phoenix (Joker) (RUNNER UP)
Jonathan Pryce (The Two Popes)
Jimmie Fails (The Last Black Man in San Francisco)
Mark Ruffalo (Dark Waters)
Matthias Schoenaerts (The Mustang)
Oleg Ivenko (The White Crow)
Paul Walter Hauser (Richard Jewell)
Taron Egerton (Rocketman)
Tom Hanks (A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood)

BEST FOREIGN FILM BY OR ABOUT WOMEN
Atlantics (dir. Mati Diop) (RUNNER UP)
Official Secrets (dir. Gavin Hood)
Portrait of a Lady on Fire (dir. Céline Sciamma) (WINNER)
Tigers Are Not Afraid (dir. Issa López)

BEST DOCUMENTARY BY OR ABOUT WOMEN
Amazing Grace (dir. Sydney Pollack, Alan Elliott)
Ask Dr. Ruth (dir. Ryan White)
For Sama (dir. Waad al-Kateab, Edward Watts)
Hail Satan? (dir. Penny Lane)
Honeyland (dir. Tamara Kotevska, Ljubo Stefanov) (RUNNER UP TIE)
The Kingmaker (dir. Lauren Greenfield)
Knock Down the House (dir. Rachel Lears)
Maiden (dir. Alex Holmes) (RUNNER UP TIE)
Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound (dir. Midge Costin)
One Child Nation (dir. Nanfu Wang, Lynn Zhang)
Raise Hell: The Life and Times of Molly Ivins (dir. Janice Engel)
Varda by Agnès (dir. Agnès Varda) (WINNER)

BEST EQUALITY OF THE SEXES
The Aeronauts (RUNNER UP)
Aniara
Booksmart
Fighting with My Family
Little Women
Long Shot
Marriage Story (WINNER)
Official Secrets
Queen & Slim

BEST ANIMATED FEMALE
Anna (Frozen 2) (WINNER)
Astrid (How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World)
Bo Peep (Toy Story 4) (RUNNER UP)
Elsa (Frozen 2)
Yi (Abominable)

BEST SCREEN COUPLE
Fighting with My Family (Lena Headey/Nick Frost)
Hustlers (Jennifer Lopez/Constance Wu) (RUNNER UP)
Late Night (Emma Thompson/Mindy Kaling)
Little Women (Saoirse Ronan/Louis Garrel)
Long Shot (Charlize Theron/Seth Rogan)
Marriage Story (Scarlett Johansson/Adam Driver) (WINNER TIE)
Official Secrets (Keira Knightley/Adam Bakri)
Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Noémie Merlant/Adèle Haenel) (WINNER TIE)
Queen & Slim (Daniel Kaluuya/Jodie Turner-Smith)
The Two Popes (Jonathan Pryce/Anthony Hopkins)

ADRIENNE SHELLY AWARD: For a film that most passionately opposes violence against women
The Nightingale (dir. Jennifer Kent) (WINNER TIE)
Fast Color (dir. Julia Hart)
Bombshell (dir. Jay Roach) (WINNER TIE)
Harriet (dir. Kasi Lemmons)
Hustlers (dir. Lorene Scafaria) (RUNNER UP)
American Woman (dir. Jake Scott)
A Vigilante (dir. Sarah Daggar-Nickson)

JOSEPHINE BAKER AWARD: For best expressing the woman of color experience in America
The Best of Enemies (dir. Robin Bissell)
Culture Shock (dir. Gigi Saul Guerrero)
Harriet (dir. Kasi Lemmons) (WINNER)
Miss Virginia (dir. R.J. Daniel Hanna)
Queen & Slim (dir. Melina Matsoukas) (RUNNER UP)
Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am (dir. Timothy Greenfield-Sanders)
US (dir. Jordan Peele)

KAREN MORLEY AWARD: For best exemplifying a woman’s place in history or society, and a courageous search for identity
The Best of Enemies (dir. Robin Bissell)
Harriet (dir. Kasi Lemmons) (WINNER)
Knives Out (dir. Rian Johnson)
Little Women (dir. Greta Gerwig) (RUNNER UP)
Mickey and the Bear (dir. Annabelle Attanasio)
The Nightingale (dir. Jennifer Kent)
Official Secrets (dir. Gavin Hood)
Portrait of a Lady on Fire (dir. Céline Sciamma)
Varda by Agnès (dir. Agnès Varda)
Where’d You Go, Bernadette? (dir. Richard Linklater)

ACTING AND ACTIVISM AWARD
Alfre Woodard
Brie Larson
Geena Davis
Icíar Bollaín
Jamie Lee Curtis
Jane Fonda (WINNER)
Taraji P. Henson

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Alfre Woodard (WINNER)
Aviva Kempner
Cate Blanchett
Diane Keaton
Dolly Parton
Jane Fonda
Julie Andrews
Kasi Lemmons
Maggie Smith
Shelley Duvall
Toni Morrison

The WFCC Pauline Kael Special Jury Awards

THE INVISIBLE WOMAN AWARD: Supporting performance by a woman whose exceptional impact on the film dramatically, socially or historically, has been ignored
Stella Fyrogini (Pause)
Taraji P Henson (The Best of Enemies)
Janelle Monae (Harriet) (WINNER)
Anna Paquin (The Irishman) (RUNNER UP)

BEST FEMALE ACTION HEROES (May be collective, or social action rather than physical action)
Cynthia Erivo (Harriet) (WINNER)
Keira Knightley (Official Secrets) (RUNNER UP)
Brie Larson (Captain Marvel)
The Women Of Bombshell

MOMMIE DEAREST WORST SCREEN MOM OF THE YEAR AWARD
Elizabeth Banks (Brightburn)
Frances Conroy as Penny Fleck (Joker) (WINNER)
Jamie Lee Curtis (Knives Out)
The Mothers of Paradise Hills

WFCC HALL OF SHAME
Hustlers - This was NOT a female empowering film as it was billed to be. But rather an eye candy vehicle for men to watch Jennifer Lopez show off her butt and pole dancing skills.
Vita & Virginia: For portraying Virginia Woolf as a waif instead of a force of nature.
Roger Ailes: A monster, who this year was especially exposed for his monstrosity both on film in Bombshell, and on television in The Loudest Voice.
Luc Besson: Who has been officially charged with sexual assault by at least nine women. The actions not only affected the lives of the women assaulted, but also all the people associated with his latest film, Anna.
John Krasinski: The actor brags about pursuing CIA input for his macho 'thank you to the CIA every day' role as 'Next Stop Venezuela' Jack Ryan, in that repugnant propaganda infomercial for US imperialism's neo-Monroe Doctrine assault on Latin America.​

You can follow Matt and hear more of his thoughts on the Oscars & Film on Twitter at @NextBestPicture