CAROL LEADS INTERNATIONAL CINEPHILE SOCIETY NOMINATIONS

The International Cinephile Society has announced its nominees for achievements in film for 2015, and they've more than rectified the mistakes of other awards groups this season. Three female-led films top the nomination count, with Carol scoring ten mentions and both The Assassin and Mad Max: Fury Road scoring seven each - three of my favourite films of the year too! And the list of personal delights continues through every single category, including richly deserved tech nods for Hard to Be a God and Jauja, appearances from Tangerine in main categories and The Duke of Burgundy and Saint Laurent in select categories, again all richly deserved citations, and a considerably more diverse slate overall than any of this year's major groups. Keep a close eye on the 16 films nominated for the Best Picture Not Released in 2016 award: half of last year's list appear on this year's ICS lineup in at least one category. Winners are due to be announced on the 21st of February. Check it all out below:

Best Picture

45 Years

Arabian Nights: Volume 1 – The Restless One / Arabian Nights: Volume 2 – The Desolate One / Arabian Nights: Volume 3 – The Enchanted One

The Assassin

Carol
Clouds of Sils Maria

The Duke of Burgundy

Inside Out

Li’l Quinquin

Mad Max: Fury Road

A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence

Tangerine

Best Director

Sean Baker (Tangerine)

Bruno Dumont (Li’l Quinquin)

Todd Haynes (Carol)

Hou Hsiao Hsien (The Assassin)

George Miller (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Best Actor

Christopher Abbott (James White)

Samuel L. Jackson (The Hateful Eight)

Röhrig Géza (Son of Saul)

Jacob Tremblay (Room)

Gaspard Ulliel (Saint Laurent)

Best Actress

Juliette Binoche (Clouds of Sils Maria)

Cate Blanchett (Carol)

Nina Hoss (Phoenix)

Rooney Mara (Carol)

Charlotte Rampling (45 Years)

Best Supporting Actor

Helmut Berger (Saint Laurent)

Emory Cohen (Brooklyn)

Benicio del Toro (Sicario)

Walton Goggins (The Hateful Eight)

Oscar Isaac (Ex Machina)

Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies)

Best Supporting Actress

Jennifer Jason Leigh (The Hateful Eight)

Cynthia Nixon (James White)

Erica Rivas (Wild Tales)

Kristen Stewart (Clouds of Sils Maria)

Mya Taylor (Tangerine)

Best Original Screenplay

Roy Andersson (A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence)

Olivier Assayas (Clouds of Sils Maria)

Josh Cooley, Ronnie del Carmen, Pete Docter and Meg LeFauve (Inside Out)

Bruno Dumont (Li’l Quinquin)

Jessica Hausner (Amour Fou)

Best Adapted Screenplay

Ah Cheng, Chu T’ien Wen, Hou Hsiao Hsien and Hsieh Hai Meng (The Assassin)

Andrew Haigh (45 Years)

Charlie Kaufman (Anomalisa)

Nick Lathouris, Brendan McCarthy and George Miller (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Phyllis Nagy (Carol)

Best Cinematography

Vladimir Ilin and Yuriy Klimenko (Hard to Be a God)

Edward Lachman (Carol)

Lee Ping Bin (The Assassin)

Emmanuel Lubekzi (The Revenant)

Timo Salminen (Jauja)

John Seale (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Best Editing

Matyas Fekete (The Duke of Burgundy)

Affonso Gonçalves (Carol)

Huang Chih Chia and Liao Ching Song (The Assassin)

Julio Perez (It Follows)

Margaret Sixel (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Best Production Design

Judy Becker (Carol)

Colin Gibson (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Huang Wen Ying (The Assassin)

Sergei Kokovkin, Georgiy Kropachyov and Elena Zhukova (Hard to Be a God)

Thomas E. Sanders (Crimson Peak)

Katia Wyszkop (Saint Laurent)

Best Score

Faris Badwan and Rachel Zeffira (The Duke of Burgundy)

Carter Burwell (Carol)

Tom Holkenborg (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Ennio Morricone (The Hateful Eight)

Rich Vreeland (It Follows)

Best Ensemble

Brooklyn

Carol

Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem

The Hateful Eight

Li’l Quinquin

Spotlight

Best Animated Film

Anomalisa

Inside Out

Shaun the Sheep Movie

When Marnie Was There

World of Tomorrow

Best Documentary

Amy

Heart of a Dog

In Jackson Heights

The Look of Silence

The Pearl Button

Best Picture Not in the English Language

Amour Fou

Arabian Nights: Volume 1 – The Restless One / Arabian Nights: Volume 2 – The Desolate One / Arabian Nights: Volume 3 – The Enchanted One

The Assassin

Hard to Be a God

Jauja

Li’l Quinquin

Phoenix

A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence

Saint Laurent

La Sapienza

Son of Saul

Honourable Mentions

Horse Money

Mustang

Timbuktu

The Tribe

Best Picture Not Released in 2015

Aferim!

Blood of My Blood

Cemetery of Splendour

Closet Monster

Embrace of the Serpent

In the Shadow of Women

Knight of Cups

The Lobster

Mia Madre

Mountains May Depart

My Golden Days

No Home Movie

Right Now, Wrong Then

Sunset Song

The Treasure

The Witch

REVERSE SHOT CHOOSES IN JACKSON HEIGHTS AS THE FILM OF 2015

Reverse Shot has chimed in with its top ten list for 2015, and a documentary has come out on top. Frederick Wiseman's universally-acclaimed In Jackson Heights is the favourite film among critics polled, on a strong and diverse list. Many of the films below are among my favourites from last year too, and even the year before! Check it out:

Reverse Shot's Film of 2015
1. In Jackson Heights
2. Carol
3. The Assassin
4. Clouds of Sils Maria
5. Timbuktu
6. Hard to Be a God
7. Arabian Nights: Volume 1 - The Restless One / Arabian Nights: Volume 2 - The Desolate One / Arabian Nights: Volume 3 - The Enchanted One
8. The Look of Silence
9. Eastern Boys
10. Horse Money

SLANT RELEASES ITS TOP 50 OF 2015

Looking through Slant's Top 50 films of the year, one's reminded of just how brilliant a year in film 2015 was... and 2014... and 2013! Several of my personal favourites appear here, not only of this year but of the last two, including Hard to Be a God and Jauja. It's a varied list, with divisive films that even divided my own opinion, like Magic Mike XXL and Blackhat, placing highly. And any list in which neither Anomalisa nor The Duke of Burgundy can crack the Top 30, and 45 Years can only just make the Top 25, is either the sign of admirably active voters or plain old bad taste. It's Slant magazine, so I'll assume the former. On the other hand, their Worst Of list is full of potential titles for their Best Of list, alongside some indubitably awful ones. Check out their choices below:

Slant's Best Films of 2015

1. Mad Max: Fury Road

2. In Jackson Heights

3. Timbuktu

4. Horse Money

5. Magic Mike XXL

6. Hard to Be a God

7. Heart of a Dog

8. Blackhat

9. The Assassin

10. Chi-Raq

11. Li'l Quinquin

12. Taxi

13. Queen of Earth

14. The Look of Silence

15. Heaven Knows What

16. Jauja

17. The Forbidden Room

18. Phoenix

19. Carol

20. Creed

21. Mistress America

22. Son of Saul

23. Of Men and War

24. Eastern Boys

25. 45 Years

26. About Elly

27. Arabian Nights: Volume 1 - The Restless One / Arabian Nights: Volume 2 - The Desolate One / Arabian Nights: Volume 3 - The Enchanted One

28. Salvation Army

29. The Kindergarten Teacher

30. Tangerine

31. Anomalisa

32. Welcome to New York

33. A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence

34. Girlhood

35. Buzzard

36. The Duke of Burgundy

37. The Pearl Button

38. Of Horses and Men

39. Madam Phung's Last Journey

40. We Come as Friends

41. Entertainment

42. The Diary of a Teenage Girl

43. The Fool

44. Maps to the Stars

45. La Ultima Pelicula

46. Inside Out

47. Gangs of Wasseypur

48. Office

49. Coming Home

50. The Princess of France

Slant's Best Performances of 2015

Christopher Abbott (James White)

Emory Cohen (Brooklyn)

Tom Courtenay (45 Years)

Benicio del Toro (Sicario)

Gérard Depardieu (Welcome to New York)

Arielle Holmes (Heaven Knows What)

Nina Hoss (Phoenix)

Michael B. Jordan (Creed)

Brie Larson (Room)

Jennifer Jason Leigh (The Hateful Eight)

Rooney Mara (Carol)

Elisabeth Moss (Queen of Earth)

Cynthia Nixon (James White)

Bernard Pruvost (Li’l Quinquin)

Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn)

Peter Sarsgaard (Experimenter)

Michael Shannon (99 Homes)

Sylvester Stallone (Creed)

Kristen Stewart (Clouds of Sils Maria)

Slant's Best Scenes of 2015
'Abstract thought' (Inside Out)
'Cause I Knew' (Li'l Quinquin)
'Convenience store dance' (Magic Mike XXL)
'Diamonds' (Girlhood)
'Dirtbike training' (Creed)
'Equine sex' (Of Horses and Men)
'Fantasy football' (Timbuktu)
'Fuck It!' (Tangerine)
'Home invasion' (Eastern Boys)
'King XXI' (A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence)
'Kite flying' (About Elly)
'Maid enters pool' (The Second Mother)
'Master closeup' (Queen of Earth)
'Mother and son in bathroom' (James White)
'Oh girl' (Chi-Raq)
'Opening' (It Follows)
'Opening' (Sicario)
'The second dinner' (Carol)
'Speak Low' (Phoenix)
'Veridis Quo' (Eden)

Slant's Worst Films of 2015
1. Beasts of No Nation
2. Accidental Love
3. 7 Minutes
4. Jason and Shirley
5. Vice
6. The End of the Tour
7. Ted 2
8. The Human Centipede III (Final Sequence)
9. Trainwreck
10. The Cobbler