DALLAS-FORT WORTH FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION AWARDS: MOONLIGHT WINS FOUR

Barry Jenkins' Moonlight continues to stake its clear case as the North American critics' favourite film of 2016, with four wins from the Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association. The coming-of-age drama has had virtually no trouble in winning over those same Southern critics who, last year, balked a little at doing the same for Todd Haynes' Carol. Their ranked choices below:

Best Picture

1. Moonlight

2. Manchester by the Sea

3. La La Land

4. Hell or High Water

5. Arrival

6. Jackie

7. Loving

8. 20th Century Women

9. Hacksaw Ridge

10. Silence

Best Director

1. Barry Jenkins (Moonlight)

2. Damien Chazelle (La La Land)

3. Kenneth Lonergan (Manchester by the Sea)

4. David MacKenzie (Hell or High Water)

5. Denis Villeneuve (Arrival)

Best Actress

1. Natalie Portman (Jackie)

2. Emma Stone (La La Land)

3. Ruth Negga (Loving)

4. Amy Adams (Arrival)

5. Annette Bening (20th Century Women)

Best Actor

1. Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea)

2. Denzel Washington (Fences)

3. Joel Edgerton (Loving)

4. Ryan Gosling (La La Land)

5. Tom Hanks (Sully)

Best Supporting Actress

1. Viola Davis (Fences)

2. Naomie Harris (Moonlight)

3. Michelle Williams (Manchester by the Sea)

4. Greta Gerwig (20th Century Women)

5. Judy Davis (The Dressmaker)

Best Supporting Actor

1. Mahershala Ali (Moonlight)

2. Jeff Bridges (Hell or High Water)

3. Michael Shannon (Nocturnal Animals)

4. Lucas Hedges (Manchester by the Sea)

5. Ben Foster (Hell or High Water)

Best Screenplay

1. Kenneth Lonergan (Manchester by the Sea)

2. Barry Jenkins (Moonlight)

Best Cinematography

1. Linus Sandgren (La La Land)

2. Rodrigo Prieto (Silence)

Best Musical Score

1. Justin Hurwitz (La La Land)

2. Mica Levi (Jackie)

Best Animated Film

1. Zootopia

2. Kubo and the Two Strings

3. Moana

Best Documentary

1. Tower

2. 13th

3. Gleason

4. I Am Not Your Negro

5. Weiner

Best Foreign Language Film

1. The Handmaiden

2. Toni Erdmann

3. Elle

4. Neruda

5. The Salesman

Russell Smith Award for Best Low-Budget or Cutting-Edge Independent Film

Moonlight

CAROL TAKES THE LOT AT GALECA'S DORIAN AWARDS

Why cry when you can laugh? And why laugh when you can laugh in the faces of Oscar voters, secure in the knowledge that you have far better taste than they do, and are thus far better people? Carol smacks down the competition at the 2015 Dorian Awards, winning in all but one of the categories in which it was nominated, and serving as proof that we're better than you, AMPAS. Oh, and, we're coming for you. Here were the Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association's nominations, and here are their award winners:

Film of the Year

Carol

Director of the Year

Todd Haynes (Carol)

Performance of the Year - Actor

Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant)

Performance of the Year - Actress

Cate Blanchett (Carol)

Screenplay of the Year

Phyllis Nagy (Carol)

Documentary of the Year

Amy

Foreign Language Film of the Year

Son of Saul

LGBTQ Film of the Year

Carol

Campy Flick of the Year

Magic Mike XXL

Visually Striking Film of the Year (honouring a production of stunning beauty, from art direction to cinematography)

Mad Max: Fury Road

Unsung Film of the Year

Tangerine

Wilde Artist of the Year (honouring a truly groundbreaking force in the fields of film, theatre and/or television)

Todd Haynes

The 'We're Wilde About You' Rising Star Award

Alicia Vikander

Wilde Wit of the Year (honouring a performer, writer or commentator whose observations both challenge and amuse)

Amy Schumer

Timeless Award

Jane Fonda

ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS ANNOUNCES 2015 NOMINATIONS

The Alliance of Women Film Journalists has announced its award nominees for 2015. Todd Haynes' Carol is way out in front with the AWFJ, pulling in an impressive nine nominations. But can it edge past award season frontrunners Mad Max: Fury Road and Spotlight to claim the prizes from this female-focused ensemble of journos? We'll find out when awards are announced on the 12th of January. Have a look at all their nominations below:

Best Film

Carol

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Martian

Room

Spotlight

Best Director

Lenny Abrahamson (Room)

Alejandro González Iñárritu (The Revenant)

Todd Haynes (Carol)

Tom McCarthy (Spotlight)

George Miller (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Ridley Scott (The Martian)

Best Actor

Matt Damon (The Martian)

Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant)

Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs)

Eddie Redmayne (The Danish Girl)

Best Actress

Cate Blanchett (Carol)

Brie Larson (Room)

Charlotte Rampling (45 Years)

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

Paul Dano (Love & Mercy)

Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies)

Michael Shannon (99 Homes)

Sylvester Stallone (Creed)

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Rooney Mara (Carol)

Kristen Stewart (Clouds of Sils Maria)

Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina)

Kate Winslet (Steve Jobs)

Best Screenplay, Original

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

Alex Garland (Ex Machina)

Tom McCarthy and Josh Singer (Spotlight)

Best Screenplay, Adapted

Emma Donoghue (Room)

Drew Goddard (The Martian)

Adam McKay and Charles Randolph (The Big Short)

Phyllis Nagy (Carol)

Best Cinematography

Edward Lachman (Carol)

Emmanuel Lubezki (The Revenant)

John Seale (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Best Editing

Hank Corwin (The Big Short)

Tom McArdle (Spotlight)

Margaret Sixel (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Best Film Music or Score

Carter Burwell (Carol)

Tom Holkenborg (Mad Max: Fury Road)

David Lang (Youth)

Ennio Morricone (The Hateful Eight)

Best Ensemble Cast

The Big Short

Spotlight

Straight Outta Compton

Best Animated Film

Anomalisa

Inside Out

Shaun the Sheep Movie

Best Documentary

Amy (Asif Kapadia)

Best of Enemies (Robert Gordon and Morgan Neville)

Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief (Alex Gibney)

The Hunting Ground (Kirby Dick)

What Happened, Miss Simone? (Liz Garbus)

Best Non-English Language Film

Mustang (Deniz Gamze Ergüven)

Phoenix (Christian Petzold)

Son of Saul (Nemes László)

EDA Female Focus Awards

Best Woman Director

Isabel Coixet (Learning to Drive)

Maya Forbes (Infinitely Polar Bear)

Sarah Gavron (Suffragette)

Marielle Heller (The Diary of a Teenage Girl)

Céline Sciamma (Girlhood)

Best Woman Screenwriter

Emma Donoghue (Room)

Marielle Heller (The Diary of a Teenage Girl)

Phyllis Nagy (Carol)

Amy Schumer (Trainwreck)

Best Breakthrough Performance

Brie Larson (Room)

Bel Powley (The Diary of a Teenage Girl)

Daisy Ridley (Star Wars: The Force Awakens)

Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl / Ex Machina / Testament of Youth)

Best Female Action Star

Emily Blunt (Sicario)

Jennifer Lawrence (The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2)

Daisy Ridley (Star Wars: The Force Awakens)

Charlize Theron (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Female Icon of the Year Award (a woman whose work in film and/or in life made a difference)

Chantal Akerman – In Memoriam for being a great filmmaker and inspiration

Maria Giese – activist filmmaker who is spearheading the movement for parity for women directors

Donna Langley – Chair(wo)man, Universal Pictures, who has brought the studio to unprecedented profits

Jennifer Lawrence – for breaking the silence about discriminatory practices and unequal pay for actresses

Charlotte Rampling – because she’s Charlotte Rampling and is iconic

EDA Special Mention Awards

Actress Defying Age and Ageism

Helen Mirren

Charlotte Rampling

Lily Tomlin

Best Depiction of Nudity, Sexuality or Seduction

Anomalisa

Carol

The Diary of a Teenage Girl

Movie You Wanted to Love, but Just Couldn’t

Aloha

The Danish Girl

The Hateful Eight

Sisters

Actress Most in Need of a New Agent

Bryce Dallas Howard (Jurassic World)

Dakota Johnson (Fifty Shades of Grey)

Emma Stone (Aloha)

Most Egregious Age Difference between the Lead and the Love Interest

Katarina Cas and Al Pacino (Danny Collins)

Daniel Craig and Léa Seydoux (Spectre)

Julianne Moore and Ellen Page (Freeheld)

Joaquin Phoenix and Emma Stone (Irrational Man)

CAROL TOPS NOMINATIONS WITH THE FLORIDA FILM CRITICS CIRCLE

Guess which three films lead the 2015 Florida Film Critics Circle award nominations? If you've been following awards season closely, you'd likely guess Mad Max: Fury Road, Spotlight and Carol, though if you've been following it even closer, you might be inclined to omit Carol from your prediction. Thankfully, this is one southern critics group not to snub Todd Haynes' romantic masterpiece from its Best Picture slate, and indeed the film tops all others with a total eight nominations over Mad Max's seven and Spotlight's five. Hooray! Winners will be announced on the 23rd of December, a mere two days from now. Check out the nominees right here:

Best Picture

The Big Short

Carol

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Martian

Spotlight

Best Director

Alejandro González Iñárritu (The Revenant)

Todd Haynes (Carol)

Tom McCarthy (Spotlight)

George Miller (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Ridley Scott (The Martian)

Best Actor

Bryan Cranston (Trumbo)

Paul Dano (Love & Mercy)

Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant)

Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs)

Eddie Redmayne (The Danish Girl)

Best Actress

Cate Blanchett (Carol)

Brie Larson (Room)

Charlotte Rampling (45 Years)

Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn)

Charlize Theron (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Best Supporting Actor

Oscar Isaac (Ex Machina)

Mark Ruffalo (Spotlight)

Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies)

Michael Shannon (99 Homes)

Sylvester Stallone (Creed)

Best Supporting Actress

Elizabeth Banks (Love & Mercy)

Jennifer Jason Leigh (The Hateful Eight)

Rooney Mara (Carol)

Kristen Stewart (Clouds of Sils Maria)

Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina)

Best Original Screenplay

Ex Machina

The Hateful Eight

Inside Out

Mistress America

Spotlight

Best Adapted Screenplay

The Big Short

Brooklyn

Carol

Room

Steve Jobs

Best Cinematography

Carol

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Revenant

Sicario

Youth

Best Art Direction / Production Design

Brooklyn

Carol

Crimson Peak

Love & Mercy

Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Visual Effects

Ex Machina

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Martian

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

The Walk

Best Score

Carol

The Hateful Eight

Love & Mercy

Mad Max: Fury Road

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Best Ensemble

The Big Short

Mistress America

Spotlight

Straight Outta Compton

Tangerine

Best Animated Film

Anomalisa

The Good Dinosaur

Inside Out

The Peanuts Movie

Shaun the Sheep Movie

Best Documentary

Amy

Best of Enemies

Cartel Land

Heart of a Dog

The Look of Silence

Best Foreign Language Film

The Assassin

Mommy

Mustang

Phoenix

Son of Saul

Breakout Award

Bel Powley (The Diary of a Teenage Girl)

Daisy Ridley (Star Wars: The Force Awakens)

Kitana Kiki Rodriguez (Tangerine)

Jacob Tremblay (Room)

Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl / Ex Machina)

LONDON CRITICS CIRCLE FILM AWARDS: CAROL LEADS AMONG CONTROVERSY

The London Critics' Circle has often defined its local film awards as 'British', despite featuring Irish talent in these categories. Following today's nominations announcement, in which Todd Haynes' Carol leads all nominees with seven mentions, the circle made an adjustment, and renamed these categories. About time too. The nominees are pretty impressive, however, with Best Film mentions for two documentaries, and a brilliant slate of Foreign Language contenders (as ever from this group). A gala ceremony will be held on Sunday the 17th of January during which the award winners will be announced. Check out their choices below:

Film of the Year

45 Years

Amy

Carol

Inside Out

The Look of Silence

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Martian

The Revenant

Room

Spotlight

Director of the Year

Alejandro González Iñárritu (The Revenant)

Andrew Haigh (45 Years)

Todd Haynes (Carol)

George Miller (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Ridley Scott (The Martian)

Actor of the Year

Tom Courtenay (45 Years)

Paul Dano (Love & Mercy)

Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant)

Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs)

Tom Hardy (Legend)

Actress of the Year

Cate Blanchett (Carol)

Brie Larson (Room)

Rooney Mara (Carol)

Charlotte Rampling (45 Years)

Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn)

Supporting Actor of the Year

Benicio del Toro (Sicario)

Tom Hardy (The Revenant)

Oscar Isaac (Ex Machina)

Michael Keaton (Spotlight)

Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies)

Supporting Actress of the Year

Olivia Colman (The Lobster)

Kristen Stewart (Clouds of Sils Maria)

Tilda Swinton (Trainwreck)

Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina)

Kate Winslet (Steve Jobs)

Screenwriter of the Year

Emma Donoghue (Room)

Nick Hornby (Brooklyn)

Tom McCarthy and Josh Singer (Spotlight)

Phyllis Nagy (Carol)

Aaron Sorkin (Steve Jobs)

Technical Achievement Award

Carter Burwell (Carol)

Wade Eastwood (Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation)

Colin Gibson (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Elliot Graham (Steve Jobs)

Edward Lachman (Carol)

Tom Ozanich (Sicario)

Sandy Powell (Cinderella)

John Seale (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Alistair Sirkett and Markus Stemler (Macbeth)

Andrew Whitehurst (Ex Machina)

Documentary of the Year

Amy

Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief

The Look of Silence

Palio

A Syrian Love Story

Foreign-Language Film of the Year

Eden

Hard to Be a God

The Look of Silence

The Tale of the Princess Kaguya

The Tribe

British / Irish Film of the Year

45 Years

Amy

Brooklyn

The Lobster

London Road

British / Irish Actor of the Year

Michael Caine (Kingsman: The Secret Service / Youth)

Idris Elba (Beasts of No Nation / Second Coming)

Colin Farrell (The Lobster / Miss Julie)

Michael Fassbender (Macbeth / Slow West / Steve Jobs)

Tom Hardy (Legend / London Road / Mad Max: Fury Road / The Revenant)

British / Irish Actress of the Year

Emily Blunt (Sicario)

Carey Mulligan (Far from the Madding Crowd / Suffragette)

Charlotte Rampling (45 Years / The Forbidden Room)

Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn / Lost River)

Kate Winslet (The Dressmaker / A Little Chaos / Steve Jobs)

Breakthrough British / Irish Filmmaker

Tom Browne (Radiator)

Mark Burton and Richard Starzak (Shaun the Sheep Movie)

Emma Donoghue (Room)

Alex Garland (Ex Machina)

John MacLean (Slow West)

Young British / Irish Performer

Asa Butterfield (X+Y)

Milo Parker (Mr. Holmes / Robot Overlords)

Florence Pugh (The Falling)

Liam Walpole (The Goob)

Maisie Williams (The Falling)

British / Irish Short Film

Directed by Tweedie (Duncan Cowles)

Leidi (Simon Mesa Soto)

Over (Jorn Threlfall)

Rate Me (Fyzal Boulifa)

Stutterer (Benjamin Cleary)

TORONTO CRITICS RIGHT SOME WRONGS, HONOUR CAROL

The Toronto Film Critics Association pulled its usual shtick, tapping into the genuine best of 2015, rather than what's being dictated as 'best' by other critics, with its year-end awards. Carol took top honours and was cited as a runner-up in several categories. The Best Actress award went to Nina Hoss for Phoenix, a very pleasant surprise, and there were wins for Ex Machina and Tom Hardy in Legend too. Take a look at all the details below:

Best Picture

Carol

Mad Max: Fury Road

Spotlight

Best Director

Todd Haynes (Carol)

Tom McCarthy (Spotlight)

George Miller (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Denis Villeneuve (Sicario)

Best Actor

Tom Hardy (Legend)

Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant)

Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs)

Best Actress

Nina Hoss (Phoenix)

Cate Blanchett (Carol)

Brie Larson (Room)

Best Supporting Actor

Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies)

Benicio del Toro (Sicario)

Michael Shannon (99 Homes)

Best Supporting Actress

Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina)

Rooney Mara (Carol)

Kristen Stewart (Clouds of Sils Maria)

Best Screenplay, Adapted or Original

Adam McKay and Charles Randolph (The Big Short)

Charlie Kaufman (Anomalisa)

Tom McCarthy and Josh Singer (Spotlight)

Phyllis Nagy (Carol)

Best Animated Feature

Shaun the Sheep Movie

Anomalisa

Inside Out

Allan King Documentary Award

The Look of Silence

Amy

Listen to Me Marlon

Best Foreign-Language Film

Phoenix

The Assassin

Son of Saul

Best First Feature

Ex Machina (Alex Garland)

Sleeping Giant (Andrew Cividino)

Son of Saul (Nemes Laszlo)

Rogers Best Canadian Film

The Forbidden Room (Evan Johnson and Guy Maddin)

My Internship in Canada (Philippe Falardeau)

Sleeping Giant (Andrew Cividino)

LITTLE WHITE LIES NAMES CAROL THE BEST FILM OF 2015

A wide range of films features on Little White Lies' list of the Top 20 films of 2015 - a range of genres, a range of countries of origin, a range of release dates. It's a British publication, so observe several 2014 titles making the cut - Oscar-nominated ones like Selma and Inherent Vice among them, due to their early-year openings in the UK. But it's a current release that tops that list: Todd Haynes' Carol. Check out all 20 films below:

Little White Lies' Top 20 Films of 2015

1. Carol

2. Sunset Song

3. The Look of Silence

4. Taxi

5. Timbuktu

6. Selma

7. Eden

8. Mad Max: Fury Road

9. Horse Money

10. The Voices

11. Phoenix

12. The Diary of a Teenage Girl

13. Aaaaaaaah!

14. Jauja

15. Crimson Peak

16. Dreamcatcher

17. Inherent Vice

18. Inside Out

19. The Supreme Price

20. Tangerine

CAROL TAKES FOUR AWARDS AT NEW YORK FILM CRITICS CIRCLE AWARDS

Following yesterday's welcome little jolt at the National Board of Review, an equally welcome choice from the New York Film Critics Circle - Todd Haynes' Carol is the NYFCC's film of 2015, taking Best Director, Screenplay and Cinematography alongside top honours. It misses out on any acting prizes, however, with Saoirse Ronan and Kristen Stewart taking the female awards. Category reshuffling places Spotlight's Michael Keaton in lead in one of the bigger surprises of today's results. All details of runners-up are unofficial and unconfirmed by the NYFCC. Full details below:

Best Picture

Carol
Runner-up: Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Director

Todd Haynes (Carol)
Runner-up: George Miller (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Best Actor

Michael Keaton (Spotlight)
#1 Runner-up: Mark Ruffalo (Spotlight)
#2 Runner-up: Jacob Tremblay (Room)

Best Actress

Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn)
= Runner-up: Cate Blanchett (Carol)
= Runner-up: Charlize Theron (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Best Supporting Actor

Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies)

Best Supporting Actress

Kristen Stewart (Clouds of Sils Maria)
Runner-up: Mya Taylor (Tangerine)

Best Screenplay

Phyllis Nagy (Carol)
Runner-up: Tom McCarthy and Josh Singer (Spotlight)

Best Cinematographer

Edward Lachman (Carol)

Best Animated Film

Inside Out

Best Non-Fiction Film

In Jackson Heights

Best Foreign Film

Timbuktu

Best First Film

Nemes Laszlo (Son of Saul)

Special Award

William Becker and Janus Films

Ennio Morricone