Brady Corbet‘s immigrant epic has nabbed the top prize from the U.K.’s leading film writers and broadcasters at the annual London Critics’ Circle film awards ceremony, held at The May Fair Hotel and hosted by member Mark Kermode.
Multiple honors were bestowed upon Nickel Boys, Conclave and A Real Pain, with Emilia Pérez actress Zoe Saldaña being awarded twice.
The Brutalist emerged victorious in a tight contest that saw Edward Berger’s Vatican thriller Conclave take two awards for British/Irish Film of the Year and Actor of the Year for star Ralph Fiennes. Meanwhile, RaMell Ross’ adaptation of Colson Whitehead’s novel of the same name was recognized with Director of the Year and the Technical Achievement Award for Jomo Fray’s cinematography. A Real Pain, starring, written and helmed by Jesse Eisenberg, garnered Screenwriter of the Year and Supporting Actor of the Year for co-star Kieran Culkin.
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Saldaña, of Avatar and Guardians of the Galaxy fame, was previously announced as the winner of the Derek Malcolm Award for Innovation — presented at the ceremony by America Ferrera and last year’s winner Colman Domingo. She also took home the Supporting Actress of the Year accolade for her turn in Jacques Audiard’s cartel musical Emilia Pérez.
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The night’s second honorary award, the Dilys Powell Award for Excellence in Film, went to Daniel Craig, two decades after he earned the Circle’s British Actor of the Year award for Enduring Love.
Actress of the Year was awarded to Hard Truths star Marianne Jean-Baptiste, while Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl was named Animated Feature of the Year. In the British/Irish-specific categories, Saoirse Ronan won British/Irish Performer of the Year for her portrayals in The Outrun and Blitz. Other notable prizes were taken home by the Palestinian-Israeli collective behind documentary No Other Land, and Breakthrough Performer for Anora‘s Mikey Madison.
The 45th London Critics’ Circle Film Awards were voted by the 210 members of the Film Section of the Critics’ Circle, the U.K.’s longest standing and most prestigious critics’ organization. Films are automatically eligible if they are released in U.K. cinemas or on streaming services between mid-February 2024 and mid-February 2025.
Below is the full list of winners:
FILM OF THE YEAR – sponsored by Seesaw Media
The Brutalist — directed by Brady Corbet
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR
All We Imagine as Light — directed by Payal Kapadia
DOCUMENTARY OF THE YEAR
No Other Land — directed by Yuval Abraham, Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Rachel Szor
ANIMATED FEATURE OF THE YEAR
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl — directed by Nick Park, Merlin Crossingham
BRITISH/IRISH FILM OF THE YEAR
Conclave — directed by Edward Berger
DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR
RaMell Ross — Nickel Boys
SCREENWRITER OF THE YEAR
Jesse Eisenberg — A Real Pain
ACTRESS OF THE YEAR – sponsored by WS Hair Pro
Marianne Jean-Baptiste — Hard Truths
ACTOR OF THE YEAR – sponsored by Reddit
Ralph Fiennes — Conclave
SUPPORTING ACTRESS OF THE YEAR
Zoe Saldaña — Emilia Pérez
SUPPORTING ACTOR OF THE YEAR
Kieran Culkin — A Real Pain
BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMER
Mikey Madison — Anora
BREAKTHROUGH BRITISH/IRISH FILMMAKER – sponsored by MetFilm
Rich Peppiatt — Kneecap
BRITISH/IRISH PERFORMER OF THE YEAR (for body of work)
Saoirse Ronan — Blitz and The Outrun
YOUNG BRITISH/IRISH PERFORMER OF THE YEAR
Nykiya Adams — Bird
BRITISH/IRISH SHORT FILM OF THE YEAR
Wander to Wonder — directed by Nina Gantz
TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Nickel Boys — cinematography by Jomo Fray
DILYS POWELL AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN FILM
Daniel Craig
DEREK MALCOLM AWARD FOR INNOVATION
Zoe Saldaña