‘Power of the Dog’ Tops Alliance of Women Film Journalists 2021 Awards

The Alliance of Women Film Journalists* (AWFJ) named The Power of the Dog the best film of 2021, with Jane Campion earning the group’s best director and best adapted screenplay awards. Overall, The Power of the Dog picked up 11 wins out of its 12 nominations. The film’s Kodi Smit-McPhee and Jesse Plemons went head-to-head in the supporting actor category, with Smit-McPhee emerging as the winner.

“Although our beloved film industry was plagued by the pandemic, 2021 turned out to be a rather magnificent year for movies — especially for films made by and about women. We at the Alliance of Women Film Journalists are delighted to note that last year’s crop of brilliant femme-helmed and femme-centric films are getting the awards recognition they deserve — as shown in our list of EDA Award winners, and in films and talent on our roster of nominees. as well as in awards presented by other film critics’ groups. We hope that the industry’s awards-presenting groups will honor women filmmakers, too. And we hope that this year will be as rich as last year in the proliferation of femme-helmed and femme centric films that will offer us the opportunity to honor them on AWFJ/org’s Movie of the Week and in our 2022 year-end EDA Awards,” stated Jennifer Merin, President of the Alliance of Women Film Journalists.

Winners of the 2021 Alliance of Women Film Journalists EDA Awards were announced on January 25, 2022.

AWFJ BEST OF AWARDS – These awards are presented to women and/or men without gender consideration.

Best Film
• BELFAST
• LICORICE PIZZA
• THE LOST DAUGHTER
• PASSING
WINNER • THE POWER OF THE DOG

Best Director
• Paul Thomas Anderson for LICORICE PIZZA
• Kenneth Branagh for BELFAST
WINNER • Jane Campion for THE POWER OF THE DOG
• Maggie Gyllenhaal for THE LOST DAUGHTER
• Rebecca Hall for PASSING

Best Screenplay, Original
• BEING THE RICARDOS – Aaron Sorkin
WINNER • BELFAST – Kenneth Branagh
• DON’T LOOK UP – Adam McKay
• LICORICE PIZZA – Paul Thomas Anderson
• MASS – Fran Kranz

Best Screenplay, Adapted
• CODA – Sian Heder
• DUNE – Jon Spaihts, Denis Villeneuve, Eric Roth
• THE LOST DAUGHTER – Maggie Gyllenhaal
• PASSING – Rebecca Hall
WINNER • THE POWER OF THE DOG – Jane Campion

Best Documentary
• ASCENSION
WINNER (tie) • FLEE
• JULIA
WINNER (tie) • SUMMER OF SOUL
• VAL

Best Animated Film
WINNER (tie) • ENCANTO
• FLEE
• LUCA
WINNER (tie) • THE MITCHELLS VS THE MACHINE
• RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON

Best Actress
• Jessica Chastain – THE EYES OF TAMMY FAYE
WINNER • Olivia Colman – THE LOST DAUGHTER
• Lady Gaga – THE HOUSE OF GUCCI
• Kristen Stewart – SPENCER
• Tessa Thompson – PASSING

Best Actress in a Supporting Role
• Jessie Buckley – THE LOST DAUGHTER
• Ann Dowd – MASS
WINNER • Kirsten Dunst – THE POWER OF THE DOG
• Aunjanue Ellis – KING RICHARD
• Ruth Negga – PASSING

Best Actor
WINNER • Benedict Cumberbatch – THE POWER OF THE DOG
• Peter Dinklage – CYRANO
• Andrew Garfield – TICK, TICK…BOOM!
• Will Smith – KING RICHARD
• Denzel Washington – THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH

Best Actor in a Supporting Role
• Jamie Dornan – BELFAST
• Troy Kostur – CODA
• Ciaran Hinds – BELFAST
• Jesse Plemons – THE POWER OF THE DOG
WINNER • Kodi Smit-McPhee – THE POWER OF THE DOG

Best Ensemble Cast – Casting Director
• BELFAST – Lucy Bevan, Emily Brockmann
• THE FRENCH DISPATCH – Douglas Aibel, Antoinette Boulat
• THE HARDER THEY FALL – Victoria Thomas
• KING RICHARD – Rich Delia, Avy Kaufman
WINNER • THE POWER OF THE DOG – Nikki Barrett, Tina Cleary, Carmen Cuba, Nina Gold

Best Cinematography
• BELFAST – Haris Zambarloukos
• DUNE – Greig Fraser
• PASSING – Eduard Grau
WINNER • THE POWER OF THE DOG – Ari Wegner
• THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH – Bruno Delbonnel

Best Editing
• BELFAST – Una Ni Dhonghalle
• DON’T LOOK UP – Hank Corwin
• DUNE – Joe Walker
WINNER • THE POWER OF THE DOG – Peter Sciberras
• WEST SIDE STORY – Sarah Broshar, Michael Kahn

Best Non-English-Language Film
WINNER • DRIVE MY CAR
• FLEE
• A HERO
• I’M YOUR MAN
• TITANE

EDA FEMALE FOCUS AWARDS – These awards honor WOMEN only, excluding women who’ve won the same category in the Best of Awards.

Best Woman Director
WINNER • Jane Campion – THE POWER OF THE DOG
• Julia Dudournau – TITANE
• Maggie Gyllenhaal – THE LOST DAUGHTER
• Rebecca Hall – PASSING
• Sian Heder – CODA

Best Woman Screenwriter
WINNER • Jane Campion – THE POWER OF THE DOG
• Maggie Gyllenhaal – THE LOST DAUGHTER
• Rebecca Hall – PASSING
• Sian Heder – CODA
• Maria Schrader – I’M YOUR MAN

Best Animated Female
WINNER • Mirabel, Stephanie Beatriz in ENCANTO
• Katie, Abbi Jacobsen in THE MITCHELLS VS THE MACHINE
• Raya, Kelly Marie Tran in RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON
• Giulia, Emma Berman in LUCA
• Sisu, Awkwafina in RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON

Best Woman’s Breakthrough Performance
• Ariana DeBose in WEST SIDE STORY
• Alana Haim in LICORICE PIZZA
WINNER • Emilia Jones in CODA
• Renate Reinsve in THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD
• Rachel Zegler in WEST SIDE STORY

Outstanding Achievement by A Woman in The Film Industry
• Victoria Alonzo for her achievements at Marvel Studios
WINNER • Maya Cade for establishing the Black Film Archive
• Anna Serner for 20 years of female forward work at the Swedish Film Institute

EDA SPECIAL MENTION AWARDS

Grand Dame Award for defying agism
• Dame Judi Dench
• Ms. Rita Moreno

Most Egregious Lovers’ Age Difference Award
• NO TIME TO DIE – Daniel Craig and Lea Seydoux

She Deserves A New Agent Award
• Melissa McCarthy for THE STARLING

Most Daring Performance Award
• Agatha Rouselle for TITANE

Time Waster Remake or Sequel Award
• SPACE JAM: A NEW LEGACY

AWFJ Hall of Shame Award
• Producers, crew and cast of RUST for not following proper safety protocol and causing the tragic death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins

* – I’m a member of the Alliance of Women Film Journalists.