Colman Domingo, Mikey Madison, Kieran Culkin and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor Win Acting Honors Announced Dec. 15
In a year without an overwhelming frontrunner, three films – Denis Villeneuve’s visionary science-fiction epic “Dune: Part Two,” RaMell Ross’s harrowing debut adaptation of “Nickel Boys” and David Eggers’ evocative remake of the gothic horror tale “Nosferatu” – won three awards apiece from the St. Louis Film Critics Association for 2024.
The regional critics’ group announced winners in 26 awards categories on Dec. 15.
“Dune: Part Two” won for film, director, and visual effects. “Nickel Boys” won for supporting actress Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, first feature film for director RaMell Ross, and editing. “Nosferatu” won for cinematography, production design and horror film.
“Saturday Night” earned two – for ensemble and original screenplay, as did “The Wild Robot” – for animated feature and best vocal performance by Lupita Nyong’o.
Besides Ellis-Taylor, acting honors went to Colman Domingo, Best Actor in “Sing Sing”; Mikey Madison, Best Actress for “Anora” and Kieran Culkin, Best Supporting Actor for “A Real Pain.”
“The Seed of the Sacred Fig” was honored for Best International Feature, “Hundreds of Beavers” for Best Comedy, “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” for “Best Action Film, and “No Other Land” for Best Documentary Feature.
“The Brutalist,” “Civil War,” “A Complete Unknown,” “Conclave” and “The Fall Guy” were among the films singled out for one award each.
In addition to the awards, St. Louis critics bestowed three special merits:
Special Merit: Iranian Director Mohammad Rasoulof and the cast/crew of “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” for their courage and persistence in confronting political oppression in the pursuit of artistic expression and portraying truth through film.
Special Merit: Pete Timmermann, director of Webster University’s Film Series in St. Louis, for his exceptional, expert programming of international, restored, and independent films, including fiction and nonfiction, animation and live action, in addition to special events. His superb offerings for the St. Louis film community enriches and expands our cinematic world.
Special Merit: Filmmakers who found creative uses for practical effects and were less reliant on digitized computer-generated graphics this year, such as hair and makeup artist Christine Brundell using puppetry and prosthetics, in collaboration with director Tim Burton, on “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice”; makeup effects director Pierre Oliver Pierson on “The Substance” prosthetics; the micro budget DIY home computer effects from director Mike Cheslik for “Hundreds of Beavers”; the no-green-screen creature work on “Alien: Romulus” with animatronics and puppetry, among other collaborations by director Fede Alvarez; and the “Wicked” production design by Nathan Crowley where he merged practical imagery with CGI throughout, and grew 9 million tulips for Munchkinland.
Nominations, announced Dec. 8, included 12 for “Dune: Part Two,” 9 for “The Brutalist,” 8 apiece for “Conclave” and “Wicked,” 6 for “Nickel Boys” and 5 for “Sing Sing.” Besides those films, other Best Film nominations also included “Anora,” “A Complete Unknown,” “September 5,” and “The Seed of the Sacred Fig.”
For a complete list of nominations, visit: www.stlfilmcritics.org/awards
Founded in 2004, the St. Louis Film Critics Association is a nonprofit organization of professional film reviewers who regularly publish current and timely film criticism, support local productions and festivals, and enhance public education, awareness, and appreciation of films. Approved members are affiliated with qualifying media outlets in the St. Louis metropolitan region.
For awards consideration, eligible films are those that opened in the greater St. Louis area or had an online premiere during the 2024 calendar year – – including those films that were given awards-qualifying runs but aren’t slated for release until early 2025.
For more information, visit the site: www.stlfilmcritics.org
Full List of Awards and Runners-Up
Best Film: Dune: Part Two
Runner-up: Anora
Best Director: Denis Villeneuve “Dune: Part Two”
Runner-up: Mohammad Rasoulof “The Seed of the Sacred Fig”
Best Actor: Colman Domingo “Sing Sing”
Runner-up: Adrien Brody “The Brutalist”
Best Actress: Mikey Madison “Anora”
Runner-Up: Marianne Jean-Baptiste “Hard Truths”
Best Supporting Actor: Kieran Culkin “A Real Pain”
Runner-Up: Denzel Washington “Gladiator II”
Best Supporting Actress: Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor “Nickel Boys”
Runner-Up: Ariana Grande “Wicked”
Best Ensemble: “Saturday Night”
Runner-Up: “Conclave”
Best Adapted Screenplay: Peter Straughan, “Conclave”
Runner-Up: Denis Villeneuve, Jon Spaihts “Dune: Part Two”
Best Original Screenplay: Jason Reitman and Gil Kenan “Saturday Night”
Runner-Up: Mike Leigh “Hard Truths”
Best Cinematography: Jarin Blaschke, “Nosferatu”
Runner-Up: Greig Fraser “Dune: Part Two”
Best Editing: Nicholas Monsour, “Nickel Boys”
Runner-Up: Hansjörg Weißbrich, “September 5”
Best Production Design: Beatrice Brentnerova, Paul Ghirardani, Craig Lathrop, “Nosferatu”
Runner-Up: Nathan Crowley, Lee Sandales, “Wicked”
Best Costume Design: Paul Tazewell “Wicked”
Runner-Up: Linda Muir “Nosferatu”
Best Music Score: Daniel Blumberg “The Brutalist”
Runner-Up: Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, “Challengers”
Best Music Soundtrack: “A Complete Unknown”
Runner-Up: “Wicked”
Best Visual Effects: “Dune: Part Two”
Runner-Up: “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes”
Best Stunts: “The Fall Guy”
Runner-Up: “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga”
Best Action Movie: “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga”
Runner-Up: “Dune: Part Two”
Best Comedy: “Hundreds of Beavers”
Runner-Up: “Deadpool & Wolverine”
Best Horror: “Nosferatu”
Runner-Up: “The Substance”
Best Animated Feature: “The Wild Robot”
Runner-Up: “Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl”
Best Vocal Performance: Lupita Nyong’o “The Wild Robot”
Runner-Up: Maya Hawke “Inside Out 2”
Best Documentary Feature: “No Other Land”
Runner-Up: “Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story”
Best International Feature: “The Seed of the Sacred Fig”
Runner-Up: “Don’t Expect Too Much from the End of the World”
Best First Feature: RaMell Ross, “Nickel Boys”
Runner-Up: Malcolm Washington “The Piano Lesson”
Best Scene: “Civil War” – “What kind of American are you?”
Runner-Up: “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” – The war rig battle
Lynn (Zipfel) Venhaus has had a continuous byline in St. Louis metro region publications since 1978. She writes features and news for Belleville News-Democrat and contributes to St. Louis magazine and other publications.
She is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, currently reviews films for Webster-Kirkwood Times and KTRS Radio, covers entertainment for PopLifeSTL.com and co-hosts podcast PopLifeSTL.com…Presents.
She is a member of Critics Choice Association, where she serves on the women’s and marketing committees; Alliance of Women Film Journalists; and on the board of the St. Louis Film Critics Association. She is a founding and board member of the St. Louis Theater Circle.
She is retired from teaching journalism/media as an adjunct college instructor.