Marianne Raigipcien Jean-Baptiste is an English actress. She is known for her role in Mike Leigh's drama film Secrets & Lies (1996), for which she received acclaim and earned nominations for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and the Golden Globe and BAFTA Award in the same category. Jean-Baptiste is also known for her role as Vivian Johnson on the television series Without a Trace from 2002 to 2009, and has starred in television shows such as Blindspot (2015–2016) and Homecoming (2018). She has since gained critical recognition and industry accolades for starring in Leigh's drama film Hard Truths (2024).
The National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Picture is an annual award given by National Society of Film Critics to honor the best film of the year.
Danielle Deadwyler is an American actress. She began her career appearing on Atlanta stage, including in the 2009 production of For Colored Girls, and made her screen debut in the 2012 drama film A Cross to Bear. Deadwyler appeared in the primetime soap opera The Haves and the Have Nots (2015–2017), the drama series P-Valley (2020), and the miniseries Station Eleven (2021–2022) and From Scratch (2022).
Mikaela Madison Rosberg is an American actress. She began her career acting in short films and received recognition for her role as a sullen teenager in the FX comedy series Better Things (2016–2022). Madison then played Susan Atkins in Quentin Tarantino's period comedy-drama film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019) and Amber Freeman in the horror film Scream (2022). She gained praise for playing the titular character in Sean Baker's romantic comedy-drama film Anora (2024), earning a nomination for a Golden Globe Award.
Payal Kapadia is an Indian filmmaker. In 2017, her short film Afternoon Clouds was the only Indian film selected for the 70th Cannes Film Festival. In 2021, she won the Golden Eye award for best documentary film at the 74th Cannes Film Festival for her debut feature A Night of Knowing Nothing.
Yuri Alexandrovich "Yura" Borisov is a Russian actor. He was the winner of the Golden Eagle Award in 2021. GQ Russia chose him as Actor of the Year in 2020.
Nickel Boys is a 2024 American historical drama film based on the 2019 novel The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead. It was directed by RaMell Ross, who co-wrote the screenplay with Joslyn Barnes, and stars Ethan Herisse and Brandon Wilson, alongside Hamish Linklater, Fred Hechinger, Daveed Diggs, and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor. The story follows two African-American boys, Elwood and Turner, who are sent to an abusive reform school in 1960s Florida. The film is inspired by the Dozier School for Boys, a now-closed Florida reform school notorious for its abusive treatment of students.
Anora is a 2024 American comedy-drama film written, directed, and edited by Sean Baker. It follows the beleaguered marriage between Anora, a young sex worker, and Vanya Zakharov, the son of a Russian oligarch. The supporting cast includes Yura Borisov, Karren Karagulian, Vache Tovmasyan, and Aleksei Serebryakov.
A Real Pain is a 2024 buddy comedy-drama film written and directed by Jesse Eisenberg. An international co-production between Poland and the United States, it stars Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin as two mismatched Jewish American cousins who travel to Poland in an attempt to honor their late grandmother. The cast also includes Will Sharpe, Jennifer Grey, Kurt Egyiawan, Liza Sadovy, and Daniel Oreskes.
Hard Truths is a 2024 drama film written and directed by Mike Leigh, starring Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Michele Austin, and David Webber. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on 6 September 2024. Hard Truths was theatrically released in the United States on 6 December 2024 by Bleecker Street, with a theatrical release date scheduled for 10 January 2025 in the United Kingdom and for 28 February 2025 in Spain. It received critical praise, with Jean-Baptiste receiving widespread acclaim for her performance, and was named one of the top 10 independent films of 2024 by the National Board of Review.
All We Imagine as Light is a 2024 drama film written and directed by Payal Kapadia. The cast includes Kani Kusruti, Divya Prabha, Chhaya Kadam and Hridhu Haroon. Featuring Malayalam, Hindi, and Marathi dialogue, it was an international co-production involving companies from France, India, Netherlands, Luxembourg and Italy.
The 90th New York Film Critics Circle Awards, honoring the best in film for 2024, were announced on December 3, 2024.
The 96th National Board of Review Awards, honoring the best in film for 2024, were announced on December 4, 2024. The musical fantasy Wicked, the first installment of a two-part adaptation of the stage musical of the same name, won the most awards with three: Best Film, Best Director for Jon M. Chu, and the NBR Spotlight Award for the creative collaboration of Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. It is the first fantasy film to win Best Film at this ceremony, as well as the first musical film to win the award since Moulin Rouge! (2001).
The 50th Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards, given by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA), honoured the best in film for 2024. The awards were announced on December 8, 2023. Anora received the most awards with three wins, including Best Film, Best Lead Performance and Best Supporting Performance.
The 37th Chicago Film Critics Association Awards were presented to recognize the best in film of 2024. The nominations were announced on December 10, 2024. The Brutalist received the most nominations with nine, followed by The Substance with seven. Meanwhile, Anora, Nickel Boys and Wicked each received six nominations.
The 45th Boston Society of Film Critics Awards, honoring the best in filmmaking in 2024, were given on December 8, 2024. Unlike previous editions of the awards, runner-up standings were not announced.
