The Austin Film Critics Association Award for Best Film has been annually honored the best film of the year since 2005.
| Year | Winner | Director(s) | 
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Murderball | |
| 2006 | This Film Is Not Yet Rated | |
| 2007 | The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters | |
| 2008 | Man on Wire | James Marsh | 
| 2009 | Anvil! The Story of Anvil | |
| 2010 | Exit Through the Gift Shop | Banksy | 
| 2011 | Senna | |
| 2012 | The Imposter | |
| 2013 | The Act of Killing | |
| 2014 | Citizenfour [1] | |
| 2015 | The Look of Silence [2] | |
| 2016 | Tower [3] [4] | |
| 2017 | Faces Places [5] | Agnes Varda | 
| 2018 | Won't You Be My Neighbor? [6] | Morgan Neville | 
| 2019 | Apollo 11 | Todd Douglas Miller | 
| 2020 | Boys State | |
| 2021 | Summer of Soul [7] [8] | Questlove | 
| 2022 | All the Beauty and the Bloodshed [9] [10] |