“Joker,” the Todd Phillips-directed take on the supervillain story, took Best Picture honors, and Joaquin Phoenix won Best Actor for his turn in the title role, in the Phoenix Film Critic’s Society’s 2019 awards. Best Director went to Sam Mendes for the WWI drama “1917,” which also captured awards for Best Original Score, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing and Best Production Design, making it the year’s most honored film in number of awards. “It’s very clear that there is a love affair between movie critics, movie fans and the Joker supervillain,” says PFCS President Gayle Bass.

Other acting awards went to Renee Zellweger, Best Actress for “Judy,” Laura Dern, Best Supporting Actress for “Marriage Story,” Brad Pitt, Best Supporting Actor for “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” and the cast of “Knives Out” for Best Ensemble. “Knives Out” also took the award for Best Original Screenplay, while Taika Waititi’s controversial “Jojo Rabbit” won for Best Adapted Screenplay. Also from “Jojo Rabbit,” actor Roman Griffin Davis won the awards for both Breakthrough Performance and Best Performance by a Youth.

“Toy Story 4” received the award for Best Animated Film; Bong Joon-ho’s South Korean film “Parasite” won for Best Foreign Language Film, and “One Child Nation” was honored for Best Documentary. “Into the Unknown” from “Frozen 2” was awarded Best Original Song, the Elton John biopic “Rocketman” won for Best Costume Design and the Marvel blockbuster “Avengers: Endgame” was honored for Best Visual Effects.

Every year PFCS honors a film they feel didn’t get the audiences it deserved with the “Overlooked Film of the Year” award. This year it was given to “Hotel Mumbai.” “Simply put, this is a film the membership felt deserved an audience and recognition,” Bass says.

A complete list of winners is provided below.

The Phoenix Film Critics Society presents an entire slate of awards each year. To qualify for the 2019 awards, films had to be screened in the Phoenix area by Friday, December 13, 2019. Only critic members of the Society may vote. The films must open in theaters in some major cities prior to the end of the year to be eligible for awards consideration.

The 2019 Phoenix Film Critics Society Award Winners:

PFCS TOP TEN (in alphabetical order)
1917
Avengers: Endgame
JoJo Rabbit
Joker
Knives Out
Marriage Story
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Parasite
The Irishman
The Two Popes

BEST PICTURE
Joker

BEST DIRECTOR
Sam Mendes – 1917

BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Joaquin Phoenix – Joker

BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Renee Zellweger – Judy

BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Brad Pitt – Once Upon A Time in Hollywood

BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Laura Dern – Marriage Story

BEST ENSEMBLE ACTING
Knives Out

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Knives Out

BEST SCREENPLAY ADAPTED FROM OTHER MATERIAL
Jojo Rabbit

THE OVERLOOKED FILM OF THE YEAR
Hotel Mumbai

BEST ANIMATED FILM
Toy Story 4

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Parasite

BEST DOCUMENTARY
One Child Nation

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
Into the Unknown – Frozen 2

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
1917

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
1917

BEST FILM EDITING
1917

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
1917

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Rocketman

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Avengers: Endgame

BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE
Roman Griffin Davis – Jojo Rabbit

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A YOUTH
Roman Griffin Davis – Jojo Rabbit

The Phoenix Film Critics Society is a tax-exempt, not-for-profit, self-funded, independent organization consisting of professional film critics and film journalists in Arizona.

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