The National Board of Review announced its choices for its annual film honors yesterday.
Amy Adams was named Best Actress for her role in the heady sci-fi film “Arrival.” Adams and the film are also expected to make appearances in the prominent awards ceremonies of this year.
Naomie Harris, another name in the Best Supporting Actress running, nabbed the prize from NBR for her performance in “Moonlight.”
The young Royalty Hightower, who starred in the critically acclaimed indie film “The Fits,” was honored with the Breakthrough Female Performance award. “The Fits” director Anna Rose Holmer described the film to Women and Hollywood as “a genre-blending dance film about our individual and collective identities as experienced from the perspective of an 11-year-old girl named Toni.”
The cast of “Hidden Figures” was awarded with Best Ensemble. The 1960s-set movie tells the true story of Katherine G. Johnson (Taraji P. Henson), Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer), and Mary Jackson ( Janelle Monáe), the brilliant African-American women working at NASA involved in the space race.
The NBR Freedom of Expression Award went to Kirsten Johnson’s “Cameraperson.” The “CITIZENFOUR” cinematographer’s doc is unnarrated, and draws from both Johnson’s professional life and personal life.
The NBR Annual Gala will be held on Wednesday, January 4, 2017. Below is a list of the women awardees and female-centric films to receive honors.
Best Actress: Amy Adams, “Arrival”
Best Supporting Actress: Naomie Harris, “Moonlight”
Breakthrough Performance (Female): Royalty Hightower, “The Fits”
Best Ensemble: “Hidden Figures”
NBR Freedom of Expression Award: “Cameraperson”
Top Films
“Arrival”
“Hidden Figures”
Top 5 Foreign Language Films
“Elle”
“The Handmaiden”
“Julieta”
Top 5 Documentaries
“The Eagle Huntress”
“Miss Sharon Jones!” — Directed by Barbara Kopple
Top 10 Independent Films
“20th Century Women”
“Eye in the Sky”
“The Fits” — Directed by Anna Rose Holmer
“Hello, My Name is Doris”
“Krisha”