The Alliance of Women Film Journalists has announced the nominees selected for the 2016 AWFJ EDA Awards.
The 10th annual awards are presented in 25 categories divided into three sections: The Best of Awards, Female Focus Awards, and EDA Special Mention Awards. The nominees are chosen by the 76 voting AWFJ members.
Some of our female-centric favorites of the year have landed nominations in the Best of Awards categories. The Amy Adams-led sci-fi drama “Arrival” earned noms in the Best Film, Best Screenplay, Best Editing, Best Cinematography, and Best Actress categories. “20th Century Women” scored a nomination for Best Original Screenplay and for a Best Supporting Actress in Greta Gerwig, who has been largely ignored so far this awards season.
Women directors up for honors include Ava DuVernay for “13th” and Elyse Steinberg for co-directing “Weiner.”
Some of the more humorous categories include “Most Egregious Age Difference Between The Lead and The Love Interest Award” and “Actress Most in Need Of A New Agent.”
The 2016 nominees are:
AWFJ BEST OF AWARDS
These awards are presented to women and/or men without gender consideration.
Best Film
“Arrival”
“Hell or High Water”
“La La Land”
“Manchester by the Sea”
“Moonlight”
Best Director
Damien Chazelle —“ La La Land”
Barry Jenkins — “Moonlight”
Kenneth Lonergan —“ Manchester by the Sea”
David Mackenzie —“ Hell or High Water”
Denis Villeneuve — “Arrival”
Best Screenplay, Original
“20th Century Women” —Mike Mills
“Hail Caesar” — Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
“Hell or High Water” — Taylor Sheridan
“La La Land” — Damien Chazelle
“Manchester by the Sea” — Kenneth Lonergan
Best Screenplay, Adapted
“Arrival ”— Erix Heisserer
“Lion ”— Luke Davies
“Love & Friendship ”— Whit Stillman
“Moonlight ”—Barry Jenkins
“Nocturnal Animals” –Tom Ford
Best Documentary
“13th” — Ava DuVernay
“Gleason ”— Clay Tweel
“I Am Not Your Negro” — Raoul Peck
“OJ Made in America ”— Ezra Edelman
“Weiner ”— Elyse Steinberg and Josh Kriegma
Best Animated Film
“Finding Dory” — Andrew Stanton andAngus MacLane
“Kubo and the Two Strings”- Travis Knight
“Moana ”— Ron Clements, Don Hall, John Musker, Chris Williams
“Zootopia ”— Byron Howard, Rich Moore, Jared Bush
Best Actress
Amy Adams — “Arrival”
Isabelle Huppert — “Elle”
Ruth Negga — “Loving”
Natalie Portman — “Jackie”
Emma Stone — “La La Land”
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Viola Davis — “Fences”
Greta Gerwig — “20th Century Women”
Naomie Harris — “Moonlight”
Octavia Spemcer — “Hidden Figures”
Michelle Williams — “Manchester by the Sea”
Best Actor
Casey Affleck — “Manchester By The Sea”
Joel Edgerton — “Loving”
Ryan Gosling — “La La Land”
Tom Hanks — “Sully”
Denzel Washington — “Fences”
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Mahershala Ali — “Moonlight”
Jeff Bridges — “Hell or High Water”
Ben Foster — “Hell or High Water”
Lucas Hedges — “Manshester By the Sea”
Michael Shannon — “Nocturnal Animals”
Best Ensemble Cast — Casting Director
“20th Century Women” — Mark Bennett and Laura Rosenthal
“Hail Caesar ”— Ellen Chenoweth
“Hell or High Water” — Jo Edna Boldin and Richard Hicks
“Manchester by the Sea” — Douglas Aibel
“Moonlight ”— Yesi Ramirez
Best Cinematography
“Arrival ”— Bradford Young
“Hell or High Water” — Giles Nuttgens
“La La Land” — Linus Sandgren
“Manchester by The Sea” — Jody Lee Lipes
“Moonlight ”— James Laxton
Best Editing
“Arrival ”— Joe Walker
“I Am Not Your Negro” — Alexandra Strauss
“La La Land” — Tom Cross
“Manchester By The Sea” — Jennifer Lame
“Moonlight ”— Joi McMillon and Nat Sanders
Best Non-English-Language Film
“Elle ”— Paul Verhoeven, France
“Fire At Sea” — Gianfranco Rossi, Italy
“The Handmaiden” — Chan-Wook Park, South Korea
“Julieta ”— Pedro Almodovar. Spain
“Toni Erdmann” — Maren Ede, Germany
EDA FEMALE FOCUS AWARDS
These awards honor WOMEN only.
Best Woman Director
Andrea Arnold — “American Honey”
Ava DuVernay — “13th”
Rebecca Miller — “Maggie’s Plan”
Mira Nair — “Queen of Katwe”
Kelly Reichardt — “Certain Women”
Best Woman Screenwriter
Andrea Arnold — “American Honey”
Rebecca Miller —“ Maggie’s Plan”
Kelly Reichardt — “Certain Women”
Lorene Scafaria — “The Meddler”
Laura Terruso — “Hello, My Name is Doris”
Best Animated Female
Dory in “Finding Dory” –Ellen DeGeneres
Judy in “Zootopia ”— Ginnifer Goodwin
Moana in “Moana ”— Auli’i Cravalho
Best Breakthrough Performance
Sasha Lane — “American Honey”
Janelle Monai — “Moonlight ”and “Hidden Figures”
Madina Nalwanga — “Queen of Katwe”
Ruth Negga — “Loving”
Outstanding Achievement by A Woman in The Film Industry
- Ava DuVernay — For “13th” and raising awareness about the need for diversity and gender equality in Hollywood.
- Anne Hubbell and Amy Hobby for establishing Tangerine Entertainment’s Juice Fund to support female filmmakers.
- Mynette Louie, President of Gamechanger Films, which finances narrative films directed by women.
- April Reign for creating and mobilizing the #OscarsSoWhite campaign.
EDA SPECIAL MENTION AWARDS
Actress Defying Age and Ageism
Annette Bening — “20th Century Women”
Viola Davis — “Fences”
Sally Field — “Hello, My Name is Doris”
Isabelle Huppert — “Elle ”and “Things to Come”
Helen Mirren —“ Eye in the Sky”
Most Egregious Age Difference Between The Lead and The Love Interest Award
“Dirty Grandpa ”— Robert De Niro (b. 1943) and Aubrey Plaza (b. 1984)
“Indepencence Day Resurgence” — Charlotte Gainsbourg (b 1971) and Jeff Goldblum (b 1952)
“Mechanic Resurrection” — Jason Statham (b. 1967) and Jessica Aba (b. 1981)
“Rules Don’t Apply” — Warren Beatty (b. 1937) and Lily Collins (b. 1989)
Actress Most in Need Of A New Agent
Jennifer Aniston — “Mother’s Day” and “Office Christmas Party”
Melissa McCarthy — “The Boss” and “Ghostbusters”
Margot Robbie — “Suicide Squad” and “Tarzan”
Julia Roberts — “Mother’s Day”
Shailene Woodley — “Divergent Series”
Bravest Performance
Jessica Chastain — “Ms. Sloane”
Naomie Harris — “Moonlight”
Isabelle Huppert — “Elle”
Sasha Lane — “American Honey”
Ruth Negga — “Loving”
Remake or Sequel That Shouldn’t Have Been Made
“Ben Hur”
“Ghostbusters”
“Independence Day Resurgence”
“The Magnificent Seven”
“My Big Fat Greek Wedding”
AWFJ Hall of Shame Award
Sharon Maguire and Renee Zellwegger for “Bridget Jones’s Baby”
Nicholas Winding Refn and Elle Fanning for “The Neon Demon”
David Ayer and Margot Robbie for “Suicide Squad”
David E. Talbert and Mo’Nique for “Almost Christmas”