D.C. Film Critics Shine 'Spotlight' on Award Winners; Full List!

When the dust settled and the votes werecounted, two very different films led the way as the Washington, D.C. Area FilmCritics Association (WAFCA) announced their honorees for 2015 this morning. Dazzling dystopian adventure "Mad Max: Fury Road" was the bigwinner,taking home three awards, including Best Director (George Miller). Theorganization's choice for Best Film, however, went to a picture alittle morerealistic but no less furious, the hard-hitting investigative journalist drama"Spotlight."

"Spotlight,"aboutThe Boston Globe's discovery ofa cover-up involving child molestation within the local Catholic Archdiocese,also won for BestEnsemble. The film's top-notch cast includes Michael Keaton,Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, John Slattery and Stanley Tucci.

"MadMax: Fury Road," the long-awaited and much-acclaimed fourth installment inMiller's post-apocalyptic action franchise, saw Tom Hardytaking over theiconic title role previously inhabited by Mel Gibson. In addition to BestDirector, the film also earned accolades for BestProduction Design and BestEditing.

WAFCAawarded Best Actor to Leonardo DiCaprio for his grueling, transformative workin epic survival western "The Revenant," as an injured1820s fur trapper leftfor dead and seeking retribution across the perilous American wilderness. Best Actresswent to Saoirse Ronan for"Brooklyn," about a young Irish woman's experiencesimmigrating to the U.S. in the 1950s. Supporting nods were awarded to IdrisElba, as thetough leader of a West African child army in "Beasts of NoNation," and Alicia Vikander, as a highly advanced android in provocativesci-fi thriller"Ex Machina."

Themany facets of human emotions portrayed in Pixar's universally praised "InsideOut" were difficult to resist for voters, who awarded the filmBest AnimatedFeature. Its writing team ofPete Docter, MegLeFauve and Josh Cooley (from an original story by Docter and Ronnie DelCarmen)also won the Best Original Screenplay prize, an unprecedented win for the writing of an animated film. "Amy," about the whirlwindrise and untimely fall of late musician Amy Winehouse,won for BestDocumentary. Hungarian Holocaustdrama "Son of Saul" took top honors for Best Foreign Language Film.

BestAdapted Screenplay went to Emma Donoghue, the author and screenwriter ofemotionally stirring mother-and-son abduction drama "Room."For hisheartbreaking turn in the film, 9-year-old Jacob Tremblay won Best YouthPerformance. Emmanuel Lubezki's masterful lensing of "TheRevenant" earned theBest Cinematography award. The film was shot under challenging, sometimesbrutally cold weather conditions in Canada,Argentina and the U.S. using allnatural lighting. Composer Johann Johannsson was feted with Best Original Scorefor his starkly haunting workin "Sicario."

Thisyear's awards are dedicated to the memory of late film critic and WAFCA memberJoe Barber.

TheWashington, D.C. Area Film Critics Association comprises 52 DC-VA-MD-based filmcritics from television, radio, print and the Internet.Voting was conductedfrom December 4-6, 2015.

THE 2015 WAFCA AWARD WINNERS:

Best Film:
Spotlight

Best Director:
George Miller (Mad Max:Fury Road)

Best Actor:
Leonardo DiCaprio (TheRevenant)

Best Actress:
Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn)

Best Supporting Actor:
Idris Elba (Beasts of NoNation)

Best Supporting Actress:
Alicia Vikander (ExMachina)

Best Acting Ensemble:
Spotlight

Best Youth Performance:
Jacob Tremblay (Room)

Best Adapted Screenplay:
Emma Donoghue (Room)

Best Original Screenplay:
Pete Docter, Meg LeFauveand Josh Cooley (Original Story by Pete Docter and Ronnie Del Carmen) (InsideOut)

Best Animated Feature:
Inside Out

Best Documentary:
Amy

Best Foreign Language Film:
Son of Saul

Best Production Design:
Production Designer: ColinGibson, Set Decorator: Lisa Thompson (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Best Cinematography:
Emmanuel Lubezki, ASC, AMC(The Revenant)

Best Editing:
Margaret Sixel (Mad Max:Fury Road)

Best Original Score:
Johann Johannsson(Sicario)

On the Web:www.wafca.com
Facebook.com/wafca
Twitter.com/wafca

SOURCE Washington DC Area Film Critics Association

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