The Chicago Film Critics Association announced their nominees for the best films, performances, and craft of 2020, one of the most unusual years in film history. Despite the number of films moving to 2021 and beyond, the members of one of the most esteemed critical organizations in the world found plenty of talent to honor. Chloe Zhao’s “Nomadland” led the tally with seven nominations, followed by Spike Lee‘s “Da 5 Bloods,” Kelly Reichardt‘s “First Cow,” and Charlie Kaufman‘s “I’m Thinking of Ending Things” with six each. David Fincher’s “Mank” and Emerald Fennell‘s “Promising Young Woman” both landed five. Interesting trivia this year includes the fact that the five directors chosen as the best of the year included three women and two Black men, demographics not often represented enough by directorial awards-giving bodies. And it’s the first time that one person has been nominated posthumously for two different categories with Chadwick Boseman‘s double citation. The winners will be announced on Monday night, December 21st at a virtual ceremony.

Note: Managing Editor Brian Tallerico is the President of the Chicago Film Critics Association and Publisher Chaz Ebert is a member. Other members familiar to RogerEbert.com readers include Assistant Editors Nick Allen & Matt Fagerholm, and contributors Peter Sobczynski, Robert Daniels, Allison Shomaker, Collin Souter, and Mark Dujsik.

BEST PICTURE
“Da 5 Bloods”
“First Cow”
“Lovers Rock” 
“Nomadland” 
Promising Young Woman

BEST DIRECTOR
Emerald Fennell, “Promising Young Woman”
Spike Lee, “Da 5 Bloods”
Steve McQueen, “Lovers Rock”
Kelly Reichardt, “First Cow”
Chloe Zhao, “Nomadland”

BEST ACTOR
Riz Ahmed, “Sound of Metal
Chadwick Boseman, “Ma Rainey's Black Bottom” 
Anthony Hopkins, “The Father” 
Delroy Lindo, “Da 5 Bloods”
Steven Yeun, “Minari

BEST ACTRESS
Jessie Buckley, “I'm Thinking of Ending Things
Carrie Coon, “The Nest
Viola Davis, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
Frances McDormand, “Nomadland”
Carey Mulligan, “Promising Young Woman”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Chadwick Boseman, “Da 5 Bloods”
Bill Murray, “On the Rocks
Leslie Odom Jr., “One Night in Miami” 
Paul Raci, “Sound of Metal” 
David Strathairn, “Nomadland”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Maria Bakalova, “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
Toni Collette, “I’m Thinking of Ending Things”
Amanda Seyfried, “Mank”
Letitia Wright, “Mangrove”
Yuh-Jung Youn, “Minari”

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
“Da 5 Bloods” by Danny Bilson, Paul De Meo, Kevin Willmott & Spike Lee
“Never Rarely Sometimes Always” by Eliza Hittman
“Promising Young Woman” by Emerald Fennell
Soul” by Pete Docter, Mike Jones & Kemp Powers
The Trial of the Chicago 7” by Aaron Sorkin

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
“The Father” by Christopher Hampton & Florian Zeller
“First Cow” by Jonathan Raymond & Kelly Reichardt
“I’m Thinking of Ending Things” by Charlie Kaufman
“Nomadland” by Chloe Zhao
“One Night in Miami” by Kemp Powers

BEST ANIMATED FILM
Onward” 
A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon
“Soul”
The Wolf House” 
Wolfwalkers

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Collective
David Byrne's American Utopia
“Dick Johnson is Dead”
The Social Dilemma
Time” 

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Another Round
Bacurau” 
Beanpole” 
“Collective”
La Llorona” 
Vitalina Varela

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
“First Cow,” Christopher Blauvelt
“Lovers Rock,” Shabier Kirchner 
“Mank,” Erik Messerschmidt
“Nomadland,” Joshua James Richards
The Vast of Night,” Miguel Ioann Littin Menz

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
“Da 5 Bloods”, Terence Blanchard
“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” Branford Marsalis
“Mank,” Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross
“Soul,” Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross and Jon Batiste
Tenet,” Ludwig Goransson

BEST ART DIRECTION
“Birds of Prey”
Emma.”
“First Cow”
“I’m Thinking of Ending Things”
“Mank” 

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
“Birds of Prey”
“Emma.”
“First Cow”
“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
“Mank”

BEST USE OF VISUAL EFFECTS
“I’m Thinking of Ending Things”
The Invisible Man
The Midnight Sky
“Possessor” 
“Tenet”

BEST EDITING
“I’m Thinking of Ending Things,” Robert Frazen
“Lovers Rock,” Chris Dickens & Steve McQueen
“Nomadland,” Chloe Zhao
“Tenet,” Jennifer Lame
“The Trial of the Chicago 7,” Alan Baumgarten

MILOS STEHLIK AWARD FOR PROMISING FILMMAKER
Radha Blank, “The Forty-Year-Old Version
Lee Isaac Chung, “Minari”
Emerald Fennell, “Promising Young Woman”
Darius Marder, “Sound of Metal”
Andrew Patterson, “The Vast of Night”

MOST PROMISING PERFORMER
Maria Bakalova, “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm”
Kingsley Ben-Adir, “One Night in Miami”
Sidney Flanigan, “Never Rarely Sometimes Always”
Kelly O’Sullivan, “Saint Frances
Helena Zengel, “News of the World”

NOMINATION TOTALS
7 – Nomadland
6 – Da 5 Bloods, First Cow, I’m Thinking of Ending Things
5 – Mank, Promising Young Woman
4 – Lovers Rock, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
3 – Minari, One Night in Miami, Soul, Sound of Metal, Tenet
2 – Birds of Prey, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, Collective, Emma., The Father, Never Rarely Sometimes Always, The Trial of the Chicago 7, The Vast of Night
1 – A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon, Another Round, Bacurau, Beanpole, David Byrne‘s American Utopia, Dick Johnson is Dead, The Forty-Year-Old Version, The Invisible Man, La Llorona, Mangrove, The Midnight Sky, The Nest, News of the World, On the Rocks, Onward , Possessor, Saint Frances, The Social Dilemma, Time, Vitalina Varela, The Wolf House, Wolfwalkers

Brian Tallerico

Brian Tallerico is the Managing Editor of RogerEbert.com, and also covers television, film, Blu-ray, and video games. He is also a writer for Vulture, The Playlist, The New York Times, and GQ, and the President of the Chicago Film Critics Association.

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