Marriage Story, a humanistic drama that depicts the painful process of a cross-country divorce, took three prizes at the 2019 Indiana Film Journalists Association (IFJA) awards — including Best Film, Best Actor for Adam Driver and Best Original Screenplay for Noah Baumbach.
Parasite was named Runner-Up for Best Film, in addition to taking the prizes for Best Foreign Language Film and Best Director for Bong Joon-ho. Eight additional films were named Best Film Finalists, collectively representing the group’s picks for the 10 best films of the year.
Booksmart director Olivia Wilde won Breakout of the Year. Her film also placed as a Best Film finalist.
Lupita Nyong’o was named Best Actress for her dual performance in Us while the film’s composer, Michael Abels, won for Best Musical Score.
Other winners included:
- Willem Dafoe as Best Supporting Actor for The Lighthouse
- Jennifer Lopez as Best Supporting Actress for Hustlers
- Knives Out for Best Ensemble Acting
- How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World for Best Animated Film
- For Sama for Best Documentary
Jason Liles, Alan Maxson and Richard Dorton won the IFJA’s Best Vocal / Motion-Capture Performance award for their collective work to embody Ghidorah the Three-Headed Monster in Godzilla: King of the Monsters.
The IFJA’s Original Vision Award, given to a film with innovative and distinct storytelling, went to Robert Eggers for The Lighthouse, a unique horror tale told using period-specific language.
The Hoosier Award, which recognizes a significant cinematic contribution by a person or persons with roots in Indiana or a film that depicts Hoosier State locales and stories, went to Jason Keller for his work co-writing the script for Ford v Ferrari.
IFJA members issued this Hoosier Award statement: “It may have been a decade ago that Indianapolis native Jason Keller began working on the screenplay to Ford v Ferrari, but he fondly invokes the inspiration of his inaugural visit to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as a young boy. Keller’s work on the screenplay brings out the excitement of auto racing and gives vivid life to the actual historical figures who were part of the Ford Racing Team’s initial journey to Le Mans.”
Below is a complete list of winners and runners-up in all IFJA categories:
BEST FILM
WINNER: Marriage Story
RUNNER-UP: Parasite
OTHER FINALISTS (listed alphabetically):
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Booksmart
Ford v Ferrari
Knives Out
The Lighthouse
Little Women
Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood
Portrait of a Lady on Fire
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
WINNER: How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
RUNNER-UP: I Lost My Body
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
WINNER: Parasite
RUNNER-UP: Portrait of a Lady on Fire
BEST DOCUMENTARY
WINNER: For Sama
RUNNER-UP: Apollo 11
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
WINNER: Noah Baumbach, Marriage Story
RUNNER-UP: Robert Eggers & Max Eggers, The Lighthouse
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
WINNER: Greta Gerwig, Little Women
RUNNER-UP: Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
BEST DIRECTOR
WINNER: Bong Joon-ho, Parasite
RUNNER-UP: Céline Sciamma, Portrait of a Lady on Fire
BEST ACTRESS
WINNER: Lupita Nyong’o, Us
RUNNER-UP: Scarlett Johansson, Marriage Story
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
WINNER: Jennifer Lopez, Hustlers
Runner-Up: Taylor Russell, Waves
BEST ACTOR
WINNER: Adam Driver, Marriage Story
RUNNER-UP: Adam Sandler, Uncut Gems
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
WINNER: Willem Dafoe, The Lighthouse
RUNNER-UP: Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood
BEST VOCAL / MOTION CAPTURE PERFORMANCE
WINNER: Jason Liles, Alan Maxson and Richard Dorton, Godzilla: King of the Monsters
RUNNER-UP: Rosa Salazar, Alita: Battle Angel
BEST ENSEMBLE ACTING
WINNER: Knives Out
RUNNER-UP: Little Women
BEST MUSICAL SCORE
WINNER: Michael Abels, Us
Runner-Up: Cavern of Anti-Matter, In Fabric
BREAKOUT OF THE YEAR
WINNER: Olivia Wilde, Booksmart (director)
RUNNER-UP: Roman Griffin Davis, Jojo Rabbit (actor)
ORIGINAL VISION AWARD
WINNER: Robert Eggers, The Lighthouse
RUNNER-UP: Bong Joon-ho, Parasite
HOOSIER AWARD
WINNER: Jason Keller, Ford v Ferrari (screenwriter)
(As a special award, no runner-up is declared in this category.)
About the IFJA: The Indiana Film Journalists Association was established in February 2009. Members must reside in the Hoosier State and produce consistent, quality film criticism or commentary in any medium. Midwest Film Journal writers Aly Caviness, Evan Dossey, Mitch Ringenberg, Nick Rogers and Sam Watermeier are all IFJA members, as are contributors Bob Bloom, Eric Harris, Lou Harry, Richard Propes, Joe Shearer and Emily Wheeler.