RELEASE DATE: JAN. 2 2020

Parasite Earns Four NC Film Critics Awards Including Best Picture

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Little Women gain multiple wins

Celebrating international cinema in its best form, the North Carolina Film Critics Association (NCFCA) named Bong Joon Ho’s film Parasite as winner in four categories; Best Narrative Film, Best Director, Best Foreign Language Film, and Best Original Screenplay. This is the second consecutive year a foreign language film and director were selected with the top honors; Alfonso Cuarón and Roma won in the same categories last year.

Only two other films received multiple wins. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood gained wins for Best Music and Best Supporting Actor (Brad Pitt). Greta Gerwig earned a Best Adapted Screenplay win for Little Women, while Florence Pugh was named Best Supporting Actress for the same film.

Apollo 11 was named Best Documentary and Toy Story 4 was named as Best Animated Film. Screenwriters/directors Tyler Nilson & Michael Schwartz (The Peanut Butter Falcon) were recognized with the Ken Hanke Memorial Tarheel Award, honoring North Carolina talent and productions.

Consisting of fifty-four film critics/journalists established in North Carolina or those serving North Carolina-based outlets, this was the eighth annual recognition for the best in cinema for the NCFCA.

Awards were granted to films and performers in sixteen categories. The full list of winners and nominees are listed below:

BEST NARRATIVE FILM

**Parasite** (Winner)

The Irishman

Jojo Rabbit

Marriage Story

Once Upon a Time in
Hollywood

BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM

**Apollo 11** (Winner)

American Factory

Hail Satan?

Knock Down the
House

One Child Nation

BEST ANIMATED FILM

**Toy Story 4** (Winner)

Frozen II

How to Train Your
Dragon: The Hidden World

The Lego Movie 2:
The Second Part

Missing Link

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

**Parasite** (Winner)

Atlantics

The Farewell

Pain and Glory

Portrait of a Lady
on Fire

Transit

BEST DIRECTOR

**Bong Joon Ho — Parasite** (Winner)

Sam Mendes  — 1917

Martin Scorsese —The
Irishman

Quentin Tarantino — Once
Upon a Time in Hollywood

Taika Waititi — Jojo
Rabbit

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

**Roger Deakins — 1917** (Winner)

Jarin Blaschke – The
Lighthouse

Kyung-pyo Hong — Parasite

Hoyte van Hoytema – Ad
Astra

Robert Richardson – Once
Upon a Time in Hollywood

BEST ACTOR

**Adam Driver – Marriage Story** (Winner)

Leonardo DiCaprio – Once
Upon a Time in Hollywood

Eddie Murphy – Dolemite
is My Name

Joaquin Phoenix — Joker

Adam Sandler – Uncut
Gems

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

**Brad Pitt – Once Upon a Time in Hollywood** (Winner)

Willem Dafoe – The Lighthouse

Tom Hanks – A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Shia LaBeouf  —
Honey Boy

Joe Pesci  — The
Irishman

BEST ACTRESS

**Lupita Nyong’o – Us** (Winner)

Awkafina – The Farewell

Scarlett Johansson – Marriage Story

Saoirse Ronan – Little Women

Charlize Theron – Bombshell

Renée Zellweger — Judy

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

**Florence Pugh – Little Women** (Winner)

Laura Dern – Marriage Story

Jennifer Lopez — Hustlers

Margot Robbie – Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Zhao Shuzhen  — The
Farewell

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

**Bong Joon Ho; Han Jin-won – Parasite** (Winner)

Noah Baumbach – Marriage Story

Rian Johnson – Knives Out

Quentin Tarantino – Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Lulu Wang – The Farewell

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

**Greta Gerwig – Little Women** (Winner)

Micah Fitzerman Blue; Noah Hapster – A Beautiful Day in
the Neighborhood

Anthony McCarten – The Two Popes

Taika Waititi – Jojo Rabbit

Steven Zaillian – The Irishman

BEST SPECIAL EFFECTS

**Avengers: Endgame** (Winner)

1917

Ad Astra

The Irishman

Star Wars: The Rise
of Skywalker

BEST MUSIC

**Once Upon a Time in Hollywood** (Winner)

1917

Jojo Rabbit

Marriage Story

Once Upon a Time in
Hollywood

Us

KEN HANKE MEMORIAL TAR HEEL AWARD

This award recognizes a film, artists, or performer with
a special connection to North Carolina. In 2017, the Tar Heel Award was
dedicated to longtime North Carolina film critic Ken Hanke.

**Tyler Nilson & Michael Schwartz  — The Peanut Butter Falcon directors and screenwriters (Winner)

Best of Enemies
– film set in Durham, NC and chronicling the integration of North Carolina
schools.

Jonathan Majors (formerly from UNC School of the Arts) – The Last Black Man in San Francisco

Joshua Overbay – Director of Luke & Jo and professor of film at Western Carolina University.

Films with multiple wins

Parasite: 4 

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood: 2 

Little Women: 2 

Films with multiple nominations:

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood: 8 

Marriage Story: 6 

The Irishman: 5 

Parasite: 5 

1917: 4 

The Farewell: 4 

Jojo Rabbit: 4 

Little Women: 3 

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood: 2 

Ad Astra: 2 

The Lighthouse: 2 

Us: 2 

Additional Notes:

• Bong Joon Ho is a previous NCFCA winner for Okja and nominee for Snowpiercer. With his four wins this year for Parasite, he becomes the most decorated individual in the history of the NFCA. He is now a five-time winner.  

• Greta Gerwig is a three-time NCFCA nominee. This was her first win (adapted screenplay for Little Woman). She was previously nominated for 20^th Century Women and Lady Bird. 

• This marks Quentin Tarantino’s third NCFCA Best Original Screenplay nomination. He was previously considered for The Hateful Eight and Django Unchained.

• Saoirse Ronan is a three-time nominee. She has one NCFCA win (Brooklyn).

• Taika Waititi was previously nominated for adapted screenplay Hunt for the Wilderpeople. This year he picked up two more nominations for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay (JoJo Rabbit).

• This is Roger Deakins (cinematography) second NCFCA win. Along with this year’s 1917, he also earned honors for Blade Runner: 2049. 

• This is a second win for Lupita Nyong’o. She was also awarded an acting honor for 12 Years a Slave. 

• Martin Scorsese had a previous nomination for the Wolf of Wall Street.

• Rian Johnson is a previous NCFCA award winner for Looper (original screenplay), and three-time nominee.

• Joaquin Phoenix is a previous acting winner for The Master. 

• Willem Dafoe is a previous acting winner for The Florida Project.

• Leonardo DiCaprio was previously nominated for The Revenant and The Wolf of Wall Street.

• This marks Adam Driver’s second consecutive year with an acting nomination. 

• Tom Hanks was previously nominated for The Post.

• Scarlett Johansson was previously nominated for Her. As an added note, she was also bested that year by Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave).

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About the NCFCA 

The North Carolina Film Critics Association (NCFCA) was formed by Kenneth R. Morefield in 2012 to promote film journalism in North Carolina. Membership consists of film critics/journalists established in North Carolina or those serving North Carolina-based outlets.  

NCFCA members actively engage in cinematic evaluation and critical analysis. Some members also offer journalistic and explorative thoughts on episodic television, streaming series, music, and varied forms of arts and entertainment. 

More information about the NCFCA and lists of past nominees and winners can be found at ncfilmcritics.org.

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