![\"vfcc-a\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/227\/2016\/01\/vfcc-a.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nWhile the world waits with breathless anticipation for the Oscar nominations to be announced on Thursday morning, the various critics\u2019 groups out there have been revealing their own picks for the best films of 2015. I happen to be a member of two such groups, and we\u2019ve made announcements of our own over the last week or so.<\/p>\n
First, and most recently, there is the Arts & Faith Ecumenical Jury Awards, handed out by a group created last year by my friend Kenneth R. Morefield that consists mostly of active participants at the Arts & Faith<\/a> discussion board. (I have been part of the board since its founding in 2003, and this is my first year on the jury.)<\/p>\n The ten finalists were announced in a press release<\/a> last week, and today we ranked the bottom half of our Top Ten<\/a>. The linked post has the full blurbs, but here\u2019s the list:<\/p>\n The top half of the Top Ten will be posted tomorrow, but, as per the press release, it will consist of the remaining finalists: The Assassin<\/i>, Love & Mercy<\/i>, Spotlight<\/i>, Stations of the Cross<\/i> and Timbuktu<\/i>. (Incidentally, there are two films on our Top Ten that I have not yet seen: Gett: The Trial of Viviane Ansalem<\/i> and Timbuktu<\/i>.)<\/p>\n Turning to other awards, last Wednesday saw the unveiling of the 16th annual Vancouver Film Critics Circle awards. I was a founding member of this group, and for its first few years we just met in a bar or restaurant, voted on the awards, issued a press release, and that was it. But for the past decade or so we\u2019ve held ceremonies to announce at least some of the winners. (This year, we announced the \u201cinternational\u201d winners in an early press release, but held back on announcing the Canadian winners until the ceremony, which was attended by some of the local nominees.)<\/p>\n The prizes for the international<\/a> (i.e. non-Canadian) films were spread out very evenly, with one award per film, while the Canadian awards<\/a> were divvied up between four films, three of which got multiple trophies. Also worth noting: as Telefilm and other Canadian film-funding agencies continue to make a point of engaging in international co-productions with commercial potential, the line between \u201cCanadian\u201d films and \u201cinternational\u201d films is blurring. Thus, Room<\/i> \u2014 an Oscar front-runner that was filmed in Canada, written by an Irish-Canadian<\/a> and directed by an Irishman \u2014 was deemed by the VFCC to be both a Canadian film and an international film, and the American lead actress in that film won prizes for her performance in both<\/i> categories.<\/p>\n Anyway, without further ado, here are the VFCC nominees<\/a>, with winners in bold<\/b>:<\/p>\n INTERNATIONAL AWARDS<\/b><\/p>\n BEST FILM BEST ACTOR<\/b> BEST ACTRESS<\/b> BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS<\/b> BEST DIRECTOR<\/b> BEST SCREENPLAY<\/b> BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM BEST DOCUMENTARY \u2013<\/p>\n CANADIAN AWARDS<\/b><\/p>\n BEST CANADIAN FILM BEST ACTOR IN A CANADIAN FILM<\/b> BEST ACTRESS IN A CANADIAN FILM BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A CANADIAN FILM BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A CANADIAN FILM BEST SCREENPLAY FOR A CANADIAN FILM BEST DIRECTOR OF A CANADIAN FILM BEST CANADIAN DOCUMENTARY BEST FIRST FILM BY A CANADIAN DIRECTOR<\/b> BEST BRITISH COLUMBIA FILM<\/b> We also gave the Ian Caddell Award for Achievement to local actress Gabrielle Rose, who sent us a video message because she was starring in a play that night.<\/p>\n The photo at the top of this post, of my colleagues and me at the VFCC ceremony, is from a Flickr album posted by Elvira Lount<\/a>. Here\u2019s a bigger version of it:<\/p>\n\n
\nMad Max: Fury Road
\nThe Revenant
\nSpotlight<\/b><\/i><\/p>\n
\nLeonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant<\/i>
\nMichal Fassbender, Steve Jobs<\/b>
\nEddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl<\/i><\/p>\n
\nCate Blanchett, Carol<\/i>
\nBrie Larson, Room<\/i><\/b>
\nSaoirse Ronan, Brooklyn<\/i><\/p>\n
\nMark Rylance, Bridge of Spies<\/i><\/b>
\nMichael Shannon, 99 Homes<\/i>
\nSylvester Stallone, Creed<\/i><\/p>\n
\nJennifer Jason Leigh, The Hateful Eight<\/i>
\nAlicia Vikander, The Danish Girl<\/i>
\nAlicia Vikander, Ex Machina<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
\nTodd Haynes, Carol<\/i>
\nAlejandro Gonz\u00e1lez I\u00f1\u00e1rritu, The Revenant<\/i>
\nGeorge Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
\nEmma Donoghue, Room<\/i>
\nCharlie Kaufman, Anomalisa<\/i><\/b>
\nJosh Singer & Tom McCarthy, Spotlight<\/i><\/p>\n
\nThe Assassin<\/i><\/b>
\nGoodnight Mommy
\nSon of Saul<\/p>\n
\nAmy<\/i><\/b>
\nCartel Land
\nGoing Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief<\/p>\n
\nThe Forbidden Room
\nRoom<\/b>
\nSleeping Giant<\/i><\/p>\n
\nMichael Eklund, Eadweard<\/i>
\nChristopher Plummer, Remember<\/i>
\nJacob Tremblay, Room<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
\nMarie Brassard, Sabali<\/i>
\nBrie Larson, Room<\/i><\/b>
\nJulia Sarah Stone, Wet Bum<\/i><\/p>\n
\nPatrick Huard, My Internship in Canada<\/i>
\nReece Moffett, Sleeping Giant<\/i>
\nNick Serino, Sleeping Giant<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
\nJoan Allen, Room<\/i>
\nSuzanne Clement, My Internship in Canada<\/i>
\nTara Pratt, No Men Beyond This Point<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
\nBenjamin August, Remember<\/i>
\nAndrew Cividino, Blain Watters & Aaron Yeger, Sleeping Giant<\/i>
\nEmma Donoghue, Room<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
\nLenny Abrahamson, Room<\/i>
\nAndrew Cividino, Sleeping Giant<\/i><\/b>
\nAtom Egoyan, Remember<\/i><\/p>\n
\nHaida Gwaii: On the Edge of the World<\/i><\/b>
\nFractured Land
\nHow to Change the World
\nHurt<\/p>\n
\nHit 2 Pass<\/i>, Kurt Walker
\nSleeping Giant<\/i>, Andrew Cividino<\/b>
\nWet Bum<\/i>, Lindsay Mackay<\/p>\n
\nEadweard
\nHaida Gwaii: On the Edge of the World<\/b>
\nNo Men Beyond This Point<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n