The Washington, D.C. Area Film Critics Association (WAFCA) honorees for 2017 are led by "Get Out," a smart, hair-raising satire about prejudice and race relations, which won Best Film, as well as Best Original Screenplay for writer-director Jordan Peele. Christopher Nolan claimed Best Director for his remarkably mounted, ceaselessly intense World War II thriller "Dunkirk."
WAFCA awarded Best Actor to Gary Oldman for his assured, multilayered performance. Frances McDormand's searing turn as a grieving, unapologetically outspoken mother nabbed the Best Actress award for the darkly comedic "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri." Other acting honors for that film went to Sam Rockwell as Best Supporting Actor and Best Acting Ensemble for the cast as a whole.
Best Supporting Actress was awarded to Laurie Metcalf, as a working-class mother in "Lady Bird." For their thoughtful adaptation of author Hillary Jordan's acclaimed 2008 novel about the relationship between two families—one black, one white—living in the 1940s Jim Crow South, Dee Rees and Virgil Williams earned Best Adapted Screenplay accolades for "Mudbound."
Pixar's touching family adventure "Coco," set during Mexico's annual Day of the Dead celebration, was awarded Best Animated Feature. And the film's star, 13-year-old Anthony Gonzalez, earned Best Voice Performance. Andy Serkis claimed the award for Best Motion Capture Performance as Caesar in "War for the Planet of the Apes."
Brooklynn Prince clinched the Best Youth Performance category for "The Florida Project."
Best Documentary kudos went to "Jane" and "BPM (Beats Per Minute)," Robin Campillo's touching story of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in 1990s France, took Best Foreign Language Film honors.
Denis Villeneuve's visionary sci-fi sequel "Blade Runner 2049" nearly swept the technical categories, taking home Best Cinematography, Best Production Design, and Best Original Score. Best Editing was awarded to "Baby Driver," a music-fueled heist picture directed by Edgar Wright where the rhythm of each scene is thrillingly cut to its soundtrack.
The Joe Barber Award for Best Portrayal of Washington, DC, given each year in honor of one of WAFCA's cherished late members, went to Steven Spielberg's journalism drama "The Post."
The Washington, D.C. Area Film Critics Association comprises 52 DC-VA-MD-based film critics from television, radio, print and the Internet. Voting was conducted from December 5-7, 2017.
THE 2017 WAFCA AWARD WINNERS:
Best Film:
Get Out
Best Director:
Christopher Nolan (Dunkirk)
Best Actor:
Gary Oldman (Darkest Hour)
Best Actress:
Frances McDormand (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)
Best Supporting Actor:
Sam Rockwell (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)
Best Supporting Actress:
Laurie Metcalf (Lady Bird)
Best Acting Ensemble:
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Best Youth Performance:
Brooklynn Prince (The Florida Project)
Best Voice Performance:
Anthony Gonzalez (Coco)
Best Motion Capture Performance:
Andy Serkis (War for the Planet of the Apes)
Best Original Screenplay:
Jordan Peele (Get Out)
Best Adapted Screenplay:
Virgil Williams and Dee Rees (Mudbound)
Best Animated Feature:
Coco
Best Documentary:
Jane
Best Foreign Language Film:
BPM (Beats Per Minute)
Best Production Design:
Production Designer: Dennis Gassner;
Set Decorator: Alessandra Querzola (Blade Runner 2049)
Best Cinematography:
Roger A. Deakins, ASC, BSC (Blade Runner 2049)
Best Editing:
Paul Machliss, ACE; Jonathan Amos, ACE (Baby Driver)
Best Original Score:
Hans Zimmer and Benjamin Wallfisch (Blade Runner 2049)
The Joe Barber Award for Best Portrayal of Washington, DC:
The Post