Two Texas directors fought it out for the No. 1 spot in the Southeastern Film Critics Association’s (SEFCA) annual poll of the year’s best films, with Wes Anderson’s highly stylized comedy The Grand Budapest Hotel edging Richard Linklater’s 12-years-in the making meditation on male adolescence Boyhood, with Mexican director Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Birdman finishing a close third.
“This was one of the closest races I can remember,” SEFCA president Philip Martin, the chief film critic at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette said.
In the Best Director race, Linklater edged out Anderson, while Budapest won for both “Best Ensemble” and “Best Original Screenplay.” (Birdman was the runner-up in the two latter categories.)
As far as the chief individual awards, Michael Keaton took Best Actor honors for his role as the troubled movie star trying to re-invigorate his career on Broadway in Birdman, while Julianne Moore won Best Actress for her turn as a linguists professor afflicted by early onset Alzheimer’s in Still Alice.
The group’s Wyatt Award, named in memory of SEFCA charter member Gene Wyatt and awarded annually to the film that best captures the spirit of the South, went to Selma.
The SEFCA Awards are bestowed annually by the Southeastern Film Critics Association, which is made up of professional film critics in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. This year, 54 critics cast votes.
2014 SEFCA RESULTS
Top Ten
1. The Grand Budapest Hotel
2. Boyhood
3. Birdman or (the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
4. Whiplash
5. The Imitation Game
6. Gone Girl
7. Snowpiercer
8. Nightcrawler
9. Foxcatcher
10. The Theory of Everything
Best Actor
1. Michael Keaton, Birdman or (the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
2. Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything
Best Actress
1. Julianne Moore, Still Alice
2. Reese Witherspoon, Wild
Best Supporting Actor
1. J.K. Simmons, Whiplash
2. Edward Norton, Birdman or (the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Best Supporting Actress
1. Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
2. Tilda Swinton, Snowpiercer
Best Ensemble
1. The Grand Budapest Hotel
2. Birdman or (the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Best Director
1. Richard Linklater, Boyhood
2. Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Best Original Screenplay
1. The Grand Budapest Hotel: Wes Anderson and Hugo Guinness
2. Birdman or (the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance): Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolas Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Armando Bo
Best Adapted Screenplay
1. Gone Girl: Gillian Flynn
2. Wild: Nick Hornby
Best Documentary
1. Life Itself
2. CitizenFour
Best Foreign Language Film
1. Force Majeure
2. Ida
Best Animated Film
1. The Lego Movie
2. Big Hero 6
Best Cinematography
1. Birdman or (the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance): Emmanuel Lubezki
2. The Grand Budapest Hotel: Robert Yeoman
The Gene Wyatt Award for the Film that Best Evokes the Spirit of the South
1. Selma
2. Cold in July
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
