The 2019 Cinemayward Oscars

The Oscar nominees for 2019 will be announced today, which prompts this confession: I have a love/hate relationship with film awards. On the one hand, art shouldn’t be a popularity contest or a game to win; on the other hand, I *love* cinema, so anything highlighting film attracts me like a moth to a flame. Thus, here are the 2019 Cinemayward Oscars, celebrating much of what the Oscars (and other awards) overlooked this year, as well as a few unique categories of my own. Enjoy.

With one winner in bold in each category:

Best Picture: 

• First Reformed
• Roma
• Leave No Trace
• You Were Never Really Here
• The Rider
• Black Panther
• Eighth Grade
• If Beale Street Could Talk
• First Man
• Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Best Director:

• Debra Granik (Leave No Trace)
• Paul Schrader (First Reformed)
• Alfonso Cuarón (Roma)
• Ryan Coogler (Black Panther)
• Chloé Zhao (The Rider)

Best Actress:  

• Helena Howard (Madeline’s Madeline)
• Thomasin McKenzie (Leave No Trace)
• Elsie Fisher (Eighth Grade)
• Sakura Andô (Shoplifters)
• Yalitza Aparicio (Roma)
• Regina Hall (Support the Girls)
• Lily James (Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again)
• Joanna Kulig (Cold War)
• Amandla Stenberg (The Hate U Give)
• Kathryn Hahn (Private Life)
• Alicia Vikander (Tomb Raider)
• Winona Ryder (Destination Wedding)
• Natalie Portman (Vox Lux)
• Natalie Portman (Annihilation)
• Nicole Kidman (Destroyer)
• Lady Gaga (A Star Is Born)
• Viola Davis (Widows)
• Olivia Colman (The Favourite)
• Rachel Weisz (The Favourite)
• Emma Stone (The Favourite)

Best Actor: 

• Ethan Hawke (First Reformed)
• Joaquin Phoenix (You Were Never Really Here)
• Ben Foster (Leave No Trace)
• Brady Jandreu (The Rider)
• John Cho (Searching)

Best Supporting Actress:

• Haley Lu Richardson (Support the Girls)
• Claire Foy (First Man)
• Mackenzie Davis (Tully)
• Cynthia Erivo (Widows)
• Millicent Simmonds (A Quiet Place)

Best Supporting Actor:

• Michael B. Jordan (Black Panther)
• Sam Elliot (A Star Is Born)
• Russell Hornsby (The Hate U Give)
• Stephen Root (The Ballad of Buster Scruggs)
• Steven Yuen (Burning)

Best Ensemble Cast:

• Shoplifters
• Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
• Black Panther
• Support the Girls
• If Beale Street Could Talk

Best Film Not in the English Language: Roma (Alfonso Cuaron). Runner-up: Shoplifters (Hirokazu Koreeda)

Best Original Screenplay: Eighth Grade (Bo Burnham). Runner-up: First Reformed (Paul Schrader)

Best Adapted Screenplay: Phil Lord & Rodney Rothman (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse). Runner-up: Debra Granik & Anne Rosellini (Leave No Trace)

Best Cinematography: Alfonso Cuarón (Roma). Runner-up: Joshua James Richards (The Rider)

Best Score/Soundtrack: Black Panther (Ludwig Goransson). Runner-up: First Man (Justin Hurwitz)

Best Documentary: Monrovia, Indiana. Runner-up: Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

Best Animated Film: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Runner-up: Isle of Dogs

Best Coming-of-Age Film: Eighth Grade. Runner-up: Madeline’s Madeline

Best Film Exploring Christian Spirituality: First Reformed. Runner-up: Mary Magdalene

What are your favorite nominees for the 2019 Oscars? What are the biggest snubs?

You can also check out my Top 25 Films of 2018 and Top 18 Movie Scenes from 2018.