Local critics name ‘Florida Project’ film of the year

The San Francisco Film Critics Circle announced on Sunday the winners in all categories for its 2017 award recipients. The circle, comprised of entertainment writers from such Bay Area newspapers as the Sonoma Index-Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, the East Bay Express and more than a dozen other print and online publications, met in San Francisco to decide the winners. “The Florida Project” and “The Shape of Water” and lead with two wins each.

Sean Baker’s vibrant coming-of-age film about little rascals growing up in the shadow of Disney World, “The Florida Project” was named Best Picture. Additionally, Willem Dafoe won Best Supporting Actor for his sensitive and layered performance among that film’s cast of newcomers.

Mexican auteur Guillermo Del Toro won Best Director for his socially aware 1950s-set sci-fi love story “The Shape of Water.” Additionally, Paul D. Austerberry won Best Production Design for his meticulous work on the film.

Andy Serkis won Best Actor for his physical motion-capture performance in the sci-fi action film “War for the Planet of the Apes,” the final installment in the most recent Planet of the Apes reboot. Margot Robbie was named Best Actress for playing Tonya Harding over the course of two decades in “I, Tonya.”

Best Supporting Actress went to Laurie Metcalf’s subtle and perfectly nuanced performance as mother to the teenage protagonist in “Lady Bird.”

Robin Campillo’s powerful French drama about the AIDS activists of ACT UP Paris, “BPM” was awarded Best Foreign Language Film, while heartstring-pulling Day of the Dead-themed family film “Coco” was named Best Animated Feature. “Faces Places,” Agnes Varda’s playful documentary about artistic creation and human relationships, was named Best Documentary.

James Ivory won Best Adapted Screenplay for the rich and internally focused screenplay based on André Aciman’s novel “Call Me By Your Name” and Jordan Peele won Best Original Screenplay for his smart and scathing horror comedy “Get Out.”

English cinematographer Roger Deakins was awarded Best Cinematography for his work on the visually arresting sci-fi sequel “Blade Runner 2049.”

Paul Machliss and Jonathan Amos were awarded Best Editing for Edgar Wright’s fast-paced action film “Baby Driver.” Jonny Greenwood won Best Original Score for his rich, swooning, neo-classical score in Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Phantom Thread.”

The circle illuminated Viktor Jakovleski’s visually arresting documentary about an annual fireworks festival in Mexico, “Brimstone & Glory,” with their annual Special Citation Award for an underappreciated independent film.

The group’s Marlon Riggs Award for courage and innovation in the Bay Area film community was award to director Peter Bratt for his work on films including “Dolores,” “La Mission” and “Follow Me Home.”