The AFCA Announces their top picks for the 2025 Awards Season

Wednesday, Dec. 10th – The Austin Film Critics Association (AFCA) announced its 2025 awards nominations today.

One Battle After Another and Sinners lead the pack with nominations in 11 categories, including Best Director, Best Picture, Best Score, Best Editing, Best Screenplay (adapted and original respectively), Best Cinematography, and a host of acting categories. 

Other films racking up multiple nominations include Marty Supreme (nominations in 8 categories), Weapons (nominations in 4 categories),and The Secret Agent (nominations in 4 categories). 

We continue to celebrate new creative talent in our Best First Film category, with nominations for Andrew DeYoung(Friendship), Carson Lund (Eephus), Charlie Polinger, (The Plague), Kristen Stewart, (The Chronology of Water), and Eva Victor (Sorry, Baby). We also celebrate the work of those filmmakers based in our own city of Austin, TX, with this year’s nominees for the Best Austin Film award. 

The winners, as voted by our membership, will be unveiled on December 18th.

---

List of Nominees (all in alphabetical order)

Best Director

• Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another
• Ryan Coogler, Sinners
• Josh Safdie, Marty Supreme
• Guillermo Del Toro, Frankenstein
• Joachim Trier, Sentimental Value

Best Picture

• Bugonia
• Frankenstein
• Marty Supreme
• One Battle After Another
• The Secret Agent
• Sentimental Value
• Sinners
• The Testament of Ann Lee
• Train Dreams
• Weapons

Best Actress

• Jessie Buckley, Hamnet
• Rose Byrne, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
• Jennifer Lawrence, Die My Love
• Amanda Seyfried, The Testament of Ann Lee
• Emma Stone, Bugonia

Best Actor

• Timothée Chalamet, Marty Supreme
• Leonardo DiCaprio, One Battle After Another
• Ethan Hawke, Blue Moon
• Michael B. Jordan, Sinners
• Wagner Moura, The Secret Agent

Best Supporting Actress

• Odessa A’zion, Marty Supreme
• Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Sentimental Value
• Amy Madigan, Weapons
• Wunmi Mosaku, Sinners
• Teyana Taylor, One Battle After Another

Best Supporting Actor

• Benicio Del Toro, One Battle After Another
• Jacob Elordi, Frankenstein
• David Jonsson, The Long Walk
• Sean Penn, One Battle After Another
• Adam Sandler, Jay Kelly

Best Ensemble

• The Long Walk
• Marty Supreme
• One Battle After Another
• Sinners
• Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery

Best Original Screenplay

• Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie, Marty Supreme
• Ryan Coogler, Sinners
• Zach Cregger, Weapons
• Kleber Mendonça Filho, The Secret Agent
• Eskil Vogt and Joachim Trier, Sentimental Value

Best Adapted Screenplay

• Paul Thomas Anderson, Thomas Pynchon, One Battle After Another
• Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Denis Johnson, Train Dreams
• Park Chan-wook, Lee Kyoung-mi, Jahye Lee, Don McKellar, Donald E. Westlake, No Other Choice
• Guillermo del Toro, Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
• Will Tracy, Jang Joon-hwan, Bugonia

Best Cinematography

• Michael Bauman, One Battle After Another
• Autumn Durald, Sinners
• Darius Khondji, Marty Supreme
• Dan Laustsen, Frankenstein
• Adolpho Veloso, Train Dreams

Best Editing

• Andy Jurgensen, One Battle After Another
• Stephen Mirrione, F1: The Movie
• Michael P. Shawver, Sinners
• Joe Murphy, Weapons
• Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie, Marty Supreme

Best Original Score

• Daniel Blumberg, The Testament of Ann Lee
• Alexandre Desplat, Frankenstein
• Ludwig Göransson, Sinners
• Jonny Greenwood, One Battle After Another
• Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (NiN), Tron: Ares

Best International Film

• It Was Just an Accident
• No Other Choice
• The Secret Agent
• Sentimental Value
• Sirāt

Best Documentary

• Come See Me In The Good Light
• Orwell: 2+2=5
• The Librarians
• The Perfect Neighbor
• Predators

Best Animated Film

• Arco
• Elio
• KPop Demon Hunters
• Little Amelie or the Character of Rain
• Zootopia 2

Best Voice Acting/Animated/Digital Performance

• Oona Chaplin, Avatar: Fire and Ash
• Arden Cho/EJAE, KPop Demon Hunters
• Will Patton, Train Dreams
• Stephen Lang, Avatar: Fire and Ash
• Zoe Saldaña, Avatar: Fire and Ash

Best Stunt Work

• Ballerina
• F1: The Movie
• Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
• One Battle After Another
• Sinners

Best Visual Effects

• Avatar: Fire and Ash
• F1: The Movie
• Frankenstein
• Sinners
• Superman

Best Remake/Franchise Film

• Avatar: Fire & Ash
• Frankenstein
• Superman
• Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
• 28 Years Later

Best First Film

• Andrew DeYoung, Friendship
• Carson Lund, Eephus
• Charlie Polinger, The Plague
• Kristen Stewart, The Chronology of Water
• Eva Victor, Sorry, Baby
  

The Robert R. “Bobby” McCurdy Memorial Breakthrough Artist Award

• Continuing our change to this category from last year, all 5 of our top nominees will be honored with the award, and will be announced on December 18th.

---

As part of the organization’s annual voting, the Austin Film Critics Association acknowledges standout titles with local ties — works made by directors who live in Austin. This award is distinct to our group of critics, recognizing the talent of Austin filmmakers as we celebrate the best films of the year.

In alphabetical order, the five nominees for Best Austin Film 2025 are:

• The American Southwest (dir. Ben Masters)
• Blue Moon (dir. Richard Linklater)
• Man Goes on Rant (dir. Peter Curtis Pardini)
• Nouvelle Vague (dir. Richard Linklater)
• The Toxic Avenger (dir. Macon Blair)

---

The AFCA will announce the 2025 award winners, including the Austin Film Award and any special awards, on Thursday, December 18th.

Founded in 2005 by Cole Dabney & Bobby McCurdy, the AFCA has seen its membership grow from single digits to well over 35 members. The diverse outlets our members contribute to include the Austin Chronicle, Bullz-Eye, But Why Tho?, Certified Forgotten, Cinapse, Cinema Scholars, Consequence, Daily Grindhouse, Double Toasted, Dread Central, Edge Media Network, Fangoria, Film School Rejects, Hyperreal Film Club, Indiewire, Horror’s Not Dead, Junkfood Cinema, KOOP 91.7 FM Radio, Mendowerks, One Movie Punch, One Of Us, Paste, The Playlist, Sightlines, Slashfilm, True View Reviews, Uproxx, and We Got This Covered.