PFCA Announces First-Ever Film Awards Winners
First Annual Pittsburgh Film Critics Association Awards Honor The Substance, Challengers, Sing Sing and More 2024 Gems
PITTSBURGH (Jan. 9, 2024) – The Pittsburgh Film Critics Association on Thursday revealed which 2024 films received top honors in the first annual PFCA Awards.
The PFCA officially launched last year and arose from a shared vision among this region’s critics to carve out a distinct space within the industry.
“Western Pennsylvania is a thriving hotbed for both film production and film criticism,” says the PFCA Board. “It’s our immense honor to be celebrating 2024’s finest films as a united collective of Pittsburgh-based film critics. Congratulations to all our 2024 PFCA Awards winners!
The Substance, director Coralie Fargeat’s bold twist on the body-horror genre, was named Best Picture by the PFCA’s 15-member voting bloc. Challengers, director Luca Guadagnino’s steamy romantic drama set in the tennis world, finished in second place.
Colman Domingo, the star of A24’s poignant and inspiring Sing Sing, was named 2024’s Best Lead Actor, while Wicked star Ariana Grande earned the title of Best Supporting Actor for her hilarious turn as Glinda the Good Witch in director Jon M. Chu’s Broadway adaptation. (The PFCA chose to not give out gender-specific acting awards.)
The first-ever Mr. Rogers Kindness Award—which will be given annually to films that exemplify the ideals espoused by Pittsburgh native Fred Rogers—went to the entire cast and crew of German-French political thriller The Seed of the Sacred Fig. This powerful and necessary film was reportedly shot in secret and smuggled out of Iran, at great (and in some cases, ongoing) risk to everyone involved in its production.
Social media graphics for all winners and runners-up can be found here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1HGGXz7yaL6RQTz4UVa78km0P_EPDv1ab
2024 Pittsburgh Film Critics Association Awards Winners — Full List:
BEST PICTURE
Winner: The Substance
Runner-Up: Challengers
BEST LEAD ACTOR
Winner: Colman Domingo — Sing Sing
Runner-Up: Cynthia Erivo — Wicked
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Winner: Ariana Grande — Wicked
Runner-Up: Clarence Maclin — Sing Sing
BEST FEATURED ACTOR
Winner: Jesse Plemons — Civil War
Runners-Up (Tie): Lamorne Morris — Saturday Night; Isabella Rossellini — Conclave
BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE
Winner: Clarence Maclin — Sing Sing
Runner-Up: Katy O’Brian — Love Lies Bleeding
BEST ANIMATED VOICE PERFORMANCE
Winner: Lupita Nyong’o — The Wild Robot
Runner-Up: Maya Hawke — Inside Out 2
BEST DIRECTOR
Winner: Robert Eggers — Nosferatu
Runner-Up: Coralie Fargeat — The Substance
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Winner: Justin Kuritzkes — Challengers
Runner-Up: Sean Baker — Anora
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Winner: Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Clarence Maclin, John “Divine G” Whitfield — Sing Sing
Runner-Up: Robert Eggers — Nosferatu
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Winner: Jomo Fray — Nickel Boys
Runner-Up: Jarin Blaschke — Nosferatu
BEST EDITING
Winner: Marco Costa — Challengers
Runner-Up: Jerome Eltabet, Coralie Fargeat, Valentin Feron — The Substance
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Winner: Craig Lathrop — Nosferatu
Runner-Up: Stanislas Reydellet, Cécilia Blom — The Substance
BEST SCORE
Winner: Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross — Challengers
Runner-Up: Cristobal Tapia de Veer — Babygirl
BEST SONG
Winner: “Compress/Repress” — Challengers
Runners-Up (Tie): "Starburned and Unkissed" — I Saw the TV Glow;
"Harper and Will Go West" — Will & Harper
BEST SOUND DESIGN
Winner: Emmanuelle Villard, Valerie Deloof, Victor Fleurant,
Stéphane Thiébaut, Victor Praud — The Substance
Runner-Up: Lisa Pinero, Craig Berkey, Paul Carter — Challengers
BEST HAIR, MAKEUP, & COSTUMES
Winner: Emmanuelle Youchnovski (Costume);
Pierre-Olivier Persin (Makeup/Hairstyle) — The Substance
Runner-Up: Linda Muir (Costume); Traci Loader, Suzanne Stokes-Munton, David White (Makeup/Hairstyle) — Nosferatu
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Winner: The Wild Robot
Runner-Up: Inside Out 2
BEST FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
Winners (Tie): The Seed of the Sacred Fig; Flow
BEST STUNT PERFORMANCE & CHOREOGRAPHY
Winner: Keir Beck, Chris O'Hara — The Fall Guy
Runner-Up: Udeh Nans, Brahim Chab — Monkey Man
MISTER ROGERS KINDNESS AWARD
(Given to films that exemplify the ideals espoused by Pittsburgh native Fred Rogers)
Winner: The entire cast and crew of The Seed of the Sacred Fig
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Contact: pittsburghfilmcritics@gmail.com