PFCA Announces First-Ever Film Awards Winners

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 Kindness Award—which will be given annually to films that exemplify the ideals important to our community—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 SubstanceRunner-Up: Challengers

BEST LEAD ACTOR

Winner: Colman Domingo — Sing SingRunner-Up: Cynthia Erivo — Wicked

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Winner: Ariana Grande — WickedRunner-Up: Clarence Maclin — Sing Sing

BEST FEATURED ACTOR

Winner: Jesse Plemons — Civil WarRunners-Up (Tie): Lamorne Morris — Saturday Night; Isabella Rossellini — Conclave

BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE

Winner: Clarence Maclin — Sing SingRunner-Up: Katy O’Brian — Love Lies Bleeding

BEST ANIMATED VOICE PERFORMANCE

Winner: Lupita Nyong’o — The Wild RobotRunner-Up: Maya Hawke — Inside Out 2

BEST DIRECTOR

Winner: Robert Eggers — NosferatuRunner-Up: Coralie Fargeat — The Substance

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Winner: Justin Kuritzkes — ChallengersRunner-Up: Sean Baker — Anora

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Winner: Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Clarence Maclin, John “Divine G” Whitfield — Sing SingRunner-Up: Robert Eggers — Nosferatu

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Winner: Jomo Fray — Nickel BoysRunner-Up: Jarin Blaschke — Nosferatu

BEST EDITING

Winner: Marco Costa — ChallengersRunner-Up: Jerome Eltabet, Coralie Fargeat, Valentin Feron — The Substance

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

Winner: Craig Lathrop — NosferatuRunner-Up: Stanislas Reydellet, Cécilia Blom — The Substance

BEST SCORE

Winner: Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross — ChallengersRunner-Up: Cristobal Tapia de Veer — Babygirl

BEST SONG

Winner: “Compress/Repress” — ChallengersRunners-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 SubstanceRunner-Up: Lisa Pinero, Craig Berkey, Paul Carter — Challengers

BEST HAIR, MAKEUP, & COSTUMES

Winner: Emmanuelle Youchnovski (Costume); Pierre-Olivier Persin (Makeup/Hairstyle) — The SubstanceRunner-Up: Linda Muir (Costume); Traci Loader, Suzanne Stokes-Munton, David White (Makeup/Hairstyle) — Nosferatu

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

Winner: The Wild RobotRunner-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 GuyRunner-Up: Udeh Nans, Brahim Chab — Monkey Man

KINDNESS AWARD

Winner: The entire cast and crew of The Seed of the Sacred Fig

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