MNFCA 2024 Award Winners

As a proud member of the Minnesota Film Critics Association (MNFCA), I’m pleased to share our group’s selections for the best films, performances, and craft work from 2024. Among the many winners, Brady Corbet’s The Brutalist earned the highest number of wins in five categories, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor. 

The MNFCA’s voting process began with nomination submissions from its more than 25 members in Minnesota. From those submissions, five nominees were narrowed in each category. Voting members ranked their five picks on individual online ballots, and the votes were compiled and tabulated by the MNFCA board. Check out the winners below. 

For my list of last year’s best films, see my Top 10 Films of 2024. Also, join DFR’s Patreon community to look at my Top 25 Films of 2024 and my personal picks in the below categories. 

 

Best Picture

• WINNER: The Brutalist
• Challengers
• Conclave
• Dune: Part Two
• The Substance

 

Best Director

• WINNER: Brady Corbet – The Brutalist
• Sean Baker – Anora
• Coralie Fargeat – The Substance
• Luca Guadagnino – Challengers
• Denis Villeneuve – Dune: Part Two

 

Best Actor

• WINNER: Adrien Brody as László Tóth – The Brutalist
• Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan – A Complete Unknown
• Daniel Craig as William Lee – Queer
• Colman Domingo as John “Divine G” Whitfield – Sing Sing
• Ralph Fiennes as Thomas Cardinal Lawrence – Conclave

 

Best Actress

• WINNER: Demi Moore as Elisabeth Sparkle – The Substance
• Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba Thropp – Wicked
• Marianne Jean-Baptiste as Pansy – Hard Truths
• Mikey Madison as Anora “Ani” Mikheeva – Anora
• Zendaya as Tashi Duncan – Challengers

 

Best Supporting Actor

• WINNER: Guy Pearce as Harrison Lee Van Buren – The Brutalist
• Yura Borisov as Igor – Anora
• Kieran Culkin as Benji Kaplan – A Real Pain
• Clarence Maclin as Himself – Sing Sing
• Edward Norton as Pete Seeger – A Complete Unknown

 

Best Supporting Actress

• WINNER: Zoe Saldaña as Rita Mora Castro – Emilia Pérez
• Ariana Grande as Galinda Upland – Wicked
• Felicity Jones as Erzsébet Tóth – The Brutalist
• Margaret Qualley as Sue – The Substance
• Isabella Rossellini as Sister Agnes – Conclave

 

Best Ensemble

• WINNER: Conclave
• Challengers
• Dune: Part Two
• Saturday Night
• Sing Sing

 

Best Adapted Screenplay

• WINNER: Conclave – Peter Straughan
• Dune: Part Two – Denis Villeneuve, Jon Spaihts
• Nickel Boys – RaMell Ross, Joslyn Barnes
• Sing Sing – Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar
• Wicked – Winnie Holzman, Dana Fox

 

Best Original Screenplay

• WINNER: Challengers – Justin Kurtizkes
• Anora – Sean Baker
• The Brutalist – Brady Corbet, Mona Fastvold
• A Real Pain – Jesse Eisenberg
• The Substance – Coralie Fargeat

 

Best Film Editing

• WINNER: Challengers
• The Brutalist
• Conclave
• Dune: Part Two
• Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

 

Best Cinematography

• WINNER: The Brutalist
• Challengers
• Conclave
• Dune: Part Two
• Nosferatu

 

Best Music

• WINNER: Challengers
• The Brutalist
• Conclave
• Dune: Part Two
• Wicked

 

Best Costume Design

• WINNER: Wicked
• Conclave
• Dune: Part Two
• Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
• Nosferatu

 

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

• WINNER: The Substance
• A Different Man
• Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
• Nosferatu
• Wicked

 

Best Production Design

• WINNER: Dune: Part Two
• The Brutalist
• Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
• Nosferatu
• Wicked

 

Best Sound

• WINNER: Dune: Part Two
• Challengers
• A Complete Unknown
• Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
• The Substance

 

Best Special Effects

• WINNER: Dune: Part Two
• Alien: Romulus
• Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
• Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
• The Substance

 

Best Stunt Choreography

• WINNER: Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
• Deadpool & Wolverine
• Dune: Part Two
• The Fall Guy
• Gladiator II

 

Best International Feature

• WINNER: Flow – Belgium, France, Latvia
• The Beast – France, Canada
• Emilia Pérez – France
• Evil Does Not Exist – Japan
• The Seed of the Sacred Fig – Iran, Germany, France

 

Best Animated Feature

• WINNER: The Wild Robot
• Flow
• Inside Out 2
• Memoir of a Snail
• Transformers One

 

The MNFCA’s members include Barrett Goetz, Brad Lenz, Brian Orndorf, C.B. Jacobson, Catherine Krummey, Chaz Kangas, Eli Brau, Eric Houston, Hunter Friesen, Jason Hemming, Jay Gabler, Joe Botten, Kelly Florence, Kyle Goethe, Mark McPherson, Matt Clark, Matt Hambidge, Matthew Liedke, Meg Hafdahl, Nicholas Palodichuk, Niles Schwartz, Paul McGuire Grimes, Ruth Maramis, Tim Lammers, Tyler Strandberg, and Zach Hammill.