The 2018 Women Film Critic Circle Awards have been announced.  This organization,  comprised of 75 women film critics since 2004, gives greater voice to films by and pertaining to women.  Their unique categories highlight this aspect of filmmaking, but the “special mention” awards find an even deeper meaning to women in this industry. 

The biggest winner this year is “The Favourite” with three wins: Best Movie About Women, Best Actress (Olivia Colman), and Best Comedic Actress (Olivia Colman).  “Roma,” “Eighth Grade,” and “If Beale Street Could Talk” all gathered two awards each.  

 As a member of this organization, I’m proud to share this year’s WFCC Award winners:

BEST MOVIE ABOUT WOMEN

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**The Favourite

Runner-up: Roma

BEST MOVIE BY A WOMAN

**Can You Ever Forgive Me?

Runner-up: Leave No Trace

BEST WOMAN STORYTELLER [Screenwriting Award]

**Audrey Wells: The Hate U Give 

Runner-up: Debra Granik: Leave No Trace

BEST ACTRESS

**Olivia Colman, The Favourite

Runner-up: Toni Collette, Hereditary

BEST ACTOR

**Ethan Hawke, First Reformed

Runner-up: Viggo Mortensen, Green Book

BEST COMEDIC ACTRESS

**Olivia Colman, The Favourite

Runner-up: Melissa McCarthy, Can You Ever Forgive Me?

BEST YOUNG ACTRESS

**Elsie Fisher, Eighth Grade

Runner-up: Thomasin McKenzie, Leave No Trace

BEST FOREIGN FILM BY OR ABOUT WOMEN

**Roma

Runner-up: Capernaum

BEST DOCUMENTARY BY OR ABOUT WOMEN

**RBG

Runner-Up: Shirkers

WOMEN’S WORK/BEST ENSEMBLE

**Widows

Runner-Up: The Favourite

SPECIAL MENTION AWARDS

COURAGE IN FILMMAKING

**Jennifer Fox, The Tale

Runner-Up: Haifaa Al-Mansour, Mary Shelley

COURAGE IN ACTING [Taking on unconventional roles that radically redefine the images of women on screen]

**Nicole Kidman: Destroyer

Runner-Up: Viola Davis: Widows

*ADRIENNE SHELLY AWARD: For a film that most passionately opposes violence against wom

**Say Her Name: The Life And Death Of Sandra Bland

*JOSEPHINE BAKER AWARD: For best expressing the woman of color experience in America

**If Beale Street Could Talk

*KAREN MORLEY AWARD: For best exemplifying a woman’s place in history or society, and a courageous search for identity

**Roma

*THE INVISIBLE WOMAN AWARD: [Performance by a woman whose exceptional impact on the film dramatically, socially or historically, has been ignored]

**Glenn Close, The Wife

ACTING AND ACTIVISM

**Viola Davis

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT

Ellen Burstyn

BEST KEPT SECRET AWARD

All The Overlooked ‘Gone Girls Of Cinema’ PIONEERS: FIRST WOMEN FILMMAKERS. A Kino Lorber Collectors Edition Release.

BEST SCREEN COUPLE

**If Beale Street Could Talk

BEST FEMALE ACTION HEROES

**Black Panther

MOMMIE DEAREST WORST SCREEN MOM OF THE YEAR AWARD

**Jacki Weaver: Widows

BEST EQUALITY OF THE SEXES

**Black Panther

BEST ANIMATED FEMALES

**Incredibles 2

BEST FAMILY FILM

**Eighth Grade

HALL OF SHAME 

**Member Picks:

*Fifty Shades Freed: For perpetuating unrealistic and demeaning stereotypes of women, being defined by men emotionally and physically.

*Bryan Singer: Accused of committing crimes against young men, his continued status as a hirable, high-paid director is an affront to the women in the film industry who are struggling for recognition. 

*Les Moonves: Chairman and CEO of CBS, Moonves resigned in light of allegations that he sexually abused many women, and information on the culture of fear that he reigned over is now coming out.

Baby It’s Cold Outside. This traditional holiday season song has now been banned on radio stations following Me-Too protests, as promoting suggestive date rape lyrics. The debate that has followed is raising critical issues for discussion, but all agree that the male character, however culturally dated, is creepy. The Oscar winning song originated in the 1949 musicalNeptune’s Daughter, performed by Esther Williams and Ricardo Montalban.