12/09/2013

'12 Years A Slave' Wins Big at DC's WAFCA Awards


The Washington DC Area Film Critics Association, of which we are proud members, revealed their winners of the 12th annual WAFCA Awards, and the critics of the Nation's Capital heaped their praise upon Steve McQueen's 12 Years A Slave. The slavery won a staggering six awards, the most in the group's history, claiming Best Film, Best Actor for Chiwetel Ejiofor, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score, Best Ensemble, and continuing Lupita Nyong'o's surge with a win for Best Supporting Actress.

A consensus continues to build around Cate Blanchett's jittery performance in Blue Jasmine, adding to the three Best Actress victories she scored over the weekend. One of the rare losses for 12 Years A Slave came in the Best Director category where Alfonso Cuaron won for his staggering sci-fi epic, Gravity, which also gave cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki another award to place on his mantle. The group chose Disney's Frozen over the somewhat polarizing The Wind Rises for Best Animated Feature, and Oscar-favorite Jared Leto won for his transformative performance in Dallas Buyers Club. The inaugural Joe Barber Award for Best Portrayal of Washington DC was given to Lee Daniels' The Butler, earning the acclaimed historical drama its only victory. 

The full list of winners is below.

Best Film:
12 Years a Slave

Best Director:
Alfonso Cuarón (Gravity)

Best Actor:
Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave)

Best Actress:
Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine)

Best Supporting Actor:
Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club)

Best Supporting Actress:
Lupita Nyong'o (12 Years a Slave)

Best Acting Ensemble:
12 Years a Slave

Best Youth Performance:
Tye Sheridan (Mud)

Best Adapted Screenplay:
John Ridley (12 Years a Slave)

Best Original Screenplay:
Spike Jonze (Her)

Best Animated Feature:
Frozen

Best Documentary:
Blackfish

Best Foreign Language Film:
The Broken Circle Breakdown

Best Art Direction:
Production Designer: Catherine Martin, Set Decorator: Beverley Dunn (The Great Gatsby)

Best Cinematography:
Emmanuel Lubezki, ASC, A.M.C. (Gravity)

Best Editing:
Alfonso Cuarón, Mark Sanger (Gravity)

Best Original Score:
Hans Zimmer (12 Years a Slave)

The Joe Barber Award for Best Portrayal of Washington, DC:
Lee Daniels' The Butler