By Chiara Spagnoli Gabardi

The Women Film Critics Circle is an association of 65 women film critics and scholars from around the country and internationally, who are involved in print, newswire, radio, online and TV broadcast media. The WFCC started in 2004 to form the first women critics organisation in the United States, in the belief that women’s perspectives and voices in film criticism need to be recognised fully. Listen to the Broadcast of the Awards Ceremony:

http://audioport.org/audioport_files/pmiller@wbai.org/608_1-1_20131218_66378.mp3

After a colourful list of nominations here are 2013’s Awards:

BEST MOVIE ABOUT WOMEN Philomena

RUNNER UP Mother Of George

 

BEST MOVIE BY A WOMAN Enough Said, Nicole Holofcener

RUNNER UP Inch Allah, Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette

 

BEST WOMAN STORYTELLER [Screenwriting Award] Julie Delpy: Before Midnight

RUNNER UP Nicole Holofcener, Enough Said

 

BEST ACTRESS Judi Dench: Philomena

RUNNER UP Barbara Sukowa: Hannah Arendt

 

BEST ACTOR Chiwetel Ejiofor: 12 Years A Slave

RUNNER UP Michael B. Jordan: Fruitvale Station

 

BEST YOUNG ACTRESS Onata Aprile: What Maisie Knew

RUNNER UP Waad Mohammed: Wadjda

 

BEST COMEDIC ACTRESS Melissa McCarthy: The Heat

RUNNER UP Greta Gerwig, Frances Ha

 

BEST FOREIGN FILM BY OR ABOUT WOMEN Wadjda

RUNNER UP Inch Allah

 

BEST FEMALE IMAGES IN A MOVIE Philomena

RUNNER UP Girls In The Band

 

WORST FEMALE IMAGES IN A MOVIE The Bling Ring

RUNNER UP Machete Kills

BEST MALE IMAGES IN A MOVIE 12 years A Slave: Chiwetel Ejiofor

RUNNER UP Enough Said: James Gandolfini

 

WORST MALE IMAGES IN A MOVIE Only God Forgives

RUNNER UP Out Of The Furnace

 

BEST THEATRICALLY UNRELEASED MOVIE BY OR ABOUT WOMEN Hellen Mirren in Phil Spector

RUNNER UP Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer

 

BEST EQUALITY OF THE SEXES Before Midnight

RUNNER UP Enough Said

 

BEST ANIMATED FEMALES Frozen

RUNNER UP The Croods

 

BEST FAMILY FILM The Wind Rises

RUNNER UP Black Nativity

 

WOMEN’S WORK / BEST ENSEMBLE Ginger & Rosa

RUNNER UP TIE Winnie Mandela

August: Osage County

 

SPECIAL MENTION AWARDS

 

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

EMMA THOMPSON: For her eclecticism in switching from period films to fantasy genre, to contemporary settings. And embodying all kinds of women with raw and pure interpretations.

 

ACTING AND ACTIVISM AWARD

CHARLIZE THERON: For her work for The Global Fund, and for starting the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project. Which educates young people about HIV/AIDS

 

COURAGE IN FILMMAKING: LAURA POITRAS For bringing the Edward Snowden NSA revelations to light, driven into exile in Germany for doing so, and currently making a documentary about it.

 

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

Augustine

RUNNER UP: Lovelace

 

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

12 Years A Slave

RUNNER UP: Go for Sisters

 

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

Winnie Mandela

RUNNER UP Wadjda

 

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

 

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

 

BEST DOCUMENTARY BY OR ABOUT WOMEN Stories We Tell

RUNNER UP Girls In The Band

 

BEST SCREEN COUPLE Before Midnight: Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke

 

BEST SONG Would You Bleed For Love. Jennifer Hudson, Winnie Mandela

 

MOMMIE DEAREST WORST SCREEN MOM OF THE YEAR AWARD

Kristin Scott Thomas: Only God Forgives

 

JUST KIDDING AWARD: Best Male Images In A Movie: Last Vegas

 

*WFCC HALL OF SHAME*

 

The Canyons: Women depicted as powerless and manipulative. Plus, the acting is horrid.

 

Spring Breakers: No depth, little plot and a pitiful depiction of today's college kids. Gratuitous in nothing more than flesh and violence. A grossly and dangerously skewed depiction of young women and their values in today's America.

 

Captain Phillips: The whole might of the USA coming down on 3 starving Somalis?! Repulsive. When the obscenely beefy SEALS arrived and the audience started to cheer, I felt I was watching a 'macho' director brainwash audience members into blindly accepting the worst stereotypes of jingoistic male behavior.

 

Blue is the Warmest Color: I went in knowing almost nothing except general buzz but I hated the sex scenes which were way too long and midway thru I couldn’t wait to flee the theater. Coming out I read how many takes Kechiche required and I was thoroughly repulsed. Who was this for? Then I read the graphic novel and discovered that critical plot points were deleted. Like the fact that Adele’s parents find her in bed with Emma which is why she has to move out — and I was enraged. A three hour movie, and Kechiche is so busy salivating over his actresses that he can’t bother telling a coherent story. Hype for this film makes me nauseous!

 

Blue is the Warmest Color: It's so obvious a dude with a fetish directed this, it's not only unappealing, it's creepy. His overcompensating hubris isn't worth the praise this is receiving.

 

Bastards, Les Salauds: All of the women in this film are depicted as complicit in their own oppression and exploitation. Though it’s a patriarchal system that they exist within, they refuse to fight for themselves or each other, even when a minor is involved. The indictment then is not of the men but of the women. I found this problematic and disappointing from Denis.

 

Gravity: The women in this group make meaningful choices each year so they speak for me in these areas, the lone exception being Sandra Bullock's performance in Gravity. She's a fine actress, but I found the character to be whiny, cowardly, and full of the wrong stuff – a damsel in distress who needed a man (even if it was just her imagination) to pull her out of danger. I can hardly believe they'd send someone so panicky into space. Give me Sigourney Weaver any day.

 

Dallas Buyers Club: Shame on Dallas Buyers Club for completely ignoring the LGBT as a group who drove the fight against AIDS to the forefront. The only time gays were mentioned was to let Matthew McConaughey's homophobic redneck character get a laugh at the expense of Jared Leto's transsexual character. The film made it seem as if the whole AIDS community stood on the shoulders of Ron Woodruff when in fact, groups like Act Up were starting the war for proper testing and more drugs way before Ron entered into the picture. It completely demeaned the backdrop Dallas Buyers Club was utilizing for their own characterizing “hero” agenda. Also the film took an extreme opinion against the AZT drug in favor for a plot line when in fact it was helping some patients. The only saving grace was Jared Leto's fantastic performance but unfortunately it wasn't enough.

 

Enough Already: Why is it that when actresses and even screen goddesses hit a certain age, they're all cast as nags and shrews. No matter how accomplished any of these films may be, the tally of older actress shrewish nags on board is really high this year, as usual. Including Oprah Winfrey in The Butler, Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts in August: Osage County, Cate Blanchett and Sally Hawkins in Blue Jasmine, June Squibb in Nebraska, Kristin Scott Thomas in Only God Forgives, and Julianne Moore in Carrie. Refreshing exceptions being Judi Dench in Philomena, Yolonda Ross in Go For Sisters, and Mary Steenburgen in Last Vegas.

 

*Please Note: The WFCC Top Ten Hall Of Shame represents the ‘don’t tell me to shut up’ sidebar contribution of individual members, and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the entire Circle. Or may even dissent from an awarded nomination. Also, members may be objecting to particular characters in a film, and not the entire movie. Clarification: If an aspect of the movie is intentionally negative to make a point, rather than offensive, that is not under consideration for this category.

 

*ADRIENNE SHELLY AWARD: Adrienne Shelly was a promising actress and filmmaker who was brutally strangled in her apartment in 2006 at the age of forty by a construction worker in the building, after she complained about noise. Her killer tried to cover up his crime by hanging her from a shower20rack in her bathroom, to make it look like a suicide. He later confessed that he was having a “bad day.” Shelly, who left behind a baby daughter, had just completed her film Waitress, which she also starred in, and which was honored at Sundance after her death.

 

*JOSEPHINE BAKER AWARD: The daughter of a laundress and a musician, Baker overcame being born black, female and poor, and marriage at age fifteen, to become an internationally acclaimed legendary performer, starring in the films Princess Tam Tam, Moulin Rouge and Zou Zou. She also survived the race riots in East St. Louis, Illinois as a child, and later expatriated to France to escape US racism. After participating heroically in the underground French Resistance during WWII, Baker returned to the US where she was a crusader for racial equality. Her activism led to attacks against her by reporter Walter Winchell who denounced her as a communist, leading her to wage a battle against him. Baker was instrumental in ending segregation in many theaters and clubs, where she refused to perform unless integration was implemented.

 

*KAREN MORLEY AWARD: Karen Morley was a promising Hollywood star in the 1930s, in such films as Mata Hari and Our Daily Bread. She was driven out of Hollywood for her leftist political convictions by the Blacklist and for refusing to testify against other actors, while Robert Taylor and Sterling Hayden were informants against her. And also for daring to have a child and become a mother, unacceptable for female stars in those days. Morley maintained her militant political activism for the rest of her life, running for Lieutenant Governor on the American Labor Party ticket in 1954. She passed away in 2003, unrepentant to the end, at the age of 93.

 

The Women Film Critics Circle Members

THELMA ADAMS

Yahoo! Movies

AMY BIANCOLLI

Houston Chronicle, San Francisco Chronicle, San Antonio Express-News, Albany Times Union/Hearst Newspapers

KAREN BUTLER

UPI, The Irish Echo

SARA STEWART

New York Post

AMANDA MEYNCKE

Seattle Post Intelligencer, Film.com

KAREN BENARDELLO

Shockya.com, Wegotthiscovered.com, Yahoo! Voices

NIKI CRUZ

Filmmaker Magazine, Interview Magazine, Paste Magazine, PopMatters, The Rumpus, The Inquisitr

MONICA CASTILLO

Boston Phoenix, Bitch Magazine, Film Geek Radio, Paste Magazine, Cinema Fix, DigBoston.com

CYNTHIA PARSONS MCDANIEL

NY Daily News, Shortandsweetnyc.com, Times of London

MARIA ESTEVEZ

GQ Magazine, Vogue, Cinerama Spain

ROSE CAPP

Senses Of Cinema

FELICIA FEASTER

New York Press, Creative Loafing Atlanta, The Atlantan, Charleston City Paper

ANNETTE INSDORF

Director of Film Studies, Columbia University; Reel Pieces, 92nd Street Y, Arts Express Syndicate

AMY LONGSDORF

Bergen Record, Toronto Star, Philadelphia Weekly, Camden Courier Post

MOLLY HASKELL

NY Observer, The Nation, Currents

CATHERINE BRAY

Channel 4 Film, Guardian, Observer, The New Statesman

MARY ELIZABETH WILLIAMS

Salon.com, WNYC/NPR Radio

SHAYNA SMITH

BET/ Westwood One Radio Network

MICHELE MANIELIS

Vogue, Marie Claire, News Ltd Australia

KIM NICOLINI

CounterPunch

PENELOPE ANDREW

Huffington Post, Bright Lights Film Journal, Arts Express Syndicate, WestView News

CHRISTY LEMIRE

Associated Press, CNN Network

TARA KAYE JUDAH

Triple R FM Radio, Australia, JOY FM Radio, Metro, Screen Hub, Senses of Cinema

TERRA KING

Examiner.com

SHELLEY WADE

Z100/ Kiss108 FM; Clear Channel Radio

AUDREY MARIE BROWN

Ain’t It Cool News, Geek Monthly

SIKIVU HUTCHINSON

Blackfemlens.org, LA Watts Times, KPFK Radio, Los Angeles

SANDRA VARNER

Contra Costa Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Oakland Globe Newspaper, Cafe Mocha Radio Syndicate

LISA COLLINS

DCTV-New York, Arts Express Radio Syndicate

LOGAN NAKYANZI POLLARD

UK Guardian, ABC Television, Huffington Post

DONNA MORAN

AP Radio/People Radio/CBS Radio

YUKI SARUWATARI

Elle Japan, GQ Japan, Weekly Pia, More (Japan)

MICHELLE ORANGE

Village Voice, TheReeler.com, Movieline

PRAIRIE MILLER

WBAI/Pacifica National Radio Network; Arts Express Radio Syndicate; Indiewire/Criticwire; Newsblaze Wire, LI Press; From The Women’s Desk

KARINA LONGWORTH

LA Weekly, Vanity Fair, The Daily Beast

ELLE CASTRO

WBLS Radio; AllHipHop.com

JOY ROSE

Mamapalooza On Film, Don’t Tell Me To Shut Up Radio, Housewives On Prozac

IZUMI HASEGAWA

Hollywood News Wire, Buzzine

JUDY THORBURN

Las Vegas Tribune, TheHollywoodNews.com, TheFlickChicks.com

WINNIE BONELLI

The Independent, Newark Star-Ledger, Life & Style Magazine, Herald News

DIANNE BROOKS

The Film Files, Writemovies.com

DEBRA WALLACE

British Foreign Press Association, New York Cool, British Cosmo, Time Out Moscow, Pop Culture Madness

CYNTHIA LUCIA

Cineaste Magazine

JUDYTH PIAZZA

American Perspective Radio, The Student Operated Press; EWorld Wire, Sebastian Sun, Women’s Independent Press, Association of Women in Communications, WWCI TV 10 Anchor; WTTB Radio 1490-AM, Florida

KRISTIN DREYER KRAMER

Women’s Independent Press, NightsAndWeekends.com, Fat Guys At The Movies, On The Marquee, WCBE 90.5 FM Columbus, Ohio

MAX WEISS

Baltimore Magazine, WBAL TV and Radio, Baltimore

EDIE NUGENT

Cinemovie, Arts Express Syndicate

KAMAL LARSUEL

On the Real Radio with Chuck D and Giana Garel; 3BlackChicks.com, Seattle

CHIARA SPAGNOLI GABARDI

King’s Road Magazine, British Foreign Press Association, Filmagazine (Italy), Shockya, PMc Magazine

ELOISE PARKER

OK! Magazine, NY Daily News, Premiere Showbiz, Metro Newspapers, The Press Association, IC Network, The Belfast Telegraph, The Newcastle Journal, The Birmingham Post and the Bristol Evening Post

S. JHOANNA ROBLEDO WADE

Common Sense Media, MSNBC.com, NY Magazine

JAN LISA HUTTNER

TheHotPinkPen.com; Films For Two; WomenArts.org

JACQUELINE MONAHAN

Cineholics.com, TheFlickChicks.com, WebSeriesCon.com

ENEIDA DELVALLE

NY Post: Tempo, Latino News; Viva Voz, V-Me TV Network

CASSANDRA HENRY

3BlackChicks.com, New Orleans

ROSE PACATTE

Sister Rose Goes To The Movies

NANCY KEEFE RHODES

Stone Canoe Journal

MARIE MOORE

EurWeb.com, The Daily Challenge, The New York Beacon

AUDREY BERNARD

Radioscope; Audrey’s Whirl-TV; Editor, EUR; Arts Editor, Harlem News Group

MELISSA WALTERS

Blackfilm.com

ANNE RASO

Today’s Black Woman, Black Noir, Word Up, Teen Drean, Jam Rock, Movie Magic, Black Men Magazine

JUDITH PASTERNAK

The Indypendent Newspaper

JAN AARON

Education Update

BREE PERLMAN

Austin Daze Magazine

DOMINGA MARTIN

Creme-Magazine.com, Glam.com, Urban Thought Collective

 

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