2021 was meant to be the rebound year after the COVID-19 pandemic and while some truly great cinema emerged by the end of the year, it seemed like audiences still weren’t ready to embrace Hollywood’s grand return until a certain web-slinger convinced them $1.9 billion otherwise. 2021 will most significantly be, for me, my first Sundance Film Festival and the first virtual Sundance ever for everyone, which allowed for every film in competition to stream at home. I took over a week off of my day-job and watched nearly everything that was available, sure to not miss a single minute of the privilege I had to dive into brand new, never-seen films from the comfort of my home, starting with the premiere of the soon-to-be Best Picture-winner CODA. 2021 may have some duds and disappointments, some holdovers that were meant to be duds and disappointments in an alternate universe 2020, but is that not every year? Beyond a terrific Sundance experience, 2021 will always latch to my heart the renaissance of the movie musical (with Tick Tick Boom, West Side Story, and In the Heights), a re-evaluation of the modern blockbuster franchise (The Matrix Revolutions, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Eternals, and Godzilla v Kong), an open-hearted examination of human regret (The Worst Person in the World and Mass), a time to get weird and freaky (Titane and The Green Knight), and most importantly, to shine a light on the people that matter most: specifically, a woman named Trish whose always got your back.

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BEST PICTURE

• BARB AND STAR GO TO VISTA DEL MAR
• THE GREEN KNIGHT
• LICORICE PIZZA
• MASS
• PETITE MAMAN
• THE POWER OF THE DOG
• SPENCER
• TITANE
• WEST SIDE STORY
• THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD **

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BEST DIRECTOR

• Denis Villeneuve – DUNE
• David Lowery – THE GREEN KNIGHT
• Jane Campion – THE POWER OF THE DOG
• Julia Ducournau – TITANE **
• Joachim Trier – THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD

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BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

• Benedict Cumberbatch – THE POWER OF THE DOG
• Andrew Garfield – TICK… TICK… BOOM!
• Jason Isaacs – MASS **
• Hidetoshi Nishijima – DRIVE MY CAR
• Simon Rex – RED ROCKET

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BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

• Olivia Colman – THE LOST DAUGHTER
• Alana Haim – LICORICE PIZZA
• Martha Plimpton – MASS **
• Renate Reinsve – THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD
• Kristen Stewart – SPENCER

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BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

• Reed Birney – MASS
• Daniel Kaluuya – JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH
• Anders Danielson Lie – THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD
• Vincent Lindon – TITANE **
• Kodi Smit-McPhee – THE POWER OF THE DOG

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BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

• Ann Dowd – MASS
• Kirsten Dunst – THE POWER OF THE DOG
• Jane Houdyshell – THE HUMANS
• Kathryn Hunter – THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH **
• Toko Miura – DRIVE MY CAR

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BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

• BARB AND STAR GO TO VISTA DEL MAR
• LICORICE PIZZA
• MASS
• WHEEL OF FORTUNE AND FANTASY
• THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD **

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BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

• DUNE
• DRIVE MY CAR
• THE GREEN KNIGHT
• THE POWER OF THE DOG **
• WEST SIDE STORY

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BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE

• FLEE
• PETITE MAMAN
• TITANE
• WHEEL OF FORTUNE AND FANTASY
• THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD **

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BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

• FLEE **
• LUCA
• THE MITCHELLS VS. THE MACHINES
• RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON
• THE SUMMIT OF THE GODS

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BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

• FLEE
• HOMEROOM
• THE SPARKS BROTHERS
• STREET GANG: HOW WE GOT TO SESAME STREET
• SUMMER OF SOUL (…OR WHEN THE REVOLUTION COULD NOT BE TELEVISED) **

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BEST CASTING

• DUNE **
• LICORICE PIZZA
• MASS
• THE POWER OF THE DOG
• WEST SIDE STORY

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BEST EDITING

• DUNE
• THE POWER OF THE DOG
• A QUIET PLACE PART II
• SUMMER OF SOUL (…OR WHEN THE REVOLUTION COULD NOT BE TELEVISED) **
• THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD

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BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

• THE GREEN KNIGHT
• PASSING
• THE POWER OF THE DOG
• SPENCER
• THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH **

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BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

• DUNE
• THE FRENCH DISPATCH **
• THE GREEN KNIGHT
• NIGHTMARE ALLEY
• WEST SIDE STORY

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BEST COSTUME DESIGN

• CRUELLA
• CYRANO
• DUNE
• THE FRENCH DISPATCH
• THE GREEN KNIGHT **

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BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING

• COMING 2 AMERICA
• DUNE
• THE FRENCH DISPATCH
• THE GREEN KNIGHT **
• TITANE

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BEST STUNTS/CHOREOGRAPHY

• DUNE
• THE MATRIX RESURRECTIONS
• NO TIME TO DIE
• SHANG CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS
• WEST SIDE STORY **

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BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

• DUNE **
• THE GREEN KNIGHT
• THE MATRIX RESURRECTIONS
• NO TIME TO DIE
• THE SUICIDE SQUAD

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BEST SOUND EDITING

• DUNE **
• THE GREEN KNIGHT
• THE LAST DUEL
• NO TIME TO DIE
• A QUIET PLACE PART II

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BEST SOUND MIXING

• DUNE **
• THE GREEN KNIGHT
• THE HUMANS
• NO TIME TO DIE
• A QUIET PLACE PART II

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BEST ORIGINAL SONG

• ANNETTE – “So May We Start”
• BARB AND STAR GOES TO VISTA DEL MAR – “Edgar’s Prayer” **
• ENCANTO – “Dos Orugitas”
• KING RICHARD – “Be Alive”
• NO TIME TO DIE – “No Time to Die”

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BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

• DUNE **
• THE FRENCH DISPATCH
• THE POWER OF THE DOG
• SHIVA BABY
• SPENCER

Agree or disagree? Share your picks in the comments! Thank you for reading. 2022, 2023 and 2024 lists can be found here. Before I continue to work backwards, stay tuned very soon for my 2025 list, newly complete before the current year’s film awards season concludes!