Indiana Film Journalists Association pick year’s best

On Sunday, members of the Indiana Film Journalists Association (myself included), gathered over lunch at Mesh on Mass Ave. to passinately argue the merits of 2010 films.

The end game: Add our voice to the list of Best Of awards being announced around this time of year.

After the discusson, each filled out a weighted ballot, with the results tabulated and converted into a press release–which already has gotten coverage on blogs and websites across the country. The process is a fun, honest one. And it's great to debate with other arts writers (even if they like "Inception" a bit too much for my taste).

While we're not the only organization that has picked "The Social Network" as the year's best film (Actually, I thnk all of them have so far), attention is being given by other media to our selection of "How To Train Your Dragon" as Best Animated Film over "Toy Story 3" and "Tangled."

Does our say have any impact? Some seem to believe that these early announcements do help sway who is in the Oscar field. Beyond that, though, our year-end statement should help bring more film screenings here. And the selection of the Hoosier Award could gain some attention for the Indiana-shot "Paradise Recovered" and its writer/producer Andie Redwine.

Whatever the effect, here is the list. Just remember: These are the picks by the IFJA. I'll over my own 2010 favorites in next week's IBJ.

Best Film of the Year

Winner: "The Social Network"

Runner-up: "Inception"

Other Finalists: "127 Hours," "Black Swan," "Exit Through the Gift Shop," "The Fighter," "Never Let Me Go," "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World," "True Grit," "Winter's Bone"

 

Best Animated Film

Winner: "How to Train Your Dragon"

Runner-up: "Toy Story 3"

 

Best Foreign Language Film

Winner: "Lebanon"

Runner-up: "Biutiful"

 

Best Documentary

Winner: "Exit Through the Gift Shop"

Runner-up: "The Tillman Story"

 

Best Screenplay

Winner: Aaron Sorkin, "The Social Network"

Runner-up: Christopher Nolan, "Inception"

 

Best Director

Winner: Christopher Nolan, "Inception"

Runner-up: Debra Granik, "Winter's Bone"

 

Best Actress

Winner: Natalie Portman, "Black Swan"

Runner-up: Jennifer Lawrence, "Winter's Bone"

 

Best Supporting Actress

Winner: Hailee Steinfeld, "True Grit"

Runner-up: Melissa Leo, "The Fighter"

 

Best Actor

Winner: James Franco, "127 Hours"

Runner-up: Jesse Eisenberg, "The Social Network"

 

Best Supporting Actor

Winner: Christian Bale, "The Fighter"

Runner-up: John Hawkes, "Winter's Bone"

 

Original Vision Award

Winner: "Inception"

Runner-up: "127 Hours"

 

The Hoosier Award

Winner: Andie Redwine, writer/producer of "Paradise Recovered"

About IFJA: The Indiana Film Journalists Association was established in February 2009 with six founding members, and has since expanded its roster to 11. Members must reside in the Hoosier State and produce consistent, quality film criticism or commentary in any medium.

Members:

Bob Bloom, Lafayette Journal & Courier

Caine Gardner, Greencastle Banner-Graphic, The Film Yap.com

Eric Harris, Canneltoncritic.com, The Perry County News

Lou Harry, Indianapolis Business Journal

Ed Johnson-Ott, NUVO Newsweekly

Christopher Lloyd, The Film Yap.com, The Current

Richard Propes, The Independent Critic.com

Nick Rogers, Suite101.com, The Film Yap.com

Joe Shearer, The Film Yap.com, Indy.com

Matthew Socey, WFYI

Gina Wagner, IndyMojo.com / HauntedFlower.com

 

Your thoughts?