THE ZONE OF INTEREST captures Best Film, GRETA GERWIG Wins Best Director and Best Original Screenplay for BARBIE and KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON wins Best Actress, Best Cinematography and Best Editing in the 2023 AWFJ EDA Awards.BEST ACTRESS, BEST CINEMATOGRAY & BEST EDITING
Other top awards include Best Actor Jeffrey Wright for AMERICAN FICTION, Best Supporting Actor Ryan Gosling for BARBIE, and Best Supporting Actress Da’Vine Joy Randolph for THE HOLDOVERS.
{For more information, contact: Michael Krause, Luminary Communications, mkrause@luminarycomm.com}
New York, New York, January 3, 2024 – For the past 17 years, the Alliance of Women Film Journalists (AWFJ) has presented annual EDA Awards, representing professional women critics’ collective perspectives on movies and cinema culture in the movie awards arena where female critics and critical opinion are still greatly underrepresented. AWFJ honors female creatives in non-gender specific awards categories and in unique Female Focus categories designated for women only.
“2023 was an exceptional year with so many women playing major creative roles in high profile projects,” AWFJ President Jennifer Merin was quoted as saying. “AWFJ always focuses on and supports women’s contributions in all aspects of film production, and we are delighted that this year’s AWFJ EDA Awards honor women creatives in six of our ten non-gendered BEST OF categories, as well as in all of our Female Focus categories. We hope this female forward trend will continue in 2024.”
In 2023, THE ZONE OF INTEREST picked up awards for both Best Film and Best International Film, BARBIE captured four awards, including Best Director for Greta Gerwig, who also shared Best Original Screenplay Award with Noah Baumbach, Best Supporting Actor for Ryan Gosling and Best Ensemble Cast/Casting Director (tie). Among other awards, KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON won awards for Best Actress (Lily Gladstone), Best Cinematography (Rodrigo Prieto), Best Editor (Thelma Schoonmaker) and Best Women’s Breakthrough Performance (Lily Gladstone).
Below, list of f nominees, with WINNERS in RED:
OFFICIAL 2023 EDA AWARDS WINNERS
Best of Awards
Best Film –
AMERICAN FICTION
ANATOMY OF A FALL
BARBIE
THE HOLDOVERS
KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON
OPPENHEIMER
PAST LIVES
THE ZONE OF INTEREST
Best Director –
Greta Gerwig – BARBIE
Jonathan Glazer – THE ZONE OF INTEREST
Martin Scorsese – KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON
Celine Song – PAST LIVES
Justine Triet – ANATOMY OF A FALL
Best Screenplay, Original –
ANATOMY OF A FALL – Justine Triet and Arthur Harari
BARBIE – Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach
THE HOLDOVERS – David Hemingson
MAY DECEMBER – Samy Burch
PAST LIVES – Celine Song
Best Screenplay, Adapted
AMERICAN FICTION – Cord Jefferson
KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON – Eric Roth and Martin Scorsese
OPPENHEIMER – Christopher Nolan
POOR THINGS – Tony McNamara
THE ZONE OF INTEREST – Jonathan Glazer
Best Documentary (Tied) –
20 DAYS IN MARIUPOL
AMERICAN SYMPHONY
BEYOND UTOPIA
FOUR DAUGHTERS
SMOKE SAUNA SISTERHOOD
Best Animated Film –
THE BOY AND THE HERON – Hayao Miyazaki
NIMONA – Troy Quane and Nick Bruno
ROBOT DREAMS – Pablo Berger
SPIDER-MAN ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE – Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K Thompson
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES – Jeff Rowe and Kyler Spears
Best Actress –
Lily Gladstone – KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON
Sandra Huller – ANATOMY OF A FALL
Greta Lee – PAST LIVES
Margot Robbie – BARBIE
Emma Stone – POOR THINGS
Best Actress, Supporting –
Danielle Brooks – THE COLOR PURPLE
America Ferrera – BARBIE
Sandra Huller – THE ZONE OF INTEREST
Rosamund Pike – SALTBURN
Da’Vine Joy Randolph – THE HOLDOVERS
Best Actor –
Bradley Cooper – MAESTRO
Paul Giamatti – THE HOLDOVERS
Cillian Murphy – OPPENHEIMER
Andrew Scott – ALL OF US STRANGERS
Jeffrey Wright – AMERICAN FICTION
Best Actor, Supporting –
Stirling K Brown – AMERICAN FICTION
Robert Downey Jr – OPPENHEIMER
Ryan Gosling – BARBIE
Charles Melton – MAY DECEMBER
Mark Ruffalo – POOR THINGS
Best Ensemble Cast and Casting Director (Tied) –
AMERICAN FICTION – Jennifer Euston
BARBIE – Lucy Brava and Allison Jones
THE HOLDOVERS – Susan Shopmaker
KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON – Ellen Lewis
OPPENHEIMER – John Papsidera
Best Cinematography –
KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON – Rodrigo Prieto
MAESTRO – Matthew Labatique
OPPENHEIMER – Hoyte Van Hoytema
POOR THINGS – Robbie Ryan
THE ZONE OF INTEREST – Lukasz Zal
Best Editing –
ANATOMY OF A FALL – Laurent Senechal
KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON – Thelma Schoonmaker
MAESTRO – Michelle Tesoro
OPPENHEIMER – Jennifer Lame
THE ZONE OF INTEREST – Paul Watts
Best International Film –
ANATOMY OF A FALL – France
FALLEN LEAVES – Finland
PAST LIVES – South Korea
THE TEACHER’S LOUNGE – Germany
THE ZONE OF INTEREST – UK and Poland
EDA Female Focus Awards
EDA Female Focus: Best Woman Director – Director’s Name and Title Film –
Ava DuVernay – ORIGIN
Emerald Fennell – SALTBURN
Greta Gerwig – BARBIE
Celine Song – PAST LIVES
Justine Triet – ANATOMY OF A FALL
EDA FEMALE FOCUS: BEST FEMALE SCREENWRITER
Samy Burch – MAY DECEMBER
Emerald Fennell – SALTBURN
Greta Gerwig (with Noah Baumbach) – BARBIE
Celine Song – PAST LIVES
Justine Triet (with Arthur Harari) – ANATOMY OF A FALL
EDA Female Focus: Best Animated Female –
Ariana Debose – WISH – Asha
Ayo Edebiri – TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: MUTANT MAYHEM – April; Neil
Leah Lewis – ELEMENTAL – Ember
Chloe Grace Moretz – NIMONA – Nimona
Hailee Steinfeld – SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE – Gwen Stacy
EDA Female Focus: Best Women’s Breakthrough Performance –
Abby Ryder Fortson -ARE YOU THERE GOD? IT’S ME, MARGARET
Lily Gladstone – KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON
Greta Lee – PAST LIVES
Da’Vine Joy Randolph – THE HOLDOVERS
Cailee Spaeny – PRISCILLA
EDA Female Focus: Outstanding Achievement by a Woman in the Film Industry –
Fran Drescher – for leading SAG-AFTRA through the actors’ strike and standing strong for an equitable contract.
Ava DuVernay – For creating a new financing model, for consistently supporting women in film and for focusing her work on social justice.
Greta Gerwig – For all that is BARBIE.
Lily Gladstone – For championing Native American stories, advocating for diversity and authenticity, and for starring in two exceptional films in 2023.
Margot Robbie – For producing and starring in BARBIE, and for continued support for women in film via her LuckyChap production company.
EDA Special Mentions
EDA Special Mention: Grand Dame for Defying Ageism
Annette Bening – NYAD
Julia Louis Dreyfus – YOU HURT MY FEELINGS
Jodie Foster – NYAD
Helen Mirren – GOLDA and FAST X
Julianne Moore – MAY DECEMBER
EDA Special Mention: Most Egregious Lovers’ Age Difference –
INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY – Harrison Ford (81) and Phoebe Waller-Bridge (38)
KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON – Leo DiCaprio (49) and Lily Gladstone (37)
MISSION IMPOSSIBLE DEAD RECKONING PART ONE – Tom Cruise (61) and Haley Atwell (41)
OPPENHEIMER – Cillian Murphy (47) and Florence Pugh (27)
POOR THINGS – Mark Ruffalo (56) and Emma Stone (35)
EDA Special Mention: She Deserves a New Agent (Tied) –
NOTE: The above title is not a put down. On the contrary, it suggests that the actress is better than the role(s) she’s been given!
Ana de Armas – GHOSTED
Candice Bergen, Jane Fonda, Diane Keaton and Mary Steenburgen – BOOK CLUB: THE NEXT CHAPTER
Toni Colette – MAFIA MAMMA
Nia Vardalos – MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING 3
Reese Witherspoon – YOUR PLACE OR MINE
EDA Special Mention: Most Daring Performance–
Anette Benning – NYAD
Sandra Huller – ANATOMY OF A FALL
Sandra Huller THE ZONE OF INTEREST
Julianne Moore – MAY DECEMBER
Emma Stone – POOR THINGS
EDA Special Mention: Time Waster Remake or Sequel –
THE EXORCIST BELIEVER
THE EXPENDIBLES 4
THE HUNGER GAMES: THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS & SNAKES
INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY
MAGIC MIKE’S LAST DANCE
Hall of Shame Awards!
Taking note of miscreant(s) and their unacceptable behavior and dirty deeds.
The AMPTP and studio heads for their despicable behavior concerning the WGA and SAG-AFTRA negotiations and strikes: Drew Barrymore for resuming her show during the WGA strike, resulting in three writers leaving the show; Greta Gerwig for crossing WGA and SAG picket lines (she’s a member of both and although not an actor in BARBIE, she co-wrote it) to promote BARBIE, claiming she was just there as a non-striking director.
Her co-writer Noah Baumbach respected the picket line. Media gave her a free pass while Black director Justin Simien (not a member of ANY striking guild) was giving flack for attending the Disney premiere of his film THE HAUNTED MANSION. Shame on Greta.
Jonathan Majors for domestic violence. Danny Masterson, sentenced to 30 years to life in prison after having been found guilty of raping two women.
In preparation for the awards season, AWFJ tracks femme-helmed and femme-centric films released throughout the year. The 2023 list of EDA Award-eligible femme-helmed and/or femme-centric films includes almost 500 titles. Many of these female made movies are small budget productions that receive neither wide distribution nor critical consideration. This staggering number of independently produced films indicates the high level of female filmmaker proactivity in contradiction to the grim statistics consistently reported in major studies about female film production. AWFJ advocates for acknowledgment of these films and recognition for their filmmakers.
The EDAs are named in honor of AWFJ founder Merin’s mother, Eda Reiss Merin, a stage, film and television actress whose career spanned more than 60 years. A dedicated foot soldier in the industry, Eda was one of the founders of AFTRA and a long-standing Member of AMPAS. EDA is also an acronym for Excellent Dynamic Activism, qualities shared by Eda Reiss Merin, AWFJ members and those honored with EDA Awards.
About the Alliance of Women Film Journalists
A not-for-profit professional association of highly qualified female movie critics, reporters and feature writers working in print, broadcast and online media, dedicated to supporting work by and about women – both in front of and behind the cameras – through intra-group promotional activities, outreach programs and by presenting awards in recognition of outstanding accomplishments (the best and worst) by and about women in the movies.
AWFJ was founded in 2006 by Jennifer Merin, Maitland McDonagh, Joanna Langfield and Jenny Halper. In addition to the year end awards, AWFJ presents EDA Awards at partner festivals, keeps an active and interactive record of fiction feature and documentary films by and/or about women, and/or are of particular interest to women because they focus on women’s issues. We welcome information that will allow us to keep our lists updated. Lists are made available to members and the general public on our Web site at AWFJ.org. For further information, contact AWFJ President Jennifer Merin at awfjinc@gmail.com.
Gregg W. Morris can be reached at gregghc@comcast.net, profgreggwmorris@gmail.com