Chadwick Boseman, Lee’s late star ‘Da 5 Bloods’, was a New York actor who “didn’t bother much when he arrived in Hollywood, because in New York he was at war,” said his widow in accepting his best supporting actor. premium.
“It is a very sad day in the history of America,” he said Spike Lee in a video recorded on January 6, just after the United States Capitol riot, receiving a special award from the New York Film Critics Circle, whose 86th annual and virtual awards ceremony was released on Sunday.
Lee, who was being honored for his pandemic era short film New York, New York, he continued, “The whole world is laughing at the United States of America, the so-called cradle of democracy. … We are at a crossroads now and everyone, please be safe. This is not a game. These people understood guns with ammunition I hope to God I’m wrong, but people are going to be killed behind that shit. This president, President Agent Orange. [Donald Trump], will go down in history with people like Hitler. These guys – all his boys – are going the wrong way. “
Lee’s award was presented by another New York filmmaker Martin Scorsese, which provoked Lee by saying about the film for which Lee was being honored, “The title is very familiar to me [Scorsese’s New York, New York came out in 1977], but we can talk about it on another occasion, “before adding more seriously,” Spike loves this city passionately – every inch of it, even Brooklyn. “He ended,” Thank you for helping all of us New Yorkers in some way to get over this moment. “
Another Lee film from 2020, Da 5 Bloods, was recognized with two awards, best actor for Delroy Lindo and best supporting actor of the end Chadwick Boseman. Beautiful Crooklyn Co-star Alfre Woodard said: “Delroy’s performance in Da 5 Bloods it is a demonstration of how to transform a character into a human being – a human being who challenges our preconceived ideas about man and about ourselves. “And Boseman’s Da 5 Bloods Co-star Norm Lewis said: “He will always be remembered for his versatility and his immense talent.”
Boseman’s widow, Simone Ledward Boseman, accepted in his name: “Chad was a New York actor. He knew the hustle and bustle of New York. So he didn’t bother much when he arrived in Hollywood, because in New York he was at war. Thanks, film critics from New York Circle. “
The best film award went to indie First cow. Bong Joon Ho, from who Parasite won the award for best foreign language film at last year’s NYFCC Awards, said that First cow director Kelly Reichardt is “someone who always creates beautiful works. … I have often been impressed by his delicate films. … They all show such an insight into the human condition.” He said he saw First cow on its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival in 2019, and “the film left a lasting impression on me”.
The best director, however, went to Nomadlandin Chloe Zhao, which was presented by the star of his film Frances McDormand. Zhao, in turn, observed: “It was in the city, at NYU, that I learned to take my first steps as a filmmaker”.
The two female acting awards went to actresses in their twenties who thanked their directors for the “opportunity of a lifetime”. 21 years Sidney Flanigan was celebrated as the best female protagonist for Eliza Hittmanin Never seldom sometimes always, a film about a young woman looking for an abortion. She was toasted by indie actress Chloe Sevigny, who was thrilled to say, “That’s what we mean when we say that art is not only timely, but urgent. Thank you, Sidney, for this beautiful reminder.” (Never seldom sometimes always also won the award for best screenplay, and Hittman noted, “It is very significant to share this platform with so many amazing filmmakers – Chloe Zhao, Kelly Reichardt and Radha Blanke, “the winner of the best first film.)
And a 24-year-old Bulgarian actress Maria bakalova was the winner for Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, presented by its costar Sacha Baron Cohen, who said: “At the audition, in a breakup scene, she literally brought me to tears. At that moment, I knew we had found our Tutar. … This is her first grand prize, but it certainly won’t be the last.” Bakalova, fighting tears, thanked Cohen for the “opportunity of a lifetime”, noting that she only graduated from drama school about a year and a half ago and “even in my wildest dreams, I could never have imagined for a moment like this. It is a great honor for me and my fellow Bulgarian actors. “
Other winners included Wolfwalkers for best animated film, accepted from Ireland by co-directors Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart; Small Ax lense Shabier Kirchner for better cinematography; Bacurau for best foreign language film, with co-directors Juliano Dornelles and Kleber Mendonca Filho sending thanks from Brazil; and Garrett Bradleyin Time for the best documentary.
A second special award went to film and video distributor Kino Lorber who, according to the NYFCC president Stephanie Zacharek, “jumped into action” early in the pandemic and helped save movie theaters by creating a virtual cinema platform in which they have a stake, Kino Marquee. Chief Kino Lorber Richard Lorber He said: “We knew immediately that our best way would be to partner with art cinemas; after all, their survival and our survival, as a company dedicated to the theatrical experience, are inextricably linked. It was imperative for our mission to keep them afloat.” Kino Marquee opened a week after the cinemas closed, and now has nearly 500 art theater partners.