SFFCC AWARDS

My thanks to Dierdre Kennedy at Terry Hines & Associates for forwarding this press release:

The San Francisco Film Critics Circle has named Todd Fields’ emotionally astute Little Children as its Best Picture of 2006, the group announced Monday. Best director honors went to Paul Greengrass, who touched a dramatic nerve in his trenchant study of lost innocence in the uncompromising United 93.

The group, which includes twenty-three film critics from around the Bay Area, also picked Borat star Sacha Baron Cohen as Best Actor for his uproarious portrayal as an impulsive Kazakhstani reporter crossing the U.S. in search of the pulse of mainstream America.

Best Actress honors went to Helen Mirren for her spot-on turn as the stoic Queen Elizabeth II, the contemporary royal for whom a stiff upper lip is the order of the day.

Jackie Earle Haley won Best Supporting Actor for his role in Little Children as conflicted pedophile Ronald James McGorvey. Babel star Adriana Barraza was named Best Supporting Actress for her poignant portrayal of a Mexican nanny caught between a rock and a hard spot.

Best Original Screenplay honors went to Rian Johnson’s richly-textured Brick while Best Adapted Screenplay was awarded to Todd Field and Tom Perrotta’s prickly Little Children.

Best Documentary was awarded to Davis Guggenheim’s An Inconvenient Truth in which Al Gore strikes a pose in his quest to profile the frightening state of global warming and the harsh reality of Earth’s questionable future. Best Foreign Language Film honors went to Guillermo del Toro’s brutal yet fanciful Pan’s Labyrinth.

A Special Citation honoring the late member Arthur Lazere went to the Romanian tragicomedy The Death of Mr. Lazarescu, a heartbreaking tale of biological betrayal and healthcare system indifference.

The group’s Marlon Riggs Award, honoring a Bay Area filmmaker or individual who represents courage and innovation in the world of cinema, was awarded to Stephen Salmons, co-founder and artistic director of the S.F. Silent Film Festival, for recognizing a neglected audience for silent movies and creating what is now, in its 11th year, the nation's largest annual silent-cinema showcase.

More from Susan Gerhard at SF360.