Culture

London Critics’ Circle Film Awards 2022: The Power of the Dog leads winning pack

Benedict Cumberbatch sits under a tree in Power of the Dog

The Power of the Dog howled loudly at the 42nd annual London Critics’ Circle Film Awards, securing four major awards at the group’s virtual awards ceremony from The May Fair Hotel. 

The Jane Campion Western, available on Netflix, was crowned Film of the Year, while Campion was named Director of the Year. Stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Kodi Smit-McPhee won Actor and Supporting Actor of the Year. 

It’s Campion’s second film to take the Circle’s top honour, 28 years after The Piano in 1994.

Drive my Car and The Souvenir Part II took two awards each.  The former, from Japanese auteur Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, was named Foreign Language Film of the Year, while Hamaguchi and co-writer Takamasa Oe took the Screenwriter of the Year prize.

Joanna Hogg’s The Souvenir Part II was named British/Irish Film of the Year, just two years after its predecessor took the same honour; it was also one of three films, along with Memoria and The French Dispatch, for which Tilda Swinton received the British/Irish Actress of the Year award. 

Actor-turned-director Rebecca Hall’s drama Passing earned her the Breakthrough British/Irish Filmmaker award, as well as Supporting Actress of the Year for Ruth Negga.

Power of the Dog is Campion’s second film to take the Circle’s top honour, 28 years after The Piano triumphed in 1994…

Jane Campion on video link for the London Critics Film Awards
Jane Campion accepts her award via video link

The Actress of the Year accolade went to Olivia Colman for her performance in Maggie Gyllenhaal’s The Lost Daughter. Andrew Garfield won the British/Irish Actor of the Year award for his performances in Tick, Tick… Boom!, The Eyes of Tammy Faye and Mainstream. 11-year-old Woody Norman took the Young British/Irish Performer prize for his performance opposite Joaquin Phoenix in C’mon C’mon.

Documentary of the Year went to musician and filmmaker Ahmir Questlove Thompson for his archival festival feature Summer of Soul, currently available on Disney+, while this year’s multi-disciplinary Technical Achievement Award went to the visual effects team of Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi epic Dune

Mitch Kalisa’s Play It Safe won the British/Irish Short Film award.

For the second year in a row, the event took place virtually on the London Critics’ Circle YouTube channel. An in-person event to celebrate this year’s winners is planned for later in 2022.

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