New Pittsburgh Film Critics Association Names Top Movies for 2024
‘Substance,’ and ‘Challengers’ are among the best, and the group introduces a Mister Rogers Kindness Award.
ZENDAYA AS TASHI DUNCAN IN “CHALLENGERS” | PHOTO BY NIKO TAVERNISE / MGM
In its first awards, the relatively new Pittsburgh Film Critics Association has given top honors to “Substance,” “Challengers,” and “Sing Sing” among its best movies and performances of 2024.
The association officially launched last year out of a “shared vision among this region’s critics to carve out a distinct space within the industry,” according to a release, and has 15 voting members (including Sean Collier, Pittsburgh Magazine’s managing editor and film critic). It hopes to name its top movies and acting roles each year.
“Western Pennsylvania is a thriving hotbed for both film production and film criticism,” according to a statement by the PFCA Board. “It’s our immense honor to be celebrating 2024’s finest films as a united collective of Pittsburgh-based film critics.”
The group named “Substance,” the suspenseful horror film about the beauty standards in Hollywood gone awry, as Best Picture. “Challengers,” a steamy romantic drama set in the tennis world, was named runner-up for Best Picture.
Colman Domingo, the star of “Sing Sing,” a story of resilience and the transformative power of art within the Sing Sing prison, was named 2024’s Best Lead Actor, while Ariana Grande was chosen as Best Supporting Actor as Glinda the Good Witch in the film adaptation of “Wicked.” The association decided not to award gender-specific categories.
The organization also has introduced a Pittsburgh element to the awards — the Mister Rogers Kindness Award. This went to the cast and crew of German-French political thriller “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” a film shot in secret and smuggled out of Iran, at great risk to everyone involved in its production.
The Mister Rogers Kindness Award exemplifies “the ideals espoused by Pittsburgh native Fred Rogers,” according to the release.
Here’s the full list of the 2024 Pittsburgh Film Critics Association Awards Winners.
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BEST PICTURE
Winner: “The Substance”
Runner-Up: “Challengers”
BEST LEAD ACTOR
Winner: Colman Domingo — “Sing Sing”
Runner-Up: Cynthia Erivo — “Wicked”
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Winner: Ariana Grande — “Wicked”
Runner-Up: Clarence Maclin — “Sing Sing”
BEST FEATURED ACTOR
Winner: Jesse Plemmons — “Civil War”
Runners-Up (Tie): Lamorne Morris — “Saturday Night”; Isabella Rossellini — “Conclave”
BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE
Winner: Clarence Maclin — “Sing Sing”
Runner-Up: Katy O’Brian — “Love Lies Bleeding”
BEST ANIMATED VOICE PERFORMANCE
Winner: Lupita Nyong’o — “The Wild Robot”
Runner-Up: Maya Hawke — “Inside Out 2”
BEST DIRECTOR
Winner: Robert Eggers — “Nosferatu”
Runner-Up: Coralie Fargeat — “The Substance”
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Winner: Justin Kuritzkes — “Challengers”
Runner-Up: Sean Baker — “Anora”
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Winner: Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Clarence Maclin, John “Divine G” Whitfield — “Sing Sing”
Runner-Up: Robert Eggers — “Nosferatu”
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Winner: Jomo Fray — “Nickel Boys”
Runner-Up: Jarin Blaschke — “Nosferatu”
BEST EDITING
Winner: Marco Costa — “Challengers”
Runner-Up: Jerome Eltabet, Coralie Fargeat, Valentin Feron — “The Substance”
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Winner: Craig Lathrop — “Nosferatu”
Runner-Up: Stanislas Reydellet, Cécilia Blom — “The Substance”
BEST SCORE
Winner: Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross — “Challengers”
Runner-Up: Cristobal Tapia de Veer — “Babygirl”
BEST SONG
Winner: “Compress/Repress” — “Challengers”
Runners-Up (Tie): “Starburned and Unkissed” — I Saw the TV Glow; “Harper and Will Go West” — Will & Harper
BEST SOUND DESIGN
Winner: Emmanuelle Villard, Valerie Deloof, Victor Fleurant, Stéphane Thiébaut, Victor Praud — “The Substance”
Runner-Up: Lisa Pinero, Craig Berkey, Paul Carter — “Challengers”
BEST HAIR, MAKEUP, & COSTUMES
Winner: Emmanuelle Youchnovski (Costume); Pierre-Olivier Persin (Makeup/Hairstyle) — “The Substance”
Runner-Up: Linda Muir (Costume); Traci Loader, Suzanne Stokes-Munton, David White (Makeup/Hairstyle) — “Nosferatu”
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Winner: “The Wild Robot”
Runner-Up: “Inside Out 2”
BEST FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
Winners (Tie): “The Seed of the Sacred Fig”; “Flow”
BEST STUNT PERFORMANCE & CHOREOGRAPHY
Winner: Keir Beck, Chris O’Hara — “The Fall Guy”
Runner-Up: Udeh Nans, Brahim Chab — “Monkey Man”
MISTER ROGERS KINDNESS AWARD
Winner: The entire cast and crew of “The Seed of the Sacred Fig”
