List: 2020 InSession Film Awards (all nominees and winners)

This week on the InSession Film Podcast, we featured our 8th annual InSession Film Awards! During Part 1, we discussed the very best that 2020 had to offer in terms of film. We dove into everything from movie surprises, to overlooked movies, to the best acting performances and so much more!

For every category, we each listed our own nominations and winners. Winners are highlighted in bold.

Best Actor

Brendan:

• Riz Ahmed, Sound of Metal
• Chadwick Boseman, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
• Anthony Hopkins, The Father
• Delroy Lindo, Da 5 Bloods
• Mads Mikkelsen, Another Round

JD:

• Riz Ahmed, Sound of Metal
• Chadwick Boseman, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
• Shaun Parkes, Mangrove
• Delroy Lindo, Da 5 Bloods
• Mads Mikkelsen, Another Round

Jay:

• Delroy Lindo, Da 5 Bloods
• Gary Oldman, Mank
• Jude Law, The Nest
• Mads Mikkelsen, Another Round
• Riz Ahmed, Sound of Metal

Ryan:

• Anthony Hopkins, The Father
• Delroy Lindo, Da 5 Bloods
• Mads Mikkelsen, Another Round
• Shaun Parkes, Mangrove
• John David Washington, Tenet

Best Actress

Brendan:

• Radha Blank, The Forty-Year-Old Version
• Carrie Coon, The Nest
• Sidney Flanigan, Never Rarely Sometimes Always
• Elisabeth Moss, The Invisible Man
• Elisabeth Moss, Shirley

JD:

• Jessie Buckley, I’m Thinking of Ending Things
• Carrie Coon, The Nest
• Yeri Han, Minari
• Elisabeth Moss, The Invisible Man
• Vanessa Kirby, Pieces of a Woman

Jay:

• Carey Mulligan, Promising Young Woman
• Carrie Coon, The Nest
• Meryl Streep, Let Them All Talk
• Rachel Brosnahan, I’m Your Woman
• Vanessa Kirby, Pieces of a Woman

Ryan:

• Nicole Beharie, Miss Juneteenth
• Carrie Coon, The Nest
• Elisabeth Moss, Shirley
• Frances McDormand, Nomadland
• Carey Mulligan, Promising Young Woman

Best Actor Supporting Role

Brendan:

• Brian Dennehy, Driveways
• Orion Lee, First Cow
• Ben Mendelsohn, Babyteeth
• Leslie Odom Jr., One Night in Miami
• Paul Raci, Sound of Metal

JD:

• Brian Dennehy, Driveways
• Paul Raci, Sound of Metal
• Daniel Kaluuya, Judas and the Black Messiah
• Leslie Odom Jr., One Night in Miami
• Shia LaBeouf, Pieces of a Woman

Jay:

• Daniel Kaluuya, Judas and the Black Messiah
• Kenneth Branagh, Tenet
• Mark Rylance, The Trial of the Chicago Seven
• Orion Lee, First Cow
• Kenneth Branagh, Tenet

Ryan:

• Hugh Grant, The Gentlemen
• Daniel Kaluuya, Judas and the Black Messiah
• Malachi Kirby, Mangrove
• Bill Murray, On the Rocks
• Robert Pattinson, Tenet

Best Actress Supporting Role

Brendan:

• Jane Adams, She Dies Tomorrow
• Maria Bakalova, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
• Margo Martindale, Blow the Man Down
• Swankie, Nomadland
• Yuh-jung Youn, Minari

JD:

• Amanda Seyfried, Mank
• Candice Bergen, Let Them All Talk
• Olivia Colman, The Father
• Letitia Wright, Mangrove
• Margo Martindale, Blow The Man Down

Jay:

• Amanda Seyfried, Mank
• Candice Bergen, Let Them All Talk
• Gina Rodriguez, Kajillionaire
• Olivia Cooke, Sound of Metal
• Youn Yuh-jong, Minari

Ryan:

• Toni Collette, I’m Thinking of Ending Things
• Amanda Seyfried, Mank
• Swankie, Nomadland
• Letitia Wright, Mangrove
• Yuh-jung Youn, Minari

Best Director

Brendan:

• Kirsten Johnson, Dick Johnson Is Dead
• Darius Marder, Sound of Metal
• Steve McQueen, Lovers Rock
• Kelly Reichardt, First Cow
• Turner Ross and Bill Ross IV, Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets

JD:

• Shannon Murphy, Babyteeth
• Kelly Reichardt, First Cow
• Kirsten Johnson, Dick Johnson is Dead
• Kornél Mundruczó, Pieces of a Woman
• Steve McQueen, Lovers Rock

Jay:

• Christopher Nolan, Tenet
• Kelly Reichardt, First Cow
• Kirsten Johnson, Dick Johnson is Dead
• Sean Durkin, The Nest
• Steve McQueen, Lovers Rock

Ryan:

• Josephine Decker, Shirley
• Spike Lee, David Byrne’s American Utopia
• Kristen Johnson, Dick Johnson is Dead
• Steve McQueen, Mangrove
• Christopher Nolan, Tenet

Best Original Screenplay

Brendan:

• Radha Blank, The Forty-Year-Old Version
• Lee Isaac Chung, Minari
• Darius Marder and Abraham Marder, Sound of Metal
• Amy Seimetz, She Dies Tomorrow
• Thomas Vinterberg and Tobias Lindholm, Another Round

JD:

• Radha Blank, The Forty-Year-Old Version
• Lee Isaac Chung, Minari
• Darius Marder and Abraham Marder, Sound of Metal
• Jack Fincher, Mank
• Steve McQueen and Alastair Siddons, Mangrove

Jay:

• Julia Hart and Jordan Horowitz, I’m Your Woman
• Steve McQueen and Alastair Siddons, Mangrove
• Jack Fincher, Mank
• Darius Marder and Abraham Marder, Sound of Metal
• Sean Durkin, The Nest

Ryan:

• Steven McQueen and Alastair Siddons, Mangrove
• Jack Fincher, Mank
• Lee Isaac Chung, Minari
• Sean Durkin, The Nest
• Christopher Nolan, Tenet

Best Adapted Screenplay

Brendan:

• Sarah Gubbins, Shirley
• Rita Kalnejais, Babyteeth
• Charlie Kaufman, I’m Thinking of Ending Things
• Kemp Powers, One Night in Miami
• Steven Zaillian, The Irishman

JD:

• Rita Kalnejais, Babyteeth
• Kelly Reichardt and Jonathan Raymond, First Cow
• Charlie Kaufman, I’m Thinking of Ending Things
• Kemp Powers, One Night in Miami
• Kata Wéber, Pieces of a Woman

Jay:

• Rita Kalnejais, Babyteeth
• Kelly Reichardt and Jonathan Raymond, First Cow
• Charlie Kaufman, I’m Thinking of Ending Things
• Kemp Powers, One Night in Miami
• Sarah Gubbins, Shirley

Ryan:

• Florian Zeller, The Father
• Kelly Reichardt and Jonathan Raymond, First Cow
• Charlie Kaufman, I’m Thinking of Ending Things
• Kemp Powers, One Night in Miami
• Sarah Gubbins, Shirley

Best Cinematography

Brendan:

• Christopher Blavelt, First Cow
• Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw, The Truffle Hunters
• Mátyás Erdély, The Nest
• Shabier Kirshner, Lovers Rock
• Hoyte Van Hoytema, Tenet

JD:

• Christopher Blavelt, First Cow
• Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw, The Truffle Hunters
• Mátyás Erdély, The Nest
• Shabier Kirshner, Lovers Rock
• Joshua James Richards, Nomadland

Jay:

• Christopher Blavelt, First Cow
• Shabier Kirchner, Mangrove
• Hoyte Van Hoytema, Tenet
• Mátyás Erdély, The Nest
• Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw, The Truffle Hunters

Ryan:

• Ellen Kuras, David Byrne’s American Utopia
• Lukasz Zal, I’m Thinking of Ending Things
• Shabier Kirchner, Lovers Rock
• Mátyás Erdély, The Nest
• Hoyte Van Hoytema, Tenet

Best Documentary

Brendan:

• David Byrne’s American Utopoia
• Dick Johnson Is Dead
• The Painter and the Thief
• The Truffle Hunters
• Zappa

JD:

• Time
• Boys State
• Collective
• Dick Johnson is Dead
• The Painter and the Thief

Jay:

• David Byrne’s American Utopia
• Collective
• Dick Johnson is Dead
• Feels Good Man
• Jasper Mall

Ryan:

• David Byrne’s American Utopia
• Boys State
• Collective
• Dick Johnson is Dead
• The Painter and the Thief

Best Foreign Language Film

Brendan:

• Another Round
• Collective
• The Painter and the Thief
• A Sun
• The Truffle Hunters

JD:

• The Truffle Hunters
• Bacurau
• Another Round
• A Sun
• The Life Ahead

Jay:

• Another Round
• Bacurau
• Collective
• The Painter and the Thief
• The Truffle Hunters

Ryan:

• Another Round
• Bacurau
• Collective
• I Carry You With Me
• The Painter and the Thief

Best Animated Movie

Brendan:

• Onward
• Over the Moon
• Soul
• Wolfwalkers
• The Wolf House

JD:

• Onward
• Over the Moon
• Soul
• Wolfwalkers
• The Wolf House

Jay:

• Lupin III: The First
• Onward
• Over the Moon
• Soul
• Wolfwalkers

Ryan:

• Lupin III: The First
• Onward
• Wolfwalkers
• Soul

Best Original Score

Brendan:

• Tamar-kali, Shirley
• Emile Mosseri, Minari
• Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, and Jon Batiste, Soul
• Dan Romer and Benh Zeitlin, Wendy
• Hans Zimmer, Wonder Woman 1984

JD:

• Alexandre Desplat, The Midnight Sky
• Emile Mosseri, Minari
• Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, Mank
• Dan Romer and Benh Zeitlin, Wendy
• Howard Shore, Pieces of a Woman

Jay:

• Ludwig Goransson, Tenet
• Emile Mosseri, Minari
• Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, and Jon Batiste, Soul
• Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, Mank
• Isobel Waller-Bridge and David Schweitzer, Emma.

Ryan:

• William Tyler, First Cow
• Terence Blanchard, Da 5 Bloods
• Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, Mank
• Emile Mosseri, Minari
• Ludwig Goransson, Tenet

Best Use of Soundtrack Music (Doesn’t have to be original. Closing and Opening credits count)

Brendan:

• “Purify” by Olivia Cooke and Riz Ahmed, Sound of Metal
• “Green” by Abraham Marder, Sound of Metal
• “Speak Now” by Leslie Odom Jr., One Night in Miami
• “Identical” by Phoenix, On the Rocks
• “Staring at a Mountain” by Sharon Van Etten, Never Rarely Sometimes Always

JD:

• “Running With the Wolves” by Aurora, Wolfwalkers
• “Born To Die” by Kelly Clarkson, Trolls World Tour
• “Speak Now” by Leslie Odom Jr., One Night in Miami
• “Kunta Kinte Dub” by The Revolutionaries, Lovers Rock
• “What a Life” by Scarlet Pleasure, Another Round

Jay:

• “Don’t Leave Me This Way” by The Communards, The Nest
• “In This World” by Moby, Bad Education
• “Kung Fu Fighting” by Carl Douglas, Lovers Rock
• “Stars Are Blind” by Paris Hilton, Promising Young Woman
• “What a Life” by Scarlet Pleasure, Another Round

Ryan:

• “Everybody’s Coming to My House” by David Byrne, David Bryne’s American Utopia
• “Wuhan Flu Song” by Sacha Baron Cohen, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
• “Don’t Leave Me This Way” by Thelma Houston, The Nest
• “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by Ethan Hawke, Tesla
• “What a Life” by Scarlet Pleasure, Another Round

Best Opening/Closing Credits Sequence or Scene

Brendan:

• Babyteeth (Closing credits)
• David Byrne’s American Utopia (Closing credits)
• Driveways (Closing credits)
• Feels Good Man (Closing credits)
• Shirley (Closing credits)

JD:

• Pieces of a Woman (Opening)
• Babyteeth (Closing)
• Sound of Metal (Closing)
• Another Round (Closing)
• Blow the Man Down (Opening)

Jay:

• David Byrne’s American Utopia (Closing credits)
• Babyteeth (Closing credits)
• I’m Thinking of Ending Things (Closing credits)
• Mank (Opening credits)
• You Cannot Kill David Arquette (Opening credits)

Ryan:

• One Night in Miami (Closing)
• Another Round (Closing)
• Shirley (Closing)
• Minari (Closing)
• Tenet (Opening)

Best Overlooked Movie

Brendan:

• Driveways
• The Forty-Year-Old Version
• My Octopus Teacher
• The Wolf House
• Zappa

JD:

• Kajillionaire
• The Painter and the Thief
• The Trip to Greece
• Driveways
• The Forty-Year-Old Version

Jay:

• Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets
• I’m Your Woman
• Jasper Mall
• The Nest
• You Cannot Kill David Arquette

Ryan:

• Babyteeth
• Buffaloed
• Driveways
• Saint Frances
• Swallow

Best Surprise Movie

Brendan:

• Bad Boys for Life
• Enola Holmes
• The Invisible Man
• Wendy
• Wonder Woman 1984

JD:

• Bad Boys For Life
• Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
• The Vast of Night
• Palm Springs
• My Octopus Teacher

Jay:

• Babyteeth
• Capone
• Sound of Metal
• Tenet
• Unhinged

Ryan:

• Capone
• The Gentlemen
• Onward
• Let Them All Talk
• She Dies Tomorrow

Best Surprise Actor/Actress

Brendan:

• Bo Burnham, Promising Young Woman
• Will Patton, Minari
• Aubrey Plaza, Black Bear
• Eddie Redmayne, The Trial of the Chicago 7
• David Thewlis, I’m Thinking of Ending Things

JD:

• Evan Rachel Wood, Kajillionaire
• Margo Martindale, Blow the Man Down
• Pedro Pascal, Wonder Woman 1984
• Eli Goree, One Night in Miami
• John Magaro, First Cow

Jay:

• Aubrey Plaza, Happiest Season
• Ben Affleck, The Way Back
• Bo Burnham, Promising Young Woman
• Eddie Redmayne, The Trial of the Chicago Seven
• Eliza Scanlen, Babyteeth

Ryan:

• Lily Collins, Mank
• Pete Davidson, Big Time Adolescence
• Mark Rylance, The Trial of the Chicago 7
• Andy Samberg, Palm Springs
• Meryl Streep, Let Them All Talk

Best Movie Discovery

Brendan:

• Radha Blank – Actress, Writer, Director The Forty-Year-Old Version
• Lee Isaac Chung – Director, Minari
• Sidney Flanigan – Actress, Never Rarely Sometimes Always
• Orion Lee – Actor, First Cow
• Darius Marder – Director, Sound of Metal

JD:

• Shannon Murphy – Director, Babyteeth
• Lee Isaac Chung – Director, Minari
• Kingsley Ben-Adir – Actor, One Night in Miami
• Maria Bakalova – Actress, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
• Radha Blank – Director, The Forty-Year-Old Version

Jay:

• Lee Issac Chung – Director, Minari
• Maria Bakalova – Actress, Borat Subsequent Moveifilm 
• Meek Mill – Actor, Charm City Kings
• Radha Blank – Director, The Forty-Year-Old Version
• Shannon Murphy – Director, Babyteeth

Ryan:

• Kingsley Ben Adir – Actor, One Night in Miami
• Nicole Beharie – Actress, Miss Juneteenth
• Maria Bakalova – Actress, Borat Subsequent Moveifilm 
• Lee Isaac Chung – Director, Minari
• Johnny Flynn – Actor, Emma

JD’s Individual Special Awards

Best Individual Score Track

• “Straigh On Till Mornin” – Dan Romer and Ben Zeitlin (Wendy)
• “Themyscira” – Hans Zimmer (Wonder Woman 1984)
• “The Midnight Sky” – Alexandre Desplat (The Midnight Sky)
• “Pieces of a Woman” – Howard Shore (Pieces of a Woman)
• “A Fool’s Paradise” – Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (Mank)
• “Born to Play” – Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross and Jon Batiste (Soul)

Best Poster

• Pieces of a Woman
• Kajillionaire
• Da 5 Bloods
• Promising Young Woman
• The Painter and the Thief

Best Editing

• Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
• Wander Darkly
• Lovers Rock
• Babyteeth
• The Father

Best Production Design

• Tenet
• Dick Johnson Is Dead
• Mank
• First Cow
• Mangrove

Best Directorial Debut

• Radha Blank – The Forty-Year-Old Version
• Darius Marder – Sound of Metal
• Regina King – One Night in Miami
• Shannon Murphy – Babyteeth
• Florian Zeller – The Father

Best Sound Design

• Sound of Metal

Best Movie Name

• Old Dolio – Kajillionaire

Brendan’s Individual Special Awards

Best Performance by a Non-Human, aka “Cheddar Goblin” Award

• Pepe the Frog, Feels Good Man
• Evie the cow, First Cow
• Richmond the horse, The Nest
• The octopus, My Octopus Teacher
• ALL the dogs, The Truffle Hunters

Foodie Award

• Egg sandwich, Birds of Prey
• Oily Cakes, First Cow
• Caribbean cuisine, Mangrove
• Pizza, Soul
• Every meal, The Trip to Greece
• Fried egg with fondue and truffles, The Truffle Hunters

Dementia Movies that Made Us Most Want to Forget 2020

• Dick Johnson Is Dead
• The Father
• Relic

Best Dance Scene

• The ending, Another Round
• “Silly Games”, Lovers Rock
• Nightclub, The Nest
• End credits, Shirley
• Dancing in the RV, Sound of Metal

Best Use of Sound

• Sound of Metal
• Sound of Metal
• Sound of Metal
• Sound of Metal
• Sound of Metal

Jay’s Individual Special Awards

Best Movie Food

• Oily Cakes, First Cow
• Thumb tacks, Swallow
• Egg sandwich, Birds of Prey

Cinema Animal of the Year

• Eve the Cow, First Cow
• The dogs, The Truffle Hunters
• The bear, Black Bear

Movie I Most Want to Live In

• On the Rocks
• Let Them All Talk
• Lovers Rock

Cinematic Beverage of the Year

• Mountain Dew, Minari*
• Urine, Minari*

*Tie

The Retire Please Award for Great Directors Who Have Completely Lost It

• Robert Zemeckis

Movie That Most Reminded You of the World Crumbling Around You

• Never Rarely Sometimes Always
• Collective
• Feels Good Man
• Boys State
• Collective

Best Movie to Watch With Your Dad

• News of the World
  The Way Back
  7500
  Greyhound

Ryan’s Individual Special Awards

2020 Taking One for the Team Award

• Jay for rewatching Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

2020 Best Jay Intro

• Buffaloed
• Emma
• Tigertail
• Magnolia
• Relic
• Summerland
• Let Them All Talk

2020 Best Use of Podcast Profanity

• Erik Anderson on Chasing the Gold
• Joey Gentile on Chasing the Gold
• JD and Brednan, Tenet Intro Clip Set-Up
• Ryan and Jay, Planes, Trains and Automobiles Clip Set-Up

2020 Worst Cinema Logic

• Steve Trevor Returning, Wonder Woman 1984
• The LA Film Critics thinking Small Axe is one movie
• The Ending to Summerland
• The whole movie, The Last Thing He Wanted
• Any studio willing to give Behn Zeitlin money to make any more movies

Best Movie Trailer

• Judas and the Black Messiah

2020 Cultural Icons

• Yaya Ding Dong, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
• Mamaw, Hillbilly Elegy
• Al Capone’s Bed Sheets, Capone
• Temporal Pinsire Movements, Tenet

Well, that’s it for our 2020 InSession Film Awards! Hopefully, you all enjoyed our nominations and winners. If you agree or disagree with us, let us know in the comment section below. We would love to hear how your nominations and winners would vary from our picks above. You can also email your selections to us at [email protected] or follow us on social media.

To hear our Top 10 Movies of 2020, listen to Part 2 of Episode 413!