List: 2021 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:

• Nicolas Cage, Pig
• Benedict Cumberbatch, The Power of the Dog
• Peter Dinklage, Cyrano
• Hidetoshi Nishijima, Drive My Car
• Simon Rex, Red Rocket

JD:

• Adam Driver, Annette
• Nicolas Cage, Pig
• Benedict Cumberbatch, The Power of the Dog
• Winston Duke, Nine Days
• Peter Dinklage, Cyrano

Jay:

• Peter Dinklage – Cyrano
• Winston Duke – Nine Days
• Oscar Isaac – The Card Counter
• Simon Rex – Red Rocket
• Denzel Washington – The Tragedy of Macbeth

Ryan:

• Nicolas Cage, Pig
• Benedict Cumberbatch, The Power of the Dog
• Peter Dinklage, Cyrano
• Hidetoshi Nishijima, Drive My Car
• Joaquin Phoenix, C’mon C’mon

Best Actress

Brendan:

• Virginie Efira, Benedetta
• Isabelle Fuhrman, The Novice
• Alana Haim, Licorice Pizza
• Rebecca Hall, The Night House
• Renate Reinsve, The Worst Person in the World

JD:

• Jodie Comer, The Last Duel
• Alana Haim, Licorice Pizza
• Renate Reinsve, The Worst Person in the World
• Penélope Cruz, Parallel Mothers
• Kristen Stewart, Spencer

Jay:

• Jodie Comer – The Last Duel
• Virginie Efira – Benedetta
• Alana Haim – Licorice Pizza
• Riley Keough – Zola
• Renate Reinsve – Worst Person In the World

Ryan:

• Agatha Rousselle, Titane
  
• Alan Haim, Licorice Pizza
• Virginie Efria, Benedetta
• Tessa Thompson, Passing
• Isabel Fuhrman, The Novice

Best Actor Supporting Role

Brendan:

• Anders Denielson Lie, The Worst Person in the World
• Colman Domingo, Zola
• Corey Hawkins, The Tragedy of Macbeth
• Jason Isaacs, Mass
• Jeffrey Wright, The French Dispatch

JD:

• Jeffrey Wright, The French Dispatch
• Vincent Lindon, Titane
• Jason Isaacs, Mass
• Troy Kotsur, CODA
• Anders Denielson Lie, The Worst Person in the World

Jay:

• Bradley Cooper – Licorice Pizza
• Anders Danielsen Lie – Worst Person
• Benicio Del Toro – The French Dispatch
• Colman Domingo – Zola
• Mike Faist – West Side Story

Ryan:

• Bradley Cooper, Licorice Pizza
• Vincent London, Titane
• Jason Isaacs, Mass
• Alex Wolff, Pig
  
• Jeffery Wright, The French Dispatch

Best Actress Supporting Role

Brendan:

• Jessie Buckley, The Lost Daughter
• Ariana DeBose, West Side Story
• Devyn McDowell, Annette
• Martha Plimpton, Mass
• Mia Wasikowska, Bergman Island

JD:

• Ariana Debose, West Side Story
• Ruth Negga, Passing
• Kirsten Dunst, The Power of the Dog
• Caitriona Balfe, Belfast
• Jessie Buckley, The Lost Daughter

Jay:

• Catriona Balfe – Belfast
• Ariana DeBose – West Side Story
• Kirsten Dunst – Power of the Dog
• Gaby Hoffman – C’mon C’mon
• Kathryn Hunter – The Tragedy of Macbeth

Ryan:

• Rebecca Ferguson, Dune
• Martha Plimpton, Mass
  
• Olga Merediz, In the Heights
• Ana De Armas, No Time to Die
• Reika Kirishima, Drive My Car

Best Director

Brendan:

• Paul Thomas Anderson, Licorice Pizza
• Sean Baker, Red Rocket
• Celine Sciamma, Petite Maman
• Steven Spielberg, West Side Story
• Joachim Trier, The Worst Person in the World

JD:

• Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog
• Paul Thomas Anderson, Licorice Pizza
• Leos Carax, Annette
• David Lowery, The Green Knight
• Denis Villenueve, Dune

Jay:

• Paul Thomas Anderson – Licorice Pizza
• Jane Campion – The Power of the Dog
• Steven Spielberg – West Side Story
• Joachim Trier – The Worst Person in the World
• Lana Wachowski – The Matrix Resurrections

Ryan:

• David Lowery, The Green Knight
• Paul Thomas Anderson, Licorice Pizza
• Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog
• Julia Ducournau, Titane
• Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Drive My Car

Best Original Screenplay

Brendan:

• Ron Mael and Russell Mael, Annette
• Annie Mumolo and Kristen Wiig, Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar
• Mike Mills, C’mon C’mon
• Celine Sciamma, Petite Maman
• Vanessa Block and Michael Sarnoski, Pig

JD:

• Paul Thomas Anderson, Licorice Pizza
• Joachim Trier and Eskil Vogt, The Worst Person in the World
• Mike Mills, C’mon C’mon
• Kenneth Branagh, Belast
• Edson Oda, Nine Days

Jay:

• Kristin Wiig and Annie Mumolo – Barb and Star Go to Vista del Mar
• Paul Schrader – The Card Counter
• Paul Thomas Anderson – Licorice Pizza
• Céline Sciamma – Petite Maman
• Eskil Vogt and Joachim Trier – The Worst Person in the World

Ryan:

• Asghar Farhadi, A Hero
• Paul Thomas Anderson, Licorice Pizza
  
• Mike Mills, C’mon C’mon
• Fran Kranz, Mass
• Wes Anderson, The French Dispatch

Best Adapted Screenplay

Brendan:

• Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Drive My Car
• Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, and Nicole Holofcener, The Last Duel
• Lana Wachowski, David Mitchell, and Aleksander Hemon, The Matrix Resurrections
• Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog
• Janicza Bravo and Jeremy O. Harris, Zola

JD:

• Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog
• Ryusuke Hamaguchi and Takamase Oe, Drive My Car
• Sian Heder, CODA
• Nicole Holofcener, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, The Last Duel
• David Lowery, The Green Knight

Jay:

• David Birke and Paul Verhoeven – Benedetta
• Ryusuke Hamaguchi – Drive My Car
• Nicole Holofcener, Ben Affleck, and Matt Damon – The Last Duel
• Maggie Gyllenhaal – The Lost Daughter
• Jane Campion – The Power of the Dog

Ryan:

• Nicole Holofcener, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, The Last Duel
• Ryusuke Hamaguchi and Takamase Oe, Drive My Car
• Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog
• David Birke; Paul Verhoeven, Benedetta
• James McTeigue, Lana Wachowski, Grant Hill, The Matrix Resurrections

Best Cinematography

Brendan:

• Andrew Droz Palermo, The Green Knight
• Viktor Kosakovskiy and Egil Haskjold Larsen, Gunda
• Bruno Delbonnel, The Tragedy of Macbeth
• Janusz Kaminski, West Side Story
• Ari Wagner, The Power of the Dog

JD:

• Haris Zambarloukos, Belfast
• Claire Mathon, Spencer
• Andrew Droz Palermo, The Green Knight
• Bruno Delbonnel, The Tragedy of Macbeth
• Greg Fraser, Dune

Jay:

• Andrew Droz Palermo, The Green Knight
• Mike Gioulakis, Old
• Ari Wegner, The Power of the Dog 
• Bruno Delbonnel, The Tragedy of Macbeth 
• Janusz Kaminski, West Side Story

Ryan:

• Claire Mathon, Petite Maman
• Andrew Droz Palermo, The Green Knight
• Ari Wegner, The Power of the Dog
• Bruno Delbonnel, The Tragedy of Macbeth
• Michael Gioulakis, Old

Best Documentary

Brendan:

• Derek DelGaudio’s In & of Itself
• Flee
• Gunda
• The Sparks Brothers
• Summer of Soul (…or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)

JD:

• Flee
• Summer of Soul
• Procession
• Inside
• In and Of Itself

Jay:

• Bo Burnham: Inside
• Flee
• Some Kind of Heaven
• The Sparks Brothers
• The Velvet Underground

Ryan:

• Some Kind of Heaven
• Summer of Soul
• In and Of Itself
• Inside
• Val

Best Foreign Language Film

Brendan:

• Drive My Car
• A Hero
• Petite Maman
• Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy
• The Worst Person in the World

JD:

• The Worst Person of the World
• Petite Maman
• Drive My Car
• A Hero
• Lamb

Jay:

• Benedetta
• Drive My Car
• A Hero
• Titane
• The Worst Person in the World

Ryan:

• A Hero
• Benedetta
• Drive My Car
• Titane
• Petite Maman

Best Animated Movie

Brendan:

• Encanto
• Flee
• Luca
• The Mitchells vs. The Machines
• The Summit of the Gods

JD:

• Encanto
• The Summit of the Gods
• The Mithcells vs the Machines
• Luca
• Raya and the Last Dragon

Jay:

• Encanto
• Flee
• Luca
• The Mitchells vs The Machines
• The Summit of the Gods

Ryan:

• Mitchells vs the Machines
  
• Luca
• Encanto
• Flee
• Vivo

Best Original Score

Brendan:

• Carter Burwell, The Tragedy of Macbeth
• Jonny Greenwood, The Power of the Dog
• Daniel Hart, The Green Knight
• Dan Romer, Luca
• Hans Zimmer, Dune

JD:

• Hans Zimmer, Dune
• Bryce Dessner and Aaron Dessner, Cyrano
• Johnny Greenwood, Spencer
• Dan Romer, Luca
• Antonio Pinto, Nine Days

Jay:

• Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe, Candyman
• Daniel Hart, The Green Knight 
• Antonio Pinto, Nine Days 
• Alex Weston, The Novice
• Johnny Greenwood, Spencer

Ryan:

• Johnny Greenwood, The Power of the Dog
• Johnny Greenwood, Spencer
• Bryce Dessner and Aaron Dessner, C’mon C’mon
• Daniel Hart, The Green Knight
• Antonio Pinto, Nine Days

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

Brendan:

• “The Winner Takes It All” by ABBA, Bergman Island
• “The Calvary Cross” by Richard & Linda Thompason, The Night House
• “La Musique du Futur” by Para One, Petite Maman
• “I’m on Fire” by Cassandra Violet, Pig
• “Bye Bye Bye” by Suzanna Son, Red Rocket

JD:

• “Sympathy for the Abyss” by Sparks, Annette
• “Wherever I Fall – Part 1″ by Bryce Dessner and Aaron Dessner, Cyrano
• “All Eyes On Me” by Bo Burnham, Inside
• “Both Sides Now” by Emilia Jones, CODA
• “Bye Bye Bye” by Suzanna Son, Red Rocket

Jay:

• “Light House” by Future Islands, Titane
• “The Winner Takes It All” by ABBA, Bergman Island
• “Everlasting Love” by Love Affair, Belfast
• “Hannah Montana” by Migos, Zola
• “White Rabbit” by Jefferson Airplane, The Matrix Resurrections

Ryan:

• “Wherever I Fall – Part 1″ by Bryce Dessner and Aaron Dessner, Cyrano
• “96,000” by Lin-Manuel Miranda, In the Heights
• “Let Me Roll It” by Wings, Licorice Pizza
• “Bloom Sweet Lily Flower” by Daniel Hart, The Green Knight
• “Edgar’s Prayer” by Jamie Dornan, Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar

Best Opening/Closing Credits Sequence or Scene

Brendan:

• Belfast (Opening credits)
• Drive My Car (Opening credits)
• The Green Knight (Opening credits)
• Parallel Mothers (Opening credits)
• Red Rocket (Openingcredits)

JD:

• Drive My Car (Opening)
• Titane (Closing)
• Pig (Closing)
• Luca (Closing)
• Annette (Opening)

Jay:

• Annette (Opening)
• Red Rocket (Opening)
• The Green Knight (Closing)
• The Card Counter (Opening)
• West Side Story (Opening)

Ryan:

• Drive My Car (Opening)
• Dune (Closing)
• Language Lessons (Closing)
• Luca (Closing)
• Annette (Closing)

Best Overlooked Movie

Brendan:

• The Night House
• Derek DelGaudio’s In & of Itself
• The Summit of the Gods
• Together Together
• Undine

JD:

• Bergman Island
• Lamb
• In and Of Itself
• The Novice
• The French Dispatch

Jay:

• Crimes and Penalties
• Finch
• Some Kind of Heaven
• Stillwater
• Wrath of Man

Ryan:

• Bergman Island
• In and Of Itself
  
• The Novice
• No Sudden Move
• Riders of Justice

Best Surprise Movie

Brendan:

• Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar
• Benedetta
• The Matrix Resurrections
• Old
• West Side Story

JD:

• Venon: Let There Be Carnage
• Barb and Star Go To Vista Del Mar
• The Last Duel
• Malignant
• Spider-Man: No Way Home

Jay:

• The Dig
• House of Gucci
• The Mitchells vs The Machines
• The Novice
• A Quiet Place Part II

Ryan:

• The Last Duel
• Old
• Old Henry
• Snyder Cut
  
• West Side Story

Best Surprise Actor/Actress

Brendan:

• Bo Burnham, Inside
• Jamie Dornan, Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar
• Simon Rex, Red Rocket
• Jason Statham, Wrath of Man
• Lambert Wilson, The Matrix Resurrections

JD:

• Willem Dafoe, Spider-Man: No Way Home
• Simon Rex, Red Rocket
• Jack Dylan Grazer, Luca
• Isabell Fuhrman, The Novice
• Devyn McDowell, Annette

Jay:

• Jamie Dornan, Barb and Star Go to Vista del Mar
• Isabelle Fuhrman, The Novice
• Simon Helberg, Annette
• Jessica Henwick, The Matrix Resurrections
• Simon Rex, Red Rocket

Ryan:

• Cooper Hoffman, Licorice Pizza
• Isabel Fuhrman, The Novice
• Jonathan Groff, The Matrix Resurrections
• Rami Malek, No Time to Die
• Simon Rex, Red Rocket

Best Movie Discovery

Brendan:

• Lauren Hadaway – Director, The Novice
• Cooper Hoffman – Actor, Licorice Pizza
• Devyn McDowell – Actress, Annette
• Renate Reinsve – Actress, The Worst Person in the World
• Michael Sarnoski – Director, Pig

JD:

• Edson Oda – Director, Nine Days
• Lauren Hadaway – Director, The Novice
• Woody Norman – Actor, C’mon C’mon
• Emilia Jones – Actress, CODA
• Bryce Dessner and Aaron Dessner – Composers, Jockey, C’mon C’mon, Cyrano

Jay:

• Virginie Efira, Benedetta
• Lauren Hadaway, The Novice
• Lance Oppenheim, Some Kind of Heaven
• Renate Rensve, The Worst Person in the World
• Rachel Zegler, West Side Story

Ryan:

• Woody Norman – Actor, C’mon C’mon
• Emilia Jones – Actress, CODA
• Saniyya Sidney- Actress,  King Richard
• Rachel Zegler- Actress, West Side Story
• Ryusuke Hanaguci- Director, Drive My Car

JD’s Individual Special Awards

Best Individual Score Track

• “Go Find Out For Me” – Dan Romer (Luca)
• “Final Ascent” – Hans Zimmer (No Time to Die)
• “My Heart” – Para One (Petite Maman)
• “Forget Me Knots” – Michael Giacchino (Spider-Man: No Way Home)
• “10327 Days of Life” – Antonio Pinto (Nine Days)
• “I Love You” – Aaron Dessner and Bryce Dessner (Cyrano)

Best Musical Number (Not Nominated for Best Use of Song)

• “Problematic” – Inside
• “Every Letter” – Cyrano
• “We Love Each Other So Much” – Annette
• “In the Heights” – In the Heights
• “30/90” – Tick…Tick…Boom!

Best, And Most Weird, Metaphysical Character

• Little Ada – Lamb
• Baby Annette – Annette
• Green Knight – The Green Knight
• Gabriel – Malignant
• Cadillac Lowrider – Titane

Best Poster

• Lamb
• The Green Knight
• The French Dispatch
• Spencher
• Annette

Best Editing

• The Power of the Dog
• Annette
• Drive My Car
• The Worst Person in the World
• Dune

Best Production Design

• The Power of the Dog
• Annette
• Dune
• The Green Knight
• The Tragedy of Macbeth

Best Sound Design

• Annette
• The Green Knight
• The Tragedy of Macbeth
• Dune
• The Last Duel

Best Directorial Debut

• Edson Oda – Nine Days
• Valdimar Johansson – Lamb
• Lauren Hadaway – The Novice
• Michael Sarnoski – Pig
• Clint Bently – Jockey
• Maggie Gyllenhaal – The Lost Daughter

Best Movie Discovery (Runner-Ups)

• Anders Thomas Jensen – Riders of Justice
• Fernanda Valadez – Identifying Features
• Jude Hill – Belfast
• Simon Stone – The Dig
• Shatara Michelle Ford – Test Pattern

Best Foreign Language Film (Runner-Ups)

• Ema
• Identifying Features
• Parallel Mothers
• Undine
• This Is Not A Burial, It’s A Resurrection

Brendan’s Individual Special Awards

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

• Brandy the pig, Pig
• Gunda the pig, Gunda
• The “Morgan Freeman” crab, Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar
• Gabriel, Malignant
• The Cyclops baby, Nightmare Alley

Existenial Crisis Moment

• Priest chugs bottle of wine having lost his faith, About Endlessness
• The whole goddamn film, Bo Burnham: Inside
• Final scene, Gunda
• Will’s final monologue, Nine Days
• Stopping time, The Worst Person in the World

Best Spit-Take Moment

• Henry McHenry’s comedy routine, Annette
• The “Virgin Sexy” object, Benedetta
• Simon Rex’s junk swinging to “Bye Bye Bye”, Red Rocket
• “Automobile love”, Titane
• Magic mushrooms, The Worst Person in the World

Jay’s Individual Special Awards

Most Make or Break, Jarring, Divisive Cinematic Decision of the Year

• The cinematography in the Abu Ghraib sequence in The Card Counter
• The ending of No Time to Die
• Jared Leto’s performance in House of Gucci
• Age gaps – people were really obsessed with age gaps this year

Inanimate Object of the Year

• The Virgin Mary statue – Benedetta
• Rope – The Power of the Dog
• Water beds – Licorice Pizza

Best Doubleheader of the Year

• Malignant

Hottest Movie Couple of the Year

• Ikaris and Sersi played by Richard Madden and Gemma Chan 
• Lady Jessica and Duke Atreides in Dune 
• Janis and Ana played by Penelope Cruz and Milena Smit in Parallel Mothers 
• Ma and Pa played by Catriona Balfe and Jamie Dornan in Belfast 

Movie Animal of the Year 

• Brandy the Pig – Pig
• The lamb with the cute little jackets – Lamb
• Goodyear the Dog – Finch

The “Why weren’t they in more of the movie?” Award 

• Ana de Armas – No Time to Die
• Elisabeth Moss – The French Dispatch
• Andy Garcia – Bard and STar Go to Vista del Mar

The “Retire Please” Award for Directors Who Have Lost It (AKA The Zemeckis)

• George Clooney

The JD Award for Movie That Made Me Cry the Most in 2021

• C’mon C’mon
• Finch
• Petite Maman

Thing I Enjoyed Most About 2021 in Movies

• The return of honest-to-God craft in movies musicals
• The onslaught of fantastic films in the last quarter of the year
• Falling back in love with movie theaters

Ryan’s Individual Special Awards

2021 Taking One for the Team Award

• Anyone who had to watch Jungle Cruise

2021 Best Jay Intro

• Cruella
• Nine Days
• Titane
• The Ring
• Shiva Baby
• Zola

2021 Best Podcast Line

• “4K Titties” Erik Anderson, Mulholland Drive Episode

2021 Movie Series of the Year

• Terrence Malik
• Michael Mann
• Spike Lee
  
• David Lynch
• Billy Wilder

2021 Best Cinematic Vehicle

• Red Car in Drive My Car
• The Moving Truck in Licorice Pizza
• Astin Martin in No Time to Die
• Family Station Wagon- The Mitchells vs the Machines
  
• Cadillac in Titane

2021 Best Movie Trailer

• The Matrix Resurrections

2021 Cultural Icons

• Baby Annette, Annette
• Bronco Henry, The Power of the Dog
• Clifford, Clifford the Big Red Dog
• Gabriel, Malignant
• Sand Worms, Dune
• Palo Gucci, House of Gucci
• Notorious PIG, Space Jam: A New Legacy
• Mid Size Sudan, Old
• Trish, Barb and Star Go To Vista Del Mar

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!