15th Annual Halfway Award Winners

Best Picture

Winner - Past Lives

Runners Up - Air, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, You Hurt My Feelings

Commentary - I love an excellent film debut, and almost every year, there is a new director that breathes life into the art of film. This year's stunning debut is Celine Song's Past Lives, which is now getting a tremendous amount early, and deserved, Oscar buzz. Song's swooning, heartfelt tale of past love, of the melancholy of life, and the difficulty of relationships. It is a beautiful, haunting, and exquisitely told tale of humanity that, when 2023 comes to a close, I feel will be remembered as one of the year's best. 

Best Director

Winner - Celine Song “Past Lives”

Runners Up - Ben Affleck “Air”, Wes Anderson "Asteroid City", Kelly Reichardt “Showing Up”, Nicole Holofcener “You Hurt My Feelings”

Commentary - See Best Picture

Best Actor

Winner - Matt Damon “Air”

Runners Up - Christopher Abbott "Sanctuary" and Teo Yoo “Past Lives”

Commentary - I really liked Air, and I think a lot of the reason was Matt Damon's performance as Sonny Vaccaro. Quietly, and with his usual Matt Damon charm, he creates a character that lifts the film with humor and a career-best monologue. 

Best Actress

Winner - Joanna Scanlan “After Love”

Runners Up - Greta Lee “Past Lives”, Julia Louis-Dreyfus “You Hurt My Feelings”, Teyana Taylor “A Thousand and One”

Commentary - In an upset a few years ago, Joanna Scanlan won a well-deserved BAFTA for her performance in After Love. Finally, in 2023, the film has hit American theaters, and we are finally able to see this brilliant career-defining performance from a beloved British veteran. She is simply jaw-dropping in the film, and was absolutely worthy of that upset victory. 

Best Supporting Actor

Winner - John Magaro "Past Lives"

Runners Up - Ben Affleck “Air”, Glenn Howerton "BlackBerry", Chris Messina "Air"

Commentary - John Magaro has quickly been building up a great indie resume, and may finally have the breakthrough performance that launches him into the mainstream conscious of American film. His character has a surface persona, and a much deeper one, and as the films plays out, we get to see nuance, depth, and a deeply felt dramatic performance that is quietly one of the best of the year so far. 

Best Supporting Actress

Winner - Viola Davis “Air”

Runners Up - Rachel McAdams "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret." and Michaela Watkins “You Hurt My Feelings”

Commentary - Apparently one of the caveats that Michael Jordan laid out in order to sign off on the creation of Air was that Viola Davis play his mother. Michael Jordan knew that he needed an actress with the bravura and strength to play his beloved mother Deloris, and Viola Davis did not disappoint. In her few scenes in the film, she brings the passion, the pride, the protectiveness and the savvy business mind that made Deloris Jordan, a game changer. Michael may have been the king of the court, but he was not the only Jordan who changed sports forever. Viola Davis understood the assignment, and per usual, she knocked it out of the park. 

Best Screenplay

Winner - Nicole Holofcener “You Hurt My Feelings”

Runners Up - Alex Convery “Air”, Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola "Asteroid City", Celine Song “Past Lives”

Commentary - Nicole Holofcener's latest perfectly fits into her quirky, funny, film legacy about ordinary people who go through bumps in the road. A perfect pairing of Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Tobias Menzies, and some great supporting characters, especially Michaela Watkins, help highlight a funny, honest, self-deferential script that was a great comedy for adults, and further proof that Holofcener is one of this generations best screenwriters and her films need to be seen by more people. 

Best Ensemble

Winner - Asteroid City

Runners Up - Air,  Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret., You Hurt My Feelings

Commentary - Wes Anderson's latest may not hold up as his best, but you can always count on him to assemble an A-list roster for his films, and Asteroid City was no different.

Best Animated Feature

Winner - Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Runners Up - Nioma and Suzume

Commentary - It's been too long since an Animated Film crashed the Best Picture race. Some pundits think that this year, the streak might be over with Across the Spider-Verse, the stunning sequel to an Oscar-winning film that is winning over everyone with its stunning visuals, emotional storyline, and jaw-dropping humanity.