San Francisco Critics Name ‘Spotlight’ Best Picture

The San Francisco Film Critics Circle has named Spotlight the best picture of the year, the fact-based journalism drama, which follows a group of Boston Globe reporters as they expose sexual abuse within the Catholic Church.

The group, upon voting Sunday, also hailed Brooklyn’s Saoirse Ronan and Love & Mercy’s Paul Dano in the lead acting categories, and 99 Homes’ Michael Shannon and Tangerine’s Mya Taylor in the supporting acting categories.

Additionally, the critics awarded the best director honor to Max Max: Fury Road’s George Miller, and celebrated the screenplays of Brooklyn and Love & Mercy.

A list of the announced winners follows:

Best Picture: Spotlight

Best Director: George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Actor: Paul Dano, Love & Mercy

Best Actress: Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn

Best Supporting Actor: Michael Shannon, 99 Homes

Best Supporting Actress: Mya Taylor, Tangerine

Best Screenplay, Original: Love & Mercy, Oren Moverman and Michael Alan Lerner

Best Screenplay, Adapted: Brooklyn, Nick Hornby

Best Cinematography: Mad Max: Fury Road, John Seale

Best Production Design: Carol, Judy Becker and Heather Loeffler

Best Film Editing: Mad Max: Fury Road, Margaret Sixel

Best Animated Feature: Anomalisa

Best Foreign Language Picture: Son of Saul

Best Documentary: Listen to Me Marlon

Marlon Riggs Award: Frank Lee

Special Citation for under-appreciated independent cinema: The Forbidden Room