By Creative Media Times

A24

This has been a major week for award contenders that saw “Get Out” and “Call Me by Your Name” taking top honors at the Gotham Awards and “The Post” at National Board of Review. On Thursday it was NYFCC’s turn to give their take on the 2017’s best films as leading contenders are starting to take shape.

Writer-director Greta Gerwig’s “Lady Bird” from A24 was the big winner at the Thursday’s New York Film Critics Circle (NYFCC) Thursday. The film was named best film of 2017 while its star Saoirse Ronan earn best actress. This is a major boost to “Lady Bird”, with NYFCC being the first organization of film critics to bestow their year-end film accolades.

Independent entertainment company A24 was well represented as its comedy-drama film “The Florida Project” also received best director and best supporting actor wins for Sean Baker and Willem Dafoe respectively.

Though histrionically a solid harbinger for the awards season, it remains to be seen how this year’s NYFCC will align with the Oscars. Last year’s top prize went to La La Land, which eventually lost Barry Jenkins’s Moonlight at the Oscars.

The New York Film Critics Circle was founded in 1935, making it the oldest running in the US. With a membership count of over 30 film critics from New York-based daily and weekly newspapers, magazines, online publications, it is also one of the most prestigious. This year’s gala awards dinner will be held on January 3, 2018 and will be dedicated to the memory of Richard Schickel.

To see the full list of winners, go to nyfcc.com