The British Film Bloggers Circle Awards Nominations 2013

Last year, Martyn Conterio from ace film site Cinemart and myself decided to ask a few British film bloggers to vote for our very own film awards, as an alternative to the Oscars and other Baftas which, in our modest opinion, lacked thrills and originality. And while last year results ended up a little too close to the Oscars for my liking (at least Drive won best film!), we decided to give it a go once again, with a growing number of participants. And we have now a list of nominations below, but a few comments first.

Before all, I must insist that there is no pretension involved in this whatsoever. Our aim is not to declare our tastes "better than the Oscars" and we have no illusion concerning their reach and importance. We are just a bunch of bloggers who love cinema, and who wanted to officially tell those who made our cinema year of 2012 that we love them. And then if we encourage even a handful of readers to discover a few films they might have missed, then all the better for it.

As I said, last year I was a little disappointed with the nominations, but no such thing this year. I will not reveal what my votes where, but there is a wonderful eclecticism, a testament to the wide ranging passion of cinema of all those involved. Take the best director category: from Joss Whedon to Miguel Gomes! How about best film: from The Dark Knight Rises to Holy Motors! 

And what about the acting categories: Matthew McConaughey, scandalously forgotten by other awards, get a rightful nod for Killer Joe. What a pleasant surprise also to see AnnaLynne McCord's work in Excision acknowledged within our modest scale. And nice to see Cosmopolis recognised, even if I was not its biggest fan (read: I fell alseep at its 8am first screening in Cannes). Plus at least Berberian Sound Studio finds its rightful place in the Best British Film category when it was snubbed by the Baftas.

The results will be announced on Saturday the 16th at an informal and boozy ceremony at the British Film Institute bar. If you happen to be nearby, drop by, one of us will stand up and shout out the results. I guarantee you no painfully unfunny Stephen Fry's jokes. And here they are, our nominations:

Best Director 
David Cronenberg
Joss Whedon
Michael Haneke
Leos Carax
Miguel Gomes

Best Film
Cosmopolis
The Dark Knight Rises
Holy Motors
Zero Dark Thirty
Amour

Best Actress
Marion Cotillard – Rust and Bone
Emmanuelle Riva – Amour
Charlize Theron – Young Adult
Jessica Chastain – Zero Dark Thirty
AnnaLynne McCord – Excision

Best Actor
Joaquin Phoenix – The Master
Robert Pattinson – Cosmopolis
Daniel Day-Lewis – Lincoln
Christoph Waltz – Django Unchained
Matthew McConaughey – Killer Joe

Best British Film
Anna Karenina
Skyfall
Sightseers
Berberian Sound Studio
The Imposter

Best Screenplay
The Master – Paul Thomas Anderson
Django Unchained – Quentin Tarantino
Holy Motors – Leos Carax
Amour – Michael Haneke
Sound of My Voice – Zal Batmanglij, Brit Marling

Best Adapted Screenplay
Cosmopolis
Killer Joe
Rust and Bone
Argo
Life of Pi

Newcomer Award
Elizabeth Olsen
Jack Reynor
Iko Uwais
Quvenzhane Wallis
Matthias Schoenaerts