New York Film Critics Circle Names ‘Tár’ as Best Film of 2022

The New York Film Critics Circle has named Tár as its best film of 2022.

The critics group voted on its 2022 winners on Friday, with Tár star Cate Blanchett named best actress and Colin Farrell selected as best actor for his work in both After Yang and The Banshees of Inisherin, with the latter winning best screenplay for writer-director Martin McDonagh.

Best director went to S. S. Rajamouli for RRR. Nope‘s Keke Palmer won best supporting actress while Everything Everywhere All at Once‘s Ke Huy Quan was named best supporting actor, just days after he won a similar prize at the Gotham Awards.

Best animated feature went to Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, and Laura Poitras’ All the Beauty and the Bloodshed won best nonfiction film.

Other winners were EO for best foreign-language film and Top Gun: Maverick‘s Claudio Miranda for best cinematography.

The 42-member critics group, which counts The Hollywood Reporter‘s chief film critic David Rooney among its members, also handed out three special awards.

Imprisoned Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi, who was arrested over the summer amid a broader crackdown on artists across the country and is serving out a six-year prison sentence, was recognized “for his dogged bravery as an artist, and for the humanity and beauty of a body of work created under the most oppressive circumstances.”

And dGenerate Films was recognized “for their invaluable work bringing independent films from China to a wider audience.”

The NYFCC recognized curator, distributor and publisher Jake Perlin for what it called “his indispensable contributions to film culture.”

The NYFCC began its vote by announcing its award of cash prizes to two students, Nico Pedrero-Setzer and Greg Nussen, who are focusing on film criticism/journalism and attending college in the New York City area.

Last year, the NYFCC selected Drive My Car as the best picture of 2021.

A complete list of the NYFCC’s 2022 winners follows.

Best Film: Tár
Best Director: S. S. Rajamouli, RRR
Best Actor: Colin Farrell, After Yang and The Banshees of Inisherin
Best Actress: Cate Blanchett, Tár
Best Screenplay: Martin McDonagh, The Banshees of Inisherin
Best Supporting Actor: Ke Huy Quan, Everything Everywhere All At Once
Best Supporting Actress: Keke Palmer, Nope
Best Animated Feature: Marcel the Shell with Shoes On
Best Cinematography: Claudio Miranda, Top Gun: Maverick
Best First Film: Aftersun
Best Foreign Language Film: EO
Best Nonfiction Film: All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
Special Award: Jake Perlin
Special Award: dGenerate Films
Special Award: Jafar Panahi

Founded in 1935, the organization’s membership includes critics from daily newspapers, weekly newspapers, magazines and qualifying online general-interest publications. Every year in December, the group meets in New York to vote on awards for the previous calendar year’s films.

In addition to the regular categories, which include best picture, director, actor and actress, special stand-alone awards are given to individuals and organizations that have made substantial contributions to the art of cinema, including producers, directors, actors, writers, critics, historians, film restorers and service organizations.

The awards will be handed out in New York in January.