2016 ICS Award Winners

ICS Falls in Love with Carol

Exchanging glances across a crowded room, voters at the 13th International Cinephile Society Awards embraced the warm and lovely Carol, naming it best picture and Todd Haynes best director of the year. This quiet masterpiece tallied a historic high of five ICS Awards, including lead actress Rooney Mara for her intense and internal performance as Therese Belivet, plus screenwriter Phyllis Nagy’s tender adaptation of the Patricia Highsmith novel, and Carter Burwell’s evocative score. Flung out of space, indeed!

Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s immersive tale of moral choices, The Assassin, leapt high atop our list for best film not in the English language, while also winning honors for its stunning cinematography by Mark Lee Ping Bin and for production designer Wen-Ying Huang’s sumptuous reimagining of medieval China.

Best actor went to Gaspard Ulliel for his hypnotic portrayal of the eccentric and vulnerable fashion icon Saint Laurent. Supporting actress Kristen Stewart’s complex yet natural Valentine grabbed our attention (while disappearing before our eyes) in Clouds of Sils Maria, which also earned the original screenplay award for writer-director Olivier Assayas.

A couple of films managed to snag prizes this year on their one and only nomination: Oscar Isaac danced with menace in Ex Machina on his way to a supporting actor win; and Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem impressed us with its brilliant ensemble arguing all sides of an Israeli woman’s frustrating divorce case before a rabbinical court.

Previously released nominations may be found here.

CarolAssassin

PICTURE
01. Carol
02. The Assassin
03. Mad Max: Fury Road
04. Clouds of Sils Maria
05. 45 Years
06. Li’l Quinquin
07. Inside Out
08. The Duke of Burgundy
09. A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence
10. Arabian Nights
11. Tangerine

DIRECTOR
Todd Haynes – Carol
runner-up:  Hou Hsiao-Hsien – The Assassin

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
01. The Assassin
02. Li’l Quinquin
03. A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence
04. Arabian Nights
05. Jauja
06. Son of Saul
07. Amour Fou
08. Phoenix
09. Hard to Be a God
10. Saint Laurent
11. La Sapienza

Honorable Mentions: In a great year for non-English language films, four made our Best Picture list, and the competition for slots on the non-English language list was truly fierce. This year it took many more votes to make it than in prior years. So we include here four honorable mentions: outstanding films that just missed, yet were passionately loved by a minority and certainly deserved this accolade.

• Horse Money
• Mustang
• Timbuktu
• The Tribe

ACTOR
Gaspard Ulliel – Saint Laurent
runner-up:  Géza Röhrig – Son of Saul

ACTRESS
Rooney Mara – Carol
runner-up:  Charlotte Rampling – 45 Years

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Oscar Isaac – Ex Machina
runner-up:  Walton Goggins – The Hateful Eight

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Kristen Stewart – Clouds of Sils Maria
runner-up:  Mya Taylor – Tangerine

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Clouds of Sils Maria – Olivier Assayas
runner-up:  Amour Fou – Jessica Hausner

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Carol – Phyllis Nagy
runner-up:  45 Years – Andrew Haigh

CINEMATOGRAPHY
The Assassin – Mark Lee Ping Bin
runner-up:  Carol – Edward Lachman

EDITING
Mad Max: Fury Road – Margaret Sixel
runner-up:  The Duke of Burgundy – Matyas Fekete

PRODUCTION DESIGN
The Assassin – Wen-Ying Huang
runner-up:  Carol – Judy Becker

SCORE
Carol – Carter Burwell
runner-up:  It Follows – Rich Vreeland a.k.a. Disasterpeace

ENSEMBLE
Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem
runner-up:  Spotlight

ANIMATED FILM
Inside Out
runner-up:  When Marnie Was There

DOCUMENTARY
Heart of a Dog
runner-up:  In Jackson Heights

BEST PICTURE NOT RELEASED IN 2015
• Aferim!
• Blood of My Blood
• Cemetery of Splendour
• Closet Monster
• Embrace of the Serpent
• In the Shadow of Women
• Knight of Cups
• The Lobster
• Mia Madre
• Mountains May Depart
• My Golden Years
• No Home Movie
• Right Now, Wrong Then
• Sunset Song
• The Treasure
• The Witch