Before we get too far into 2020, let’s take one final look back at the films of 2019. As the dust settled on this past awards season, our team here at Rough Cut came together to crown our own favorites. Using weighted ballots, we put together a list of nominees and winners in the traditional Oscar categories--minus shorts--as well as a few extras of our own. Across our five ballots, 85 different movies received at least one vote, and 46 movies ended up on our joint list of nominees. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Parasite was well-liked by all of our contributors; it led the lists of both nominees and winners, and two of its wins (Production Design and International Feature) were our only unanimous picks. The acting categories were some of our most competitive. Parasite’s Song Kang-ho was the only actor to appear on every ballot, and Awkwafina in The Farewell was the only performance to receive a first-place vote that ultimately did not make it on to the nomination list--a sign of the depth and strength of the lead actress field. Similarly, every one of our contributors had a different top pick for Original Score and Documentary Feature, reflecting the wealth of great options in both categories. As we closed the decade out with a year of truly exceptional movies, these were the ones that we liked best. Without further preamble, here are the inaugural Rough Cut Award nominees and winners.
Best Picture 1917 Ad Astra The Farewell The Last Black Man in San Francisco Little Women Marriage Story Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Parasite Portrait of a Lady on Fire Waves Best Director Bong Joon-ho - Parasite Greta Gerwig - Little Women Celine Sciamma - Portrait of a Lady on Fire Trey Edward Shults - Waves Quentin Tarantino - Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Best Actress Ana de Armas - Knives Out Adele Haenel - Portrait of a Lady on Fire Elisabeth Moss - Her Smell Lupita Nyong’o - Us Saoirse Ronan - Little Women Best Actor Antonio Banderas - Pain and Glory Leonardo DiCaprio - Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Adam Driver - Marriage Story Hugh Jackman - Bad Education Adam Sandler - Uncut Gems Best Supporting Actress Cho Yeo-Jeong - Parasite Julia Fox - Uncut Gems Jennifer Lopez - Hustlers Florence Pugh - Little Women Taylor Russell - Waves Best Supporting Actor Shia LaBeouf - Honey Boy Jonathan Majors - The Last Black Man in San Francisco Alessandro Nivola - The Art of Self-Defense Brad Pitt - Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Song Kang-ho - Parasite Best Original Screenplay The Farewell Knives Out Marriage Story Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Parasite Best Adapted Screenplay Bad Education A Hidden Life The Irishman Jojo Rabbit Little Women Transit Best Cinematography 1917 A Hidden Life The Last Black Man in San Francisco Parasite Portrait of a Lady on Fire Best Film Editing Ford v. Ferrari Little Women Marriage Story Parasite Portrait of a Lady on Fire Uncut Gems Us Best Production Design 1917 Ad Astra Knives Out The Lighthouse Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Parasite Best Costume Design Hustlers Jojo Rabbit Knives Out Little Women Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Best Makeup and Hairstyling Bombshell Hustlers Little Women Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Us Best Visual Effects 1917 Alita: Battle Angel Avengers: Endgame Detective Pikachu Fast Color Parasite Best Original Score 1917 Ad Astra A Hidden Life I Lost My Body Little Women Best Original Song “Control” - Her Smell “Glasgow (No Place Like Home)” - Wild Rose “Is There Still Anything That Love Can Do?” - Weathering With You “La Jeune Fille et Feu” - Portrait of a Lady on Fire “You’re The One” - I Lost My Body Best Sound Editing 1917 Ad Astra Avengers: Endgame Ford v. Ferrari John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum The Lighthouse Whistlers Best Sound Mixing 1917 Ford v. Ferrari The Lighthouse Uncut Gems Waves Best International Film And Then We Danced (Sweden) Atlantics (Senegal) I Lost My Body (France) One Cut of the Dead (Japan) Pain and Glory (Spain) Parasite (South Korea) Portrait of a Lady on Fire (France) Best Documentary Feature Apollo 11 Biggest Little Farm Cold Case Hammarskjold Honeyland One Child Nation Best Animated Feature I Lost My Body Toy Story 4 Weathering With You Best Casting/Ensemble Booksmart The Farewell Knives Out Little Women Parasite Best Stunt Coordination/Choreography 1917 And Then We Danced Hustlers John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum One Cut of the Dead Shadow Best First Feature Atlantics Booksmart Honey Boy I Lost My Body The Last Black Man in San Francisco Les Miserables