One Battle After Another, Paul Thomas Anderson’s action-packed political allegory, leads the nominations in the Austin Film Critics Association’s annual awards for 2025 with 12 nominations. However, it’s in heavy competition with Ryan Coogler’s Sinners, which scored 11 nominations. Combined, those nominations span 23 categories in competition.
The AFCA, entering its 20th year, includes critics for The Austin Chronicle, Certified Forgotten, Cinapse, Consequence, Double Toasted, Fangoria, Hyperreal Film Club, Indiewire, Junkfood Cinema, KOOP 91.7 FM Radio, One Of Us, Paste, The Playlist, Sightlines, Slashfilm, and We Got This Covered, among other local and national outlets.
Its annual awards include two unique categories. The Robert R. “Bobby” McCurdy Memorial Breakthrough Artist Award (named after AFCA cofounder Bobby McCurdy) focuses on filmmakers and creatives who have made a major first impact this year.
More locally focused is the Best Austin Film, which celebrates Austin’s growing film community. This year 20 titles were eligible for consideration, and it’s a double celebration for Richard Linklater, who is nominated for both Nouvelle Vague and Blue Moon. The nominee list is filled out by the newest nature documentary from Ben Masters, The American Southwest: Macon Blair’s horror-comedy reboot, The Toxic Avenger; and Man Goes on Rant from Peter Curtis Pardini.
The final winners will be announced on Dec.18.
Best Director
- Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another
- Ryan Coogler, Sinners
- Josh Safdie, Marty Supreme
- Guillermo Del Toro, Frankenstein
- Joachim Trier, Sentimental Value
Best Picture
- Bugonia
- Frankenstein
- Marty Supreme
- One Battle After Another
- The Secret Agent
- Sentimental Value
- Sinners
- The Testament of Ann Lee
- Train Dreams
- Weapons
Best Actress
- Jessie Buckley, Hamnet
- Rose Byrne, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
- Jennifer Lawrence, Die My Love
- Amanda Seyfried, The Testament of Ann Lee
- Emma Stone, Bugonia
Best Actor
- Timothée Chalamet, Marty Supreme
- Leonardo DiCaprio, One Battle After Another
- Ethan Hawke, Blue Moon
- Michael B. Jordan, Sinners
- Wagner Moura, The Secret Agent
Best Supporting Actress
- Odessa A’zion, Marty Supreme
- Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Sentimental Value
- Amy Madigan, Weapons
- Wunmi Mosaku, Sinners
- Teyana Taylor, One Battle After Another
Best Supporting Actor
- Benicio Del Toro, One Battle After Another
- Jacob Elordi, Frankenstein
- David Jonsson, The Long Walk
- Sean Penn, One Battle After Another
- Adam Sandler, Jay Kelly
Best Ensemble
- The Long Walk
- Marty Supreme
- One Battle After Another
- Sinners
- Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
Best Original Screenplay
- Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie, Marty Supreme
- Ryan Coogler, Sinners
- Zach Cregger, Weapons
- Kleber Mendonça Filho, The Secret Agent
- Eskil Vogt and Joachim Trier, Sentimental Value
Best Adapted Screenplay
- Paul Thomas Anderson, Thomas Pynchon, One Battle After Another
- Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Denis Johnson, Train Dreams
- Park Chan-wook, Lee Kyoung-mi, Jahye Lee, Don McKellar, Donald E. Westlake, No Other Choice
- Guillermo del Toro, Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
- Will Tracy, Jang Joon-hwan, Bugonia
Best Cinematography
- Michael Bauman, One Battle After Another
- Autumn Durald, Sinners
- Darius Khondji, Marty Supreme
- Dan Laustsen, Frankenstein
- Adolpho Veloso, Train Dreams
Best Editing
- Andy Jurgensen, One Battle After Another
- Stephen Mirrione, F1: The Movie
- Michael P. Shawver, Sinners
- Joe Murphy, Weapons
- Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie, Marty Supreme
Best Original Score
- Daniel Blumberg, The Testament of Ann Lee
- Alexandre Desplat, Frankenstein
- Ludwig Göransson, Sinners
- Jonny Greenwood, One Battle After Another
- Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (NiN), Tron: Ares
Best International Film
- It Was Just an Accident (Yek tasadof-e sadeh)
- No Other Choice (Eojjeolsugaeopda)
- The Secret Agent (O Agente Secreto)
- Sentimental Value (Affeksjonsverdi)
- Sirāt
Best Documentary
- Come See Me In The Good Light
- Orwell: 2+2=5
- The Librarians
- The Perfect Neighbor
- Predators
Best Animated Film
- Arco
- Elio
- KPop Demon Hunters
- Little Amelie or the Character of Rain
- Zootopia 2
Best Voice Acting/Animated/Digital Performance
- Oona Chaplin, Avatar: Fire and Ash
- Arden Cho, Audrey Nuna, KPop Demon Hunters
- Will Patton, Train Dreams
- Stephen Lang, Avatar: Fire and Ash
- Zoe Saldaña, Avatar: Fire and Ash
Best Stunt Work
- Ballerina
- F1: The Movie
- Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
- One Battle After Another
- Sinners
Best Visual Effects
- Avatar: Fire and Ash
- F1: The Movie
- Frankenstein
- Sinners
- Superman
Best Remake/Franchise Film
- Avatar: Fire & Ash
- Frankenstein
- Superman
- Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
- 28 Years Later
Best First Film
- Andrew DeYoung, Friendship
- Carson Lund, Eephus
- Charlie Polinger, The Plague
- Kristen Stewart, The Chronology of Water
- Eva Victor, Sorry, Baby
Best Austin Film
- The American Southwest
- Blue Moon
- Man Goes on Rant
- Nouvelle Vague
- The Toxic Avenger
The final winners, as well as the recipients of the annual Robert R. “Bobby” McCurdy Memorial Breakthrough Artist Award, will be announced on Dec. 18.
