On Friday, January 7, the Denver Film Critics Society (DFCS)—15 writers and broadcasters working in and around the Mile High City, of which I am one—cast their preliminary ballots for this year’s DFCS awards.

How it works: Members are asked to select their five favorite films/performances for each of the 16 categories and rank each pick. Those votes are counted and weighted per their ranking, and five official nominees per category are determined. DFCS members then vote again based on these finalists, and the results are announced.

Below are my nominations for the best of 2021 (links to reviews available in the movie’s first mention). The final nominations will be announced Monday, January 10.

Best Film

1. The Power of the Dog
2. The Worst Person in the World
3. Licorice Pizza
4. Memoria
5. Pig

Best Director

1. Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog
2. Joachim Trier, The Worst Person in the World 
3. Sean Baker, Red Rocket
4. Pablo Larraín, Spencer
5. Paul Thomas Anderson, Licorice Pizza

Best Lead Performance by an Actor, Male

1. Benedict Cumberbatch, The Power of the Dog
2. Simon Rex, Red Rocket
3. Nicolas Cage, Pig
4. Dev Patel, The Green Knight
5. Andrew Garfield, tick, tick…BOOM!

Best Lead Performance by an Actor, Female

1. Renate Reinsve, The Worst Person in the World
2. Kristen Stewart, Spencer
3. Isabelle Fuhrman, The Novice
4. Alana Haim, Licorice Pizza
5. Joanna Scanlan, After Love

Best Supporting Performance by an Actor, Male

1. Richard Ayoade, The Souvenir: Part II
2. Ben Affleck, The Tender Bar
3. Kodi Smit-McPhee, The Power of the Dog
4. Albrecht Schuch, Berlin Alexanderplatz
5. LaKeith Stanfield, The Harder They Fall

Best Supporting Performance by an Actor, Female

1. Suzanna Son, Red Rocket
2. Alicia Vikander, The Green Knight
3. Kirsten Dunst, The Power of the Dog
4. Jessie Buckley, The Lost Daughter
5. Riley Keough, Zola

Best Sci-fi/Horror

1. Last Night in Soho
2. Dune
3. Censor
4. I’m Your Man
5. Titane

Best Animated Film

1. Flee
2. The Summit of the Gods
3. Luca
4. Where is Anne Frank
5. The Mitchells vs the Machines

Best Comedy

1. Red Rocket
2. The French Dispatch
3. Ninjababy
4. Plan B
5. Together Together

Best Visual Effects

1. Paul Lambert, Tristian Myles, Brian Coonor, Gerd Nefzer, Dune
2. Erik Schneider, Lev Kolobov, Simon Weisse, The French Dispatch
3. Eric Saindon, The Green Knight
4. Stéhen Chung, Quentine Cordonnier, Oscar Cotte, Clément Desnos, The Summit of the Gods
5. Francois Roisin and Sheldon Gardner, Encounter

Best Original Screenplay

1. Paul Schrader, The Card Counter
2. Sean Baker and Chris Bergoch, Red Rocket
3. Fran Kranz, Mass
4. Eskil Vogt and Joachim Trier, The Worst Person in the World
5. Mike Mills, C’mon C’mon

Best Adapted Screenplay

1. David Lowry, The Green Knight
2. Ryûsuke Hamaguchi and Takamasa Oe, Drive My Car 
3. Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog
4. Nanni Moretti, Federica Pontremoli, Valia Santella, Three Floors
5. William Monahan, The Tender Bar

Best Documentary Feature

1. Flee
2. Summer of Soul (…or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised
3. Procession
4. Storm Lake
5. In the Same Breath

Best Original Song

1. “No Time to Die,” performed by Billie Eilish, written by Billie Eilish & Finneas O’Connell for the movie No Time to Die
2. “Rapture,” written and performed by Robert Levon Been for the movie The Card Counter
3. “Keep the Beat,” written and performed by Lin-Manuel Miranda for the movie Vivo
4. “My Own Drum,” performed by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Ynaiarly Simo, written by Lin-Manuel Miranda for the movie Vivo
5. “The Family Madrigal,” performed by Stephanie Beatriz, written by Lin-Manuel Miranda for the movie Encanto

Best Original Score

1. Robert Levon Been, The Card Counter
2. Jonny Greenwood, The Power of the Dog
3. Dan Romer, Luca
4. Dickon Hinchliffe, The Lost Daughter
5. Eiko Ishibashi, Drive My Car

Best Non-English Language Feature

1. The Worst Person in the World
2. Memoria
3. A Hero
4. Drive My Car
5. Ballad of a White Cow