The Alliance of Women Film Journalists is pleased to announce the winners of the 2018 AWFJ EDA Awards. This year, AWFJ presents EDA Awards in 25 categories, divided into three sections: the standard ‘Best Of’ section, the Female Focus awards and the irreverent EDA Special Mention awards—including Actress Most in Need of a New Agent and the AWFJ Hall of Shame Award.
In the ‘Best Of’ section, this year’s big winner is "ROMA", garnering five EDA Awards for Best Film, Best Non-English Language Film, Best Cinematography, Best Editing and Best Director for Alfonso Cuaron.
The highly regarded “THE FAVOURITE” was honored in the “Best Of,” “Female Focus,” and “EDA Special Mention” categories with a total of four awards. The film’s star Olivia Colman was honored with the Best Actress and the Bravest Performance awards, while the film’s writer Deborah Davis received two wins for Best Screenplay Original (with co-writer Tony McNamara) and Best Woman Screenwriter.
Marielle Heller’s “CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?” won three awards including Best Supporting Actor for Richard E. Grant; Best Screenplay Adapted to writers Nicole Holofcener and Jeff White; and Best Woman Director to Heller.
Action film “BLACK PANTHER” was awarded Best Ensemble Cast and cinematographer Rachel Morrison was named Outstanding Achievement By A Woman for paving the road for women cinematographers for her work as DP on the blockbuster and her history making 2018 Oscar nomination for her cinematography work on MUDBOUND.
Morgan Neville’s documentary on Mr. Rogers – “WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR” was named Best Documentary, and Best Animated Film went to “SPIDER-MAN INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE” directed by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsay and Rodney Rothman.
Additional acting awards went to Ethan Hawke for Best Actor for “FIRST REFORMED;” Best Supporting Actress to Regina King for her role in “IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK;” and newcomer Thomasin McKenzie was honored with the Best Breakthrough Performance Award for her starring role in “LEAVE NO TRACE.”
Additional winners in the EDA Special Mention Categories:
- Viola Davis received “The Actress Defying Age and Ageism Award” for “WIDOWS;”
- Jennifer Lawrence in “RED SPARROW” was singled out for “Actress Most in Need Of A New Agent;”
- Tom Cruise and Rebecca Ferguson received “The Most Egregious Age Difference Between The Lead and The Love Interest Award” for “MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: FALLOUT;” and
- “OVERBOARD” was named “The Remake or Sequel That Shouldn’t Have Been Made”
The Annual AWFJ Hall of Shame Award was bestowed upon ALL ALLEGED ABUSERS: Including Weinstein, Moonves, CK, Spacey, Rush, Franco, Singer, Rose, Lauer et al.
“Representing women film critics’ perspectives on the world’s constantly evolving cinema scene, the Alliance of Women Film Journalists is proud that our 2018 EDA Awards nominees and winners genuinely reflect the movie industry’s advances in the cause of equality and diversity,” states Jennifer Merin, EDA AWARDS and AWJF founder and film critic. “Our EDA Awards always honor the year’s best regardless of gender, but we also recognize the need to have categories that focus specifically on women’s achievements in an industry that still has a long way to go to reach gender parity and equal opportunity for all.”
This year on their final ballots, AWFJ members singled out films that told stories centering on strong and complex female characters from diverse backgrounds. The organization honored the excellent work of female directors and screenwriters. And, as is customary, they have called out some egregious choices and behavior that hopefully will not be repeated in the future.
“All in all, 2018 produced a bumper crop of female-directed and female-centered films,” adds Merin. “Too few of them reached the mainstream, but we hope that AWFJ and the EDA Awards can help to rush such films into the current.”
Below is the entire list of this year’s winners:
AWFJ BEST OF AWARDS
These awards are presented to women and/or men without gender consideration.
Best Film
ROMA
Best Director
Alfonso Cuaron
ROMA
Best Screenplay, Original
THE FAVOURITE
Deborah Davis, Tony McNamara
Best Screenplay, Adapted
CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?
Nicole Holofcener, Jeff White
Best Documentary
WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR?
Morgan Neville
Best Animated Film
SPIDER-MAN INTO SPIDER-VERSE
Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsay, Rodney Rothman
Best Actress
Olivia Colman
THE FAVOURITE
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Regina King
IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK
Best Actor
Ethan Hawke
FIRST REFORMED
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Richard E Grant
CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?
Best Ensemble Cast
BLACK PANTHER
Sarah Finn, Casting Director
Best Cinematography
ROMA
Alfonso Cuaron
Best Editing
ROMA
Alfonso Cuaron, Adam Gough
Best Non-English-Language Film
ROMA
Alfonso Cuaron
Mexico
EDA FEMALE FOCUS AWARDS
These awards honor WOMEN only.
Best Woman Director
Marielle Heller
CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?
Best Woman Screenwriter
Deborah Davis
THE FAVOURITE
Best Animated Female
Elastagirl
Holly Hunter
INCREDIBLES 2
Best Breakthrough Performance
Thomasin McKenzie
LEAVE NO TRACE
Outstanding Achievement by A Woman in The Film Industry
Rachel Morrison
For paving the road for women cinematographers with her Oscar nomination for MUDBOUND and scoring as DP on BLACK PANTHER.
EDA SPECIAL MENTION AWARDS
Actress Defying Age and Ageism
Viola Davis – WIDOWS
Bravest Performance
Olivia Colman – THE FAVOURITE
Actress Most in Need Of A New Agent
Jennifer Lawrence – RED SPARROW
Most Egregious Age Difference Between The Lead and The Love Interest Award
MISSION IMPOSSIBLE FALLOUT – Tom Cruise and Rebecca Ferguson
Remake or Sequel That Shouldn’t Have Been Made
OVERBOARD
AWFJ Hall of Shame Award
ALL ALLEGED ABUSERS: Including Weinstein, Moonves, CK, Spacey, Rush, Franco, Singer, Rose, Lauer et al.
About THE ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS: AWFJ, a not-for-profit corporation, is an international association of professional female movie critics, reporters and feature writers working in print, broadcast and online media, dedicated to raising the volume on women's voices in the film community by broadening opportunities for women who write about film and supporting films by and about women – both in front of and behind the cameras – through intra-group promotional activities, outreach programs and by presenting EDA awards in recognition of outstanding accomplishments (the best and worst) by and about women in the movies. More information about AWFJ, including the membership list, can be accessed at www.awfj.org or sending inquiries to awfjinc@gmail.com.
About THE EDA AWARDS: The AWFJ presents EDA Awards to honor women's achievements in front of and behind the cameras. In addition to the annual end of the year awards, AWFJ presents EDA Awards for Best Female-Directed Films at select film festivals, including IDFA, Whistler Film Festival, DOXA. Edinburgh Film Festival. St. Louis International Film Festival and others. The EDAs are named in honor of AWFJ founder Jennifer Merin's mother, Eda Reiss Merin, a stage, film and screen actress whose career spanned more than 60 years. A dedicated foot soldier in the industry, Eda was one of the founders of AFTRA and a long-standing member of AMPAS.
