OUTSTANDING DIRECTOR

Ryan Coogler for Sinners

Mona Fastvold for The Testament of Ann Lee

Kelly Reichardt for The Mastermind

Eva Victor for Sorry, Baby

Chloé Zhao for Hamnet

AND THE WINNER:

RYAN COOGLER FOR SINNERS

This is the first win and second nomination for Ryan Coogler. He was also nominated for screenwriting Sinners (2025).

Sinners becoming one of 2025's most identifiable feature films for me all comes down to Ryan Coogler as this film came directly from his creative mind. Each choice he made from the collaborators he frequently worked with to the writing decisions he made were genius and to appreciate his great directing you just need to watch the film which I have done many times over the year.

OUTSTANDING LEADING ACTOR

Lee Byung-hun as Yoo Man-su in "NO OTHER CHOICE"

Joel Edgerton as Robert Grainier in "TRAIN DREAMS"

Paul Mescal as William Shakespeare in "HAMNET"

Dylan O'Brien as Roman / Rocky in "TWINLESS"

Josh O'Connor as James Blaine "JB" Mooney in "THE MASTERMIND"

AND THE WINNER:

DYLAN O'BRIEN AS ROMAN / ROCKY IN "TWINLESS"

This is the first win and nomination for Dylan O'Brien. He wins for his performance as Roman / Rocky in Twinless.

Dylan O'Brien is an actor I've seen in projects yet never really considered him a best of his generation talent yet with the release of Twinless the film gave Dylan the exact opportunity to show what he truly was capable of. In the film Dylan mostly plays the alive twin yet with playing both these parts separate from one another he creates two distinct portrayals that instantly made O'Brien my easy choice amongst the leading actors from this film year.

With the recent release of Send Help featuring another great turn by Dylan O'Brien it's great that he has taken momentum of this standout turn to be an actor whose career I will now closely follow.

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SCORE

David Holmes for Black Bag

Max Richter for Hamnet

Hildur Guðnadóttir for Hedda

Ludwig Göransson for Sinners

Bryce Dessner for Train Dreams

AND THE WINNER:

LUDWIG GÖRANSSON FOR SINNERS

These are the first win and nominations for Ludwig Göransson.

OUTSTANDING INTERNATIONAL FILM

It Was Just an Accident (Directed by Jafar Panahi)

No Other Choice (Directed by Park Chan-wook)

On Becoming a Guinea Fowl (Directed by Rungano Nyoni)

Sentimental Value (Directed by Joachim Trier)

The Voice of Hind Rajab (Directed by Kaouther Ben Hania)

AND THE WINNER:

THE VOICE OF HIND RAJAB (DIRECTED BY KAOUTHER BEN HANIA)

This is the first win and nomination for Kaouther Ben Hania.

OUTSTANDING CINEMATOGRAPHY

Seamus McGarvey for Die My Love

Łukasz Żal for Hamnet

Sean Bobbitt for Hedda

Autumn Durald Arkapaw for Sinners

Adolpho Veloso for Train Dreams

AND THE WINNER:

AUTUMN DURALD ARKAPAW FOR SINNERS

This is the first win and second nomination for Autumn Durald Arkapaw. Arkapaw was previously nominated for Palo Alto (2014).

OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE OF THE YEAR

Black Bag (Cate Blanchett, Michael Fassbender, Marisa Abela, Tom Burke, Naomie Harris, Regé-Jean Page, Pierce Brosnan)

It Was Just an Accident (Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr, Delnaz Najafi, Afssaneh Najmabadi, Georges Hashemzadeh)

The Long Walk (Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, Garrett Wareing, Tut Nyuot, Charlie Plummer, Ben Wang, Jordan Gonzalez, Joshua Odjick, Mark Hamill, Roman Griffin Davis, Judy Greer, Josh Hamilton)

Sinners (Michael B. Jordan, Hailee Steinfeld, Miles Caton, Jack O'Connell, Wunmi Mosaku, Jayme Lawson, Omar Benson Miller, Delroy Lindo, Peter Dreimanis, Lola Kirke, Li Jun Li, Yao)

The Wedding Banquet (Bowen Yang, Lily Gladstone, Kelly Marie Tran, Han Gi-chan, Joan Chen, Youn Yuh-jung)

AND THE WINNER:

SINNERS (MICHAEL B. JORDAN, HAILEE STEINFELD, MILES CATON, JACK O'CONNELL, WUNMI MOSAKU, JAYME LAWSON, OMAR BENSON MILLER, DELROY LINDO, PETER DREIMANIS, LOLA KIRKE, LI JUN LI, YAO)

OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS

Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon & Daniel Barrett for Avatar: Fire and Ash

Alex Wuttke, Ian Lowe, Jeff Sutherland & Kirstin Hall for Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning

Kathy Siegel, Karl Rapley, Olivier Dumont & Sheldon Stopsack for Predator: Badlands

Michael Ralla, Espen Nordahl, Guido Wolter & Donnie Dean for Sinners

Stephane Ceretti, Enrico Damm, Stephane Naze & Guy Williams for Superman

AND THE WINNER:

JOE LETTERI, RICHARD BANEHAM, ERIC SAINDON & DANIEL BARRETT FOR AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH

This is the sixth win and twelfth nomination for Joe Letteri. Letteri previous won for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), King Kong (2005), Avatar (2009), Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011), Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) and was nominated for Mission Impossible (1996), The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002), The Hobbit the Desolation of Smaug (2013), Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014), War of the Planet of the Apes (2017) and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022). This is the third win and nomination for Richard Baneham having previously won for Avatar and Avatar: The Way of Water. This is Eric Saindon's second win and fourth nomination winning for Avatar: The Way of Water and also nominated for The Hobbit the Desolation of Smaug & The Green Knight (2021). Finally this is Daniel Barretts third win and fourth nomination. He also won for Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Avatar: The Way of Water and was nominated for Dawn of the Planet of the Apes,