NEWS: Southeastern Film Critics Association Names Jane Campion’s "The Power of the Dog" as Best Picture of 2021

The Southeastern Film Critics Association (SEFCA) has announced its accolades for 2021 and chosen Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog as the Best Picture of the Year. This is the second time a Campion film has won Best Picture and Best Director as SEFCA also recognized her film The Piano back in 1993. Her latest work, based on the novel by Thomas Savage, is a captivating examination of loneliness, masculinity, and frailty set on a ranch in 1925 Montana.

“Jane Campion has been one of our finest directors for decades, and I’m thrilled that our members chose to recognize her exquisite work on The Power of the Dog,” said SEFCA President Matt Goldberg. “Campion has crafted a unique Western that gets to the core of the genre while still feeling fresh and vital. It’s an absolute triumph of mood, performances, and craft that will certainly go down as one of her finest movies in a career full of marvelous filmmaking.”

SEFCA voters also recognized The Power of the Dog in the categories of Best Actor for Benedict Cumberbatch, Best Supporting Actor for Kodi Smit-McPhee, and Best Supporting Actress for Kirsten Dunst, while Kristen Stewart was awarded Best Actress for her turn as Princess Diana in Spencer.

Award winners below:

Top 10 Films
1. The Power of the Dog
2. Licorice Pizza
3. Belfast
4. The Green Knight
5. West Side Story
6. The French Dispatch
7. Tick, Tick…BOOM!
8. Drive My Car
9. Dune
10. Summer of Soul

Best Actor
Winner: Benedict Cumberbatch, The Power of the Dog
Runner-Up: Will Smith, King Richard

Best Actress
Winner: Kristen Stewart, Spencer
Runner-Up: Alana Haim, Licorice Pizza

Best Supporting Actor
Winner: Kodi Smit-McPhee, The Power of the Dog
Runner-Up: Jeffrey Wright, The French Dispatch

Best Supporting Actress
Winner: Kirsten Dunst, The Power of the Dog
Runner-Up: Aunjanue Ellis, King Richard

Best Ensemble
Winner: The French Dispatch
Runner-Up: Mass

Best Director
Winner: Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog
Runner-Up: Steven Spielberg, West Side Story

Best Original Screenplay
Winner: Paul Thomas Anderson, Licorice Pizza
Runner-Up: Wes Anderson, The French Dispatch

Best Adapted Screenplay
Winner: Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog
Runner-Up: Tony Kushner, West Side Story

Best Documentary
Winner: Summer of Soul
Runner-Up: Flee

Best Foreign-Language Film
Winner: Drive My Car
Runner-Up: The Worst Person in the World

Best Animated Film
Winner: The Mitchells vs. The Machines
Runner-Up: Flee

Best Cinematography
Winner: Greig Fraser, Dune
Runner-Up: Ari Wegner, The Power of the Dog

Best Score
Winner: Hans Zimmer, Dune
Runner-Up: Jonny Greenwood, The Power of the Dog