Danielle Brooks, Ariana DeBose & More Receive 2023 AWFJ EDA Award Nominations

Since 2006, the Alliance of Women Film Journalists (AWFJ) has presented annual EDA Awards, representing professional women critics' collective perspectives on movies and cinema culture in the movie awards arena, where female critics and critical opinion are still greatly underrepresented. AWFJ honors female creatives in non-gender specific awards categories and in unique Female Focus categories designated for women only.  

Three of the eight Best Film Contenders are directed by women, including Justine Triet's ANATOMY OF A FALL and Greta Gerwig's BARBIE, each with nominations in ten categories, along with s a special mention for Gerwig. 

Danielle Brooks was nominated for Best Actress, Supporting for her performance in The Color Purple. Ariana DeBose received a nomination for EDA Female Focus: Best Animated Female for her voice performance in Wish.

Celine Song's lauded drama PAST LIVES garnered nine nominations. In the Female Focus sections, Lily Gladstone and Greta Lee are vying for Best Breakthrough Performance and Annette Benning and Jodie Foster compete for the title of Grand Dame for their marathon performances in NYAD. And, nominated for a second year in a row, will the talented Ana de Armas be deemed most deserving of a new agent for GHOST, her very disappointing 2023 vehicle?

"We are particularly proud that this year's member-determined roster of nominees included a goodly number of female contenders in non-gender specific categories, including Greta Gerwig, Justine Triet and Celine Song who are all nominated in both the Best Director category and Best Screenplay categories” said Jennifer Merin, President of the 95-member AWFJ.

"We hope to see similar recognition of women filmmakers at this year's Oscars and various guild awards. as well as with other critic's awards groups. 2023 has been a banner year for women working in film, and we hope to see the trend continue in 2024.” 

In preparation for the awards season, AWFJ tracks femme-helmed and femme-centric films released throughout the year. The 2023 list of EDA Award-eligible femme-helmed and/or femme-centric films includes almost 500 titles. Many of these female made movies are small budget productions that receive neither wide distribution nor critical consideration.

This staggering number of independently produced films indicates the high level of female filmmaker proactivity in contradiction to the grim statistics consistently reported in major studies about female film production. AWFJ advocates for acknowledgment of these films and recognition for their filmmakers. 

The EDAs are named in honor of AWFJ founder Merin's mother, Eda Reiss Merin, a stage, film and television 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. EDA is also an acronym for Excellent Dynamic Activism, qualities shared by Eda Reiss Merin, AWFJ members and those honored with EDA Awards.

Here is the list of nominees:

OFFICIAL 2023 EDA AWARDS NOMINATIONS 

BEST OF AWARDS

BEST FILM 

• AMERICAN FICTION
• ANATOMY OF A FALL
• BARBIE
• THE HOLDOVERS
• KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON
• OPPENHEIMER
• PAST LIVES
• THE ZONE OF INTEREST

BEST DIRECTOR

• Greta Gerwig - BARBIE
• Jonathan Glazer - THE ZONE OF INTEREST
• Martin Scorsese - KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON
• Celine Song - PAST LIVES
• Justine Triet - ANATOMY OF A FALL

BEST SCREENPLAY, ORIGINAL

• ANATOMY OF A FALL - Justine Triet and Arthur Harari
• BARBIE - Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach
• THE HOLDOVERS - David Hemingson
• MAY DECEMBER - Samy Burch
• PAST LIVES - Celine Song

BEST SCREENPLAY, ADAPTED

• AMERICAN FICTION - Cord Jefferson
• KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON - Eric Roth and Martin Scorsese
• OPPENHEIMER - Christopher Nolan
• POOR THINGS - Tony McNamara
• THE ZONE OF INTEREST - Jonathan Glazer

BEST DOCUMENTARY

• 20 DAYS IN MARIUPOL 
• AMERICAN SYMPHONY
• BEYOND UTOPIA
• FOUR DAUGHTERS
• SMOKE SAUNA SISTERHOOD

BEST ANIMATED FILM

• THE BOY AND THE HERON - Hayao Miyazaki
• NIMONA - Troy Quane and Nick Bruno
• ROBOT DREAMS - Pablo Berger
• SPIDER-MAN ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE - Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K Thompson
• TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES - Jeff Rowe and Kyler Spears

BEST ACTRESS 

• Lily Gladstone - KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON
• Sandra Huller - ANATOMY OF A FALL
• Greta Lee - PAST LIVES
• Margot Robbie - BARBIE
• Emma Stone - POOR THINGS

BEST ACTRESS, SUPPORTING 

• Danielle Brooks - THE COLOR PURPLE
• America Ferrera - BARBIE
• Sandra Huller - THE ZONE OF INTEREST
• Rosamund Pike - SALTBURN
• Da'Vine Joy Randolph - THE HOLDOVERS

BEST ACTOR 

• Bradley Cooper - MAESTRO
• Paul Giamatti - THE HOLDOVERS
• Cillian Murphy - OPPENHEIMER
• Andrew Scott - ALL OF US STRANGERS
• Jeffrey Wright - AMERICAN FICTION

BEST ACTOR, SUPPORTING 

• Stirling K Brown - AMERICAN FICTION
• Robert Downey Jr - OPPENHEIMER
• Ryan Gosling - BARBIE
• Charles Melton - MAY DECEMBER 
• Mark Ruffalo - POOR THINGS

BEST ENSEMBLE CAST AND CASTING DIRECTOR

• AMERICAN FICTION - Jennifer Euston
• BARBIE - Lucy Brava and Allison Jones
• THE HOLDOVERS - Susan Shopmaker
• KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON - Ellen Lewis
• OPPENHEIMER - John Papsidera

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

• KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON - Rodrigo Prieto
• MAESTRO - Matthew Labatique
• OPPENHEIMER - Hoyte Van Hoytema
• POOR THINGS - Robbie Ryan
• THE ZONE OF INTEREST - Lukasz Zal

BEST EDITING

• ANATOMY OF A FALL - Laurent Senechal
• KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON - Thelma Schoonmaker
• MAESTRO - Michelle Tesoro
• OPPENHEIMER - Jennifer Lame
• THE ZONE OF INTEREST - Paul Watts

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM

• ANATOMY OF A FALL - France
• FALLEN LEAVES - Finland
• PAST LIVES - South Korea
• THE TEACHER'S LOUNGE - Germany
• THE ZONE OF INTEREST - UK and Poland

EDA FEMALE FOCUS AWARDS

EDA FEMALE FOCUS: BEST WOMAN DIRECTOR - Director's Name and Film Title

• Ava DuVernay - ORIGIN
• Emerald Fennell - SALTBURN
• Greta Gerwig - BARBIE
• Celine Song - PAST LIVES
• Justine Triet - ANATOMY OF A FALL

EDA FEMALE FOCUS: BEST FEMALE SCREENWRITER 

• Samy Burch - MAY DECEMBER
• Emerald Fennell - SALTBURN
• Greta Gerwig (with Noah Baumbach) - BARBIE
• Celine Song - PAST LIVES
• Justine Triet (with Arthur Harari) - ANATOMY OF A FALL

EDA FEMALE FOCUS: BEST ANIMATED FEMALE

• Ariana Debose - WISH - Asha
• Ayo Edebiri - TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: MUTANT MAYHEM - April; Neil
• Leah Lewis - ELEMENTAL - Ember
• Chloe Grace Moretz - NIMONA - Nimona
• Hailee Steinfeld - SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE - Gwen Stacy

EDA FEMALE FOCUS: BEST WOMEN'S BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE

• Abby Ryder Fortson -ARE YOU THERE GOD? IT'S ME, MARGARET
• Lily Gladstone - KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON
• Greta Lee - PAST LIVES
• Da'Vine Joy Randolph - THE HOLDOVERS
• Cailee Spaeny - PRISCILLA

EDA FEMALE FOCUS: OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT BY A WOMEN IN THE FILM INDUSTRY 

• Fran Drescher - for leading SAG-AFTRA through the actors' strike and standing strong for an equitable contract.
• Ava DuVernay - For creating a new financing model, for consistently supporting women in film and for focusing her work on social justice.
• Greta Gerwig - For ALL THAT is BARBIE.
• Lily Gladstone - For championing Native American stories, advocating for diversity and authenticity, and for starring in two exceptional films in 2023. 
• Margot Robbie - For producing and starring in BARBIE, and for continued support for women in film via her LuckyChap production company.

EDA SPECIAL MENTIONS

EDA SPECIAL MENTION: GRAND DAME FOR DEFYING AGISM 

• Annette Benning - NYAD
• Julia Louis Dreyfus - YOU HURT MY FEELINGS
• Jodie Foster - NYAD
• Helen Mirren - GOLDA and FAST X
• Julianne Moore - MAY DECEMBER

EDA SPECIAL MENTION:

MOST EGREGIOUS LOVERS' AGE DIFFERENCE

• INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY - Harrison Ford (81) and Phoebe Waller-Bridge (38)
• KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON - Leo DiCaprio (49) and Lily Gladstone (37)
• MISSION IMPOSSIBLE DEAD RECKONING PART ONE - Tom Cruise (61) and Haley Atwell (41)
• OPPENHEIMER - Cillian Murphy (47) and Florence Pugh (27)
• POOR THINGS - Mark Ruffalo (56) and Emma Stone (35)

EDA SPECIAL MENTION: SHE DESERVES A NEW AGENT

NOTE: This is not a put down. On the contrary, it suggests that the actress is better than the role(s) she's been given.

• Ana de Armas - GHOSTS 
• Candace Bergen, Jane Fonda, Diane Keaton and Mary Steenburgen - BOOK CLUB: THE NEXT CHAPTER
• Toni Colette - MAFIA MAMMA
• Nia Vardalos - MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING 3
• Reese Witherspoon - YOUR PLACE OR MINE

EDA SPECIAL MENTION: MOST DARING PERFORMANCE

• Anette Benning - NYAD
• Sandra Huller - ANATOMY OF A FALL
• Sandra Huller THE ZONE OF INTEREST
• Julianne Moore - MAY DECEMBER
• Emma Stone - POOR THINGS

EDA SPECIAL MENTION: TIME WASTER REMAKE OR SEQUEL 

• THE EXORCIST BELIEVER
• THE EXPENDIBLES 4
• THE HUNGER GAMES: THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS & SNAKES
• INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY
• MAGIC MIKE'S LAST DANCE

 HALL OF SHAME AWARD

Taking note of miscreant(s) and their unacceptable behavior and dirty deeds.

• The AMPTP and studio heads for their despicable behavior concerning the WGA and SAG-AFTRA negotiations and strikes.
• Drew Barrymore for resuming her show during the WGA strike, resulting in three writers leaving the show.
• Greta Gerwig for crossing WGA and SAG picket lines (she's a member of both and although not an actor in BARBIE, she co-wrote it) to promote BARBIE. claiming she was just there as a non-striking director. Her co-writer Noah Baumbach respected the picket line. Media gave her a free pass while Black director Justin Simien (not a member of ANY striking guild) was giving flack for attending the Disney premiere of his film THE HAUNTED MANSION. Shame on Greta.
• Jonathan Majors for domestic violence.
• Danny Masterson, sentenced to 30 years to life in prison after having been found guilty of raping two women.

ABOUT THE ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

The Alliance of Women Film Journalists, Inc. (AWFJ) is a not-for-profit professional association of highly qualified female movie critics, reporters and feature writers working in print, broadcast and online media, dedicated to supporting work by and about women – both in front of and behind the cameras – through intra-group promotional activities, outreach programs and by presenting awards in recognition of outstanding accomplishments (the best and worst) by and about women in the movies. 

AWFJ was founded in 2006 by Jennifer Merin, Maitland McDonagh, Joanna Langfield and Jenny Halper. In addition to the year end awards, AWFJ presents EDA Awards at partner festivals, keeps an active and interactive record of fiction feature and documentary films by and/or about women, and/or are of particular interest to women because they focus on women's issues. We welcome information that will allow us to keep our lists updated. Lists are made available to members and the general public on our Web site at AWFJ.org.