The Southeastern Film Critics Association (SEFCA) yesterday named 12 Years a Slave the Best Picture of 2013 in its 22nd annual voting. Based on the memoir by Solomon Northup, a New York African-American who was born a free man but ended up getting kidnapped and sold into slavery in the South, the film earned a total of five awards, with its other victories coming in the categories of Best Actor (Chiwetel Ejiofor), Best Supporting Actress (Lupita Nyong'o), Best Director (Steve McQueen) and Best Adapted Screenplay (John Ridley).
Aside from the 12 Years sweep, no other film won more than one award. In the other acting races, Cate Blanchett won Best Actress for Blue Jasmine and Jared Leto nabbed Best Supporting Actor for Dallas Buyers Club. American Hustle won for Best Ensemble, while Spike Jonze scored Best Original Screenplay with Her.
In the remaining races, the Danish import The Hunt took top honors for Best Foreign Language Film, The Act of Killing grabbed Best Documentary Feature, Frozen won for Best Animated Feature and Gravity proved victorious in the Best Cinematography category.
The Wyatt Award, given annually to the "film that best evokes the spirit of the South" (past winners have included Beasts of the Southern Wild, The Help and Winter's Bone), this year went to writer-director Jeff Nichols' Mud.
The Southeastern Film Critics Association is comprised of film journalists from nine states representing the Southeastern section of the United States. This year, 51 members participated in the voting, including Charlotte critics Sean O'Connell, Lawrence Toppman, Harvey Burgess and me.
In addition to naming its Best Picture, SEFCA also releases its Top 10 for the year. The complete list of winners and runners-up in all categories is below.
BEST PICTURE
1. 12 Years a Slave
2. Gravity
3. American Hustle
4. Her
5. Inside Llewyn Davis
6. Nebraska
7. Dallas Buyers Club
8. Philomena
9. Captain Phillips
10. The Wolf of Wall Street
BEST ACTOR
Winner - Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave
* Runner-up - Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club
BEST ACTRESS
Winner - Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
* Runner-up - Judi Dench, Philomena
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Winner - Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club
* Runner-up - Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Winner - Lupita Nyong'o, 12 Years a Slave
* Runner-up - Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle
BEST ENSEMBLE
Winner - American Hustle
* Runner-up - 12 Years a Slave
BEST DIRECTOR
Winner - Steve McQueen, 12 Years a Slave
* Runner-up - Alfonso Cuaron, Gravity
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Winner - Spike Jonze, Her
* Runner-up - David O. Russell & Eric Singer, American Hustle
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Winner - John Ridley, 12 Years a Slave
* Runner-up - Jeff Pope & Steve Coogan, Philomena
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Winner - The Act of Killing
* Runner-up – (tie) Blackfish and Muscle Shoals
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Winner - The Hunt (Denmark)
* Runner-up - Blue is the Warmest Color (France)
BEST ANIMATED FILM
Winner - Frozen
* Runner-up - The Wind Rises
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Winner - Emmanuel Lubezki, Gravity
* Runner-up - Sean Bobbitt, 12 Years a Slave
GENE WYATT AWARD FOR FILM THAT BEST EVOKES THE SPIRIT OF THE SOUTH
Winner - Mud
* Runner-up - Muscle Shoals