National Board of Review, Top 10 Independent Films of 2008:
(In alphabetical order)
- FROZEN RIVER
- IN BRUGES
- IN SEARCH OF A MIDNIGHT KISS
- MR. FOE
- RACHEL GETTING MARRIED
- SNOW ANGELS
- SON OF RAMBOW
- WENDY AND LUCY
- VICKY CRISTINA BARCELON
- THE VISITOR
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Best Actor
Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
Colin Firth, A
Single Man
George Clooney, Up in the Air
Matt Damon, The
Informant!
Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker
Viggo Mortensen, The Road
Ben Foster, The
Messenger
Michael Stuhlbarg, A Serious Man
Michael Sheen, The Damned United
Best Actress
Gabby Sidibe, Precious
Carey Mulligan, An Education
Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia
Abbie Cornish, Bright Star
Helen Mirren, The
Last Station
Michelle Monaghan, Trucker
Best Supporting Actor
Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds
Alfred Molina, An
Education
Stanley Tucci, Julie & Julia
Peter Sarsgaard, An Education
Robert Duvall, Crazy Heart
Peter Capaldi, In
the Loop
Zach Galifianakis, The Hangover
Anthony Mackie, The Hurt Locker
Brian Geraghty, The Hurt Locker
Best Supporting
Actress
Mo'Nique,Precious
Anna Kendrick,Up
in the Air
Maggie Gyllenhaal, Crazy Heart
Julianne Moore, A
Single Man
Melanie Laurent, Inglourious Basterds
Vera Farmiga, Up
in the Air
Samantha Morton, The Messenger
Emma Thompson, An
Education
Cara Seymour, An
Education
Best Director
Jason
Reitman, Up in the
Air
Lee Daniels, Precious
Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
Lone Scherfig, An
Education
Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds
Joel and Ethan Coen, A Serious Man
Neill Blomkamp, District 9
Spike Jonze, Where the Wild Things Are
Tom Ford, A
Single Man
Jane Campion, Bright Star
Best Original
Screenplay
Mark Boal, The Hurt
Locker
Joel and Ethan Coen, A Serious Man
Jane Campion, Bright Star
Quentin Tarantino,Inglourious Basterds
Michael Haneke,White Ribbon
Bob Peterson, Pete Docter,Up
Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber, 500 Days of Summer
Best Adapted Screenplay
Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner,
Up in the Air
Nick Hornby, An
Education
Spike Jonze, Dave Eggars,
Where the Wild Things Are
Peter Morgan, The
Damned United
Geoffrey Fletcher, Precious: Based on the Novel Push by
Sapphire
Scott Burns, The
Informant!
Tom Ford, A
Single Man
Best Editing
Chris Innis, Bob Murawski,
The Hurt Locker
Sally Menke, Inglourious Basterds
Dana E. Glauberman,, Up in the Air
Joel and Ethan Coen,, A Serious Man
Best
Cinematography
Greig Fraser,Bright Star
Robert Richardson,Inglourious Basterds
Roger Deakins, A Serious
Man
Christian Berger, White Ribbon
Bruno Delbonnel,Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Barry Ackroyd, The Hurt Locker
Best Art Direction
Where the Wild Things Are
Julie & Julia
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood
Prince
Bright Star
Inglourious Basterds
White Ribbon
District 9
A Serious Man
Best Sound Mixing
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood
Prince
District 9
Transformers: Revenge of the
Fallen
The Hurt Locker
Star Trek
Best Sound Editing
District 9
Transformers: Revenge of the
Fallen
Star Trek
Up
Best Costume Design
Janet Patterson, Bright Star
Jany Temime,Harry
Potter and the Half Blood Prince
Anna B. Sheppard,Inglourious Basterds
Mary Zophre, A
Serious Man
Colleen Atwood, Public Enemies
Consolata Boyle,Cheri
Best Original Score
Carter Burwell, Karen O,Where the Wild Things Are
Carter Burwell,A
Serious Man
Michael Giacchino,Up
Alexandre Desplat, Cheri
Elliot Goldenthal, Public Enemies
Best Foreign Language Film (submissions)
Letters from Father Jacob, Finland
White Wedding, South Africa
A Prophet, France
Dawson, Isla 10, Chile
Nobody to Watch Over Me, Japan
Prince of Tears, Hong Kong
No puedo vivir sin ti, Taiwan
Kelin, Kazakhstan
Mother, Korea
The White Ribbon, Germany
Silent Army, The Netherlands
Best Documentary Feature
The Beaches of Agnes
Burma VJ
The Cove
Every Little Step
Facing Ali
Food, Inc.
Garbage Dreams
Living in Emergency
The Most Dangerous Man in America
Mugabe and the White African
Sergio
Soundtrack for a Revolution
Under Our Skin
Valentino
Which Way Home
Best Animated
Feature
Up
The Princess and the Frog
Coraline
The Fantastic Mr. Fox
A Christmas Carol
Mary and Max
Cloudy with a Chance of
Meatballs
Ponyo
Best Visual
Effects
Star Trek
District 9
A Christmas Carol
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood
Prince
Transformers
Best Makeup
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood
Prince
District 9
Best Song
Best Live Action Short
Best Animated Short
Best Documentary Short
China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of
Sichuan Province
The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner
The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant
Lt. Watada
Music by Prudence
Rabbit a la Berlin
Tell Them Anything You Want: A Portrait of Maurice Sendak
Woman Rebel
Saturday, January 23, 2010: Nominations polls close 5 p.m. PT
Tuesday, February 2, 2010: Nominations announced 5:30 a.m. PT, Samuel Goldwyn Theater
Wednesday, February 10, 2010: Final ballots mailed
Monday, February 15, 2010: Nominees Luncheon
Saturday, February 20, 2010: Scientific and Technical Achievement Awards presentation
Tuesday, March 2, 2010: Final polls close 5 p.m. PT
Sunday, March 7, 2010: 82nd Annual Academy Awards presentation




29 Responses for "National Board of Review, Top 10 Independent Films"
“Snow Angels” is amazing and David Gordon Green one of the most interesting directors working in USA right now.
Not surprisingly, this list is HOTT.
No ‘Ballast’? Seriously?
hurray for Snow, Vicky, Rachel, and The Visitor.. i wana cry..
I think their independent list makes more sense than the other list.
My top 5 films of the year are on this list: In Bruges, Frozen River, The Visitor, Vicky Cristina Barcelona and Rachel Getting Married.
Well done, NBR!
So much better than their big list, LOL.
Huh? So since Slumdog won, it doesn’t get included on the “best” lists?
“Huh? So since Slumdog won, it doesn’t get included on the “best” lists?”
Yes. That’s the way it works at NBR.
While I didn’t care for Frozen/River, I’m glad to see The Visitor, Rachel Getting Married, Vicky Christina Barcelona and In Bruges get some recognition. Also I know almost all the films on this list have their fans even if I have only personally seen half of them.
fantastic list
the visitor, frozen river, rachel getting married, vicky cristina barcelona, wendy and lucy, and in bruges
This list is so much better than the top 10 films list!!!
With a Best Picture Comedy/Musical and a Best Actor Comedy/Musical mention at the Satellites, mentions for Picture, 2 mentions for Actor, Screenplay, and Editing at the British Independent Film Awards (with a win for Screenplay,) and now a mention today on the short list of the National Board of Review’s Best Independent Films, this strange boycotting of In Bruges on this site must come to an end! This film is very much a contender! It’s time you took the time to see it Sasha!
How many years before the “main” top ten starts looking like the ghettoized one?
Cecilia, it’s not bias on Sasha’s part. In Bruges has a shot at a screenplay nomination, but that’s it.
This was a lame year for movies, and looking at that list you can see the indies weren’t exempt from that either. I think the only really good movie I saw this year was Wall-E. I saw most of the movies on that list, and none of them sat well with me.
The inclusion of Snow Angels and Son of Rambow over Ballast and some of the foreign indies this year is puzzling to me.
I in no way suggested it was Sasha’s fault, but I am pretty sure that Sasha will only put films on the Contender Tracker that she herself can vouch for. Since it is not on the contender tracker, I assume she hasn’t seen it. I’d say it’s chances at getting a nomination for Best Original Screenplay are pretty good, though I would expect nothing more.
Also, I hope that this mention can maybe build a momentum for Frozen River to receive a Best Picture Nomination?!? I know it is an INCREDIBLE longshot, but it is still the only film to be shortlisted by the ISAs, SAs, Gothams, and NBR!
Such a lovely film. In a perfect world, Courtney Hunt would be nominated for Best Director.
Nice to see Son of Rambow getting some love. It is one of my favorites of the year.
“Mister Foe” is a great little film. Glad to see it on this list (a much more respectable list to wind up on, I might add).
Does anyone know what category “I’ve Loved You So Long” would have fallen under? It didn’t make any of these lists? Not Indie, not Foreign Language, not general top 10?
What happened to the Wrestler?
Not sure I would classify Vicky as an “indie” film, though I did love it.
Nice to see “Snow Angels” getting some recongnition.
@Mr.Sizemore
The Wrestler made their main list.
Snowangels is a perfect choice. In a perfect and just world, Sam Rockwell would be getting a nomination for his absolutely outstanding performance. And it was cool to see Amy Sedaris give a serious (well, somewhat) performance.
Cecilia, I have to agree with you.
I think it’s quite strange how “In Bruges” is being silenced. So what if it’s best shot is at a screenplay nomination. I also don’t suggest that it’s Sasha’s fault, and in fact Gentle Benj I truly think you might be right about the slim chances.
However I’ve already commented on another post that I just find it really strange that its seven nominations at the BIFAs didn’t impress anyone. I think it’s a pretty big compliment, and you can’t just completely take it back just because “it might not win”. It’s a good film that deserves lobbying. If we stop having faith in films that probably won’t take home more than one award, what’s the use of these events anymore? Honestly I think we can all say Slumdog Millionaire, a fantastic film, will probably do best this year. So is it over, then? I mean, we can just stop talking about it now because we know anyway. I’m not trying to be in any way unfriendly, I’m just trying to point out that for me that’s just not an attitude I can adapt to.
I think In Bruges deserves nominations, even if there’ll be no wins, because it was a good film. And rewarding it by giving it attention, regardless of its bankability or putting it on any bandwagon, is important to me. I think Martin McDonagh is a very promising feature film maker and I support every bit of praise that this film gets, because it will make a next one more likely, and I do love film.
I do honestly wish it would be mentioned or supported a little more.
wow… Julianna…
LOL sorry Glimmer, I’m a little fanatic about In Bruges
it’s cool, your not an inanimate object.
i’m rooting for this film too !!!!
LOL! I love that quote. That has to be one of the best lines ever.
Does ANY ONE out there care for rewarding exceptional, breath-taking performances? Aka Sophie Okonedo in “Skin”! She was Amazing!
Maybe the release date for “Skin” is in 2009? I sure hope so because this film premiered at the Toronto Film Festival and Okonedo was Unbelievably Incredible and Brilliant!
Crazy list. i cant believe no black film makers were on the list. this is the year of obama and we all have to love all black people even if they deserve it or not. republican racists!!!!
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