‘Once Upon a Time…In Hollywood” Leads the 1st NDFS Awards Nominations

BY SCOTTIE KNOLLIN

The inaugural North Dakota Film Society Awards celebrate the best achievements in cinema of 2019. Today, the group has announced its list of nominees in 15 categories, with Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time…In Hollywood earning the most nominations (9). The Lighthouse and Parasite follow with 8 nominations apiece.

Established in 2019, the North Dakota Film Society includes filmmakers, educators, exhibitors, and journalists based in cities across North Dakota. In 2020, the group has plans to host special film screenings throughout North Dakota, support film-related events like the Fargo Film Festival, and will continue to expand its membership to include unique voices who promote the art of film through teaching, exhibition, journalism, and filmmaking.

For more information about the awards selection process, click here. Category eligibility was based on the consideration listings per each studio/film.

Winners of each category will be announced on January 16, 2020.

Best Picture
A total of 20 films received nominations from members of the society, including 1917, Avengers: Endgame, Booksmart, The Farewell, Ford v Ferrari, A Hidden Life, Jojo Rabbit, Joker, Knives Out, The Last Black Man in San Francisco, The Lighthouse, Little Women, Marriage Story, Midsommar, The Nightingale, Once Upon a Time…In Hollywood, Parasite, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, The Souvenir, and Uncut Gems.

THE LIGHTHOUSE
Directed by Robert Eggers; Produced by Rodrigo Teixeira, Jay Van Hoy, Robert Eggers, Lourenco Sant’Anna, Youree Henley

MARRIAGE STORY
Directed by Noah Baumbach; Produced by Noah Baumbach, David Heyman

MIDSOMMAR
Directed by Ari Aster; Produced by by Thomas Benski, Fredrik Heinig, Pelle Nilsson, Ben Rimmer, Philip Westgren

ONCE UPON A TIME…IN HOLLYWOOD
Directed by Quentin Tarantino; Produced by David Herman, Shannon McIntosh, Quentin Tarantino

PARASITE
Directed by Bong Joon ho; Produced by Bong Joon Ho, Sin-ae Kwak

Best Director
A total of 18 directors received nominations from members of the society, including Ari Aster (Midsommar), Noah Baumbach (Marriage Story), Robert Eggers (The Lighthouse), Greta Gerwig (Little Women), Bong Joon Ho (Parasite), Joanna Hogg (The Souvenir), Rian Johnson (Knives Out), Jennifer Kent (The Nightingale), Terrence Malick (A Hidden Life), Sam Mendes (1917), Todd Phillips (Joker), Benny Safdie & Josh Safdie (Uncut Gems), Celine Sciamma (Portrait of a Lady on Fire), Martin Scorsese (The Irishman), Joe Talbot (The Last Black Man in San Francisco), Quentin Tarantino (Once Upon a Time…In Hollywood), Taika Waititi (Jojo Rabbit), and Lulu Wang (The Farewell).

Ari Aster
MIDSOMMAR

Robert Eggers
THE LIGHTHOUSE

Bong Joon Ho
PARASITE

Benny Safdie & Josh Safdie
UNCUT GEMS

Quentin Tarantino
ONCE UPON A TIME…IN HOLLYWOOD

Best Actress
A total of 13 actresses received nominations from members of the society, including Awkwafina (The Farewell), Honor Swinton Byrne (The Souvenir), Cynthia Erivo (Harriet), Beanie Feldstein (Booksmart), Aisling Franciosi (The Nightingale), Scarlett Johansson (Marriage Story), Lupita Nyong’o (Us), Florence Pugh (Midsommar), Saoirse Ronan (Little Women), Mame Bineta Sane (Atlantics), Charlize Theron (Bombshell), Alfre Woodard (Clemency), and Renee Zellweger (Judy).

Awkwafina
THE FAREWELL

Scarlett Johansson
MARRIAGE STORY

Lupita Nyong’o
US

Florence Pugh
MIDSOMMAR

Saoirse Ronan
LITTLE WOMEN

Best Actor
A total of 13 actors were nominated by members of the society, including Christian Bale (Ford v Ferrari), Antonio Banderas (Pain and Glory), Daniel Craig (Knives Out), Robert De Niro (The Irishman), Leonardo DiCaprio (Once Upon a Time…In Hollywood), August Diehl (A Hidden Life), Adam Driver (Marriage Story), Taron Egerton (Rocketman), Matthew McConaughey (The Beach Bum), Eddie Murphy (Dolemite is My Name), Robert Pattinson (The Lighthouse), Joaquin Phoenix (Joker), and Adam Sandler (Uncut Gems).

Leonardo DiCaprio
ONCE UPON A TIME…IN HOLLYWOOD

Adam Driver
MARRIAGE STORY

Robert Pattinson
THE LIGHTHOUSE

Joaquin Phoenix
JOKER

Adam Sandler
UNCUT GEMS

Best Supporting Actress
A total of 13 actresses were nominated by members of the society, including Kathy Bates (Richard Jewell), Julia Butters (Once Upon a Time…In Hollywood), Jamie Lee Curtis (Knives Out), Park So Dam (Parasite), Laura Dern (Little Women and Marriage Story), Cho Yeo Jeong (Parasite), Jennifer Lopez (Hustlers), Idina Menzel (Uncut Gems), Florence Pugh (Little Women), Margot Robbie (Once Upon a Time…In Hollywood), Taylor Russell (Waves), Zhao Shuzhen (The Farewell), and Maggie Smith (Downton Abbey).

Laura Dern
MARRIAGE STORY

Jennifer Lopez
HUSTLERS

Florence Pugh
LITTLE WOMEN

Margot Robbie
ONCE UPON A TIME…IN HOLLYWOOD

Zhao Shuzhen
THE FAREWELL

Best Supporting Actor
A total of 15 actors were nominated by members of the society, including Alan Alda (Marriage Story), Sterling K. Brown (Waves), Willem Dafoe (The Lighthouse), Matt Damon (Ford v Ferrari), Asier Etxeandia (Pain and Glory), Kevin Garnett (Uncut Gems), Tom Hanks (A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood), Song Kang Ho (Parasite), Noah Jupe (Honey Boy), Ray Liotta (Marriage Story), John Lithgow (Bombshell), Al Pacino (The Irishman), Joe Pesci (The Irishman), Brad Pitt (Once Upon a Time…In Hollywood), and Wesley Snipes (Dolemite is My Name).

Willem Dafoe
THE LIGHTHOUSE

Tom Hanks
A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD

Al Pacino
THE IRISHMAN

Joe Pesci
THE IRISHMAN

Brad Pitt
ONCE UPON A TIME…IN HOLLYWOOD

Best Screenplay
A total of 15 screenplays were nominated by members of the society, including 1917, Atlantics, Booksmart, The Farewell, Ford v Ferrari, The Irishman, Jojo Rabbit, Knives Out, The Last Black Man in San Francisco, The Lighthouse, Marriage Story, Midsommar, Once Upon a Time…In Hollywood, Parasite, and Us.

THE LIGHTHOUSE
Written by Robert Eggers, Max Eggers

MARRIAGE STORY
Written by Noah Baumbach

MIDSOMMAR
Written by Ari Aster

ONCE UPON A TIME…IN HOLLYWOOD
Written by Quentin Tarantino

PARASITE
Written by Bong Joon Ho, Jin Won Han

Best Cinematography
A total of 15 films were nominated by members of the society, including 1917, Ad Astra, Ford v Ferrari, A Hidden Life, The Irishman, Joker, The Last Black Man in San Francisco, The Lighthouse, Little Women, Midsommar, Once Upon a Time…In Hollywood, Parasite, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, The Souvenir, and Waves.

A HIDDEN LIFE
Director of Photography: Jorg Widmer

JOKER
Director of Photography: Lawrence Sher

THE LIGHTHOUSE
Director of Photography: Jarin Blaschke

ONCE UPON A TIME…IN HOLLYWOOD
Director of Photography: Robert Richardson

PARASITE
Director of Photography: Kyung-pyo Hong

Best Production Design
A total of 16 films were nominated by members of the society, including 1917, Ad Astra, Avengers: Endgame, Downton Abbey, Harriet, The Irishman, Jojo Rabbit, Joker, Knives Out, The Lighthouse, Little Women, Midsommar, Once Upon a Time…In Hollywood, Parasite, The Souvenir, and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

THE LIGHTHOUSE
Production Designer: Craig Lathrop; Set Decorator: Ian Greig

JOJO RABBIT
Production Designer: Ra Vincent; Set Decorator: Nora Sopkova

MIDSOMMAR
Production Designer: Henrik Svensson

ONCE UPON A TIME…IN HOLLYWOOD
Production Designer: Barbara Ling; Set Decorator: Nancy Haigh

PARASITE
Production Designer: Ha-jun Lee

Best Editing
A total of 20 films were nominated by members of the society, including Atlantics, Avengers: Endgame, The Beach Bum, The Farewell, Ford v Ferrari, The Irishman, Jojo Rabbit, Joker, Knives Out, The Lighthouse, Little Women, Marriage Story, Midsommar, Once Upon a Time…In Hollywood, Parasite, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, The Souvenir, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Uncut Gems, and Us.

THE IRISHMAN
Editor: Thelma Schoonmaker

JOJO RABBIT
Editor: Tom Eagles

THE LIGHTHOUSE
Editor: Louise Ford

ONCE UPON A TIME…IN HOLLYWOOD
Editor: Fred Raskin

PARASITE
Editor: Jinmo Yang

Best Original Score
A total of 21 film were nominated by members of the society, including 1917, Atlantics, Avengers: Endgame, Ford v Ferrari, Frozen II, A Hidden Life, High Life, The Irishman, Joker, The Last Black Man in San Francisco, The Lighthouse, Little Women, Marriage Story, Midsommar, Once Upon a Time…In Hollywood, Pain and Glory, Parasite, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Uncut Gems, Us, and Waves.

JOKER
Composer: Hildur Guonadóttir

LITTLE WOMEN
Composer: Alexandre Desplat

MARRIAGE STORY
Composer: Randy Newman

MIDSOMMAR
Composer: The Haxan Cloak

US
Composer: Michael Abels

Best Original Song
A total of 15 songs were nominated by members of the society, including “Beautiful Ghosts” (Cats), “Catchy Song” (The Lego Movie: The Second Part), “Daily Battles” (Motherless Brooklyn), “Glasgow” (Wild Rose), “A Glass of Soju” (Parasite), “I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away” (Toy Story 4), “I’m Gonna Love Me Again” (Rocketman), “Into the Unknown” (Frozen II), “Julie” (The Souvenir), “Show Yourself” (Frozen II), “Speechless” (Aladdin), “Spirit” (The Lion King), “Stand Up” (Harriet), “Turning Teeth” (Under the Silver Lake), “Willow” (High Life).

“Glasgow (No Place Like Home)”
WILD ROSE
Music and lyrics by Mary Steenburgen

“A Glass of Soju”
PARASITE
Music and lyrics by Bong Joon Ho and Jung Jae-Il

“I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away”
TOY STORY 4
Music and lyrics by Randy Newman

“I’m Gonna Love Me Again”
ROCKETMAN
Music and lyrics by Elton John and Bernie Taupin

“Into the Unknown”
FROZEN II
Music and lyrics by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez

Best International Feature
A total of 12 films were nominated by members of the society, including Atlantics, The Farewell, Honeyland, I Lost My Body, Les Miserables, Monos, The Nightingale, Pain and Glory, Parasite, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, The Souvenir, and The Two Popes.

HONEYLAND
Directed by Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov
(Macedonia)

LES MISERABLES
Directed by Ladj Ly
(France)

PAIN AND GLORY
Directed by Pedro Almodóvar
(Spain)

PARASITE
Directed by Bong Joon Ho
(South Korea)

PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE
Directed by Céline Sciamma
(France)

Best Documentary Feature
A total of 15 films were nominated by members of the society, including Advocate, American Factory, Apollo 11, The Biggest Little Farm, David Crosby: Remember My Name, Echo in the Canyon, The Edge of Democracy, For Sama, Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened, Honeyland, Jawline, Knock Down the House, One Child Nation, Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese, and Tell Me Who I Am.

AMERICAN FACTORY
Directed by Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert

APOLLO 11
Directed by Todd Douglas Miller

THE BIGGEST LITTLE FARM
Directed by John Chester

HONEYLAND
Directed by Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov

ONE CHILD NATION
Directed by Nanfu Wang and Jialing Zhang

Best Animated Feature
A total of 9 films were nominated by members of the society, Including Abominable, Frozen II, How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, I Lost My Body, Klaus, The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part, The Lion King, Missing Link, and Toy Story 4.

FROZEN II
Directed by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee

I LOST MY BODY
Directed by Jérémy Clapin

KLAUS
Directed by Sergio Pablos

MISSING LINK
Directed by Chris Butler

TOY STORY 4
Directed by Josh Cooley