WASHINGTON, DC - December 10, 2023 – Shocks and surprises abounded as the Washington DC Area Film Critics Association (WAFCA) members spread their admiration across many films in their 22nd Annual WAFCA Awards this year. Nineteen awards were given to twelve different films as WAFCA engaged in their annual recognition for achievements in cinema.

After leading nominations with ten, the WAFCA members awarded a grand total of six wins to Christopher Nolans industry defying showcase, Oppenheimer. Oppenheimer nabbed awards for Cillian Murphy for Best Actor, Best Director for Christopher Nolan, Best Original Score, Best Ensemble, Best Editing and Best Cinematography. Shockingly, the top nominee, Oppenheimer was edged out in the Best Feature race by Cord Jefferson’s satirical comedy, American Fiction.

Despite only receiving five nominations, American Fiction nabbed two awards, one for Best Picture and the other for Best Adapted Screenplay. These were impressive results for first-time director, Cord Jefferson and his film.

Oppenheimer's promotional partner, Barbie garnered the second largest amount of WAFCA nominations with nine. The Barbenheimer companion, the top box-office draw of the year's lone win was for Best Production Design.

Another surprise occurred in the Best Original Screenplay category. The Holdovers, which had seven WAFCA nominations was outdone by Celine Song's romantic musing, Past Lives. It was the only win for Past Lives. The Holdovers overcame though with Da’Vine Joy Randolph taking the award for Best Actress and Dominic Sessa taking the Best Youth Performance.

Outside of Oppenheimer and The Holdovers, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse was the only other film to receive more than one win. Spider-Man won for Best Animated Feature and Shameik Moore won the Best Voice Performance award for giving life to the hero, Miles Morales in the movie. Amazingly, Spider-Man received a total of five nominations with three of them being in the Voice Performance category.

Congratulations go out to all the winners, nominees and their studios for a successful and prestigious year.

The Washington, D.C. Area Film Critics Association comprises over 50 DC-VA-MD-based film critics from television, radio, print and the Internet. Voting was conducted from December 8-10, 2023.