indieWIRE CRITICS' POLL '08 | Adam Nayman

This is the latest ballot in indieWIRE's 2008 Critics Poll, continuing the tradition of a national survey of critics by calling attention to the year's best -- and, in many cases, most overlooked -- films, providing a meaningful counterpoint to much of the year-end hoopla. Note that some lists are unranked at the discretion of the critic. For all categories except Best Undistributed Film, eligible feature films had first-run theatrical engagements in the U.S. during 2008. Films without a U.S. distributor, screened anywhere (festival circuit, one-off screenings, etc.), are eligible in the Best Undistributed Film category. The full list of critics poll ballots is available here at indieWIRE and tabulated results are being published by indieWIRE later this month.

Adam Nayman
Eye Weekly, Cinema Scope

Best Film
1 - In the City of Sylvia
2 - Still Life
3 - Ballast
4 - La France
5 - The Duchess of Langeais
6 - Wendy and Lucy
7 - The Unforeseen
8 - Rachel Getting Married
9 - Let the Right One In
10 - Profit Motive and the whispering wind

Best Performance
1 - Michelle Williams, Wendy and Lucy
2 - Jeanne Balibar, The Duchess of Langeais
3 - Jean-Claude Van Damme, JCVD
4 - Guilliame Depardieu, The Duchess of Langeais
5 - Juliette Binoche, The Flight of the Red Balloon

Best Supporting Performance
1 - Robert Downey Jr., Tropic Thunder
2 - Jane Lynch, Role Models
3 - Richard Jenkins, Step Brothers
4 - Will Patton, Wendy and Lucy
5 - Kathryn Hahn, Step Brothers

Best Director
Jose Luis Guerin, In the City of Sylvia

Best Screenplay
Pascal Bonitzer, The Duchess of Langeais

Best First Feature
Ballast

Best Documentary
The Unforeseen

Best Undistributed Film
1 - Liverpool
2 - Birdsong
3 - 35 Rhums
4 - California Company Town
5 - Waiting For Sancho
Note: NOT RANKED