indieWIRE CRITICS' POLL '08 | Ben Kenigsberg

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.

Ben Kenigsberg
Time Out Chicago

Best Film
1 - Che
2 - Paranoid Park
3 - Hunger
4 - WALL-E
5 - The Wrestler
6 - The Flight of the Red Balloon
7 - Changeling
8 - Burn After Reading
9 - A Christmas Tale
10 - Silent Light

Best Performance
1 - Juliette Binoche, The Flight of the Red Balloon
2 - Tarra Riggs, Ballast
3 - Sally Hawkins, Happy-Go-Lucky
4 - Asia Argento, Boarding Gate
5 - Sean Penn, Milk
Note: NOT RANKED

Best Supporting Performance
1 - Liam Cunningham, Hunger
2 - Daniel Liu, Paranoid Park
3 - Josh Brolin, Milk
4 - Brad Pitt, Burn After Reading
5 - Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
Note: NOT RANKED

Best Director
Steven Soderbergh, Che

Best Screenplay
Charlie Kaufman, Synecdoche, New York

Best First Feature
Hunger

Best Documentary
Man on Wire

Best Undistributed Film
1 - A Time to Stir
2 - The Headless Woman
3 - 35 Shots of Rum
4 - Birdsong
5 - Me and Orson Welles
6 - Soi Cowboy
7 - Tony Manero
8 - The Beaches of Agnes
9 - I'm Gonna Explode
10 - Afterschool
Note: NOT RANKED