indieWIRE CRITICS' POLL '08 | Jay Kuehner

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.

Jay Kuehner
Cinema Scope, Senses of Cinema, Green Cine Daily, Testpattern

Best Film
1 - In the City of Sylvia
2 - A Christmas Tale
3 - The Flight of the Red Balloon
4 - Ballast
5 - Wendy and Lucy
6 - Silent Light
7 - Still Life
8 - Woman on the Beach
9 - Gomorrah
10 - Hunger

Best Performance
1 - Michelle Williams, Wendy and Lucy
2 - Juliette Binoche, The Flight of the Red Balloon
3 - Hafsia Herzi, The Secret of the Grain
4 - Michael Fassbender, Hunger
5 - Sean Penn, Milk
Note: NOT RANKED

Best Supporting Performance
1 - Emmanuelle Devos, A Christmas Tale
2 - Jean-Paul Roussillon, A Christmas Tale
3 - Wally Dalton, Wendy and Lucy
4 - Micheal J. Smith Sr., Ballast
5 - Fang Song, The Flight of the Red Balloon
Note: NOT RANKED

Best Director
Jose Luis Guerin, In the City of Sylvia

Best Screenplay
Arnaud Desplechin and Emmanuel Bourdieu, A Christmas Tale

Best First Feature
Ballast

Best Documentary
Tie: Of Time and the City/Profit Motive and the Whispering Wind

Best Undistributed Film
1 - Liverpool, Lisandro Alonso
2 - RR, James Benning
3 - Summer Hours, Olivier Assayas
4 - Headless Woman, Lucrecia Martel
5 - 35 Rhums, Claire Denis
6 - Night and Day, Hong Sang-Soo
7 - Modern Life, Raymond Depardon
8 - Still Walking, Kore-eda Hirokazu
9 - Birdsong, Albert Serra
10 - 24 City, Jia Zhang-ke

Comments
No category for cinematography? Let's hear it for Lol Crowley!