indieWIRE CRITICS' POLL '08 | Marcy Dermansky

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.

Marcy Dermansky
About.com (http://worldfilm.about.com)

Best Film
1 - Happy-Go-Lucky
2 - Tell No One
3 - A Christmas Tale
4 - Frozen River
5 - The Edge of Heaven
6 - The Witnesses
7 - Trouble The Water
8 - Che
9 - Be Kind Rewind
10 - Chop Shop

Best Performance
1 - Sally Hawkins, Happy-Go-Lucky
2 - Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler
3 - Melissa Leo, Frozen River
4 - Sean Penn, Milk
5 - Francois Cluzet, Tell No One

Best Supporting Performance
1 - Eddie Marsan, Happy-Go-Lucky
2 - Mathieu Almaric, A Christmas Tale
3 - Michael Shannon, Revolutionary Road
4 - Catherine Deneuve, A Christmas Tale
5 - Vera Farmiga, Nothing But the Truth

Best Director
Mike Leigh, Happy-Go-Lucky

Best Screenplay
Arnaud Desplechin and Emmanuel Bourdieu, A Christmas Tale

Best First Feature
Frozen River

Best Documentary
Trouble The Water

Best Undistributed Film
1 - Those Who Remain
2 - Troubled Water
3 - Charly
4 - Quiet Chaos
5 - Black Ice
6 - I'm Going To Explode
7 - My Mother, My Bride and I
8 - Faubourg Treme: The Untold Story of Black New Orleans
9 - Boogie
10 - Dancers