indieWIRE CRITICS’ POLL ’08 | Gary Kramer

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.

Gary Kramer
Freelance; Gay City News (NY); Philadelphia Gay News; San Francisco Bay Times

Best Film
1 – Milk
2 – The Edge of Heaven
3 – Jellyfish
4 – In the City of Sylvia
5 – Savage Grace
6 – Alice’s House
7 – Ballast
8 – Chop Shop
9 – Waltz with Bashir
10 – Paraguayan Hammock

Best Performance
1 – Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler
2 – Sean Penn, Milk
3 – Michelle Williams, Wendy and Lucy
4 – Julianne Moore, Savage Grace
5 – Carla Ribas, Alice’s House

Best Supporting Performance
1 – Sophie Okonedo, The Secret Life of Bees
2 – Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
3 – Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler
4 – Gregoire Leprince-Ringuet, Love Songs
5 – Viggo Mortensen, Appaloosa

Best Director
Fatih Akin, The Edge of Heaven

Best Screenplay
Shira Geffen, Jellyfish

Best First Feature
Ballast

Best Documentary
The Black List

Best Undistributed Film
a – Dioses
b – My Time Will Come
c – Parc
d – Empty Nest
e – In a Dream
f – Je Veux Voir
g – Comeback
h – Disgrace
i – Linha de Passe
j – Voy a Explotar
Note: NOT RANKED

Comments
Film festivals are still the best place to discover the gems. It is a shame that some great cinema gets such limited theatrical exposure.

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