New York, NY (December 15, 2022) – Film Comment’s annual end-of-year survey was revealed at a special live talk last night, with David Cronenberg’s Crimes of the Future, Jerzy Skolimowski’s EO, and Charlotte Wells’s Aftersun taking the top spots among films released in 2022. Of the films that screened at festivals worldwide but have not announced stateside distribution, David Easteal’s The Plains, Bertrand Bonello’s Coma, and Laura Citarella’s Trenque Lauquen received the top rankings.
The poll was voted on by Film Comment contributors and colleagues from around the globe, including Jamsheed Akrami (scholar and filmmaker), Erika Balsom (scholar and critic), Richard Brody (The New Yorker), Maya S. Cade (Black Film Archive), Edo Choi (The Museum of the Moving Image), Monica Castillo (The Paley Center for Media), Nick Davis (FC contributing editor), Molly Haskell, Kevin B. Lee (Locarno Film Festival), Dennis Lim (Film at Lincoln Center), Violet Lucca (Harper’s Magazine), Adam Nayman (The Ringer), Andréa Picard (Toronto International Film Festival), Inney Prakash (Maysles Documentary Center), Jonathan Romney (FC contributing editor), Gavin Smith, Imogen Sara Smith, Abby Sun (International Documentary Association), Amy Taubin (FC and Artforum contributing editor), Manu Yáñez Murillo (Otros Cines Europa), Cristina Nord (Berlinale Forum), Jean-Michel Frodon, and more.
From left: Devika Girish, Bilge Ebiri, Alissa Wilkinson, Inney Prakash, Clinton Krute
The top 20 films of 2022 were unveiled last night at a special live talk with critics Bilge Ebiri, Alissa Wilkinson, and Inney Prakash, moderated by Film Comment’s Co-Deputy Editors, Devika Girish and Clinton Krute; the lively discussion is now available on the Film Comment Podcast. Following the talk, attendees were treated to a surprise screening of Film Comment’s #1 film of 2022, Crimes of the Future. The complete lists of released and undistributed films are included below.
“That the winner of this year’s poll is a strange, gory, apocalyptic film about a future where art and humanity are both on the precipice of extinction is a striking reflection of what we’re seeking from cinema in 2022,” said Girish. “And it’s exciting to see so many first and second features in the top 20—that’s an invigorating prognosis for the art form!”
“This year’s list is satisfyingly eclectic, reflecting the varying sensibilities of our contributors as well as the wide range of quality films released in 2022,” said Krute. “The same is true of our best undistributed list, which features a remarkable selection of films from around the world that we hope more people are able to see in the future.”
Film Comment’s Top 20 Films Released in 2022
- Crimes of The Future David Cronenberg, Canada/France/Greece/United Kingdom
- EO Jerzy Skolimowski, Poland/Italy
- Aftersun Charlotte Wells, U.K.
- Saint Omer Alice Diop, France
- The Eternal Daughter Joanna Hogg, U.K.
- All the Beauty and the Bloodshed Laura Poitras, U.S.
- In Front of Your Face Hong Sangsoo, South Korea
- Nope Jordan Peele, U.S.
- The Novelist’s Film Hong Sangsoo, South Korea
- The Cathedral Ricky D’Ambrose, U.S.
- TÁR Todd Field, U.S.
- Decision to Leave Park Chan-wook, South Korea
- The Girl and The Spider Ramon and Silvan Zürcher, Switzerland
- The Fabelmans Steven Spielberg, U.S.
- One Fine Morning Mia Hansen-Løve, France
- A Night of Knowing Nothing Payal Kapadia, India
- Stars at Noon Claire Denis, France
- Il Buco Michelangelo Frammartino, Italy
- Armageddon Time James Gray, U.S.
- *TIE: We’re All Going to The World’s Fair & Benediction Jane Schoenbrun, U.S. & Terence Davies, U.K.
Film Comment’s Top 10 Undistributed Films of 2022
- The Plains David Easteal, Australia
- Coma Bertrand Bonello, France
- Trenque Lauquen Laura Citarella, Argentina
- Queens of the Qing Dynasty Ashley McKenzie, Canada
- Mutzenbacher Ruth Beckermann, Austria
- The Adventures of Gigi the Law Alessandro Comodin, Italy/France/Belgium
- The United States of America James Benning, U.S.
- Afterwater Dane Komljen, Germany/South Korea/Spain/Serbia
- It Is Night in America Ana Vaz, Brazil
- A Woman Escapes Sofia Bohdanowicz, Burak Çevik, and Blake Williams, Canada/Turkey
The complete list of films and participants can be found on FilmComment.com.
FILM COMMENT
Since 1962, Film Comment has been the home of independent film journalism, publishing in-depth interviews, critical analysis, and feature coverage of mainstream, art-house, and avant-garde filmmaking from around the world. Published by Film at Lincoln Center, Film Comment is a nonprofit publication that relies on the support of readers. Its activities supporting film culture include The Film Comment Podcast, the Film Comment Letter, and events and talks at Film at Lincoln Center and elsewhere. The magazine was founded under the editorship of Gordon Hitchens, who was followed by Richard Corliss, Harlan Jacobson, Richard T. Jameson, Gavin Smith, and Nicolas Rapold, and is currently co-edited by Clinton Krute and Devika Girish. Past and present contributing writers include Ashley Clark, Manohla Dargis, Raymond Durgnat, Roger Ebert, Manny Farber, Scott Foundas, Molly Haskell, J. Hoberman, Eric Hynes, Kent Jones, Dave Kehr, Nathan Lee, Kathleen Murphy, Sheila O’Malley, Brooks Riley, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Andrew Sarris, Amy Taubin, David Thomson, Amos Vogel, Robin Wood, and many more.
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