For your consideration: my Critics' Circle votes 2021

(Beware any critic who claims to have seen everything released in the past 12 months. This year more than ever, it was humanly impossible.)

Director of the Year

1. Karim Aïnouz, The Invisible Life of Eurídice Gusmão

2. Alonso Ruizpalacios, A Cop Movie

3. Fanny Liatard and Jérémy Trouilh, Gagarine

(Honourable mentions: Celine Sciamma, Petite Maman; Kelly Reichardt, First Cow; Leos Carax, Annette; Nobuhiko Ôbayashi, Labyrinth of Cinema; Aneil Karia, Surge; Sean Durkin, The Nest; Naomi Kawase, True Mothers; Mari Selvaraj, Karnan; Shaka King, Judas and the Black Messiah.)

Screenwriter of the Year

1. Murilo Hauser, Ines Bortagaray [above] and Karim Aïnouz, The Invisible Life of Eurídice Gusmão

2. Max Borenstein, Worth

3. Emma Seligman, Shiva Baby

(Honourable mentions: Will Berson and Shaka King, Judas and the Black Messiah; Naomi Kawase and Izumi Takahashi, True Mothers; Kelly Reichardt, First Cow; Harry Macqueen, Supernova; Gonzalo Delgado and Ana Katz, The Dog Who Wouldn't Be Quiet; Patricia Rozema, Mouthpiece.)

Actress of the Year

1. Hiromi Nagasaku, True Mothers

2. Carrie Coon, The Nest

3. Rachel Sennott, Shiva Baby

(Honourable mentions: Barbara Sukowa, Two of Us; Max Eigenmann, Verdict; Laure Calamy, My Donkey, My Lover and I; Natasa Stark, Preparations to be Together for an Unknown Period of Time.)

Actor of the Year

1. Jean Dujardin, Deerskin

2. Adam Driver, Annette

3. Oscar Isaac, The Card Counter

(Honourable mentions: Nicolas Cage, Pig; Lakeith Stanfield, Judas and the Black Messiah; Michael Keaton, Worth; Bob Odenkirk, Nobody; John Magaro, First Cow; Luca Marinelli, Martin Eden; Daniel Katz, The Dog Who Wouldn't Be Quiet.)

Supporting Actress of the Year

1. Aju Makita, True Mothers

2. Martine Chevallier, Two of Us

3. Dominique Fishback, Judas and the Black Messiah

(Honourable mentions: Adèle Haenel, Deerskin; Emma Thompson, Cruella.)

Supporting Actor of the Year

1. Jesse Plemons, The Power of the Dog

2. Toni Servillo, The Hand of God

3. Stanley Tucci, Supernova and Worth

(Honourable mentions: Orion Lee, First Cow; Pineapple Tangaroa, Drunk Bus.)

British/Irish Actress of the Year

1. Nika McGuigan, Wildfire

2. Ruth Negga, Passing

3. Tilda Swinton, The Human Voice and The French Dispatch

(Honourable mentions: Clare Dunne, Herself; Emma Thompson, Cruella.)

British/Irish Actor of the Year

1. Ben Whishaw, Surge

2. Daniel Kaluuya, Judas and the Black Messiah

3. Colin Firth, Supernova

(Honourable mentions: Jude Law, The Nest; Neil Maskell, Bull.)

Breakthrough of the Year

1. Aneil Karia, co-writer/director, Surge

2. Ben Sharrock, writer-director, Limbo

3. Chloe Fairweather, director, Dying to Divorce

(Honourable mentions: Jason Ferguson, director, Sir Alex Ferguson: Never Give In; Celeste Bell, co-writer/director, Poly Styrene: I Am A Cliché.)

Young British Performer of the Year

1. Daniel Lamont, Nowhere Special

(...and I still think we ought to replace this category with a Best Animation prize.)

The London Film Critics' Circle nominations for 2021 were announced today, and can be seen in full here; this year's awards ceremony follows on February 6, 2022.