The National Society of Film Critics?

I have been a movie and award watcher for more decades than I will admit to. Oscars, Golden Globes, Cannes, National Board Of Review (the oldest organization giving out awards), awards given by State and City critics organizations, etc. But in all that time this particular group, in its 49th year, is a discovery for me.

Wikipedia describes it this way: “The National Society of Film Critics (NSFC) is an American film critic organization. The organization is known for its highbrow tastes, and its annual awards are one of the most prestigious film critics’ awards in the United States. In January 2014, the NSFC had approximately 60 members who wrote for a variety of weekly and daily newspapers along with major publications and media outlets.”

According to another source: “For almost half a century, the National Society of Film Critics (NSFC) , which was founded in 1966, rarely previewed the Oscar winner for Best Picture, doing so only five times in 49 years. But it has done just that four times in the last seven years: "Spotlight" (2016), "Moonlight" (2017), "Parasite" (2020) and "Nomadland" (2021).”

So, will they predict it again? Here is the list of winners announced on January 6, 2024:

Unlike most critics groups, the NSFC discloses the results of voting. Voting is conducted via a weighted ballot system. If no winner is declared on the first ballot, the category goes to a second ballot, this time without the proxies.

BEST PICTURE: "Past Lives" (51 points)

Runners-up:
"The Zone of Interest" (49 points)
"Oppenheimer" (44 points)

BEST DIRECTOR: Jonathan Glazer, "The Zone of Interest" (65 points)

Runners-up:
Todd Haynes, "May December" (42 points)
Christopher Nolan, "Oppenheimer" (41 points)

BEST ACTRESS: Sandra Hüller, "Anatomy of a Fall" and "The Zone of Interest" (61 points)

Runners-up:
Emma Stone, "Poor Things" (56 points)
Lily Gladstone, "Killers of the Flower Moon" (44 points)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Da'Vine Joy Randolph, "The Holdovers" (58 points)

Runners-up:
Penélope Cruz, "Ferrari" (32 points)
Rachel McAdams, "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret." (23 points)

BEST ACTOR: Andrew Scott, "All of Us Strangers" (52 points)

Runners-up:
Jeffrey Wright, "American Fiction" (39 points)
Cillian Murphy, "Oppenheimer" (29 points)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Charles Melton, "May December" (51 points)

Runners-up:
Robert Downey, Jr., "Oppenheimer," and Ryan Gosling, "Barbie" (31 points, tie)

BEST SCREENPLAY: Samy Burch, "May December" (53 points)

Runners-up:
Celine Song, "Past Lives" (50 points)
David Hemingson, "The Holdovers" (36 points)

BEST FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE: "Fallen Leaves" (65 points)

Runners-up:
"The Zone of Interest" (51 points)
"Anatomy of a Fall" (44 points)

BEST NONFICTION FILM: "Menus-Plaisirs - Les Troisgros" (64 points)

Runners-up:
"20 Days in Mariupol" (25 points)
"Kokomo City" (19 points)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Rodrigo Prieto, "Killers of the Flower Moon" (55 points)

Runners-up:
Łukasz Żal, "The Zone of Interest" (45 points)
Hoyte van Hoytema, "Oppenheimer" (44 points)