2011 National Board of Review (NBR) Awards - winners

The National Board of Review revealed their winners today for their 2011 Awards. Martin Scorsese's Hugo led the field, winning both Best Film and Best Director.

The Descendants, however, picked up more awards. It won Best Actor (George Clooney), Supporting Actress (Shailene Woodley), Screenplay (Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash), and was included on the list of Top 10 films of the year.

The Best Foreign Film went to A Separation, while the Best Documentary was Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory. As with Best Film, additional lists were drawn up for those categories but only with five more titles instead of ten.

Traditionally, the National Board of Review was the first of the major awards to be announced in the season leading up to the Oscars. Last year, they crowned The Social Network as did most of the critics' organizations. This year, the New York Film Critics Circle moved their awards date in order to be first out of the gate.

The National Board of Review originally began as a ratings organization. It is now comprised of more than 100 academics, students, film enthusiasts and professionals. They consider around 250 films in a broad range of categories to determine the honorees.

The National Board of Review gala will take place on Tuesday, January 10, 2012 at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York City, and will be hosted by news anchor Natalie Morales.

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Complete list of winners for the 2011 National Board of Review Awards

Best Film
Hugo

Best Director
Martin Scorsese, Hugo

Best Actor
George Clooney, The Descendants

Best Actress
Tilda Swinton, We Need to Talk About Kevin

Best Supporting Actor
Christopher Plummer, Beginners

Best Supporting Actress
Shailene Woodley, The Descendants

Best Original Screenplay
Will Reiser, 50/50

Best Adapted Screenplay
Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash, The Descendants

Best Animated Feature
Rango

Breakthrough Performance
Felicity Jones, Like Crazy

Breakthrough Performance
Rooney Mara, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Debut Director
J.C. Chandor, Margin Call

Best Ensemble
The Help

Spotlight Award
Michael Fassbender (A Dangerous Method, Jane Eyre, Shame, X-Men: First Class)

NBR Freedom of Expression
Crime After Crime

NBR Freedom of Expression
Pariah

Best Foreign Language Film
A Separation

Best Documentary
Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory

Special Achievement in Filmmaking
The Harry Potter Franchise - A Distinguished Translation from Book to Film

Top Films
(in alphabetical order)
The Artist
The Descendants
Drive
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
The Ides of March
J. Edgar
Tree of Life
War Horse

Top 5 Foreign Language Films
(In Alphabetical Order)
13 Assassins
Elite Squad: The Enemy Within
Footnote
Le Havre
Point Blank

Top 5 Documentaries 
(In Alphabetical Order)
Born to be Wild
Buck
George Harrison: Living in the Material World
Project Nim
Senna

Top 10 Independent Films 
(In Alphabetical Order)
50/50
Another Earth
Beginners
A Better Life
Cedar Rapids
Margin Call
Shame
Take Shelter
We Need To Talk About Kevin
Win Win