2018’s ROMA Film Garners Five EDA Awards From Alliance of Women Film Journalists; BLACK PANTHER Awarded Best Ensemble Cast

By Michelle McCue | January 14, 2019

The Alliance of Women Film Journalists is pleased to announce the winners of the 2018 AWFJ EDA Awards. This year, AWFJ presents EDA Awards in 25 categories, divided into three sections: the standard ‘Best Of’ section, the Female Focus awards and the irreverent EDA Special Mention awards—including Actress Most in Need of a New Agent and the AWFJ Hall of Shame Award.

In the ‘Best Of’ section, this year’s big winner is “ROMA”, garnering five EDA Awards for Best Film, Best Non-English Language Film, Best Cinematography, Best Editing and Best Director for Alfonso Cuaron.

The highly regarded “THE FAVOURITE” was honored in the “Best Of,” “Female Focus,” and “EDA Special Mention” categories with a total of four awards.  The film’s star Olivia Colman was honored with the Best Actress and the Bravest Performance awards, while the film’s writer Deborah Davis received two wins for Best Screenplay Original (with co-writer Tony McNamara) and Best Woman Screenwriter.

Marielle Heller’s “CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?” won three awards including Best Supporting Actor for Richard E. Grant; Best Screenplay Adapted to writers Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty; and Best Woman Director to Heller.

Action film “BLACK PANTHER” was awarded Best Ensemble Cast and cinematographer Rachel Morrison was named Outstanding Achievement By A Woman for paving the road for women cinematographers for her work as DP on the blockbuster and her history making 2018 Oscar nomination for her cinematography work on MUDBOUND. 

Morgan Neville’s documentary on Mr. Rogers – “WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR” was named Best Documentary, and Best Animated Film went to “SPIDER-MAN INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE” directed by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsay and Rodney Rothman.

Additional acting awards went to Ethan Hawke for Best Actor for “FIRST REFORMED;” Best Supporting Actress to Regina King for her role in “IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK;” and newcomer Thomasin McKenzie was honored with the Best Breakthrough Performance Award for her starring role in “LEAVE NO TRACE.”

Additional winners in the EDA Special Mention Categories:

• Viola Davis received “The Actress Defying Age and Ageism Award” for “WIDOWS;”
• Jennifer Lawrence in “RED SPARROW” was singled out for “Actress Most in Need Of A New Agent;” 

• Tom Cruise and Rebecca Fergusonreceived “The Most Egregious Age Difference Between The Lead and The Love Interest Award” for “MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: FALLOUT;” and
• “OVERBOARD” was named “The Remake or Sequel That Shouldn’t Have Been Made”

The Annual AWFJ Hall of Shame Award was bestowed upon ALL ALLEGED ABUSERS: Including Weinstein, Moonves, CK, Spacey, Rush, Franco, Singer, Rose, Lauer et al.

“Representing women film critics’ perspectives on the world’s constantly evolving cinema scene, the Alliance of Women Film Journalists is proud that our 2018 EDA Awards nominees and winners genuinely reflect the movie industry’s advances in the cause of equality and diversity,” states Jennifer Merin, EDA AWARDS and AWJF founder and film critic. “Our EDA Awards always honor the year’s best regardless of gender, but we also recognize the need to have categories that focus specifically on women’s achievements in an industry that still has a long way to go to reach gender parity and equal opportunity for all.”

This year on their final ballots, AWFJ members singled out films that told stories centering on strong and complex female characters from diverse backgrounds. The organization honored the excellent work of female directors and screenwriters. And, as is customary, they have called out some egregious choices and behavior that hopefully will not be repeated in the future.

“All in all, 2018 produced a bumper crop of female-directed and female-centered films,” adds Merin. “Too few of them reached the mainstream, but we hope that AWFJ and the EDA Awards can help to rush such films into the current.”

The AWFJ presents EDA Awards to honor women’s achievements in front of and behind the cameras. In addition to the annual end of the year awards, AWFJ presents EDA Awards for Best Female-Directed Films at select film festivals, including IDFA, Whistler Film Festival, DOXA. Edinburgh Film Festival. St. Louis International Film Festival and others. The EDAs are named in honor of AWFJ founder Jennifer Merin’s mother, Eda Reiss Merin, a stage, film and screen actress whose career spanned more than 60 years. A dedicated foot soldier in the industry, Eda was one of the founders of AFTRA and a long-standing member of AMPAS.

Below is the entire list of this year’s winners:

AWFJ BEST OF AWARDS

These awards are presented to women and/or men without gender consideration.

Best Film

ROMA

Best Director 

Alfonso Cuaron

ROMA

Best Screenplay, Original

THE FAVOURITE

Deborah Davis, Tony McNamara

Best Screenplay, Adapted 

CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?

Nicole Holofcener, Jeff Whitty

Best Documentary 

WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR?

Morgan Neville

Best Animated Film

SPIDER-MAN INTO SPIDER-VERSE

Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsay, Rodney Rothman

Best Actress

Olivia Colman

THE FAVOURITE

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Regina King

IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK

Best Actor

Ethan Hawke

FIRST REFORMED

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

Richard E Grant

CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?

Best Ensemble Cast

BLACK PANTHER

Sarah Finn, Casting Director

Best Cinematography

ROMA

Alfonso Cuaron

Best Editing

ROMA

Alfonso Cuaron, Adam Gough

Best Non-English-Language Film

ROMA

Alfonso Cuaron

Mexico

EDA FEMALE FOCUS AWARDS

These awards honor WOMEN only.

Best Woman Director

Marielle Heller

CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?

Best Woman Screenwriter

Deborah Davis

THE FAVOURITE

Best Animated Female

Elastagirl

Holly Hunter

INCREDIBLES 2

Best Breakthrough Performance

Thomasin McKenzie

LEAVE NO TRACE

Outstanding Achievement by A Woman in The Film Industry

Rachel Morrison

For paving the road for women cinematographers with her Oscar nomination for MUDBOUND and scoring as DP on BLACK PANTHER.

EDA SPECIAL MENTION AWARDS

Actress Defying Age and Ageism

Viola Davis – WIDOWS

Bravest Performance

Olivia Colman – THE FAVOURITE

Actress Most in Need Of A New Agent

Jennifer Lawrence – RED SPARROW

Most Egregious Age Difference Between The Lead and The Love Interest Award

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE FALLOUT – Tom Cruise and Rebecca Ferguson

Remake or Sequel That Shouldn’t Have Been Made

OVERBOARD

AWFJ Hall of Shame Award

ALL ALLEGED ABUSERS: Including Weinstein, Moonves, CK, Spacey, Rush, Franco, Singer, Rose, Lauer et al.