Hello, friends of the internet!

About five months ago, I announced the 2022 Mid-Year Reel Awards winners. Today, I will announce my nominees and winners for the 2022-2023 awards season.

Before I do, though, I would like to walk you through some of the significant changes in this year's Reel Awards nominees and winners. I felt that last year's Reel Awards winners did not fully represent the films I loved in 2021. So, I decided to expand the 22 categories into 30 categories.

New categories include the following:

• Best Independent Film (awarded to a film produced for a budget of less than $20 million)

• Best Micro-Budget Film (awarded to a film produced for a budget of less than $1 million)

• Best Ensemble (awarded to a film with the best ensemble cast)

• Best Action Film

• Best Comedy Film

• Best Musical Film

• Best Horror Film

• Best Science Fiction Film

• Best Animated Feature

• Best Documentary Short

• Best Short Film

• Best Effects

• Best Score

My goal with these 13 new categories was to broaden the scope of what could be celebrated under the current Reel Awards structure.

I love independent film, so I wanted to create categories that celebrate the wide berth of how those films are budgeted, whether it's a big budget A24 film or a completely independent release.

I also wanted to celebrate films that worked best when the performances are viewed under the lens of multiple performers working together to make the film an indistputable masterpiece. Since I consider the Best Ensemble category under the performance genre of awards category, this will be the sole new category in which  there are ten nominees.

Next up, I've introduced genre-specific categories to represent the best films in the action, comedy, musical, horror, science fiction, and animated spaces. These are the films I see the most of, and are the most popular, and it's time these kinds of films get a spotlight in my Reel Awards.

Something else that needs to get more of a spotlight are the technical categories. Specifically, special effects work and scores.

The first, Best Effects, will be a category that honors practical, on-set effects as well as computer-generated effects.

The second, Best Score, will be a complimentary category to Best Song, where composers are celebrated for their compositions in films.

Another category I've added this year that I've been meaning to add since the 1st Reel Awards are short categories. Now, documentary shorts and short films, in general, will be included every year going forward. Initially, I planned on including a Best Animated Short category. However, I saw fewer than ten animated shorts that were released in 2022, so I declined to add the category this year. This year, I'll watch more animated shorts in order to include them in the 2023 Reel Awards.

I've also combined the Best Makeup and Best Hairstyling categories into one category: Best Makeup and Hair, to reflect how makeup and hair departments work together on a film's production.

Changes previously covered in my 2022 Reel Awards rules & regulations are as follows:

• A "film" is now anything over 30 minutes long

• Removed theatrical requirement

• Best Lead, Best Supporting & Best Debut Actor have been renamed Best Lead Performance, Best Supporting Performance & Best Debut Performance.

I originally planned on making this year's Reel Awards a collaborative effort, where people would nominate films for Reel Awards and pick the winners from those final nominees. However, I did not see the level of participation required to make that possible this year. So, the following nominees and winners were picked by me instead.

Picking up the most nominations in Reel Awards history with 13 nominations is Everything Everywhere All at Once. The film with the secondmost nominations is actually a tie! Aftersun, The Batman, The Menu, and RRR all earned eight nominations each. Third place brings about another tie in nominations with All Quiet on the Western Front and Nope gaining seven nominations each. In fourth place is yet another tie between Glass Onion and Top Gun: Maverick with six nominations each. Finally, in fifth place for the most amount of nominations with five nominations each are The Banshees of Inisherin and The Northman.

If you'd like to peruse the full nominations tallies, here you go:

• Everything Everywhere All at Once - 13 nominations

• Aftersun - 8 nominations

• The Batman - 8 nominations

• The Menu - 8 nominations

• RRR - 8 nominations

• All Quiet on the Western Front - 7 nominations

• Nope - 7 nominations

• Glass Onion - 6 nominations

• Top Gun: Maverick - 6 nominations

• The Banshees of Inisherin - 5 nominations

• The Northman - 5 nominations

• Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. - 4 nominations

• Leonor Will Never Die - 4 nominations

• Tár - 4 nominations

• Till - 4 nominations

• Turning Red - 4 nominations

• Avatar: The Way of Water - 3 nominations

• Babylon - 3 nominations

• Bodies Bodies Bodies - 3 nominations

• Decision to Leave - 3 nominations

• Elvis - 3 nominations

• The Fabelmans - 3 nominations

• Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio - 3 nominations

• Marry Me - 3 nominations

• Not Okay - 3 nominations

• See How They Run - 3 nominations

• Weird: The Al Yankovic Story - 3 nominations

• A Banquet - 2 nominations

• Breaking - 2 nominations

• Bullet Train - 2 nominations

• Causeway - 2 nominations

• The Fallout - 2 nominations

• Long Line of Ladies - 2 nominations

• The Martha Mitchell Effect - 2 nominations

• Murina - 2 nominations

• Neptune Frost - 2 nominations

• Pearl - 2 nominations

• Pompo the Cinephile - 2 nominations

• Poser - 2 nominations

• Triangle of Sadness - 2 nominations

• The Whale - 2 nominations

• The Adam Project - 1 nomination

• The Bad Guys - 1 nomination  

• Barbarian - 1 nomination

• The Box - 1 nomination

• The Boy, the Mole, The Fox, and the Horse - 1 nomination

• Cha Cha Real Smooth - 1 nomination

• Descendant - 1 nomination

• Fire Island - 1 nomination

• Fire of Love - 1 nomination

• Fresh - 1 nomination

• The Flagmakers - 1 nomination

• Good Luck to You, Leo Grande - 1 nomination

• Haulout - 1 nomination

• Hold Your Fire - 1 nomination

• Hustle - 1 nomination

• The Innocents - 1 nomination

• The Inspection - 1 nomination

• Le Pupille - 1 nomination

• A Love Song - 1 nomination

• Marcel the Shell with Shoes On - 1 nomination

• Marvelous and the Black Hole - 1 nomination

• Moon Shot - 1 nomination

• My Old School - 1 nomination

• On the Count of Three - 1 nomination

• Puss in Boots: The Last Wish - 1 nomination

• Stranger at the Gate - 1 nomination

• Tony Hawk: Until the Wheels Fall Off - 1 nomination

• We’re All Going to the World’s Fair - 1 nomination

• The Woman King - 1 nomination

• Vengeance - 1 nomination

Now, here are the winners of the 2022 Reel Awards. Winners are marked in bold.

Best Overall Film

Aftersun

All Quiet on the Western Front

The Banshees of Inisherin

Everything Everywhere All at Once

The Fabelmans

Glass Onion

The Menu

RRR

Tár

Top Gun: Maverick

Best Independent Film

A Banquet

Breaking

Causeway

Decision to Leave

Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.

Best Micro-Budget Film

The Box

The Innocents

A Love Song

Marvelous and the Black Hole

Neptune Frost

Best Director

Charlotte Wells - Aftersun

Edward Berger - All Quiet on the Western Front

Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert -  Everything Everywhere All at Once

Steven Spielberg -  The Fabelmans

Rian Johnson - Glass Onion

Mark Mylod - The Menu

Jordan Peele - Nope

S.S. Rajamouli, RRR

Todd Field, Tár

Chinonye Chukwu, Till

Best Lead Performance

Paul Mescal, Aftersun

Felix Kammerer, All Quiet on the Western Front

Colin Farrell, The Banshees of Inisherin

Michelle Yeoh, Everything Everywhere All at Once

Gabriel LaBelle, The Fabelmans

Regina Hall, Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.

Alexander Skarsgard, The Northman

Ram Charan, RRR

Mia Goth, Pearl

Daniellle Deadwyler, Till

Best Supporting Performance

Albrecht Schuch, All Quiet on the Western Front

Kerry Condon, The Banshees of Inisherin

Paul Dano, The Batman

Michael Kenneth Williams, Breaking

Brian Tyree Henry, Causeway

Tang Wei, Decision to Leave

Ke Huy Quan, Everything Everywhere All at Once

Ralph Fiennes, The Menu

Mia Isaac, Not Okay

Dolly de Leon, Triangle of Sadness

Best Debut Performance

Frankie Corio, Aftersun

Diego Calva, Babylon

Vanessa Burghardt, Cha Cha Real Smooth

Stephanie Hsu, Everything Everywhere All at Once

Juancho Hernangomez, Hustle

Jeremy Pope, The Inspection

Sheila Francisco, Leonor Will Never Die

Gracija Filipović, Murina

Jalyn Hall, Till

Anna Cobb, We’re All Going to the World’s Fair

Best Ensemble

Bodies Bodies Bodies

Bullet Train

Everything Everywhere All at Once

Glass Onion

The Menu

Not Okay

RRR

See How They Run

Top Gun: Maverick

Weird: The Al Yankovic Story

Best Action Film

Avatar: The Way of Water

Bullet Train

Everything Everywhere All at Once

The Northman

RRR

Best Comedy Film

The Banshees of Inisheirn

Not Okay

Triangle of Sadness

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent

Weird: The Al Yankovic Story

Best Musical Film

Elvis

Marry Me

Neptune Frost

Tár

Weird: The Al Yankovic Story

Best Horror Film

Barbarian

Bodies Bodies Bodies

The Menu

Nope

Pearl

Best Science Fiction Film

The Adam Project

Avatar: The Way of Water

Everything Everywhere All at Once

Nope

Best International Film

Aftersun

All Quiet on the Western Front

Decision to Leave

Leonor Will Never Die

RRR

Best Documentary Feature

Descendant

Fire of Love

Hold Your Fire

My Old School

Tony Hawk: Until the Wheels Fall Off

Best Documentary Short

Haulout

Long Line of Ladies

Moon Shot

Stranger at the Gate

The Martha Mitchell Effect

Best Animated Feature

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On

Pompo the Cinephile

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish

Turning Red

Best Short Film

The Boy, the Mole, The Fox, and the Horse

The Flagmakers

Le Pupille

Long Line of Ladies

The Martha Mitchell Effect

Best Debut Film

Charlotte Wells, Aftersun

Pierre Perifel, The Bad Guys

Ruth Paxton, A Banquet

Halina Reijn, Bodies Bodies Bodies

Megan Park, The Fallout

Mimi Cave, Fresh

Adamma Ebo, Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.

Tom George, See How They Run

Domee Shi, Turning Red

B.J. Novak, Vengeance

Best Screenplay

Martin McDonagh, The Banshees of Inisherin

Daniel Scheinert and Daniel Kwan, Everything Everywhere All at Once

Rian Johnson, Glass Onion

Matthew Robbins, Guillermo del Toro, and Patrick McHale, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio

Katy Brand, Good Luck to You, Leo Grande

Adamma Ebo, Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.

Jordan Peele, Nope

Sjón and Robbert Eggers, The Northman

Todd Field, Tár

Michael Reilly, Keith Beauchamp, and Chinonye Chukwu, Till

Best Debut Screenplay

Charlotte Wells, Aftersun

Megan Park, The Fallout

Joel Kim Booster, Fire Island

Martika Ramirez Escobar, Leonor Will Never Die

Seth Reiss and Will Tracy, The Menu

Ari Katcher and Ryan Welch, On the Count of Three

Noah Dixon, Poser

Mark Chappell, See How They Run

Domee Shi, Julia Cho, and Sarah Streicher, Turning Red

Samuel D. Hunter, The Whale

Best Cinematography

Gregory Oke, Aftersun

Greig Fraser, The Batman

Hélène Louvart, Murina

Hoyte van Hoytema, Nope

Jarin Blaschke, The Northman

Best Editing

Paul Rogers, Everything Everywhere All at Once

Lawrence S. Ang, Leonor Will Never Die

Christopher Tellefsen, The Menu

Tsuyoshi Imai, Pompo the Cinephile

Eddie Hamilton, Top Gun: Maverick

Best Effects

Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon, and Daniel Barrett - Avatar: The Way of Water

Dan Lemmon, Russell Earl, Anders Langlands, and Dominic Tuohy - The Batman

Jonathan Kombrinck, Randy Krohmer, Jaime Martinez, Matthew Wilson, and Jeffrey Winsor - Everything Everywhere All at Once

Guillaume Rocheron, Jeremy Robert, Sreejith Venugopalan and Scott R. Fisher - Nope

Ryan Tudhope, Seth Hill, Bryan Litson, and Scott R. Fisher - Top Gun: Maverick

Best Production Design

Christian M. Goldbeck, All Quiet on the Western Front

James Chinlund, The Batman

Catherin Martin and Karen Murphy, Elvis

Ethan Tobman, The Menu

Craig Lathrop, The Northman

Best Costume Design

Mary Zophres - Babylon

Jacqueline Durran, Glyn Dillon, and David Crossman - The Batman

Ruth Carter - Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Jenny Eagan - Glass Onion

Jenny Beavan - Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris

Best Stunts

Robert Alonzo - The Batman

Timothy Eulich - Everything Everywhere All at Once

Nick Powell - RRR

Kevin LaRosa II - Top Gun: Maverick

Danny Hernandez - The Woman King

Best Makeup and Hair

Heike Merker and Linda Eisenhamerová -  All Quiet on the Western Front

Naomi Donne, Mike Marino, and Mike Fontaine - The Batman

Mark Coulier, Jason Baird, and Aldo Signoretti - Elvis

Anissa E. Salazar and Michelle Chung - Everything Everywhere All at Once

Adrien Morot, Judy Chin, and Anne Marie Bradley - The Whale

Best Song

“Ciao Papa” by Gregory Mann - Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio

“On My Way (Marry Me)” by Jennifer Lopez - Marry Me

“Hold My Hand” by Lady Gaga - Top Gun: Maverick

“Naatu Naatu” by M.M. Keervani - RRR

“Nobody Like U” by 4*TOWN - Turning Red

Best Score

Justin Hurwitz, Babylon

Carter Burwell, The Banshees of Inisherin

Michael Giacchino, The Batman

Nathan Johnson, Glass Onion

Michael Abels, Nope

If you'd like to peruse the full winners tallies, here you go:

• Everything Everywhere All at Once - 5 wins

• Aftersun - 3 wins

• Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. - 2 wins

• Long Line of Ladies - 2 wins

• Marry Me - 2 wins

• RRR - 2 wins

• All Quiet on the Western Front - 1 win

• Avatar: The Way of Water - 1 win

• The Batman - 1 win

• Descendant - 1 win

• Glass Onion - 1 win

• Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio - 1 win

• Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris - 1 win

• Murina - 1 win

• Neptune Frost - 1 win

• Nope - 1 win

• Pearl - 1 win

• Top Gun: Maverick - 1 win

• The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent - 1 win

• The Whale - 1 win

I hope you liked my picks for the 2022 Reel Awards! Feel free to sound off in the comments below or tell me on and of my social media networks.

Until next time!

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