We’re at the halfway point of the year and here are the Solzy Awards contenders for the first half of the year. Heading into the midway point, I’ve seen 230 narrative/documentary features and 40 short films. This comes up to a grand total of 269 films as we enter the month of July. It’s a new personal best having set my old record of 264 films during the last calendar year.

I’ve been privileged to attend some major film festivals in 2018, including Sundance, SXSW, and Tribeca. Thanks to both the Chicago Critics Film Festival and the San Francisco International LGBTQ Film Festival, I was able to catch a number of feature films that I missed during those festivals. It’s because of attending these festivals that I’ve set things up a bit differently. I have my main mid-year contenders while awarding my top performances and films that I’ve seen during those festivals.

If a film has been released in theaters before the end of June, they are eligible for The Solzy Awards regardless of whether or not those films have expanded to Chicago yet.

The Solzy Awards for 2018…So Far

Best Narrative Feature

American Animals

Annihilation

Black Panther

Blame

Blockers

Disobedience

First Reformed

Flower

Game Night

Hearts Beat Loud

Leave No Trace

Paddington 2

Set It Up

Thoroughbreds

Uncle Drew

Best Documentary Feature

Half the Picture

The King

RBG

Poop Talk

Three Identical Strangers

Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

Best Actor in a Leading Role

Chadwick Boseman, Black Panther

Ethan Hawke, First Reformed

Nick Offerman, Hearts Beat Loud

Charlie Plummer, Lean on Pete

Joaquin Phoenix, You Were Never Really Here

Best Actress in a Leading Role

Shailene Woodley, Adrift

Kiersey Clemons, Hearts Beat Loud

Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie, Leave No Trace

Zoey Deutch, Set It Up

Charlize Theron, Tully

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

David Tennant, Bad Samaritan

Michael B. Jordan, Black Panther

Jesse Plemons, Game Night

Hugh Grant, Paddington 2

Anton Yelchin, Thoroughbreds

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Lupita Nyong’o, Black Panther

Letitia Wright, Black Panther

Candice Bergen, Book Club

Millicent Simmons, A Quiet Place

Sara Sevigny, Rogers Park

Best Director

Alex Garland, Annihilation

Ryan Coogler, Black Panther

Kay Cannon, Blockers

Brett Haley, Hearts Beat Loud

Clare Scanlon, Set It Up

Best Original Song

Hearts Beat Loud, Music and Lyrics by Keegan DeWitt

Best Action Film

Game Night

Best Music-Driven Comedy

Hearts Beat Loud

Best Romantic Comedy

Set It Up

Best Comic Book Film

Black Panther

Best Animated Feature

The Incredibles 2

Best Live Action Short

End of the Line

Home Shopper

Shiva Baby

Souls of Totality

Runner

We Forgot To Break Up

Saddest Shot

The Brachiosaurus burning alive on the dock as the boat departs from Isla Nublar, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

Best Film Festival Performances

Actresses

Mary Elizabeth Winstead, All About Nina

Elsie Fisher, Eighth Grade

Emily Bett Rickards, Funny Story

Liv Hill, Jellyfish

Rose Byrne, Juliet, Naked

Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Kindergarten Teacher

Dominique Fishback, Night Comes On

Meredith Johnston, Pet Names

Joey King, Summer ’03

Actors

Cory Michael Smith, 1985

Daveed Diggs, Blindspotting

Rafael Casal, Blindspotting

John Cho, Searching

Lakeith Stanfeld, Sorry to Bother You

Supporting Actor

Dan Harmon, 7 Stages to Achieve Eternal Bliss By Passing Through the Gateway Chosen By the Holy Storsh

Mark McKinney, 7 Stages to Achieve Eternal Bliss By Passing Through the Gateway Chosen By the Holy Storsh

Common, All About Nina

Geoffrey Lewis, High and Outside: A Baseball Noir

Armie Hammer, Sorry to Bother You

Supporting Actress

Paula Niedert Elliott, Clara’s Ghost

Kayli Carter, Private Life

Michelle La, Searching

Tessa Thompson, Sorry To Bother You

June Squibb, Summer ’03

Directors

Eva Vives, All About Nina

Carlos López Estrada, Blindspotting

Aneesh Chaganty, Searching

Boots Riley, Sorry to Bother You

Becca Gleason, Summer ’03

Festival Favorites

7 Stages to Achieve Eternal Bliss By Passing Through the Gateway Chosen By the Holy Storsh

All About Nina

Blindspotting

Clara’s Ghost

Eighth Grade

Funny Story

Juliet, Naked

The Miseducation of Cameron Post

Night Comes On

Pet Names

Searching

Sorry to Bother You

Summer ’03

Festival Documentary

Ali & Cavett: The Tale of the Tapes

Freaks and Geeks: The Documentary

Heading Home: The Tale of Team Israel

TransMilitary

Love, Gilda

Special Mentions

These films and performances aren’t getting theatrical releases and went straight-to-digital or in some instances, they aired on television. As such, they are are not eligible for The Solzy Awards. Laura Dern’s performance in The Tale should have been considered for film awards but because HBO acquired the film out of Sundance, it’s not eligible for The Solzy Awards for Film.

Best Actress in a Comedy: Madeline Walter, Cold War

Best Actress in a Drama: Auden Thornton, Beauty Mark

Similarly, the sports documentary, Alone in the Game, aired on AUDIENCE following a few festival screenings.