Moonlight and Manchester by the Sea came out on top in the prestigious New York Film Critics Circle awards, securing three each, but were both beaten to the best picture prize by La La Land.

Moonlight, the beautifully shot study of a gay black teenager’s struggle with his sexuality won awards for its director for Barry Jenkins and cinematographer James Laxton, as well as picking up best supporting actor nod for Mahershala Ali. Grief-stricken drama Manchester by the Sea took acting awards for Casey Affleck and Michelle Williams (whose role in Kelly Reichardt’s Certain Women was also named), and best screenplay for writer-director Kenneth Lonergan.

The Ryan Gosling-Emma Stone musical La La Land confirmed its frontrunner status for the best picture Oscar by taking the equivalent award here, and Isabelle Huppert showed she will also be a force to be reckoned with at the Academy awards by taking the NYFCC’s best actress gong – for two films, the Paul Verhoeven rape-revenge thriller Elle and Mia Hansen-Løve’s mid-life crisis drama Things to Come.

Full list of awards

Best picture: La La Land

Best director: Barry Jenkins (Moonlight)

Best screenplay: Kenneth Lonergan (Manchester by the Sea)

Best actress: Isabelle Huppert (Elle, Things to Come)

Best actor: Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea)

Best supporting actress: Michelle Williams (Manchester by the Sea, Certain Women)

Best supporting actor: Mahershala Ali (Moonlight)

Best cinematographer: James Laxton (Moonlight)

Best animated film: Zootopia

Best documentary: OJ: Made in America

Best foreign-language film: Toni Erdmann

Best first film: Kelly Fremon Craig (The Edge of Seventeen), Trey Edward Shults (Krisha)

Special award: Thelma Schoonmaker and Julie Dash (Daughters of the Dust: 25th-anniversary restoration)

