GALECA Announces 16th Dorian Film Awards Nominees

GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics, consisting of over 500 entertainment critics, journalists and media icons, including Film Obsessive News Editor Tina Kakadelis and Staff Writer Ben Calahmer, announced the group’s nominees for its 16th Dorian Film Awards.

Leading with an impressive nine nominations is writer-director Jane Schoenbrun’s thought-provoking horror tale I Saw the TV Glow, a film overlooked by many other critic groups. Star Demi Moore’s thriller of a comeback The Substance is a close second, with 8 Dorian nods while Emilia Peréz and Challengers each hold six nominations.

The group’s Timeless Star career achievement honoree will be named when the winners are announced Thursday Feb. 13. GALECA’s members are tentatively scheduled to toast winners and nominees in a brunch the following Sunday.

Along with its film nominations, GALECA announced it is donating $1000 to The Los Angeles Press Club’s emergency relief fund, the amount earmarked for entertainment journalists directly affected by the historically devastating wildfires that have destroyed vast swaths LA, leaving thousands of residents homeless.

Check out the full list of nominations below and stay tuned for the winners on February 23th.

FILM OF THE YEAR

Anora (Neon)
Challengers (Amazon MGM Studios)
I Saw the TV Glow (A24)
Nickel Boys (Orion Pictures/Amazon MGM Studios)
The Substance (Mubi)

LGBTQ FILM OF THE YEAR

Challengers (Amazon MGM Studios)
Emilia Peréz (Netflix)
I Saw the TV Glow (A24)
Love Lies Bleeding (A24)
Queer (A24)

DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR

Brady Corbet, The Brutalist (A24)
Coralie Fargeat, The Substance (Mubi)
Luca Guadagnino, Challengers (Amazon MGM Studios)
RaMell Ross, Nickel Boys (Orion Pictures/Amazon MGM Studios)
Jane Schoenbrun, I Saw the TV Glow (A24)

SCREENPLAY OF THE YEAR
— Original or adapted

Anora (Neon)
Challengers (Amazon MGM Studios)
Conclave (Focus Features)
I Saw the TV Glow (A24)
The Substance (Mubi)

Poster image from Challengers featuring tennis players Art and Patrick reflected in Tashi's sunglasses. — Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures.

LGBTQ SCREENPLAY OF THE YEAR

Challengers (Amazon MGM Studios)
I Saw the TV Glow (A24)
Love Lies Bleeding (A24)
Problemista (A24)
Queer (A24)

NON-ENGLISH LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR

All We Imagine as Light (Sideshow / Janus Films)
Emilia Peréz (Netflix)
Flow (Sideshow / Janus Films)
I’m Still Here (Sony Pictures Classics)
The Seed of the Sacred Fig (Neon)

LGBTQ NON-ENGLISH FILM OF THE YEAR

Crossing (Mubi)
Emilia Peréz (Netflix)
Queendom (Greenwich Entertainment)
Vermiglio (Sideshow / Janus Films)
All Shall Be Well (Strand Releasing)

A kid makes a funny smile in Didi — *Didi*. Image courtesy of Focus Features and IMDb Pro

UNSUNG FILM OF THE YEAR
—To an exceptional movie worthy of greater attention

Didi (Focus Features)
Hundreds of Beavers (Cineverse, Vinegar Syndrome)
My Old Ass (Amazon MGM Studios)
Problemista (A24)
Thelma (Magnolia)

UNSUNG LGBTQ FILM OF THE YEAR

Femme (Utopia)
My Old Ass (Amazon MGM Studios)
National Anthem (Variance, LD Entertainment)
The People’s Joker (Altered Innocence)
Problemista (A24)

FILM PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR

Adrien Brody, The Brutalist (A24)
Daniel Craig, Queer (A24)
Colman Domingo, Sing Sing (A24)
Karla Sofía Gascón, Emilia Peréz (Netflix)
Cynthia Erivo, Wicked (Universal)
Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Hard Truths (Bleecker Street)
Nicole Kidman, Babygirl (A24)
Mikey Madison, Anora (Neon)
Demi Moore, The Substance (Mubi)
Justice Smith, I Saw the TV Glow (A24)

SUPPORTING FILM PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR

Michele Austin, Hard Truths (Bleecker Street)
Yura Borisov, Anora (Neon)
Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain (Searchlight Pictures)
Ariana Grande, Wicked (Universal)
Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Nickel Boys (Orion Pictures/Amazon MGM Studios)
Brigette Lundy-Paine, I Saw the TV Glow (A24)
Clarence Maclin, Sing Sing (A24)
Guy Pearce, The Brutalist (A24)
Margaret Qualley, The Substance (Mubi)
Zoe Saldaña, Emilia Peréz (Netflix)

DOCUMENTARY OF THE YEAR

Dahomey (Mubi)
Daughters (Netflix)
The Remarkable Life of Ibelin (Netflix)
Sugarcane (National Geographic)
Will & Harper (Netflix)

(L-R) Joey Lauren Adams, Sav Rodgers and Kevin Smith posing for pictures — (L-R) Joey Lauren Adams, Sav Rodgers and Kevin Smith in Chasing Chasing Amy (2024) – Professional Amateur Productions

LGBTQ DOCUMENTARY OF THE YEAR

Chasing Chasing Amy (Level 33)
Frida (Amazon MGM Studios)
Merchant Ivory (Cohen Media Group)
Queendom (Greenwich Entertainment)
Will & Harper (Netflix)

ANIMATED FILM OF THE YEAR

Flow (Sideshow / Janus Films)
Inside Out 2 (Disney)
Memoir of a Snail (IFC Films)
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (Netflix)
The Wild Robot (Universal, DreamWorks)

GENRE FILM OF THE YEAR
For excellence in science fiction, fantasy and horror

Dune: Part Two (Warner Bros.)
I Saw the TV Glow (A24)
Nosferatu (Focus Features)
The Substance (Mubi)
Wicked (Universal)

FILM MUSIC OF THE YEAR

The Brutalist (A24)
Challengers (Amazon MGM Studios)
Emilia Peréz (Netflix)
I Saw the TV Glow (A24)
Wicked (Universal)

VISUALLY STRIKING FILM OF THE YEAR

The Brutalist (A24)
Dune: Part Two (Warner Bros.)
Nosferatu (Focus Features)
Nickel Boys (Orion Pictures/Amazon MGM Studios)
The Substance (Mubi)