This morning, the Seattle Film Critics Society (which counts a few SunBreak contributors as members) announced winners of their 2025 Awards, celebrating the best in film. It was “one salmon after another” for Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another which won acclaim, and fish-shaped trophies, in eight categories: Best Picture, Director, and Screenplay for PTA; Best Actor for Leonardo DiCaprio; Best Supporting Actor for Sean Penn; Best Ensemble Cast; as well as awards for Editing (Andy Jurgensen) and Original Score (Jonny Greenwood).
Other movies receiving Best in Category awards were Train Dreams (Pacific Northwest Film); Songs of Black Folk (Pacific Northwest Short); It Was Just an Accident (International); WTO/99 (Documentary); Kpop Demon Hunters (Animated).
Additional acting awards recognized Jessie Buckley (Lead Actress) and Jacobi Jupe (Youth Performance) for their portrayal of mother and son in Hamnet; Wunmi Mosaku (Supporting Actress). A special citation honored the Animal Acting by Indy in Good Boy (great dog, less great movie). Last but hardly least, Aunt Gladys, portrayed with chilling menace by Amy Madigan in Weapons was named Seattle’s Villain of the Year.
Other films receiving recognition were Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein (honored for Best Production Design and Best Costume Design); Tom Cruise’s live action looney-tunes flirtation with death Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (Best Action Choreography) and upcoming return to Pandora Avatar: Fire and Ash (Best Visual Effects). My beloved Sentimental Value went home empty-handed (watch it VOD) and Marty Supreme got blanked (cue footage of Timothée Chalamet tearfully regarding the camera), but it’s still the best thing you’ll unwrap on Christmas Day.
Aside from the film awards, SFCS also announced Sky Hopinka as this year’s John Hartl Pacific Northwest Spotlight recipient. The award will be presented at an in-person reception along with his new Seattle-set documentary Powwow People during the 2026 Seattle International Film Festival.
If you’re still filling out your best of lists for 2025, you can do a lot worse than the Letterboxd List of all SFCS nominees or just dial-down to this collection of winning films.
Complete List of 2025 SFCS Awards Winners
| Best Picture | One Battle After Another – Paul Thomas Anderson |
| Director | One Battle After Another – Paul Thomas Anderson |
| Lead Actor | Leonardo DiCaprio – One Battle After Another |
| Lead Actress | Jessie Buckley – Hamnet |
| Supporting Actor | Sean Penn – One Battle After Another |
| Supporting Actress | Wunmi Mosaku – Sinners |
| Youth Performance | Jacobi Jupe – Hamnet |
| Ensemble | One Battle After Another – Cassandra Kulukundis |
| Pacific Northwest Film | Train Dreams – Clint Bentley |
| Pacific Northwest Short | Songs of Black Folk – Justin Emeka, Haley Watson |
| International Film | It Was Just an Accident – Jafar Panahi |
| Documentary Film | WTO/99 – Ian Bell |
| Animated Film | KPop Demon Hunters – Maggie Kang, Chris Appelhans |
| Screenplay | One Battle After Another – Paul Thomas Anderson |
| Cinematography | Sinners – Autumn Durald Arkapaw |
| Editing | One Battle After Another – Andy Jurgensen |
| Production Design | Frankenstein – Tamara Deverell (Production Design), Shane Vieau (Set Decoration) |
| Costume Design | Frankenstein – Kate Hawley |
| Original Score | One Battle After Another – Jonny Greenwood |
| Action Choreography | Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning – Wade Eastwood |
| Visual Effects | Avatar: Fire and Ash – Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon, Daniel Barrett |
| Villain of the Year | Aunt Gladys – Weapons as portrayed by Amy Madigan |