# San Diego Film Critics Society Awards 2021

The 26th San Diego Film Critics Society Awards were announced on January 10, 2022. The nominations were announced on January 7, 2022, with Belfast leading the nominations with twelve, followed by Dune with nine and The Power of the Dog with eight.
Dune and The Power of the Dog won the most awards with three wins each, with the latter winning Best Picture.

## Winners and nominees

Winners are listed at the top of each list in bold, while the runner-ups and nominees for each category are listed under them.
| Best Picture | Best Director |
| The Power of the Dog Runner-Up: Belfast CODA Dune Mass | Jane Campion – The Power of the Dog Runner-Up: Kenneth Branagh – Belfast Guillermo del Toro – Nightmare Alley Maggie Gyllenhaal – The Lost Daughter Denis Villeneuve – Dune |
| Best Actor | Best Actress |
| Nicolas Cage – Pig as Robin "Rob" Feld Runner-Up: Andrew Garfield – tick, tick... BOOM! as Jonathan Larson Benedict Cumberbatch – The Power of the Dog as Phil Burbank Peter Dinklage – Cyrano as Cyrano de Bergerac Jude Hill – Belfast as Buddy | Caitríona Balfe – Belfast as Ma (TIE) Penélope Cruz – Parallel Mothers as Janis Martinez (TIE) Olivia Colman – The Lost Daughter as Leda Caruso Emilia Jones – CODA as Ruby Rossi Kristen Stewart – Spencer as Diana, Princess of Wales |
| Best Supporting Actor | Best Supporting Actress |
| Jason Isaacs – Mass as Jay Perry Runner-Up: Ben Affleck – The Tender Bar as Charlie Moehringer Ciarán Hinds – Belfast as Pop Troy Kotsur – CODA as Frank Rossi Kodi Smit-McPhee – The Power of the Dog as Peter Gordon | Ruth Negga – Passing as Clare Bellew Runner-Up: Ariana DeBose – West Side Story as Anita Cate Blanchett – Nightmare Alley as Dr. Lilith Ritter Ann Dowd – Mass as Linda Martha Plimpton – Mass as Gail Perry |
| Best Adapted Screenplay | Best Original Screenplay |
| Jane Campion – The Power of the Dog Runner-Up: Guillermo del Toro and Kim Morgan – Nightmare Alley Joel Coen – The Tragedy of Macbeth Rebecca Hall – Passing Sian Heder – CODA | Fran Kranz – Mass Runner-Up: Kenneth Branagh – Belfast Runner-Up: Adam McKay – Don't Look Up Pedro Almodóvar – Parallel Mothers Michael Sarnoski – Pig |
| Best Breakthrough Artist | Best Comedic Performance |
| Emilia Jones – CODA Runner-Up: Jude Hill – Belfast Alana Haim – Licorice Pizza Fran Kranz – Mass Anthony Ramos – In the Heights | Bradley Cooper – Licorice Pizza as Jon Peters Runner-Up: David Harbour – Black Widow as Alexei Shostakov / Red Guardian Leonardo DiCaprio – Don't Look Up as Dr. Randall Mindy Jamie Dornan – Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar as Edgar Paget Simon Rex – Red Rocket as Mikey Saber |
| Best Animated Film | Best Documentary |
| Luca Runner-Up: Flee Encanto The Mitchells vs. the Machines Raya and the Last Dragon | Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) Runner-Up: Flee My Name Is Pauli Murray Val The Velvet Underground |
| Best International Film | Best Ensemble |
| Drive My Car Runner-Up: I'm Your Man Lamb Parallel Mothers The Worst Person in the World | Don't Look Up Dune The Harder They Fall In the Heights Mass |
| Best Cinematography | Best Editing |
| Greig Fraser – Dune Runner-Up: Bruno Delbonnel – The Tragedy of Macbeth Alice Brooks – In the Heights Dan Laustsen – Nightmare Alley Ari Wegner – The Power of the Dog | Myron Kerstein – In the Heights Runner-Up: Úna Ní Dhonghaíle – Belfast Geraud Brisson – CODA Joshua L. Pearson – Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) Joe Walker – Dune |
| Best Costumes | Best Production Design |
| Jenny Beavan – Cruella Runner-Up: Antoinette Messam – The Harder They Fall Odile Dicks-Mireaux – Last Night in Soho Bob Morgan and Jacqueline West – Dune Janty Yates – House of Gucci | Tamara Deverell – Nightmare Alley Runner-Up: Rena DeAngelo and Adam Stockhausen – The French Dispatch Jim Clay – Belfast Grant Major – The Power of the Dog Richard Roberts, Zsuzsanna Sipos, and Patrice Vermette – Dune |
| Best Sound Design | Best Visual Effects |
| Theo Green and Dave Whitehead – Dune Runner-Up: Erik Aadahl and Ethan Van der Ryn – A Quiet Place Part II Runner-Up: Simon Chase and James Mather – Belfast Runner-Up: Dave Whitehead – The Power of the Dog Nathan Robitaille – Nightmare Alley | Dune The Green Knight Nightmare Alley Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings Spider-Man: No Way Home |
| Best Use of Music | Best Youth Performance (Performers under the age of 16) |
| Last Night in Soho Runner-Up: Belfast Runner-Up: In the Heights Runner-Up: West Side Story Cruella | Jude Hill – Belfast as Buddy Runner-Up: Mckenna Grace – Ghostbusters: Afterlife as Phoebe Spengler Runner-Up: Saniyya Sidney – King Richard as Venus Williams Daniel Ranieri – The Tender Bar as Young JR Demi Singleton – King Richard as Serena Williams |
| Best Body of Work ||
| Jonny Greenwood (Licorice Pizza, The Power of the Dog, and Spencer) ||