by Marla Lewin 

The Education with seven nominations leads the awards of the UK film critics.Fish Tank had six and In The Loop and Nowhere Boy tied with five each and A Prophet had four nominations. The 30th Awards will take plave on February 18 at the Landmark Hotel, Marylebone. In addition to awards to current films special awards will be given to Quentin Tarantino and Francis Ford Coppola forApocalypse Now in honor of its 30th anniversary.

THE ATTENBOROUGH AWARD: BRITISH FILM OF THE YEAR
Bright Star
An Education
Fish Tank
In the Loop 
Moon

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR 
The Class 
Katyn 
Let the Right One In 
A Prophet 
The White Ribbon 

DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR 
Jacques Audiard – A Prophet 
Kathryn Bigelow – The Hurt Locker 
James Cameron – Avatar 
Michael Haneke – The White Ribbon 
Jason Reitman – Up in the Air 

BRITISH DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR 
Andrea Arnold – Fish Tank 
Armando Iannucci – In the Loop 
Duncan Jones – Moon 
Kevin Macdonald – State of Play 
Sam Taylor-Wood – Nowhere Boy 

ACTOR OF THE YEAR 
Jeff Bridges – Crazy Heart 
George Clooney – Up in the Air 
Tahar Rahim – A Prophet 
Michael Stuhlbarg – A Serious Man 
Christoph Waltz – Inglourious Basterds 

ACTRESS OF THE YEAR 
Abbie Cornish – Bright Star 
Vera Farmiga – Up in the Air 
Mo’Nique – Precious 
Carey Mulligan – An Education 
Meryl Streep – Julie & Julia 

BRITISH ACTOR OF THE YEAR 
Peter Capaldi – In the Loop 
Colin Firth – A Single Man 
Tom Hardy – Bronson 
Christian MacKay – Me and Orson Welles 
Andy Serkis – Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll 

BRITISH ACTRESS OF THE YEAR 
Emily Blunt – The Young Victoria 
Helen Mirren – The Last Station 
Carey Mulligan - An Education 
Katie Jarvis – Fish Tank 
Kristin Scott Thomas – Nowhere Boy 

BRITISH ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE 
Michael Fassbender* – Fish Tank 
John Hurt – 44 Inch Chest 
Jason Isaacs – Good 
Alfred Molina – An Education 
Timothy Spall – The Damned United 

BRITISH ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE 
Emily Blunt – Sunshine Cleaning 
Anne-Marie Duff – Nowhere Boy 
Rosamund Pike – An Education 
Kierston Wareing – Fish Tank 
Olivia Williams – An Education 

SCREENWRITER OF THE YEAR 
Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci & Tony Roche – In the Loop 
Thomas Bidegain & Jacques Audiard - A Prophet 
Joel & Ethan Coen – A Serious Man 
Michael Haneke – The White Ribbon 
Nick Hornby – An Education 

THE NSPCC AWARD: YOUNG BRITISH PERFORMER OF THE YEAR 
Katie Jarvis – Fish Tank 
Aaron Johnson – Nowhere Boy and Dummy 
George MacKay – The Boys Are Back 
Bill Milner – Is Anybody There? and Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll 
Saoirse Ronan* – The Lovely Bones 

BREAKTHROUGH BRITISH FILM-MAKER 
Daniel Barber – Harry Brown 
Armando Ianucci – In the Loop 
Duncan Jones – Moon 
Peter Strickland – Katalin Varga 
Sam Taylor-Wood – Nowhere Boy

DILYS POWELL AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN CINEMA 
Quentin Tarantino

30TH ANNIVERSARY AWARD: BEST OF OUR WINNERS SINCE 1980 
Apocalypse Now (Francis Ford Coppola, 1980)

Here is a bit of their history and rules.

The Critics’ Circle is the oldest critics organisation  in the world founded in 1907. Film critics became eligible for membership of the Circle in 1926. Today the group  has over 400 members who work in the media through the United Kingdom. The Critics’ Circle is not a trade union but a professional association of critics of drama, art and architecture, music, the cinema and dance. Its objective is to promote the arts of criticism and to upholds its integrity in practice, to foster and safeguard the interests of its members, to provide opportunities for social intercourse among them, and to support the advancement of the arts. The annual dinner is the key social activity of the group. The chairman of the Dinner is also the current president of the Circl and officiates with the Charles Dickens’ crystal drinking goblet, which was given to the group in 1936 by Sir Seymour Hicks who had originally received it from  in 1901 by Dickens’ daughter Mrs. Hogarth.

The Film awards have grown to an extremely prestigious honor attracting many celebrities from the industry and contribute a substantial sum to charity.

There is a bit of the political correctness in the awarding of British awards as it includes the eligibility of Irish actors and craftsmen as well, to quote from their website:

“British and Irish film makers are eligible for most, if not all, of our awards. The word British in the title of some of our awards is simply to distinguish them from the general best actor/director/film awards. Irish citizens are eligible for these awards but many Irish actors and directors work on what are technically British films and their work deserves recognition. There is no intention to suggest that Irish talent is British should an Irish citizen be nominated in the “British” categories and all Irish nominees know this. It simply recognises the complex nature of film making, a collaborative affair often crossing national boundaries and anyone who wishes to raise the matter should do so with Jason Solomons, current chair of the Awards Committee.”