Utah critics pick 'La La Land' to.. | The Salt Lake Tribune

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The musical "La La Land," a love affair between two young people and the city of Los Angeles, was named the best picture of 2016 by the Utah Film Critics Association.

"La La Land" won four awards in all from the Utah critics. Besides Best Picture, it won top honors for Emma Stone's lead performance as an aspiring actress, Justin Hurwitz' original score and Linus Sandgren's cinematography.

Filmmaker Barry Jenkins won two awards — best director and adapted screenplay (shared with co-writer Tarell Alvin McCraney — for "Moonlight," the story of a young black gay man in Miami, told at three phases of his life). "Moonlight" shared a third award for Mahershala Ali's supporting performance as a neighborhood drug dealer; he tied with John Goodman for his role as a survivalist in "10 Cloverfield Lane."

Other acting honors went to Casey Affleck in his lead performance as a grieving dad in "Manchester by the Sea," and Viola Davis in her supporting turn as a black woman dealing with her husband's failings in "Fences."

The 18 members of the Utah Film Critics Association selected its winners in a meeting Sunday in Salt Lake City.

Here is the full list of winners:

• Best Picture: "La La Land"; runner-up: "Moonlight."

• Directing: Barry Jenkins, "Moonlight"; runner-up, Damien Chazelle, "La La Land."

• Lead Actor, Male: Casey Affleck, "Manchester by the Sea"; runner-up: Joel Edgerton, "Loving."

• Lead Actor, Female: Emma Stone, "La La Land"; runner-up: Ruth Negga, "Loving."

• Supporting Actor, Female: Viola Davis, "Fences"; runners-up: (tie) Naomie Harris, "Moonlight," Michelle Williams, "Manchester by the Sea."

• Supporting Actor, Male: (tie) Mahershala Ali, "Moonlight," John Goodman, "10 Cloverfield Lane."

• Original Screenplay: Taylor Sheridan, "Hell or High Water"; runner-up: Kenneth Lonergan, "Manchester by the Sea."

• Adapted Screenplay: Barry Jenkins and Tarell Alvin McCraney, "Moonlight"; runner-up: Eric Heisserer, "Arrival."

• Cinematography: Linus Sandgren, "La La Land"; runner-up: Bradford Young, "Arrival."

• Original Score: Justin Hurwitz, "La La Land"; runner-up: Johann Johannsson, "Arrival."

• Documentary Feature: "Cameraperson"; runner-up: "Weiner."

• Animated Feature: "Kubo and the Two Strings"; runners-up: (tie) "Moana" and "Zootopia."

• Non-English Language Film: "The Handmaiden" (South Korea); runners-up: (tie) "Elle" (France) and "Toni Erdmann" (Germany).

Utah critics pick 'La La Land' top film of 2016