Since 2006, the Alliance of Women Film Journalists (AWFJ) has presented annual EDA Awards, representing professional women critics’ collective perspectives on movies and cinema culture in the movie awards arena, where female critics and critical opinion are still greatly underrepresented. AWFJ honors female creatives in non-gender specific awards categories and in unique Female Focus categories designated for women only.
This year, Paul Thomas Anderson’s ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER led all films with 12 nominations, including Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay (Adapted), Best Supporting Actress (Teyana Taylor), Best Actor (Leonardo Di Caprio), Best Supporting Actor (Benicio Del Toro ), Best Ensemble Cast and Casting Director, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Female Break Through Performance and Best Female Stunt. Chloe Zhao’s HAMNET grabbed 10 nods while Ryan Coogler’s SINNERS took eight and Joachim Trier’s SENTIMENTAL VALUE scored 7; all were nominated for Best Film, Best Director and Best Screenplay (Original or Adapted). In the Female Focus Section, SORRY, BABY filmmaker Eva Victor squares off with IF I HAD LEGS I’D KICK YOU’s Mary Bronstein for both Best Woman Director and Best Female Screenwriter, with ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER’s cast-mates Chase Infiniti and Teyana Taylor among those vying for the Best Women’s Breakthrough Performance Award.
“We are proud that this year’s member-determined roster of nominees includes female contenders in non-gender specific categories, including the invincible Chloe Zhao in the Best Film, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay categories, as well as newcomer Eva Victor who produced, wrote, directed and stars in Sorry, Baby, her first first feature which is nominated in the Original Screenplay category against the likes of the accomplished Ryan Coogler, Noah Baumbach, Jochim Trier and Jafar Panahi. We say hooray, and we are excited to honor these and other women filmmakers who are making their way in our still male-dominated film industry,” said Jennifer Merin, President of the 88-member AWFJ. “We hope to see similar recognition of women filmmakers at this year’s Oscars and various guild awards, as well as with other critic’s awards groups.”
In preparation for the awards season, AWFJ tracks femme-helmed and femme-centric films released throughout the year. The 2025 list of EDA Award-eligible femme-helmed and/or femme-centric films includes about 500 titles. Many of these female-made movies are small budget productions that receive neither wide distribution nor critical consideration. However, this impressive number of independently produced films indicates the high level of female filmmaker proactivity in contradiction to the grim statistics consistently reported in major studies about female film production. AWFJ advocates for acknowledgment of these films and recognition for their filmmakers, not only during awards season, but throughout the year with the Movie of the Week feature published every Monday on AWFJ.org, and other regular features.
The EDAs are named in honor of AWFJ founder Merin’s mother, Eda Reiss Merin, a stage, film and television actress whose career spanned more than 60 years. A dedicated foot soldier in the industry, Eda was one of the founders of AFTRA and a long-standing member of AMPAS.
EDA is also an acronym for Excellent Dynamic Activism, qualities shared by Eda Reiss Merin, AWFJ members and those honored with EDA Awards.
BEST FILM
FRANKENSTEIN
HAMNET
IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT
ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER
THE SECRET AGENT
SENTIMENTAL VALUE
SINNERS
TRAIN DREAMS
BEST DIRECTOR
Paul Thomas Anderson – ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER
Ryan Coogler – SINNERS
Jafar Panahi – IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT
Joachim Trier – SENTIMENTAL VALUE
Chloe Zhao – HAMNET
BEST SCREENPLAY, ORIGINAL
IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT – Jafar Panahi
JAY KELLY – Noah Baumbach
SENTIMENTAL VALUE – Joachim Trier
SINNERS – Ryan Coogler
SORRY, BABY – Eva Victor
BEST SCREENPLAY, ADAPTED
BUGONIA – Will Tracy
FRANKENSTEIN – Guillermo del Toro
HAMNET – Maggie O’Farrell & Chloe Zhao
ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER – Paul Thomas Anderson
TRAIN DREAMS – Clint Bentley & Greg Kwedar
DOCUMENTARY
COME SEE ME IN THE GOOD LIGHT – Ryan White
MY MOM JAYNE – Mariska Hargitay
ORWELL 2+2=5 – Raoul Peck
THE LIBRARIANS – Kim A. Snyder
THE PERFECT NEIGHBOR – Geeta Gandbhir
ANIMATED FEATURE
ARCO – Ugo Bienvenu & Giles Cazaux
IN YOUR DREAMS – Erik Benson & Alexander Woo
KPOP DEMON HUNTERS – Chris Applehaus & Maggie Kang
LITTLE AMELIE OR THE CHARACTER OF RAIN – Liane-Cho Jin Kuang & Mailys Vallade
ZOOTOPIA 2 – Jared Bush & Simon Howard
BEST ACTRESS
Jessie Buckley – HAMNET
Rose Byrne – IF I HAD LEGS I’D KICK YOU
Renate Reinsve – SENTIMENTAL VALUE
Emma Stone – BUGONIA
Tessa Thompson – HEDDA
BEST ACTRESS, SUPPORTING
Nina Hoss – HEDDA
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas – SENTIMENTAL VALUE
Amy Madigan – WEAPONS
Teyana Taylor – ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER
Wunmi Mosaku – SINNERS
BEST ACTOR
Leonardo DiCaprio – ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER
Joel Edgerton – TRAIN DREAMS
Ethan Hawke – BLUE MOON
Michael B. Jordan – SINNERS
Wagner Moura – THE SECRET AGENT
BEST ACTOR, SUPPORTING
Benicio Del Toro – ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER
Jacob Elordi – FRANKENSTEIN
Paul Mescal – HAMNET
Sean Penn – ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER
Stellan Skarsgård – SENTIMENTAL VALUE
BEST ENSEMBLE CAST & CASTING DIRECTOR
HAMNET – Nina Gold & Lucy Amos
MARTY SUPREME – Jennifer Venditti
NOUVELLE VAGUE – Stéphane Batut
ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER – Cassandra Kulukundis
SINNERS – Francine Maisler
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
FRANKENSTEIN – Dan Laustsen
HAMNET – Łukasz Żal
ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER – Michael Bauman
SINNERS – Autumn Durald Arkapaw
TRAIN DREAMS – Adolpho Veloso
BEST EDITING
F1: THE MOVIE – Stephen Mirrione & Patrick J. Smith
HAMNET – Affonso Gonçalves & Chloe Zhao
MARTY SUPREME – Ronald Bronstein & Josh Safdie
ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER – Andy Jurgensen
SINNERS – Michael P. Shawver
BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE
IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT – Jafar Panahi
NO OTHER CHOICE – Park Chan-wook
SENTIMENTAL VALUE – Joachim Trier
SIRÂT – Oliver Laxe
THE SECRET AGENT – Kleber Mendonça Filho
FEMALE FOCUS AWARDS
Presented Only to Women
FEMALE FOCUS: BEST FEMALE DIRECTOR
Kathryn Bigelow – A HOUSE OF DYNAMITE
Mary Bronstein – IF I HAD LEGS I’D KICK YOU
Mona Fastvold – THE TESTAMENT OF ANN LEE
Eva Victor – SORRY, BABY
Chloe Zhao – HAMNET
FEMALE FOCUS: BEST FEMALE WRITER
Mary Bronstein – IF I HAD LEGS I’D KICK YOU
Nia DaCosta – HEDDA
Hikari & Stephen Blahut – RENTAL FAMILY
Eva Victor – SORRY, BABY
Chloe Zhao & Maggie O’Farrell – HAMNET
FEMALE FOCUS: BEST VOICED PERFORMANCE IN ANIMATED FILM
Ginnifer Goodwin – ZOOTOPIA 2
Loïse Charpentier – LITTLE AMELIE OR THE CHARACTER OF RAIN
Arden Cho – KPOP DEMON HUNTERS
Fortune Feimster – ZOOTOPIA 2
Zoë Saldaña – ELIO
FEMALE FOCUS: BEST BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE
Odessa A’Zion – MARTY SUPREME
Chase Infiniti – ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER
Teyana Taylor – ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER
Wunmi Mosaku – SINNERS
Eva Victor – SORRY, BABY
FEMALE FOCUS: BEST STUNTS PERFORMANCE
Ana de Armas – BALLERINA
Hayley Atwell – MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – THE FINAL RECKONING
Chase Infiniti – ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER
Teyana Taylor – ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER
Pom Klementieff – MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – THE FINAL RECKONING
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