“Spotlight,” a drama exploring the Boston Globe’s investigation of widespread sexual abuse by Catholic priests, was named Best Film of 2015 by the Indiana Film Journalists Association (IFJA). In addition to Best Film, “Spotlight” won for Best Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor, Mark Ruffalo.
“Room,” an adaption of the best-selling novel about a woman raising her young son inside a solitary room, won runner-up in the best film race. “Room” also earned the Best Adapted Screenplay Prize, and was recognized for the top two performances of the year: Brie Larson for Best Actress and Jacob Tremblay for Best Actor.
“Son of Saul” won Best Foreign Language Film and “Amy” earned Best Documentary.
The Hoosier Award, which recognizes a significant cinematic contribution by a person or persons with roots in Indiana, or a film that depicts Hoosier State locales and stories, went to filmmaker Angelo Pizzo.
The following is a complete list of honored films:
Best Film
Winner: “Spotlight”
Runner-up: “Room”
Other Finalists (listed alphabetically):
“Anomalisa”
“The Big Short”
“Carol”
“The End of the Tour”
“Mad Max: Fury Road”
“The Martian”
“Steve Jobs”
“Straight Outta Compton”
Best Animated Feature
Winner: “Anomalisa”
Runner-Up: “Inside Out ”
Best Foreign Language Film
Winner: “Son of Saul”
Runner-Up: “Goodnight Mommy”
Best Documentary
Winner: “Amy”
Runner-Up: “Meru”
Best Original Screenplay
Winner: Tom McCarthy and Josh Singer, “Spotlight”
Runner-up: Matt Charman, Joel & Ethan Coen, “Bridge of Spies”
Best Adapted Screenplay
Winner: Emma Donoghue, “Room”
Runner-up: Adam McKay and Charles Randolph, “The Big Short”
Best Director
Winner: George Miller, “Mad Max: Fury Road”
Runner-up: Tom McCarthy, “Spotlight”
Best Actress
Winner: Brie Larson, “Room”
Runner-up: Charlotte Rampling, “45 Years”
Best Supporting Actress
Winner: Greta Gerwig, “Mistress America”
Runner-up: Elizabeth Banks, “Love & Mercy”
Best Actor
Winner: Jacob Tremblay, “Room”
Runner-up: Jason Segel, “The End of the Tour”
Best Supporting Actor
Winner: Mark Ruffalo, “Spotlight”
Runner-up: Idris Elba, “Beasts of No Nation”
Best Vocal/Motion Capture Performance
Winner: Phyllis Smith, “Inside Out”
Runner-up: Tom Noonan, “Anomalisa”
Best Musical Score
Winner: Junkie XL, “Mad Max: Fury Road”
Runner-up: Disasterpeace, “It Follows”
Original Vision Award
Winner: “Anomalisa”
Runner-up: “Chi-Raq”
The Hoosier Award
Winner: Angelo Pizzo, writer/director/producer
(As a special award, no runner-up is declared in this category.)