Payal Kapadia’s All We Imagine As Light lost the trophy for best foreign film to Emilia Pérez at the 2025 Critics Choice Award held at Santa Monica on Saturday (IST). Emilia Perez, a French-Mexican crime musical directed by Jacques Audiard, continued its awards season dominance, having already secured the Golden Globe for best non-English language motion picture.
Kapadia’s film, which was widely praised for its poignant storytelling and delicate portrayal of love and longing, was nominated alongside Flow (Latvia), I’m Still Here (Brazil), Kneecap (Ireland) and The Seed of the Sacred Fig (Germany) and Emilia Pérez.
Citadel: Honey Bunny, starring Varun Dhawan and Samantha Ruth Prabhu, also missed out on the best foreign language series award, which went to Netflix's blockbuster South Korean series Squid Game. Citadel: Honey Bunny was competing against Acapulco, La Máquina, The Law According to Lidia Poet, My Brilliant Friend, Pachinko and Senna.
Citadel: Honey Bunny, the India chapter of the global spy franchise Citadel, also stars Kay Kay Menon, Simran, Soham Majumdar, Shivankit Parihar, Kashvi Majmundar, Saquib Saleem and Sikandar Kher in pivotal roles.
The 30th annual Critics Choice Awards, held at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, saw Wicked, Emilia Pérez, and The Substance lead with three wins each. However, the coveted best picture award went to Sean Baker’s Anora, which, surprisingly, did not win in any other category.
Jon M. Chu took home best director for Wicked. He now joins the ranks of Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge!) and Damien Chazelle (La La Land) as only the third director to win this award for a musical.
Meanwhile, Emilia Pérez added to its accolades by also winning best original song for El Mal and best supporting actress for Zoe Saldaña.
Demi Moore’s performance in The Substance earned her the trophy for best actress, while the film also won best original screenplay and best hair & makeup.
Here is full list of winners at Critics Choice Awards 2025:
Best Acting Ensemble: Conclave
Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series: Michael Urie (Shrinking)
Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series: Hannah Einbinder (Hacks)
Best Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television: Liev Schreiber (The Perfect Couple)
Best Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television: Jessica Gunning (Baby Reindeer)
Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series: Tadanobu Asano (Shogun)
Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series: Moeka Hoshi (Shogun)
Best Animated Feature: The Wild Robot
Best Actor in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television: Colin Farrell (The Penguin)
Best Actress in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television: Cristin Milioti (The Penguin)
Best Limited Series: Baby Reindeer
Best Supporting Actress: Zoe Saldana (Emilia Perez)
Best Actor in a Comedy Series: Adam Brody (Nobody Wants This)
Best Actress in a Comedy Series: Jean Smart (Hacks)
Best Comedy Series: Hacks
Best Supporting Actor: Kieran Culkin (A Real Pain)
Best Young Actor/Actress: Maisy Stella (My Old Ass)
Best Actor in a Drama Series: Hiroyuki Sanada (Shogun)
Best Actress in a Drama Series: Kathy Bates (Matlock)
Best Drama Series: Shogun
Best Foreign Language Film: Emilia Perez
Best Original Screenplay: Coralie Fargeat (The Substance)
Best Adapted Screenplay: Peter Straughan (Conclave)
Best Song: El Mal (Emilia Perez)
Best Director: Johm M Chu (Wicked)
Best Actress: Demi Moore (The Substance)
Best Movie Made for Television: Rebel Ridge
Best Score: Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (Challengers)
Best Production Design: Nathan Crowley and Lee Sandales (Wicked)
Best Costume Design: Paul Tazewell (Wicked)
Best Editing: Marco Costa (Challengers)
Best Cinematography: Jarin Blaschke (Nosferatu)
Best Actor: Adrien Brody (The Brutalist)
Best Hair and Makeup: The Substance Hair and Make-Up Team (The Substance)
Best Visual Effects: Paul Lambert, Stephen James, Rhys Salcombe, and Gerd Nefzer (Dune: Part Two)
Best Comedy: Deadpool & Wolverine and A Real Pain
Best Animated Series: X-Men ‘97
Best Talk Show: John Mulaney Presents: Everybody’s in LA
Best Comedy Special: Ali Wong: Single Lady
Best Foreign Language Series: Squid Game
Best Picture: Anora
