The New York Film Critics Online (NYFCO) has unveiled its 2025 nominations, with Abou Sangaré earning recognition in the Breakthrough Performer category for his role in Souleymane’s Story, where he plays the titular character. Joining the Guinean actor in celebrating African representation are British-Nigerian actor Sope Dirisu and filmmaker Akinola Davies Jr, who secured Best Actor and Debut Director nominations respectively for My Father’s Shadow.
Dirisu competes in the Best Actor category alongside established names including Timothée Chalamet (Marty Supreme), Leonardo DiCaprio (One Battle After Another), Michael B. Jordan (Sinners), Lee Byung Hun (No Other Choice), Dylan O’Brien (Twinless), Wagner Moura (The Secret Agent) and Jesse Plemons (Bugonia). Meanwhile, Sangaré’s Breakthrough Performer nomination places him among contenders such as Chase Infiniti, Miles Caton, Odessa A’zion, Eva Victor, Everett Blunck, Jacob Jupe, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas and Kayo Martin.
Akinola Davies Jr also competes in the Debut Director category alongside Harris Dickerson, Harry Lighton, Eva Victor, Scarlett Johansson, Kristen Stewart, Sarah Friedland, Carson Lund, Charlie Polinger and Constance Tsang.
Wunmi Mosaku was also nominated in the prestigious Best Supporting Actress category for her performance as Annie in Sinners, alongside Ariana Grande (Wicked: For Good), Regina Hall and Teyana Taylor (One Battle After Another), Da’Vine Joy Randolph (Eternity), Elle Fanning and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas (Sentimental Value), Glenn Close (Wake Up Dead Man), Amy Madigan (Weapons) and Odessa A’zion (Marty Supreme).
The nominations honour both veteran filmmakers including Paul Thomas Anderson, Park Chan-wook, Ryan Coogler and Chloé Zhao, and emerging voices like Akinola Davies Jr in independent cinema. The Best Picture category features ten contenders, including Sinners, Hamnet, Marty Supreme and Train Dreams, reflecting the awards’ commitment to recognising diverse storytelling perspectives across acting, directing, screenplay and documentary categories.
The winners will be announced on December 15, 2025, with Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another leading with 11 nominations across directing, acting, writing and technical categories. Sinners, Hamnet and Sentimental Value follow closely with nine nominations each.