Dublin Film Critics Circle Awards 2025: Sinners Wins Top Prizes Alongside Irish Films

The Dublin Film Critics Circle has announced its picks for the best films of 2025. The big winner was Ryan Coogler’s historical epic, Sinners, which took home a leading five awards. The film was honored as the year’s best, with additional wins for its director, star, screenplay, and visual style. Meanwhile, major Irish stories also claimed the spotlight, with Christy and Blue Road: The Edna O’Brien Story winning key local categories. The awards were voted on by professional film reviewers based in Dublin, continuing a tradition that began in 2006.

The Complete List of Winners and Nominees

Here is the full list of winners and ranked nominees from the 2025 Dublin Film Critics Circle Awards.

Best Film

1. Sinners (Winner)
2. One Battle After Another
3. Train Dreams
4. The Brutalist
5. It Was Just an Accident

Best Director

1. Ryan Coogler – Sinners (Winner)
2. Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another
3. Brady Corbet – The Brutalist
4. Jafar Panahi – It Was Just an Accident
5. Dea Kulumbegashvili – April

Best Actor

1. Michael B. Jordan – Sinners (Winner)
2. Leonardo DiCaprio – One Battle After Another
3. Joel Edgerton – Train Dreams
4. Adrien Brody – The Brutalist
5. Robert Aramayo – I Swear

Best Actress

Dublin Film Critics Circle – Best Actress

1. Emma Stone, Bugonia (WINNER)
2. Renate Reinsve, Sentimental Value
3. Jennifer Lawrence, Die My Love
4. Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Hard Truths
5. Leonie Benesch, Late Shift pic.twitter.com/zcouPRWWSH

— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) December 18, 2025

1. Emma Stone – Bugonia (Winner)
2. Renate Reinsve – Sentimental Value
3. Jennifer Lawrence – Die, My Love
4. Marianne Jean-Baptiste – Hard Truths
5. Leonie Benesch – Late Shift

Best Screenplay

1. Ryan Coogler – Sinners (Winner)
2. Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another
3. Jesse Eisenberg – A Real Pain
4. Jafar Panahi – It Was Just an Accident
5. Brady Corbet & Mona Fastvold – The Brutalist

Best Irish Film

1. Christy (Winner)
2. Blue Road: The Edna O’Brien Story
3. Frewaka
4. Beat the Lotto
5. Testimony

Best Documentary

1. Blue Road: The Edna O’Brien Story (Winner)
2. Testimony
3. Sanatorium
4. A Want in Her
5. The Perfect Neighbour

Best Cinematography

1. Autumn Durald Arkapaw – Sinners (Winner)
2. Lol Crawley – The Brutalist
3. Adolpho Veloso – Train Dreams
4. Michael Bauman – One Battle After Another
5. Claudio Miranda – F1 / Arseni Khachaturan – April (tie)

International Breakthrough

• Eva Victor – Sorry, Baby (Winner)

Irish Breakthrough

• Brendan Canty – Christy (Winner)

Sinners Dominates Major Categories

Sinners was the clear favorite of Dublin’s critics this year, winning in five of the eleven main categories. Directed by Ryan Coogler, the film is a genre-blending story that mixes vampirism, racial politics, and the origins of blues music in 1930s Mississippi. The film’s success at these awards marks it as a major contender in the current awards season, where it is expected to perform well in upcoming nominations.

“We were definitely hoping for it to do well,” Coogler stated in a recent interview. “There were a lot of calculated risks that we took on this movie. We bet on ourselves.”

The film’s star, Michael B. Jordan, won Best Actor for his role as charismatic African-American twins who open a speakeasy. The award for Best Cinematography went to Autumn Durald Arkapaw for her work on the film, which placed just ahead of the cinematography for The Brutalist. This level of success across multiple top categories is rare in the history of the DFCC awards.

Irish Films and Filmmakers Shine

While Sinners led the overall field, Irish productions claimed their own significant victories. The award for Best Irish Film went to Brendan Canty’s Christy, a social-realist drama from Cork. Canty, previously best known for directing the music video for Hozier’s ‘Take Me to Church’, also received the Irish Breakthrough award.

The documentary Blue Road: The Edna O’Brien Story, directed by Sinéad O’Shea, won the Best Documentary category and was the runner-up for Best Irish Film. The film, which explores the life of the celebrated Irish writer, has earned international praise since its premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival and was a hit with Irish audiences.

Other Notable Winners and Contenders

Emma Stone was named Best Actress for her role in Yorgos Lanthimos’s black comedy Bugonia, which is produced by Dublin-based Element Pictures. Her performance topped a strong list that included Renate Reinsve and Jennifer Lawrence.

The International Breakthrough award was given to Eva Victor for writing, directing, and starring in the serious comedy Sorry, Baby. The DFCC also took a moment during the awards to honor their former voting member, critic Philip Molloy, who passed away in June 2025.

Paul Thomas Anderson’s political comedy One Battle After Another was a strong competitor, finishing in second place for Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Actor. Other films that performed well with the critics included Train Dreams and The Brutalist.

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