Culture

Kristen Stewart, Andrew Garfield and Ariana DeBose win big at HCA Film Awards 2022

By Zoya Raza-Sheikh

1st March 2022

Kristen Stewart, Andrew Garfield, Ariana DeBose and other LGBTQ+ names are crowned winners at the fifth annual Hollywood Critics Association Awards.

Taking place at Avalon Hollywood in Los Angeles, California, the acclaimed Hollywood Critics Association Awards were first founded in 2016. Since then, the awards have spotlighted talent across the creative industry.

On Monday (28 February), actors Kristen Stewart and Andrew Garfield were named as big winners as their pair took home awards.

LGBTQ+ hit of the night included wins for West Side Story, Tick, Tick … Boom!, Spencer as well as The Mitchells vs. The Machines.

Netflix’s Tick, Tick … Boom! raked in the wins with three overall successes for Best Comedy or Musical, Best First Feature going to Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Andrew Garfield for the Best Actor category. Garfield fulfilled the role of playwright and creator of Rent Jonathan Larson.

Steven Spielberg’s cinematic musical adaptation of West Side Story was awarded a win for Best Supporting Actress, which went to Ariana DeBose.

Elsewhere, Stewart was awarded Best Actress for her performance in Pablo Larraín’s Spencer.

During her win, Steward took to the stage to give a brief speech: “I took more joy into my body doing this than anything…. It’s been a long run, I f**king appreciate this, seriously.

“I could never have made this movie by myself, and that’s every movie, but this one, really. I was so accompanied. This is so cool, I can’t believe we get to do this.”

The Mitchells vs. The Machines, a movie that follows a dysfunctional family around an apocalyptic scenario, took home a win for Best Animated win. The film features an openly gay lead character and was well received by critics. 

Stephanie Beatriz, known for her roles in Brooklyn Nine-Nine and In The Heights, was awarded Best Animated or VFX Performance.

Disney’s Cruella has also been recognised. While the show is not directly queer, it became the first movie by the franchise to feature an openly queer character in a live-action production. “I don’t think Disney has ever had a character quite like Artie before,” actor John McCrea tells GAY TIMES. 

The movie was praised for its visuals and has been nominated for Best Costume Design by Jenny Beavan.

Fans reacted to the news of Stewart, DeBose, and Garfield being recognised at the HCA Film Awards.

“So proud of Andrew Garfield for winning Best Actor and Kristen Stewart for winning Best Actress at the,” one user tweeted.

You can see more fan reactions to the awards below.

You can read the full list of the HCA Film 2022 winners below.

Best Picture – CODA
Best Actor – Andrew Garfield Tick, Tick … Boom!
Best Actress – Kristen Stewart for Spencer
Best Supporting Actor – Troy Kotsur for CODA
Best Supporting Actress – Ariana DeBose for West Side Story
Best Cast Ensemble – Belfast
Best Director *Tie* – Denis Villeneuve for Dune and Jane Campion for The Power of The Dog
Best Original Screenplay – Fran Kranz for Mass
Best Adapted Screenplay – Siân Heder for CODA
Best Animated or VFX Performance – Stephanie Beatriz for Encanto
Best Action Film – The Harder They Fall
Best Animated Film – The Mitchells vs. The Machines
Best Comedy or Musical – Tick, Tick … Boom!
Best Documentary – Summer of Soul
Best Horror – Last Night in Soho
Best Indie Film – Pig
Best International Film – Drive My Car
Best First Feature – Lin-Manuel Miranda for Tick, Tick … Boom!