The 47th annual Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards ceremony was held on Saturday January 8 2022. The event which took place in Beverly Hills celebrated the best in film from the past year. The ceremony featured a number of surprise wins and some expected victories but perhaps the biggest surprise of the night was the Best Picture win for the experimental film "Everything Everywhere All at Once".

"Everything Everywhere All at Once" is a sci-fi film directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert who are best known for their work on "Swiss Army Man". The film stars Michelle Yeoh as a retired physics professor who discovers a multiverse after her husband dies. The film also features Jamie Lee Curtis James Hong and Stephanie Hsu in supporting roles. The film was released on January 21 2022 by A24.

The film's win for Best Picture was a shock to many as it was not considered a major contender for the award. However the LA Film Critics Association has a history of championing unconventional films and "Everything Everywhere All at Once" certainly fits that bill. The film also won the Best Director award for Kwan and Scheinert as well as the Best Editing award for Billy McMillin.

The other big winner of the night was "The Tragedy of Macbeth" which won four awards including Best Actor for Denzel Washington Best Production Design for Mark Tildesley Best Cinematography for Bruno Delbonnel and Best Music/Score for Nicholas Britell. The film directed by Joel Coen is a retelling of the classic Shakespeare play and stars Washington and Frances McDormand in the lead roles.

Another major winner of the night was the musical drama "West Side Story" which won three awards including Best Supporting Actress for Ariana DeBose Best Costume Design for Paul Tazewell and Best Sound for Tod Maitland Mathew Waters and David Giammarco. The film directed by Steven Spielberg is a modern retelling of the classic Broadway musical and stars Rachel Zegler and Ansel Elgort in the lead roles.

Other winners of the night included Will Smith for Best Actor in "King Richard" Cate Blanchett for Best Actress in "Nightmare Alley" and Kodi Smit-McPhee for Best Supporting Actor in "The Power of the Dog". "The Power of the Dog" also won Best Screenplay for director Jane Campion.

The LA Film Critics Association Awards are often seen as a precursor to the Academy Awards with many of the winners going on to receive nominations and even wins at the Oscars. It remains to be seen if "Everything Everywhere All at Once" will continue its winning streak and be recognized by the Academy but its unexpected win at the LA Film Critics Association Awards has certainly put it on the map.

Overall the 47th annual LA Film Critics Association Awards ceremony was a night of surprises and upsets. The association has a reputation for recognizing films and performances that may not be on the radar of other awards ceremonies and this year's winners certainly fit that bill. With the Oscars just around the corner it will be interesting to see how many of these winners go on to receive nominations and wins at the biggest awards show of the year.