Boston and New York (online) critics weren't the only bodies handing out awards on Sunday afternoon. The Los Angeles Film Critics Association issued plaudits to a wide variety of 2011 indie releases, in a break from the early awards season status quo. Three cheers for Michael Fassbender, Terrence Malick and The Chemical Brothers? Yep! Check out the LAFCA awards winners and runner-ups ahead.

BEST PICTURE: Winner: 'The Descendants'
BEST PICTURE: Runner-Up: 'The Tree of Life'

BEST ANIMATION: Winner: 'Rango'
BEST ANIMATION: Runner-Up: 'The Adventures of Tintin'

BEST DIRECTOR, Winner: Terrence Malick, 'The Tree of Life'
BEST DIRECTOR, Runner-Up: Martin Scorsese, 'Hugo'

BEST ACTOR, Winner: Michael Fassbender, 'A Dangerous Method,' 'Jane Eyre,' 'Shame,' 'X-Men: First Class'
BEST ACTOR, Runner-Up: Michael Shannon, 'Take Shelter'

BEST ACTRESS, Winner: Yun Jung-Hee, 'Poetry'
BEST ACTRESS, Runner-Up: Kirsten Dunst, 'Melancholia'

BEST INDEPENDENT/EXPERIMENTAL, Winner: 'Spark of Being'

BEST DOCUMENTARY/NONFICTION, Winner: 'Cave of Forgotten Dreams'
BEST DOCUMENTARY/NONFICTION: Runner- Up, 'The Arbor'

BEST SCREENPLAY, Winner: Asghar Farhadi, 'A Separation'
BEST SCREENPLAY, Runner-Up: Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash, 'The Descendants'

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR, Winner: Christopher Plummer, 'Beginners'
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR, Runner-Up: Patton Oswalt, 'Young Adult'

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS, Winner: Jessica Chastain, 'Coriolanus,' 'The Debt,' 'The Help,' 'Take Shelter, 'Texas Killing Fields,' 'The Tree of Life'
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS, Runner-Up: Janet McTeer, 'Albert Nobbs'

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY, Winner: Emmanuel Lubezki, 'The Tree of Life'
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY, Runner-Up: Cao Yu, 'City of Life and Death'

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN, Winner: Dante Ferretti, 'Hugo'
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN, Runner-Up: Maria Djurkovic, 'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy'

BEST MUSIC/SCORE, Winner: The Chemical Brothers, 'Hanna'
BEST MUSIC/SCORE, Runner-Up: Cliff Martinez, 'Drive'

[Photo: Fox Searchlight]


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