Dorian Award nominations list: LGBTQ critics pick ‘I Saw the TV Glow,’ ‘The Substance’
I Saw the TV Glow and The Substance led the way at the Dorian Film Award nominations on Friday. The awards are selected by GALECA — the Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics comprises more than 500 critics, journalists, and media figures. Winners will be announced on Feb. 13.
SEE2025 Independent Spirit Awards nominations: Full list led by ‘Anora,’ ‘I Saw the TV Glow’
From director Jane Schoenbrun, A24’s I Saw the TV Glow tells the eerie story of two friends (Justice Smith and Brigette Lundy-Paine) whose realities start to collapse around their favorite television series. The movie received a leading nine Dorian nominations including Film of the Year, LGBTQ Film of the Year, and Director of the Year, while both Smith and Lundy-Paine were nominated for their performances. The indie feature, hailed as a groundbreaking trans allegory, has mostly flown under the radar this awards season, though it did score three Gotham Award nominations as well as five Independent Spirit Award bids, including Best Feature.
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The Substance has eight nominations including Film of the Year, Director of the Year (Coralie Fargeat), Film Performance of the Year (Demi Moore), and Supporting Film Performance of the Year (Margaret Qualley). The body-horror film from Mubi about an aging star trying to recapture her youth at any cost has emerged as one of the top Oscar contenders of the year with best film bids from the Golden Globes and the Critics Choice Awards, as well as five BAFTA noms including Best Director and Best Actress for Moore.
Rounding out the Film of the Year category are Anora, Challengers, and Nickel Boys. Arguably the highest-profile queer film of the season, Emilia Pérez, missed out on a nomination in the top category, but it did score six noms elsewhere, including LGBTQ Film of the Year and acting noms for Karla Sofía Gascón and Zoe Salda?a. The Netflix film has been celebrated by myriad awards groups like the Globes, Critics Choice Awards, and BAFTAs, but it has proved controversial in its portrayal of the trans and Mexican communities.
GALECA will be donating $1,000 to the Los Angeles Press Club’s emergency relief fund for entertainment journalists affected by the wildfires in Los Angeles. Executive Director John Griffiths said in a statement, “Entertainment journalists are an obviously integral part of the Hollywood ecosystem, and we want to make sure they aren’t forgotten in what’s already a very tough environment for those in our profession.”
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FILM OF THE YEAR
Anora (Neon)
Challengers (Amazon MGM Studios)
I Saw the TV Glow (A24)
Nickel Boys (Orion Pictures/Amazon MGM Studios)
The Substance (Mubi)
LGBTQ FILM OF THE YEAR
Challengers (Amazon MGM Studios)
Emilia Pérez (Netflix)
I Saw the TV Glow (A24)
Love Lies Bleeding (A24)
Queer (A24)
DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR
Brady Corbet, The Brutalist (A24)
Coralie Fargeat, The Substance (Mubi)
Luca Guadagnino, Challengers (Amazon MGM Studios)
RaMell Ross, Nickel Boys (Orion Pictures/Amazon MGM Studios)
Jane Schoenbrun, I Saw the TV Glow (A24)
SCREENPLAY OF THE YEAR
Anora (Neon)
Challengers (Amazon MGM Studios)
Conclave (Focus Features)
I Saw the TV Glow (A24)
The Substance (Mubi)
LGBTQ SCREENPLAY OF THE YEAR
Challengers (Amazon MGM Studios)
I Saw the TV Glow (A24)
Love Lies Bleeding (A24)
Problemista (A24)
Queer (A24)
NON-ENGLISH LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR
All We Imagine as Light (Sideshow / Janus Films)
Emilia Pérez (Netflix)
Flow (Sideshow / Janus Films)
I’m Still Here (Sony Pictures Classics)
The Seed of the Sacred Fig (Neon)
LGBTQ NON-ENGLISH FILM OF THE YEAR
Crossing (Mubi)
Emilia Pérez (Netflix)
Queendom (Greenwich Entertainment)
Vermiglio (Sideshow / Janus Films)
All Shall Be Well (Strand Releasing)
UNSUNG FILM OF THE YEAR
Didi (Focus Features)
Hundreds of Beavers (Cineverse, Vinegar Syndrome)
My Old Ass (Amazon MGM Studios)
Problemista (A24)
Thelma (Magnolia)
UNSUNG LGBTQ FILM OF THE YEAR
Femme (Utopia)
My Old Ass (Amazon MGM Studios)
National Anthem (Variance, LD Entertainment)
The People’s Joker (Altered Innocence)
Problemista (A24)
FILM PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
Adrien Brody, The Brutalist (A24)
Daniel Craig, Queer (A24)
Colman Domingo, Sing Sing (A24)
Karla Sofía Gascón, Emilia Pérez (Netflix)
Cynthia Erivo, Wicked (Universal)
Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Hard Truths (Bleecker Street)
Nicole Kidman, Babygirl (A24)
Mikey Madison, Anora (Neon)
Demi Moore, The Substance (Mubi)
Justice Smith, I Saw the TV Glow (A24)
SUPPORTING FILM PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
Michele Austin, Hard Truths (Bleecker Street)
Yura Borisov, Anora (Neon)
Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain (Searchlight Pictures)
Ariana Grande, Wicked (Universal)
Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Nickel Boys (Orion Pictures/Amazon MGM Studios)
Brigette Lundy-Paine, I Saw the TV Glow (A24)
Clarence Maclin, Sing Sing (A24)
Guy Pearce, The Brutalist (A24)
Margaret Qualley, The Substance (Mubi)
Zoe Salda?a, Emilia Pérez (Netflix)
DOCUMENTARY OF THE YEAR
Dahomey (Mubi)
Daughters (Netflix)
The Remarkable Life of Ibelin (Netflix)
Sugarcane (National Geographic)
Will & Harper (Netflix)
LGBTQ DOCUMENTARY OF THE YEAR
Chasing Chasing Amy (Level 33)
Frida (Amazon MGM Studios)
Merchant Ivory (Cohen Media Group)
Queendom (Greenwich Entertainment)
Will & Harper (Netflix)
ANIMATED FILM OF THE YEAR
Flow (Sideshow / Janus Films)
Inside Out 2 (Disney)
Memoir of a Snail (IFC Films)
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (Netflix)
The Wild Robot (Universal, DreamWorks)
GENRE FILM OF THE YEAR
Dune: Part Two (Warner Bros.)
I Saw the TV Glow (A24)
Nosferatu (Focus Features)
The Substance (Mubi)
Wicked (Universal)
FILM MUSIC OF THE YEAR
The Brutalist (A24)
Challengers (Amazon MGM Studios)
Emilia Pérez (Netflix)
I Saw the TV Glow (A24)
Wicked (Universal)
VISUALLY STRIKING FILM OF THE YEAR
The Brutalist (A24)
Dune: Part Two (Warner Bros.)
Nosferatu (Focus Features)
Nickel Boys (Orion Pictures/Amazon MGM Studios)
The Substance (Mubi)
CAMPIEST FLICK
Hundreds of Beavers (Cineverse, Vinegar Syndrome)
Madame Web (Sony)
Megalopolis (Lionsgate)
The Substance (Mubi)
Trap (Warner Bros.)
“WE’RE WILDE ABOUT YOU!” RISING STAR AWARD
Jonathan Bailey
Vera Drew
Karla Sofía Gascón
Brigette Lundy-Paine
Mikey Madison
Katy O’Brian
Drew Starkey
WILDE ARTIST AWARD
To a truly groundbreaking force in entertainment
Colman Domingo
Luca Guadagnino
Coralie Fargeat
Jane Schoenbrun
Tilda Swinton
GALECA LGBTQIA+ FILM TRAILBLAZER
For creating art that inspires empathy, truth and equity
Vera Drew
Cynthia Erivo
Luca Guadagnino
Jane Schoenbrun
Julio Torres
TIMELESS STAR (Career achievement award)
To be announced February 13 with all winners.
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