Inglourious Basterds picked up six awards from the San Diego Film Critics Society on Tuesday, December 15. According to SDFC member Dan Bennett, the movie was voted Best Film of 2009. Written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds tells the story of several disparate characters navigating survival and revenge in the chaos of World War II Europe, employing Tarantino's merge of comedy, violence, poignancy and pathos. The critics voted Tarantino as Best Director, and also chose his Inglourious Basterds as Best Original Screenplay.

The society’s critics, comprising print, television, radio and Internet critics working in San Diego County, voted Michelle Monaghan as Best Actress for her riveting portrayal as a carefree long-haul trucker whose life suddenly changes in the indie film Trucker. Colin Firth, playing a college professor devastated by the loss of his longtime partner in A Single Man, was voted Best Actor.

Earning the Best Supporting Actress nod was Samantha Morton for her performance as a grieving war widow in The Messenger. The critics voted Christoph Waltz as Best Supporting Actor for his performance as the ever-deceptive Nazi officer in Inglourious Basterds.

The critics honored Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach in the Best Adapted Screenplay category for Fantastic Mr. Fox, based on the novella by Roald Dahl.

Chosen as Best Foreign Language Film was Il Divo, the story of persevering Italian Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti.

The critics voted the Disney-Pixar film Up as Best Animated Film.

The Best Documentary award went to The Cove, documenting the killing of dolphins in a Japanese fishing village.

For Best Cinematography honors, the critics chose Javier Aguirresarobe for his work on The Road, while honoring David Wasco for Best Production Design on Inglourious Basterds. Winner of the Best Editing award went to Alan Edward Bell for his efforts on the film (500) Days of Summer. Winning for Best Score was Abel Korzeniowski for the music in A Single Man. The cast of Inglourious Basterds was honored for Best Ensemble Performance.

Woody Harrelson was honored by the critics for his Body of Work during 2009, citing the actor's performances in the films The Messenger, Zombieland and 2012.

The critics chose the Reading Gaslamp 15 to receive the annual Kyle Counts Award. The award, named after the late San Diego film critic, honors those who have made contributions to film in the city. The critics cited the Reading Gaslamp 15 for its bold and consistent booking of vital new independent and foreign films.

LIST OF WINNERS AND RUNNERS-UP

BEST FILM: Inglourious Basterds

Runner-up: A Single Man

BEST DIRECTOR: Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds)

Runner-up: James Cameron (Avatar)

BEST ACTRESS: Michelle Monaghan (Trucker)

Runner-up Tie: Abbie Cornish (Bright Star) and Carey Mulligan (An Education)

BEST ACTOR: Colin Firth (A Single Man)

Runner-up: Viggo Mortensen (The Road)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Samantha Morton (The Messenger)

Runner-up: Anna Kendrick (Up in the Air)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds)

Runner-up: Woody Harrelson (The Messenger)

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds)

Runner-up: Joel & Ethan Coen (A Serious Man)

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Wes Anderson & Noah Baumbach (Fantastic Mr. Fox)

Runner-up: Jason Reitman & Sheldon Turner (Up in the Air)

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: Il Divo

Runner-up: Sin Nombre

BEST DOCUMENTARY: The Cove

Runner-up: Anvil, The Story of Anvil

BEST ANIMATED FILM: Up

Runner-up: Fantastic Mr. Fox

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Javier Aguirresarobe (The Road)

Runner-up: Robert Richardson (Inglourious Basterds)

BEST EDITING: Alan Edward Bell ((500) Days of Summer)

Runner-up: Sally Menke (Inglourious Basterds)

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN: David Wasco (Inglourious Basterds)

Runner-up: Anatasia Masaro (Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus)

BEST SCORE: Abel Korzeniowski (A Single Man)

Runner-up: Michael Giaccone (Up)

BEST ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE: Inglourious Basterds

Runner-up: A Serious Man

BODY OF WORK: Woody Harrelson (The Messenger, Zombieland, 2012)

KYLE COUNTS AWARD: Reading Gaslamp 15

Contact Dan Bennett (760-805-9510)

(Inglourious Basterds poster: © 2009 The Weinstein Company. All Rights Reserved.)