Let the awards season begin! The National Board of Review, made up of a shadowy group of industry professionals who normally do not make themselves known, have revealed their favorites of the year, giving The Social Network major kudos in the Best Feature, Best Director (David Fincher), Best Actor (Jesse Eisenberg) and Best Adapted Screenplay (Aaron Sorkin) categories. Here’s where you might say, “Um, so who are these people again, and why are their picks important?”

The Social Network

We’re not entirely sure how to answer that question, except to say that the NBR winners are widely regarded as the first Oscar pre-cursor; an initial snapshot at which films professionals in the entertainment industry think were the best of the year. Keep in mind not all of their picks have lined up with Oscar’s choices over the years, but there’s a good chance that if the NBR picks them, they should wind up with at least an Oscar nod.
Here are all the winners. Do you agree with their picks, or were there better films that went ignored by the group?
Best Film: The Social Network
Best Director: David Fincher, The Social Network
Best Actor: Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
Best Actress: Lesley Manville, Another Year
Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale, The Fighter
Best Supporting Actress: Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom
Best Foreign Language Film: Of Gods and Men
Best Documentary: Waiting for "Superman"
Best Animated Feature: Toy Story 3
Best Ensemble Cast: The Town
Breakthrough Performance: Jennifer Lawrence, Winter's Bone
Debut Directors: Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington, Restrepo
Spotlight Award: Sylvain Chomet and Jacques Tati, The Illusionist
Best Original Screenplay: Chris Sparling, Buried
Best Adapted Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin, The Social Network
Special Filmmaking Achievement Award: Sofia Coppola for writing, directing, and producing Somewhere
William K. Everson Film History Award: Leonard Maltin
NBR Freedom of Expression: Fair Game, Conviction, Howl
Production Design Award: Dante Ferretti, Shutter Island