La Internacional Cinéfila Poll: Best Movies of 2020, a survey of 161 programmers, critics, and filmmakers from around the world, posted with entries and notes from each participant
2020 Movies
Saige Walton: Favorite Films of 2020, as posted to Twitter
- David Byrne's American Utopia — Spike Lee
- First Cow — Kelly Reichardt
- Another Round — Thomas Vinterberg
- Uncut Gems — Ben Safdie and Joshua Safdie
- Possessor — Brandon Cronenberg
- Eurovision — David Dobkin
- Apples — Christos Nikou
- When Pomegranates Howl — Granaz Moussavi
- The Invisible Man — Leigh Whannell
- On the Rocks — Sofia Coppola
Jordan Ruimy: The 15 Best Movies of 2020, as published by World of Reel
- Never Rarely Sometimes Always — Eliza Hittman
- Small Axe: Lovers Rock — Steve McQueen
- Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets — Bill Ross IV and Turner Ross
- Da 5 Bloods — Spike Lee
- First Cow — Kelly Reichardt
- The Invisible Man — Leigh Whannell
- Bad Education — Cory Finley
- Young Ahmed — Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne
- Sound of Metal — Darius Marder
- The Assistant — Kitty Green
- Promising Young Woman — Emerald Fennell
- Bacurau — Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles
- Pieces of a Woman — Kornél Mundruczó
- David Byrne's American Utopia — Spike Lee
- Palm Springs — Max Barbakow
Todd McCarthy: Top 10 Films of 2020, as published by Deadline
[see also 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016]
- Nomadland — Chloé Zhao
- The Father — Florian Zeller
- Promising Young Woman — Emerald Fennell
- Dick Johnson Is Dead — Kirsten Johnson
- Small Axe: Mangrove — Steve McQueen
- Into the Deep — Emma Sullivan
- Soul — Pete Docter
- The King of Staten Island — Judd Apatow
- The Outpost — Rod Lurie
- Devil Between the Legs — Arturo Ripstein
- Minari — Lee Isaac Chung
- First Cow — Kelly Reichardt
- The Dissident — Bryan Fogel
- Never Rarely Sometimes Always — Eliza Hittman
- Martin Eden — Pietro Marcello
- I'm Thinking of Ending Things — Charlie Kaufman
- The Painted Bird — Václav Marhoul
- Beanpole — Kantemir Balagov
- On the Rocks — Sofia Coppola
- Ma Rainey's Black Bottom — George C. Wolfe
Runners-up
Jordan Cronk: Top Ten Films of 2020 as posted to Patreon
[see also 2010s, 2019, 2018, 2017]
- DAU — Ilya Khrzhanovsky
- Days — Tsai Ming-liang
- Malmkrog — Cristi Puiu
- The Works and Days (of Tayoko Shiojiri in the Shiotani Basin) — Anders Edström and C.W. Winter
- Beginning — Déa Kulumbegashvili
- Her Socialist Smile — John Gianvito
- The Salt of Tears — Philippe Garrel
- Siberia — Abel Ferrara
- The Woman Who Ran — Hong Sang-soo
- The Year of the Discovery — Luis López Carrasco
Hyperallergic: Favorite Movies of 2020
- Time — Garrett Bradley
- Bacurau — Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles
- Small Axe — Steve McQueen
- Dick Johnson Is Dead — Kirsten Johnson
- First Cow — Kelly Reichardt
- Vitalina Varela — Pedro Costa
- I May Destroy You — Michaela Coel & Sam Miller
- Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets — Bill Ross IV and Turner Ross
- Never Rarely Sometimes Always — Eliza Hittman
- Shirley — Josephine Decker
- małni—towards the ocean, towards the shore — Sky Hopinka
- Through the Night — Loira Limbal
- Lingua Franca — Isabel Sandoval
- David Byrne's American Utopia — Spike Lee
- City Hall — Frederick Wiseman
- T — Keisha Rae Witherspoon
- How To with John Wilson
- BLKNWS (installation) — Kahlil Joseph
Honorable Mentions
Sheila O’Malley: Top Ten Films of 2020, as submitted to the RogerEbert.com Survey
- Bacurau — Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles
- Beanpole — Kantemir Balagov
- Collective — Alexander Nanau
- Da 5 Bloods — Spike Lee
- Minari — Lee Isaac Chung
- The Nest — Sean Durkin
- Never Rarely Sometimes Always — Eliza Hittman
- Small Axe: Lovers Rock — Steve McQueen
- Time — Garrett Bradley
- The Vast of Night — Andrew Patterson
David Morgan: The 10 Best Films of 2020, as posted by CBS News
- First Cow — Kelly Reichardt
- Nomadland — Chloé Zhao
- Never Rarely Sometimes Always — Eliza Hittman
- 76 days — Hao Wu, Weixi Chen and Anonymous
- Beanpole — Kantemir Balagov
- Ma Rainey's Black Bottom — George C. Wolfe
- Wolfwalkers — Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart
- Sound of Metal — Darius Marder
- Soul — Pete Docter
- Small Axe: Lovers Rock — Steve McQueen
- Hamilton — Thomas Kail
Special Mention
Allison Shoemaker: The Best Films of 2020, as published by The A.V. Club
- Nomadland — Chloé Zhao
- First Cow — Kelly Reichardt
- Dick Johnson Is Dead — Kirsten Johnson
- Time — Garrett Bradley
- Never Rarely Sometimes Always — Eliza Hittman
- She Dies Tomorrow — Amy Seimetz
- Minari — Lee Isaac Chung
- Black Bear — Lawrence Michael Levine
- Beanpole — Kantemir Balagov
- The 40-Year-Old Version — Radha Blank
- Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets — Bill Ross IV and Turner Ross
- The Assistant — Kitty Green
- The Father — Florian Zeller
- I'm Thinking of Ending Things — Charlie Kaufman
- Promising Young Woman — Emerald Fennell
Scott Tobias: Top 10 Films of 2020, as posted to Twitter and discussed on The Next Picture Show
[see also 2019, 2018, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011]
- Dick Johnson Is Dead — Kirsten Johnson
- The Assistant — Kitty Green
- First Cow — Kelly Reichardt
- Small Axe: Lovers Rock — Steve McQueen
- Nomadland — Chloé Zhao
- Bacurau — Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles
- Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets — Bill Ross IV and Turner Ross
- I'm Thinking of Ending Things — Charlie Kaufman
- Beanpole — Kantemir Balagov
- The Nest — Sean Durkin
- David Byrne's American Utopia — Spike Lee
- Fourteen — Dan Sallitt
- Collective — Alexander Nanau
- Time — Garrett Bradley
- Boys State — Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine
- Bad Education — Cory Finley
- The Vast of Night — Andrew Patterson
- Never Rarely Sometimes Always — Eliza Hittman
- Minari — Lee Isaac Chung
- Wolfwalkers — Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart
- Sound of Metal — Darius Marder
- A White, White Day — Hlynur Pálmason
- Soul — Pete Docter
- Another Round — Thomas Vinterberg