Only in America: The O.J. Simpson saga [See previous post: Isabelle Huppert & Moonlight among NSFC winners.] The National Society of Film Critics' Best Non-Fiction Film was Ezra Edelman's five-part ESPN Films documentary O.J.: Made in America, about the trials (there were two) and tribulations of disgraced all-American football player and sometime movie actor O.J. Simpson (The Towering Inferno, The Naked Gun: From the Files of the Police Squad!). In 1994, Simpson was accused of murdering his former wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Lyle Goldman in Los Angeles' Brentwood neighborhood. The ensuing trial became one of the ugliest – and most popular – all-American circuses of the second half of the 20th century. With the assistance of a high-profile defense team, Simpson was acquitted of the murders, but at a follow-up civil trial he was found liable for Brown Simpson's and Goldman's wrongful deaths. Years later, in 2008, he would be convicted of and imprisoned for several felonies unrelated to the 1994 murders. Curiously, all three of this year's National Society of Film Critics' Best Non-Fiction Film picks revolve around issues facing black Americans. O.J.: Made in America runners-up were Raoul Peck's I Am Not Your Negro, about black (and gay) author James Baldwin's views on racism in the United States, and Ava DuVernay's 13th, which tackles racial inequality in the U.S. by offering a peek into the country's incarceration system. Pioneers of African-American Cinema & 'Sieranevada' Besides, the NSFC announced that its Film Heritage Award would go to Kino Lorber's 5-disc collection “Pioneers of African-American Cinema,” which includes works by or featuring Oscar Micheaux, Paul Robeson, and Spencer Williams. And finally, Cristi Puiu's Sieranevada earned a Special Citation for a 2016 film awaiting American distribution. In a system clogged up with movies aimed at 12-year-olds (and at those who stopped evolving at that age), something like Sieranevada – about secrets & lies at a family gathering, and featuring no stars in front or behind the camera – will surely have a tough time finding an American screen, let alone an American audience. Below is the full list of 2016 movies shortlisted by the National Society of Film Critics. Casey Affleck in 'Manchester by the Sea': Best Actor NSFC winner for his performance in one of the most widely acclaimed 2016 movies. National Society of Film Critics' 2016 movies BEST PICTURE * Moonlight (54). Manchester by the Sea (39). La La Land (31). BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM * Toni Erdmann (52). Director: Maren Ade. The Handmaiden (26). Director: Park Chan-wook. (tie) Elle (19). Director: Paul Verhoeven. Things to Come / L'avenir (19). Director: Mia Hansen-Løve. BEST DIRECTOR * Barry Jenkins (53) for Moonlight. Damien Chazelle (37) for La La Land. Kenneth Lonergan (23) for Manchester by the Sea. BEST ACTRESS * Isabelle Huppert (55) for Elle and Things to Come. (tie) Annette Bening (26) for 20th Century Women & Sandra Hüller (26) for Toni Erdmann. BEST ACTOR * Casey Affleck (65) for Manchester by the Sea. Denzel Washington (21) for Fences. Adam Driver (20) for Paterson. BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS * Michelle Williams (58) for Manchester by the Sea. Lily Gladstone (45) for Certain Women. Naomie Harris (25) for Moonlight. BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR * Mahershala Ali (72) for Moonlight. Jeff Bridges (18) for Hell or High Water. Michael Shannon (14) for Nocturnal Animals. BEST SCREENPLAY * Manchester by the Sea (61). Kenneth Lonergan. Moonlight (39). Barry Jenkins. Hell or High Water (16). Taylor Sheridan. BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY * Moonlight (52). James Laxton. La La Land (27). Linus Sandgren. Silence (23). Rodrigo Prieto. BEST NON-FICTION FILM * O.J.: Made in America (64). Director: Ezra Edelman. I Am Not Your Negro (36). Director: Raoul Peck. 13th (20). Director: Ava DuVernay. SPECIAL CITATION for a film awaiting American distribution: Sieranevada (Romania). Director: Cristi Puiu. FILM HERITAGE AWARD: Kino Lorber's 5-disc collection “Pioneers of African-American Cinema.” Image of Isabelle Huppert in one her two award-winning 2016 movies, Elle: Sony Pictures Classics. Naomie Harris Moonlight image: A24. Sandra Hüller Toni Erdmann image: Sony Pictures Classics. This article was originally published at Alt Film Guide (http://www.altfg.com/).