The Washington Area Film Critics Association has selected the best film and best performances of 2008. The group, of which I’m a privileged member, gave its top prize to director Danny Boyle’s “Slumdog Millionaire,” which I reviewed favorably for Crosswalk earlier this fall. But it didn't get my vote. As much as I liked and admired “Slumdog,” it wasn’t my choice among the nominees, nor did I list it among my list of five titles that I submitted for the WAFCA nominations.

Below, I’ve listed the official winners of the awards, which were announced this morning. Below that list is the full list of WAFCA nominees from which we selected the winners. And below that is the list of films I submitted as possible nominees. As one of more than 40 critics who submitted nominations, it's no surprise that a few of my favorites didn’t make the cut. But many did. I’m delighted with the list of official nominees, and with the final results.

Best Film: Slumdog Millionaire/Fox Searchlight  
Best Director: Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire)
Best Actor: Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler)
Best Actress: Meryl Streep (Doubt)
Best Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight)
Best Supporting Actress: Rosemarie DeWitt (Rachel Getting Married)
Best Original Screenplay: Jenny Lumet (Rachel Getting Married)
Best Adapted Screenplay: Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire)
Best Animated: Wall∙E/Disney&Pixar
Best Documentary: Man on Wire/Magnolia Pictures
Best Foreign Film: Let the Right One In/Magnolia Pictures and Magnet Releasing
Best Ensemble: Doubt/Miramax
Best Breakthrough: Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire)
Best Art Direction: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button/Paramount

Official WAFCA Nominees (My Votes are Marked Alongside My Choices) 

BEST FILM:

 The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
 The Dark Knight
 Milk
 Slumdog Millionaire
 WALL•E

BEST ACTOR:

 Clint Eastwood, Gran Torino
 Richard Jenkins, The Visitor
 Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon
 Sean Penn, Milk
 Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler

BEST ACTRESS:

 Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married
 Sally Hawkins, Happy-Go-Lucky
 Angelina Jolie, Changeling
 Meryl Streep, Doubt
 Kate Winslet, Revolutionary Road

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:

 Josh Brolin, Milk
 Robert Downey Jr., Tropic Thunder
 Philip Seymour Hoffman, Doubt
 Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
 Michael Shannon, Revolutionary Road

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:

 Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
 Viola Davis, Doubt
 Rosemarie DeWitt, Rachel Getting Married
 Taraji P. Henson, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
 Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler

BEST DIRECTOR :

 Darren Aronofsky, The Wrestler
 Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire
 David Fincher, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
 Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight
 Gus Van Sant, Milk

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:

 Gran Torino
 Milk
 Rachel Getting Married
 The Visitor
 The Wrestler

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:

 The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
 The Dark Knight
 Doubt
 Frost/Nixon
 Slumdog Millionaire

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE:

 Bolt
 Kung Fu Panda
 Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa
 WALL•E
 Waltz with Bashir

BEST DOCUMENTARY:

 Encounters at the End of the World
 IOUSA
 Man on Wire
 Religulous
 Standard Operating Procedure

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:

 The Class
 A Christmas Tale
 Gomorrah
 I've Loved You So Long
 Let the Right One In

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE:

 Burn After Reading
 The Dark Knight
 Doubt
 Milk
 Rachel Getting Married

BEST BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE:

 Dev Patel, Slumdog Millionaire
 Viola Davis, Doubt
 Sally Hawkins, Happy-Go-Lucky
 Melissa Leo, Frozen River
 Russell Brand, Forgetting Sarah Marshall

BEST ART DIRECTION:

 Australia
 The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
 The Dark Knight
 The Duchess
 Slumdog Millionaire

 My List of Nominated Films and Performances

Best Film

Wall-E

The Wrestler

The Fall

Changeling

In Bruges

Best Director

Andrew Stanton, Wall-E

Darren Aronofsky, The Wrestler

The Wachowski Brothers, Speed Racer

Tarsem, The Fall

Steven Soderbergh, Che

Best Actor

Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler

Colin Farrell, In Bruges

Josh Brolin, W

Benicio Del Toro, Che

Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon

Best Actress

Sally Hawkins, Happy-Go-Lucky

Meryl Streep, Doubt

Angelina Jolie, Changeling

Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married

Uma Thurman, The Life Before Her Eyes

Best Supporting Actor

Robert Downey Jr., Tropic Thunder

Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Doubt

John Malkovich, Changeling

Mark Strong, Body of Lies

Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight

Best Supporting Actress

Rosemarie DeWitt, Rachel Getting Married

Catinca Untaru, The Fall

Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler

Evan Rachel Wood, The Wrestler

Debra Winger, Rachel Getting Married

Best Foreign Film

The Flight of the Red Balloon

Let the Right One In

A Christmas Tale

Timecrimes

Best Documentary

Man on Wire

Best Screenplay, Original

Rachel Getting Married, Jenny Lumet

Changeling, J. Michael Straczynski

The Wrestler, Robert Siegel

In Bruges, Martin McDonagh

Tropic Thunder, Ben Stiller and Justin Theroux

Best Screenplay, Adapted

Peter Morgan, Frost/Nixon

Emil Stern, The Life Before Her Eyes

Jonathan and Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight

Simon Beaufoy, Slumdog Millionaire

Best Animated Feature

Wall-E

Best Breakthrough Performance

Catinca Untaru, The Fall

Best Ensemble

Rachel Getting Married

The Wrestler

In Bruges

Frost/Nixon

Best Art Direction

James Murakami, Changeling

Michael Corenblith, Frost/Nixon

Timothy Grimes, The Wrestler

Ford Wheeler, Rachel Getting Married