The National Society of Film Critics has chosen Waltz With Bashir as the best picture of 2008.
The group also named Sean Penn as best actor for his performance in the biopic Milk and Sally Hawkins as best actress for her turn in the comedy Happy-Go-Lucky.
Waltz With Bashir is an intense animated documentary about Israel’s 1982 invasion of Lebanon. It follows Israeli director Ari Folman’s efforts to recover his own lost memories about a massacre during the war.
Happy-Go-Lucky director Mike Leigh won both best director and best screenplay.
