God bless the Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association, which has the quickest turnaround time on nods-to-winners of the circuit. They announce and get out of your hair really fast, and sometimes, they shine a light in interesting areas.

When “The Artist” swept through with a field-leading eight nominations Saturday, the writing was on the wall. Indeed, the film won the Best Picture and Best Score prizes from the organization, but curiously, nothing else. The wealth was spread as Martin Scorsese nailed down Best Director for “Hugo” (his second prize of the season), George Clooney won Best Actor for his work on “The Descendants” and Michelle Williams took Best Actress for “My Week with Marilyn.”

Albert Brooks also claimed his second trophy of the year, winning Best Supporting Actor for “Drive,” while Octavia Spencer claimed her first Best Supporting Actress win of the year for “The Help.”

You can read the full list of winners below, but the most interesting win, I think, is “50/50” claiming another Best Original Screenplay award after winning with the National Board of Review. It’s a sure-fire WGA nominee with all the ineligibilities, but could it be on the way to an Oscar slot, too? Perhaps.

Check out the full slate of WAFCA nominees here. The full list of winners:

Best Picture: “The Artist”

Best Director: Martin Scorsese, “Hugo”

Best Actor: George Clooney, “The Descendants”

Best Actress: Michelle Williams, “My Week with Marilyn”

Best Supporting Actor: Albert Brooks, “Drive”

Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer, “The Help”

Best Adapted Screenplay: “The Descendants”

Best Original Screenplay: “50/50”

Best Art Direction: “Hugo”

Best Cinematography: “The Tree of Life”

Best Score: “The Artist”

Best Animated Feature: “Rango”

Best Documentary Feature: “Cave of Forgotten Dreams”

Best Foreign Language Film: “The Skin I Live In”

For year-round entertainment news and awards season commentary follow @kristapley on Twitter.

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