Film or television? Who cares? Why the L.A. Film Critics voted 'Small Axe' 2020's best

Steve McQueen's "Small Axe," an anthology of five films centered on the lives of Black people in Britain, won best picture from the Los Angeles Film Critics Assn. on Sunday. It's the first time the top prize has gone to a series, rather than an individual movie, and the selection spurred social media debate about the definition of film versus television ("Small Axe" is a joint production of the BBC and Amazon).

If anything, it's a sign of what a peculiar year 2020 has been. Some may ask why give out film awards at all for a year in which movie theaters were largely shut down and the major studios pushed pause on significant releases. But the L.A. critics responded with a robust list of cinematic achievements, doling out acting prizes to the late Chadwick Boseman and his "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" costar Glynn Turman, "Minari" scene stealer Yuh-Jung Youn and "Promising Young Woman" star Carey Mulligan. Chloé Zhao was named best director for "Nomadland," while Amazon's "Time" won best documentary, Apple TV+'s "Wolfwalkers" took best animated film and the Russian drama "Beanpole," a virtual cinema