(Washington, DC)—The final installment of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy rings up another victory as The Washington, DC Area Film Critics Association (WAFCA) has named "Return of the King" Best Film, and Peter Jackson ("Lord of the Rings: Return of the King") Best Director. The 23-member group's second annual year-end selections included Bill Murray ("Lost in Translation") as Best Actor and Naomi Watts ("21 Grams") as Best Actress.

"21 Grams", "Return of the King" and "Lost in Translation" proved to be among the favorites of DC film critics as each received 2 major awards.

WAFCA names the cast of "Love Actually" as Best Ensemble, while selecting "Finding Nemo" as Best Animated Feature and "Pirates of the Caribbean" Best Guilty Pleasure.

WAFCA President Tim Gordon stated, "This year's awards were a challenge due to the MPAA's screener ban. We support all efforts against piracy, but feel the studios need to address the leading sources of pirated material instead of hindering efforts to recognize the best of film, whether that comes from the largest studio or the smallest. Thankfully, the studios worked closely with us to help get all movies screened in they way they are intended to be seen—on the big screen."

WAFCA is comprised of DC area film critics for newspaper, television, on-line and radio outlets. Winners were chosen from among Academy Award eligible films. Voting was conducted from December 15 - 17, 2003.

Best Film
Lord of the Rings: Return of the King/New Line Cinema

Best Actor
Bill Murray - Lost In Translation

Best Actress
Naomi Watts - 21 Grams

Best Supporting Actor
Benicio Del Toro - 21 Grams

Best Supporting Actress
Anna Deavere Smith - The Human Stain

Best Director
Peter Jackson - Lord Of The Rings: Return Of The King

Best Ensemble
Love Actually/Universal

Best Screenplay, Original
Sofia Coppola - Lost In Translation

Best Screenplay, Adapted
Brian Helgeland - Mystic River

Best Animated Feature
Finding Nemo/Buena Vista Pictures

Best Documentary
Fog of War/Sony Pictures Classics

Best Guilty Pleasure
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl/Buena Vista Pictures