Ten Best Films' 2017 Mini-Poll

1. Zama (Lucrecia Martel) - 74 points (AZ, LB, MA, RS)
2. Personal Shopper (Olivier Assayas, 2016) - 57 points (KW, LB, RS)
3 (tie). A Ghost Story (David Lowery) - 50 points (AZ, KW, MS)
3 (tie). Western (Valeska Grisebach) - 50 points (LB, MA, RS)
5. Get Out (Jordan Peele) - 49 points (KW, MS, SB)
6. Dunkirk (Christopher Nolan) - 47 points (KW, ML, SB)
7. Call Me By Your Name (Luca Guadagnino) - 44 points (AZ, LB, ML)
8. The Other Side of Hope (Aki Kaurismäki) - 41 points (LB, MA, ML)
9. Loveless (Andrey Zvyagintsev) - 40 points (JS, LB, ML)
10. Faces Places (Agnès Varda & JR) - 39 points (LB, MA, MS)

Though 2017 may have been one of the weakest year for world premiers in at least a decade, this is not the space for that assessment. The Mini-Poll, now in its tenth year, is a place instead to celebrate cinema's best—beginning with the preponderance of major films by women directors that made it onto our ballots this year. With her first film since the first year of the poll (when she placed second), Argentina's Lucrecia Martel tops this year's survey with Zama. Close behind, in a tie for third place, was Germany's Valeska Grisebach (for Western, her first film since the inception of the Mini-Poll). Left Bank master Agnès Varda also makes her first-ever appearance, in tenth place, while Valérie Massadian's Milla, Greta Gerwig's Ladybird, and Sofia Coppola's The Beguiled all just missed the cut. 2017, at its best, was the year of the woman director.

On that sign of cinematic life, I would like to announce that we will be retiring the Mini-Poll after this year. Thank you to all current and past participants, and especially to you the reader!

Voters: AZ- Alberto Zambenedetti (Ten Best Films); JS - Jeremi Szaniawski (Ten Best Films); KW - Karen Wang (You're Making a Scene); LB - Lisa K. Broad (Ten Best Films); MA - Michael J. Anderson (Ten Best Films); ML - Mike Lyon (Tits & Gore); MS - Matt Singer (Screen Crush), RS - R. Emmet Sweeney (Ten Best Films); SB - Soren Bailey: 1) Get Out, 2) Dunkirk, 3) Wonderstruck, 4) Logan Lucky, 5) Star Wars: The Last Jedi, 6) Baby Driver, 7) Spider-Man: Homecoming.