Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini's American Splendor has been voted best picture of the year by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA), with Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation named as the runner up.

Peter Jackson was voted best director for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, with Clint Eastwood the runner up for Mystic River.

LAFCA's 29th annual achievement awards ceremony will be held on Jan 26 at the St. Regis Hotel in Los Angeles.

Other LAFCA winners were:

Best Actress: Naomi Watts, 21 Grams. Runner-up: Charlize Theron, Monster.

Best Actor: Bill Murray, Lost in Translation. Runner-up: Sean Penn, 21 Grams and Mystic River.

Best Screenplay: American Splendor by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini Runner-up: Dirty Pretty Things by Steve Knight.

Best Supporting Actress: Shohreh Aghdashloo, House Of Sand And Fog. Runner-up: Melissa Leo, 21 Grams.

Best Supporting Actor: Bill Nighy, AKA, I Capture the Castle, Lawless Heart, Love Actually. Runner-up: Benicio Del Toro, 21 Grams.

Best Foreign Language Film: The Man On The Train directed by Patrice Laconte. Runner-up: City Of God directed by Fernando Meirelles

Best Documentary/Non-Fiction Film: The Fog of War directed by Errol Morris. Runner-up: Capturing The Friedmans directed by Andrew Jarecki

Best Production Design: Grant Major, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the

King. Runner-up: William Sandell, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World.

Best Animation: Sylvain Chomet, The Triplets of Belleville. Special Citation to the Disney restoration of the Walt Disney/Salvador Dali short, Destino.

Best Music/Score: Benoit Charest, Mathieu Chedid, The Triplets of Belleville Runner-up: Christopher Guest, John Michael Higgins, Eugene Levy, Michael

McKean, Catherine O'Hara, Annette O'Toole, Harry Shearer, Jeffrey C.J. Vanston, A Mighty Wind

Best Cinematography: Eduardo Serra, Girl With A Pearl Earring. Runner-up: Harris Savides, Elephant

New Generation: Scarlett Johansson