Inspired by the New York Times poll of the same name, I organized and administered a poll of the membership of the International Film Society Critics to determine the films that we consider to be the 100 best of the 21st Century so far.
In addition to adminstering this list, in this section I also contributed write ups for Another Round (#99) and Columbus (#96).
A lot can happen in 25 years: Birth, love, school, children, and more, but if you’re lucky, you get some really great movies in between. From romantic comedies to gothic thrillers to heartfelt dramas to emotional indies. This century had a lot (and we do mean A LOT) to offer. In honor of the ‘Best of the 21st Century List’ put out by the New York Times earlier this year, the 111-member body of the International Film Society Critics Association toiled through hundreds of films we loved dearly to bring you 100 of the greatest films of the past 25 years.
(Note: We didn’t think it was fair to include films from this year as it hasn’t ended yet, and there are still some great films due to come out soon.)
Methodology
Voting on this list took place in two rounds. First, members submitted a simple collection-style ballot that included a list of ten films they considered the best of the years 2000 to 20241. What each member considered “best” was left up to the individual members to interpret. These first round ballots submitted by approximately 70 of our members included more than 300 unique films, which were then ordered by the number of times mentioned. The first version of the list had a few clear standouts, but also several ties, so a second round of voting was held to break said ties, and rank groups of films at the bottom end of the list with the same number of mentions.
The list will be published over the next five days, starting here with numbers 100 to 76.
1. Also, we know that the 21st Century technically started in 2001, but The Times poll was 2000 to 2024, too, so blame them.
Link: https://ifscritics.wordpress.com/2025/10/01/100-best-films-of-the-21st-century-100-to-76/