Guatemalan actor Oscar Isaac and Inside Llewyn Davis, a film loosely based on 1960s American folk singer Dave Van Ronk, were chosen as the best actor and best picture of 2013 by the National Society of Film Critics.

The society's 56 voting members are movie critics from around the country. The critics held their 48th annual awards voting meeting at the Film Society of Lincoln Center on Saturday, according to The Associated Press.

The National Society of Film Critics also presented its best director award to Joel and Ethan Coen. They directed Inside Llewyn Davis, the story of a fictional folk singer in Greenwich Village in 1961. Actress Carey Mulligan and actor/singer Justin Timberlake also star in the film.

Both Isaac and Inside Llewyn Davis, are also Golden Globe nominees.

"Isaac was born in Guatemala, his mother's home country, as Oscar Hernández, the middle of three children. His father was a Cuban-born, music-loving doctor who moved posts around various southern US states before the family settled in Miami when he was a child," The Telegraph reports.

"My dad was a bit of a frustrated artist so we grew up listening to Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix, all the singer-songwriters," he said.

"In high school Isaac played in punk bands and made home movies inspired by Tarantino, 'action movies, with lots of blood and cars'. Portentously, he had a poster of the Coen brothers' film Miller's Crossing next to one of the band Nine Inch Nails on his bedroom wall," The Telegraph adds.

Issac is relishing in the moment, saying, "It was the most beautiful experience I have had. The friendship I created with the Coens, you don't get that often in this film world circus. They really shared their world with me."

The National Society of Film Critics also named Cate Blanchett as best actress for the Woody Allen film Blue Jasmine.

The meeting was dedicated to the memory of two members who died in 2013: Roger Ebert and Stanley Kauffmann.

Check out the trailer for Inside Llewyn Davis: