On Dec. 2 the New York Film Critics Circle handed out their annual awards and surprised many with their choices.

"Carol" went home with the most awards as it took home the award for Best Picture, Best Director for Todd Haynes, Best Screenplay and Best Cinematography. The film was a clear favorite with the critics and it once again demonstrated how divisive this year will be especially with the film having lost the Gotham to "Spotlight" and having been shut out of the National Board of Review.

"In Jackson Heights" surprised as it won the Best Non-Fiction feature award. The documentary takes a look at some of the most culturally diverse communities in the U.S. where 167 languages are spoken including the Latino community. The film was a big surprise as it did not land in the top 15 documentaries that will compete at the Oscars.

In the Best Actor category, Michael Keaton won for "Spotlight." The award was big surprise given the fact that Open Road is campaigning the actor for Best supporting actor. However, this is good news if he wants to win the Best Supporting Actor award at the Oscars.

Best Actress was also a surprise as Saoirse Ronan won for "Brooklyn." Since "Carol" was so popular with the critics group it was an interesting choice not to go for Cate Blanchett or Rooney Mara. It was also surprising that Brie Larson did not get chosen for "Room," as she is the front-runner.

Kristen Stewart won the best supporting actress award for "Clouds of Sills Maria" and was also a huge surprise. The actress was completely off the radar since the film was released in the spring and it was not in the awards chatter. Stewart won the Cesar and made history by being the first American to win the French prize. However no one expected that critics would follow suit by giving her an award.

Another big surprise was "Son of Saul" winning the Best First feature award as opposed to the Best foreign film award. The film, which is the front-runner for Best Foreign film, lost to last year's Oscar nominee "Timbuktu," which took home the Best Foreign Film award at the NYFCC.

Other awards included Mark Rylance who won Best Supporting Actor for his work on "Bridge of Spies" and "Inside Out," which won the Best Animated Film award.

The New York Film Critics is one of the oldest critics groups that has been influential to the Oscar vote. The organziation has previously named "American Hustle," "Boyhood," "Zero Dark Thirty" and "The Artist" as the Best Picture. All four films went on to get nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars, with "The Artist" winning the big prize.

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