The Goods: 16 Breakouts from 2013 in Film

2013 happened to be a very good year for film. Thankfully, whether or not a particular year has been graced with good titles usually doesn't impact the number of stars that are born. This year, we've seen a number of filmmakers make striking debuts that announce grand new talents in screenwriting and directing. Some actors and actresses made their move behind the camera—with wonderful results. Plenty of this year's new stars are fresh-faced young actors and actresses in their first major film roles. Sometimes, though, you can be in your eighties and just begin making waves in the industry.

From new filmmakers like Ryan Coogler and Destin Cretton to actors like Chadwick Boseman and Oscar Isaac and actresses such as Brie Larson, Lupita Nyong'o and June Squibb—there are plenty of breakouts worthy of celebration this year. We've compiled 16 of this year's new stand-outs.

Review: "Short Term 12" (****½)

Editor's Note: Today marks a special occasion for me. I first put a bug in the ear of Lucy Doughty about writing for Reel Georgia many moons ago, and today we publish her first piece with us. "Short Term 12" is a remarkable film that won both the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Prize at SXSW earlier this year. I saw it at Sidewalk, where I was moved and impressed enough to have awarded it the full five star rating. Lucy's review is written as beautifully as the film plays out, and I look forward to reading everything she'll write for us in the future. Even though her reviews will make mine look as though I've compiled them using Alphabet soup, I'm thrilled to have such a gifted wordsmith on board. -CM

John Gallagher, Jr., Brie Larson, and Rami Malek star in "Short Term 12"

"Short Term 12" premiered in its first form as first-time writer/director Destin Daniel Cretton’s Master’s thesis project at Sundance in 2009. A friend told Cretton he’d be a fool to attend Sundance without a feature length script prepared for the then twenty-minute short. “So I wrote one,” he said. The short won the Jury Prize, and Cretton began crafting his feature debut, which released after his second movie, "I Am Not A Hipster," did in 2012. The result captures a season in the lives of the young staff and residents of a teen foster care facility. Rooted in Cretton’s own experience on a group home staff, "Short Term 12" offers a gripping and often raw look at the transformative power of trust and vulnerability.