BY PAULA SCHWARTZ

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

This morning the Washington, D.C., Area Film Critics Association gave Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty top prize for best picture and named her best director. The film’s star, Jessica Chastain, was their pick for best actress. Chastain, who plays a government operative on the obsessive decades-long quest to bring down Osama bin Laden, is gaining real traction as a frontrunner on the Oscar trail, especially after her National Board of Review win last week.

Prizes were also spread around to Lincoln, The Master and Les Miserables.

Best actor accolades went to Lincoln's Daniel Day-Lewis, who is, of course, the Oscar frontrunner.

Les Mis received two prizes - for Anne Hathaway for best supporting actress as the tortured Fantine and to the cast for best ensemble.

In a bit of a surprise, Philip Seymour Hoffman was named best supporting actor for his role as the charismatic head of a cult in Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master.

The movie’s score by Jonny Greenwood was also honored.

Silver Linings Playbook picked up only one win, for best screenplay for David O. Russell, who is also the director.

Predictably, Michael Haneke’s Amour was named best foreign language film and the headline-grabbing Bully was given the documentary prize.

Life of Pi received the award for best cinematography and best animated film when to Chris Butler’s ParaNorman, about a misunderstood boy who takes on ghosts, zombies and grown-ups to be the town’s.

The enchanting Beasts of the Southern Wild star, nine-year-old Quvenzhané Wallis, received the best youth performance nod, which seems about perfect.

Below is the complete list of winner.

THE 2012 WAFCA AWARD WINNERS:

Best Film:

Zero Dark Thirty

Best Director:

Kathryn Bigelow (Zero Dark Thirty)

Best Actor:

Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln)

Best Actress:

Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty)

Best Supporting Actor:

Philip Seymour Hoffman (The Master)

Best Supporting Actress:

Anne Hathaway (Les Misérables)

Best Acting Ensemble:

Les Misérables

Best Adapted Screenplay:

David O. Russell (Silver Linings Playbook)

Best Original Screenplay:

Rian Johnson (Looper)

Best Animated Feature:

ParaNorman

Best Documentary:

Bully

Best Foreign Language Film:

Amour

Best Art Direction:

Uli Hanisch, Hugh Bateup - Production Designers; Peter Walpole, Rebecca Alleway - Set Decorators (Cloud Atlas)

Best Cinematography:

Claudio Miranda (Life of Pi)

Best Score:

Jonny Greenwood (The Master)

The Joe Barber Award for Best Youth Performance:

Quvenzhané Wallis (Beasts of the Southern Wild)

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For list of nominees, go to: http://www.wafca.com/awards/index.htm.