National Board of Review

The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures (NBR) is a non-profit organization of New York City area film enthusiasts. Its awards, which are announced in early December, are considered the first major harbinger of the film awards season that culminates in the Academy Awards.

The organization originated in March 1909 as the Board of Censorship of Motion Picture Programs, a non-governmental agency launched to "white list" uncontroversial films for movie exhibitors. It evolved into the leading film censorship organization in the United States prior to the emergence of the Motion Picture Association of America in the middle-20th Century.