Over a decade of effort is continuing to pay off. The much-anticipated film Boyhood, shot over 12 years to capture a young man’s growth from ages 5 to 18, has won top honors at the New York Films Critics Circle.

Entertainment Weekly reported on Monday December 1 that Boyhood won the Best Picture of the Year award from the NYFCC. Director Richard Linklater took home the award for Best Director and Patricia Arquette, who played the title boy’s mother, won the Best Supporting Actress award. The NYFCC are considered one of the markers for future Oscar nominees in Hollywood’s annual awards season.

The Daily Mail reports the entire cast and crew of the movie was lauded at a NYFCC luncheon on Monday. Linklater, Arquette, and fellow stars Ethan Hawke and Ellar Coltrane (who literally grew up on camera for the film) participated in a discussion panel moderated by author Joyce Carol Oates to talk about the highly unusual film.

The cast spoke about how the film was a complete business gamble and the uniqueness of the filming process. Linklater reportedly had no full plot or script when he approached his actors initially; Arquette recalled he asked her, “What are you doing for the next 12 years?”

Despite the challenges of finding 1 week a year in everyone’s schedule to film and in selling a movie with no narrative plot hook, the movie has been a critical darling since it hit theatres on July 11. Linklater and Arquette will receive their awards at a NYFCC gala in Manhattan on January 5.