Rock Steady Row[/caption]
The Slamdance Film Festival today unveiled its narrative and documentary feature film competition lineup for its 24th edition, taking place January 19 to 25, 2018 in Park City, Utah.
The feature competition lineup will showcase 10 narrative and eight documentary features. All competition films are feature-length directorial debuts with budgets of less than $1 million and without U.S. distribution.
Captain America: Civil War directors and alumni Anthony and Joe Russo are partnering with Slamdance for the inaugural Russo Fellowship award. The award winner will receive a $25,000 cash prize and mentorship from the Russo brothers in the development of the winner’s next project at their new Los Angeles-based studio. Every participating filmmaker at the 2018 festival is eligible for this prize. The award will be presented annually.
“The Russo brothers exemplify our ‘by filmmakers for filmmakers’ paradigm,” says Slamdance co-founder and president Peter Baxter. “They are joined by a great number of dedicated alumni who’ve shown when it comes to recognizing talent and launching careers, Slamdance’s independent and grassroots film community really can do it themselves.”
“Born out of rejection, Slamdance’s artist-led group continues to discover cutting edge talent creating work outside of convention. Our 2018 competition lineup is daring, varied, and vivid. It represents the spirit of our time and leads us into the future.”
Film Festivals
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Slamdance Film Festival Announces 2018 Feature Film Competition Lineup + Russo Fellowship Award
[caption id="attachment_25678" align="aligncenter" width="1000"] Rock Steady Row[/caption]
The Slamdance Film Festival today unveiled its narrative and documentary feature film competition lineup for its 24th edition, taking place January 19 to 25, 2018 in Park City, Utah.
The feature competition lineup will showcase 10 narrative and eight documentary features. All competition films are feature-length directorial debuts with budgets of less than $1 million and without U.S. distribution.
Captain America: Civil War directors and alumni Anthony and Joe Russo are partnering with Slamdance for the inaugural Russo Fellowship award. The award winner will receive a $25,000 cash prize and mentorship from the Russo brothers in the development of the winner’s next project at their new Los Angeles-based studio. Every participating filmmaker at the 2018 festival is eligible for this prize. The award will be presented annually.
“The Russo brothers exemplify our ‘by filmmakers for filmmakers’ paradigm,” says Slamdance co-founder and president Peter Baxter. “They are joined by a great number of dedicated alumni who’ve shown when it comes to recognizing talent and launching careers, Slamdance’s independent and grassroots film community really can do it themselves.”
“Born out of rejection, Slamdance’s artist-led group continues to discover cutting edge talent creating work outside of convention. Our 2018 competition lineup is daring, varied, and vivid. It represents the spirit of our time and leads us into the future.”
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Women Filmmakers to Shine at 2017 Whistler Film Festival
BECOMING BURLESQUE The Whistler Film Festival will present an unprecedented number of female focused films, talent, events, and awards throughout its 2017 programs.
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Alex de Ronde’s DEAF CHILD Wins IDFA Audience Award
Deaf Child by Alex de Ronde has been voted the winner of the VPRO IDFA Audience Award – the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam’s big audience prize.
Director Alex de Ronde was presented with the VPRO IDFA Audience Award (€ 5,000) by Chairman of the IDFA Board Derk Sauer during the VPRO broadcast Best of IDFA: Audience Award 2017, presented by Marijn Frank.
In Deaf Child, a father looks back over his life, prompted by old photographs, home movies and frank discussions with his two sons, now young adults, and evaluates the choices he has made. Was his fear that his deaf son would live an isolated life justified?
The winner of the VPRO IDFA Audience Award is decided by the audiences voting at the end of each screening, using ballot cards to express their opinion of the film.
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Gary Oldman, Sam Rockwell, Timothée Chalamet and Gal Gadot to Receive Awards at Palm Springs International Film Festival
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Gary Oldman, Sam Rockwell, Timothée Chalamet and Gal Gadot[/caption]
Gary Oldman, Sam Rockwell, Timothée Chalamet and Gal Gadot will be honored at the upcoming 29th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival Film Awards Gala, hosted by Mary Hart, on Tuesday, January 2 at the Palm Springs Convention Center. The Festival runs January 4-15, 2018.
The Palm Springs International Film Festival will present Gary Oldman with the Desert Palm Achievement Award, Actor for his performance in Darkest Hour.
“Gary Oldman brings to screen one of the most powerful performances of this year as Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour. Portraying Britain’s steadfast leader during the tumultuous era of World War II, he has already earned rave reviews from critics and is sure to garner awards attention this season” saidFestival Chairman Harold Matzner. “The Palm Springs International Film Festival is honored to present Gary Oldman with this year’s Desert Palm Achievement Award, Actor.”
Oldman received the International Star Award at the 2012 Palm Springs International Film festival. Past actor recipients of the Desert Palm Achievement Award include Casey Affleck, Jeff Bridges, Bradley Cooper, Daniel Day-Lewis, Colin Firth, Matthew McConaughey, Sean Penn, Brad Pitt and Eddie Redmayne. In the years they were honored, Affleck, Bridges, Day-Lewis, McConaughey, Penn and Redmayne went on to win the Academy Award for Best Actor, while Cooper, Firth and Pitt received Oscar nominations.
From Focus Features, Darkest Hour is a thrilling account inspired by the true story of Winston Churchill’s first weeks in office during the early days of the Second World War. Anthony McCarten’s original screenplay takes a revelatory look at the man behind the icon. The film is directed by Joe Wright and stars Oldman, Kristin Scott Thomas, Lily James, Stephen Dillane, Ronald Pickup, and Ben Mendelsohn.
The Palm Springs International Film Festival will present Sam Rockwell with the Spotlight Award – Actor for his performance in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.
“Sam Rockwell is one of the most dynamic actors of his generation known for creating memorable and diverse characters. Once again he takes on another challenging role as the immature and explosive Officer Dixon in his critically acclaimed performance in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” saidFestival Chairman Harold Matzner. ” For this outstanding awards-worthy performance, it is an honor to present Sam Rockwell with the Spotlight Award.”
Past recipients of the Spotlight Award include Amy Adams, Jessica Chastain, Bryan Cranston, Andrew Garfield, Helen Hunt, Rooney Mara, Julia Roberts and J.K. Simmons. All recipients received Academy Award nominations in the year they were honored, with Simmons receiving the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.
Fox Searchlight’s Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is a darkly comedic drama from Academy Award winner Martin McDonagh. After months without a culprit in her daughter’s murder case, Mildred Hayes makes a bold move, painting three signs leading into her town with a controversial message for Ebbing’s revered Chief of Police, William Willoughby. With the involvement of Officer Dixon (Rockwell), his short-tempered second-in- command, the battle between Mildred and the town’s law enforcement is only exacerbated. The film is written and directed by McDonagh, starring Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, Abbie Cornish, Lucas Hedges, Željko Ivanek, Caleb Landry Jones, Clarke Peters and Samara Weaving, with John Hawkes and Peter Dinklage. Rockwell won the Hollywood Film Awards Best Supporting Actor Award for his role in the film.
Timothée Chalamet will be presented with the Rising Star Award – Actor for his performance in Call Me By Your Name.
“Timothée Chalamet gives a stirring performance as Elio, a 17-year- old on the brink of passion and self-discovery. It’s an intimate and erotic performance that transports the audience to another time and place and stays with us long after we’ve left the theater,” said Festival Chairman Harold Matzner. “The Palm Springs International Film Festival is honored to present Timothée Chalamet with this year’s RisingStar Award – Actor.”
Past recipients of the Rising Star Award include Ruth Negga, Alicia Vikander, Jennifer Lawrence, Scarlett Johansson, Anna Kendrick, Dakota Fanning, Terrence Howard and Adam Beach.
Distributed by Sony Pictures Classics, Call Me By Your Name, the new film by Luca Guadagnino, is asensual and transcendent tale of first love, based on the acclaimed novel by André Aciman. The film stars Armie Hammer, Timothée Chalamet and Michael Stuhlbarg.
Timothée Chalamet first attracted attention during the second season of Showtime’s “Homeland” as the Vice President’s son, Finn Walden. He received a Drama League nomination, Clive Barnes Award nomination and received the Lucille Lortel Award for Best Actor for his performance in the lead role of Jim Quinn in the play “Prodigal Son”.
Chalamet can currently be see in Greta Gerwig’s directorial debut Lady Bird opposite Saoirse Ronan. Upcoming films for Chalamet include Scott Cooper’s Hostiles and Elijah Bynum’s coming of age drama Hot Summer Nights. Next fall, he will be seen as the co-lead opposite Steve Carell in Felix VanGroeningen’s Beautiful Boy and the male lead in Woody Allen’s film A Rainy Day in New York opposite Selena Gomez and Elle Fanning. Other film credits include Julia Hart’s Miss Stevens, Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar, and Jason Reitman’s Men Women & Children.
The festival will present Gal Gadot with the Rising Star Award – Actress for her performance in Wonder Woman.
“Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman showed us a strong, capable, poised, curious and compassionate character, and her performance has been universally praised, resonating with audiences everywhere. Gal plays the immortal warrior so well, and the film’s themes are especially apt for today, empowering all types of people-women and men, young and old-the world over,” said Festival Chairman Harold Matzner. “The Palm Springs International Film Festival is honored to present Gal Gadot with this year’s Rising Star Award – Actress.”
Past recipients of the Rising Star Award include Ruth Negga, Alicia Vikander, Jennifer Lawrence, Scarlett Johansson, Anna Kendrick and Dakota Fanning.
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Cannes Film Festival Shakes Up Calendar – Announces 2018 Dates
The 71st Cannes Film Festival will take place from Tuesday, May 8th to Saturday, May 19th, 2018. It will start one day earlier than in previous years, but will run for exactly the same length of time.
The opening will therefore take place on the evening of Tuesday, May 8th and the awards ceremony will be on Saturday, May 19th.
“Following 2017’s anniversary edition, the Festival is beginning a new period in its history,” says Festival President Pierre Lescure. “We intend to renew the principles of our organization as much as possible, while continuing to question the cinema of our age and to be present through its upheavals.”
In its announcement the festival notes that the new schedule will allow it to rebalance the two weeks of the event and to bring new energy to the proceedings. Starting on a Tuesday is expected to allow the festival to hold an additional gala evening before the Festival weekend and to organize previews of the opening film throughout France. Finally, bringing forward the announcement of awards by one day, to Saturday evening, will increase its prestige, while at the same time giving the closing film better exposure.
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MEN DON’T CRY and METEORS Win Top Film Prizes at Bratislava IFF
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Men Don’t Cry[/caption]
Men Don’t Cry directed by Alen Drljević won the Prize for Best Fiction Film, andMeteors directed by Gürcan Keltek won the Prize for the Best Documentary Film at the 19th Bratislava IFF 2017.
The Bratislava IFF Award for Artistic Excellence in World Cinema was bestowed upon one of the most distinctive European actors and a unique director Jean-Marc Barr.
The commemorative tile on the Film Walk of Fame for 2017 was dedicated to acclaimed Slovak actress Božidara Turzonovová for his lifelong contribution to Slovak cinema.
Awards of the 19th Bratislava IFF 2017
FICTION COMPETITION
Prize for the Best Fiction Film Men Don’t Cry / Muškarci ne plaču (directed by Alen Drljević, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Croatia, Germany, 2017) The theme of this year’s edition of the Bratislava International Film Festival was the art of film acting. The jury was unanimous in its choice for Best Film with a film where the ensemble of actors displayed such an intense emotional and inspirational level of acting in dealing with a tragic historical event. We also found it important to emphasize that the film’s main message of reconciliation was so necessary in today’s current political climate. Prize for the Best Director Soleen Yusef for House without Roof / Haus ohne Dach (Germany, Irak, Qatar, 2016) Best Director goes to a new talent, a woman, who had the courage to explore with a sincere sensitivity the men in a very patriarchal society, who also chose to film in a dangerous part of the world, in a nation that has yet to be created, Kurdistan, and who displayed a masterful quality of directing considering that this was her film school graduation debut. Prize for the Best Actress Laetitia Dosch for Montparnasse Bienvenüe / Jeune Femme (directed by Léonor Serraille, France, Belgium, 2017) This actress carried the whole film, from start to finish, with such an honest, authentic and rich performance as she portrayed a woman who in weakness eventually found a strength that inspired all of us in the jury. Prize for the Best Actor Navid Mohammadzadeh for No Date, No Signature / Bedoune Tarikh, Bedoune Emza (directed by Vahid Jalilvand, Iran, 2017) Best Actor goes to a gentleman who displayed such an outstanding range of emotions, who was honest and convincing at every moment of his character’s evolution in dealing with a man who is condemned to tragedy. FIPRESCI Jury Award No Date, No Signature / Bedoune Tarikh, Bedoune Emza (directed by Vahid Jalilvand, Iran, 2017) A convincing example of Iranian cinema dedicated to the ethical labyrinths of modern life. Student Jury Award Montparnasse Bienvenüe /Jeune Femme (directed by Léonor Serraille, France, Belgium, 2017) An authentic and creatively rendered look at the viability of a modern young woman. A convincingly mastered range of her frame of mind during her struggle with herself and the world, performed by Laetitia Dosch.DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
Prize for the Best Documentary Film Meteors / Meteorlar (directed by Gürcan Keltek, Netherland, Turkey, 2017) For his strong, sharp, poetic and humanist risk taken. For the intense fragility of his cinematographic choicesSHORTS COMPETITION
Prize for the Best Short Film Islands / Les Iles (directed by Yann Gonzalez, France, 2017) For inviting the audience to an aesthetic orgy where weirdness meets acceptance. Special Mention in Shorts Competition Amateurs / Amateurs (directed by Naveen Padmanabha, India, 2016) A funny space serenade that makes us feel connected in this disconnected world.
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California Film Institute + Mill Valley Film Festival to Honor I, TONYA Margot Robbie and Allison Janney
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Margot Robbie in I, Tonya[/caption]
The California Film Institute will honor Margot Robbie and Allison Janney with a special Mill Valley Film Festival Spotlight Program.
The evening will feature an onstage conversation with Robbie and Janney, a screening of I, TONYA at the Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center and presentation of the MVFF Award.
Margot Robbie’s star has been on a steady rise since she first came to the world’s attention as Leonardo DiCaprio’s wife in Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street. Her impressive supporting turn brought her more featured roles in Focus, Z for Zachariah, Suicide Squad, The Legend of Tarzan, Goodbye Christopher Robin and her current lead role in one of the most buzzed-about films on this year’s international festival circuit: I, Tonya. She has no less than seven upcoming projects announced through 2019. Expect this brilliant star to continue her ascent to the top of Hollywood’s A-List.
Seven-time Primetime Emmy Award winner Allison Janney has awed audiences for decades with her singularly composed, witty and ferociously intelligent performances on stage, screen and, most famously, television as the unflappable C.J. Cregg on The West Wing. Her range spans from hilarious to heartbreaking, zany to stoic, in memorable film roles including American Beauty, Juno, The Hours, The Ice Storm and The Girl on the Train, while maintaining a busy schedule in multiple featured and guest performances on the small screen in Mom, Masters of Sex and Veep, among many others. Janney’s formidable talent continues to impress, most recently, for her work in Craig Gillespie’s I, Tonya.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuDQOMICfr0
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THE OTHER SIDE OF EVERYTHING Wins IDFA Award for Best Feature-Length Documentary
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The Other Side of Everything[/caption]
The Other Side of Everything wins the Award for Best Feature-Length Documentary at the 30th edition of IDFA in the Stadsschouwburg in Amsterdam. The Deminer by Hogir Hirori and Shinwar Kamal won the IDFA Special Jury Award for Feature-Length Documentary.
At the beginning of the awards ceremony Ester Gould presented the Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds Documentary Stipend (€ 50,000) to filmmaker Reber Dosky. The festival runs until Sunday.
IDFA Competition for Feature-Length Documentary
Mila Turajlic won the IDFA Award for Best Feature-Length Documentary (€ 15,000) for The Other Side of Everything (Serbia, France, Qatar). The prize was presented by the Dutch minister of Education, Culture and Science, Mrs. Ingrid van Engelshoven. The film takes place within the walls of a sub-divided apartment in Belgrade. A family portrait that symbolises the political unrest in the country. From the jury report: An apartment becomes a metaphor for both the former Yugoslavia and the current political climate in the region. Through the filmmaker’s lens, we are introduced to her mother – an enlightened woman who has dedicated her life to political activism. Poetically structured, the beauty of this character resonates. The textured cinematic language artfully blends the historical with the personal. In addition, the jury presented the IDFA Special Jury Award for Feature-Length Documentary (€ 2,500) to The Deminer (Sweden) by Hogir Hirori and Shinwar Kamal. The documentary is a nerve-racking portrait of a Kurdish colonel, who disarmed thousands of roadside bombs and mines armed only with his courage and a pair of wire-cutters. From the jury report: The Deminer is an experiential, universal and global film. It portrays and reflects a part of the world that we rarely encounter in the cinema while capturing the tenacity of a single man confronting impossible odds.IDFA Competition for First Appearance
Simon Lereng Wilmont won the IDFA Award for Best First Appearance (€ 10,000) for The Distant Barking of Dogs (Denmark, Sweden, Finland). Ieva Ozolina won the IDFA Special Jury Award for First Appearance in memory of Peter Wintonick (€ 2,500) for Solving my Mother (Latvia).IDFA Competition for Mid-Length Documentary
IDFA Award for Best Mid-Length Documentary (€ 10,000) was awarded to Martin Benchimol and Pablo Aparo for The Dread (Argentina). The IDFA Special Jury Award for Mid-Length Documentary (€ 2,500) went to Last Days in Shibati (France) by Hendrick Dusollier.IDFA DocLab Competition for Digital Storytelling
Trine Laier won the IDFA DocLab Award for Digital Storytelling (€ 5,000) for Cosmic Top Secret (Denmark).IDFA DocLab Competition for Immersive Non-Fiction
The IDFA DocLab Award for Immersive Non-Fiction (€ 5,000) went to Lauren (United States) by Lauren McCarthy.IDFA Competition for Short Documentary
Zhalanash – Empty Shore (Poland) by Marcin Sauter won the IDFA Award for Best Short Documentary (€ 5,000). The IDFA Special Jury Award for Short Documentary (€ 2,500) went to As We’re Told (Sweden) by Erik Holmström and Fredrik Wenzel.IDFA Competition for Dutch Documentary
The Beeld en Geluid IDFA Award for Dutch Documentary (€ 7,500) went to The Long Season by Leonard Retel Helmrich. Maasja Ooms received the IDFA Special Jury Award for Dutch Documentary (€ 2,500) for Alicia.IDFA Competition for Student Documentary
Klaudiusz Chrostowski won the ARRI IDFA Award for Best Student Documentary for Call Me Tony (Poland). He wins € 5,000 and an Amira camera which ARRI will give on loan for the winner’s next production. The IDFA Special Jury Award for Student Documentary was presented to Denise Kelm Soares for I Am (Cuba, Brazil). The award consists of € 2,500 and an Amira camera which ARRI will give on loan for the winner’s next production.IDFA Competition for Kids & Docs
The IDFA Award for Best Children’s Documentary (€ 5,000) went to Lenno & the Angelfish (the Netherlands) by Shamira Raphaëla. Astrid Bussink received the IDFA Special Jury Award for Children’s Documentary (€ 2,500) for L I S T E N (the Netherlands).Other Awards
At the beginning of the ceremony, Ester Gould presented the Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds Documentary Stipend (€ 50,000) to filmmaker Reber Dosky (The Sniper of Kobani, Radio Kobanî and Meryem). The first Amsterdam Human Rights Award (€ 25,000) was presented on Monday evening to Piripkura (Brazil) by Renata Terra, Bruno Jorge and Mariana Oliva.
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THREE BILLBOARD OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI Wins Audience Award at Stockholm International Film Festival
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Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri[/caption]
The 28th edition of Stockholm International Film Festival wrapped on Sunday, and presented the festival’s Audience Award 2017 to Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, directed by Martin McDonagh. The film was also one of the most seen ones throughout the festival.
Each year, the Stockholm International Film Festival invites the festivalgoers to select the winner of one of the most important awards of the festival – the Audience Award. The audience nominates their favourite film by voting.
This year’s Award goes to Martin McDonagh for the film Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. Runner up is God’s Own Country by Francis Lee followed by Insyriated av Philippe Van Leeuw.
The very first Audience Award was handed out in 2009 to Louie Psihoyos documentary The Cove. Other winners include Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave and Xavier Dolan’s Mommy.
Below are the ten most popular films selected by the audience:
Insyriated
God’s Own Country
Lots of Kids, a Monkey and a Castle
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Searing Summer
The Party
Shape of Water
Thelma
A Fantastic Woman
Call Me by Your Name
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Cork Film Festival 2017 Awards – Irish Short Film WAVE Wins Grand Prix Irish Short
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Wave[/caption]
Irish short film Wave is the winner of the Grand Prix Irish Short at the Cork Film Festival 2017 Awards Ceremony. Benjamin Cleary and TJ O’Grady Peyton’s winning short will now go on the longlist for the 90th Academy Awards in the Live Action Short Film category.
Wave tells the story of Gasper Rubicon, who wakes from a coma speaking a fully formed but unrecognizable language. Cleary’s 2015 short, Stutterer won the Oscar for Best Live Action Short at the 88th Academy Awards.
The winner of the Grand Prix International Short Award, Mahdi Fleifel’s A Drowning Man (Denmark, Greece, UK), will also automatically qualify for the Academy Awards longlist.
Speaking at the Awards Ceremony, Cork Film Festival Producer and CEO Fiona Clark said: “Wave is a very deserving winner, and is a worthy inclusion on the Academy Awards’ longlist. The quality of shorts within this year’s Festival program has been exceptional, highlighting creativity and diversity in both subject matter and form.
The Shorts Jury, chaired by BAFTA nominated producer Farah Abushwesha, also selected Linda Curtin’s Everything Alive is in Movement, as the winner of the Best Cork Short, while Best Documentary Short went to Mia Mullarkey’s Mother & Baby, a documentary on survivors of the Tuam mother and baby home, which had its world premiere as part of the Bord Scannán na hÉireann/the Irish Film Board World Premiere Shorts program.
Other prize winners include Untitled directed by Michael Glawogger and Monika Will, which won the Gradam Na Féile Do Scannáin Faisnéise / Award for Cinematic Documentary. The film was created two years after the sudden death of Michael Glawogger by editor Monika Willi who took footage produced during Michael’s filming in the Balkans, Italy, and Northwest and West Africa.
The Gradam Spiorad Na Féile / Spirit of The Festival Award went to Rima Das’ Village Rockstars. It follows a young village girl in northeast India who wants to start her own rock band. An honorable mention went to Dafydd Flynn for his performance in Frank Berry’s Michael Inside.
The Cork Film Festival Nomination for the 2018 European Short Film Awards was Sebastian Lang’s Container.
The Audience Award was won by Frank Berry’s acclaimed Michael Inside, telling the story of an 18-year-old living in Dublin who is sentenced to three months in prison after he is caught hiding drugs for his friend’s older brother.
The Cork Film Festival Youth Jury Award went to Last Man in Aleppo, directed by Feras Fayyad. The film allows the viewers to experience the rescue work of Syrian volunteers, The White Helmets.
Ms Clark added: “This year audiences had an opportunity to see 115 features, 34 documentaries and 116 shorts. For the majority of the films shown, this was the only chance to see them on the big screen in Cork.”
The Cork Film Festival will return for its 63rd edition in November 2018.
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28th Stockholm International Film Festival Awards – JEUNE FEMME Wins Best Film
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Jeune Femme[/caption]
French director Léonor Seraille received the Bronze Horse award for Best Film for his film Jeune Femme at the 28th Stockholm International Film Festival. For Ahkeem by Jeremy S. Levine och Landon Van Soest was awarded the prize for Best Documentary.
Winners 0f 2017 Stockholm International Film Festival Award
STOCKHOLM XXVIII COMPETITION
Best Film: Jeune Femme by Léonor Seraille. For its dynamic and astute study of a young woman perennially on the edge in modern society, featuring the most memorably vivacious character. A small-scale story that finds profundity in sharp specificity, along with comedy in tragedy (and vice versa.) Best Debut: I Am Not A Witch by Rungano Nyoni. For its bracingly unique style and story, a film that exposes its viewers to heretofore unforeseen settings and characters with a stunning clarity of vision. An unforgettable debut, which tackles issues of female repression and exploitation with both off-kilter humour and devastating pathos. Best Director: God’s Own Country by Francis Lee. For its beautifully naturalistic and understated approach grappling with themes of maturity, sexuality and acceptance, as well its pragmatic and sympathetic portrayal of farmers’ daily struggles. Best Screenplay: No Date, No Signature by Vahid Jalilvand and Ali Zarnegar. For its methodical exploration of the unspeakable ethical quandaries triggered by shocking tragedy, and its complex and systematic examination of issues of privilege (and lack thereof), guilt and culpability. Best Cinematography: Paul Guilhaum for Ava. For its wonderfully playful and idiosyncratic visual style that hearkens back to a wide swath of cinema history while still forging its own distinct aesthetic. A movie-lover’s movie filled with fantastic iconography. Best Actress: Antonia Zegers for Los Perros. For her subtle and multi-faceted portrayal of a wealthy woman grappling with shifting attractions and desires while wading into increasingly murky moral territory. A performer whose emotions brilliantly shimmer just under the surface. Best Actor: Josh O’Connor for God’s Own Country. For his brave and delicate portrayal of a character seething with rage yet capable of extraordinary empathy. A lived-in performance that captures the full arc of an unsettled young man coming to terms with his lot in life while learning to care for the people around him.STOCKHOLM XXVIII DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
Best Documentary: For Ahkeem by Jeremy S. Levine och Landon Van Soest. This film is a nonjudgmental, intimate and warm portrayal of love and hardship set against the backdrop of police brutality. It depicts, in a very organic way, what it takes to survive as young people today, with the odds stacked against them. Capturing the unpredictability of real life without forcing its morals on the audience.STOCKHOLM XXVIII SHORT FILM COMPETITION
Best Short Film: Retouch by Kaveh Mazaheri. This is a film defying genre definition – and still it’s a social realist, gender political thriller. With a delicate touch and a sense of humor, it questions traditional ideas on women’s place in society, in Iran and across the world.STOCKHOLM LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Stockholm Lifetime Achievement Award: Vanessa Redgrave This year’s winner of the Stockholm Lifetime Achievement Award has been one of the most prominent actors in the world for over five decades and has been named ”the greatest living actress of our time” by Tennesse Williams. She is as brilliant in costume dramas and political documentaries as she is in works of some of the greatest auteurs in cinematic history. With astonishing force and great social commitment, Vanessa Redgrave has made acting her life’s work.STOCKHOLM VISIONARY AWARD
Stockholm Visionary Award: Pablo Larraín This year’s Stockholm Visionary Award winner is a versatile director with great artistic precision. With a sharp eye directed towards the history of Chile, Pablo Larraín has – via individual life destinies with universal reach – revealed corruption and political deceit on all levels of society. He has redefined the biopic and is constantly broadening our cinematic horizons. With seven brilliant films behind him, Pablo Larraín is a truly visionary filmmaker.STOCKHOLM IMPACT AWARD
Stockholm Impact Award: Wild Roses by Anna Jadowska For the sensitive depiction of a mother who refuses to abandon her true self, for the portrait of a revolting child that questions an utterly conservative society, for the visually exquisite style that contrasts with a world plunged in prejudice and moral coercion, the Stockholm Impact Award goes to Anna Jadowska for Wild Roses, a metaphor for human resilience.STOCKHOLM RISING STAR
Stockholm Rising Star: Gustav Lindh The 2017 Rising Star is awarded by the Stockholm Film Festival to a young actor who has already made a powerful impression in several films. With sincerity and a great sense of presence in combination with dramatic precision – he succeeds in touching our deepest emotions. We anticipate a marvelous future within the world of cinema – Gustav Lindh1 KM FILM
1 Km Film: Nyforelsket by Ville Sörman. This year’s 1 km film scholarship goes to a director with an original voice who accomplishes to put a face on the most complex contemporary emotions. With a visual energy and a sensible touch he cares about the characters on screen, and makes the audience care too. The winner of the 1 km film scholarship goes to Ville Sörman 1 Km Film Special Mention: Min Homosyster by Lia Hietala. A Special Mention goes to a director who has an astute ear for authentic dialogue and manages to establish absolute tonal control between characters and settings. A special mention goes to Lia Hietala.THE FIPRESCI PRIZE
The FIPRESCI prize: Based On A True Story by Roman Polanski. The FIPRESCI award on the 28th Stockholm International Film Festival goes to the film that is marked with an exceptional quality of cinema language. The genre of ‘paranoic thriller’ is treated by the author as perfectly as it could be and allows him to research some extremely complicated issues without any loss of the enchanted energy of narration. The film considers the very process of an artistic creation as a sophisticated game between an artist and reality based on perpetual mutual manipulations and disguises. The formal brilliance is combined here with a crafty elaboration of every detail. So, the FIPRESCI jury is proudly and reverently announced that its award is going to Roman Polanski for the film D’après une histoire vraie (Based on a True Story).
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THE INSULT, WHAT WILL PEOPLE SAY and BODIED Win at AFI FEST 2017
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THE INSULT[/caption]
The American Film Institute announced the films that received the Audience and Jury awards at AFI FEST 2017 presented by Audi, with THE INSULT directed by Ziad Doueiri the top winner of the Audience Award for World Cinema.
“As the 31st edition of AFI FEST comes to a close, this year’s awards shine a light on the American independent, auteur and foreign cinema that resonated with our audiences and jurors,” said Jacqueline Lyanga, AFI FEST Director. “Audience awards help bring film lovers together, while building momentum for the filmmakers in this year’s festival.”
AFI FEST 2017 Winners and Awards
Audience Award – World Cinema THE INSULT (DIR Ziad Doueiri) Lebanon’s official Best Foreign Language Film Oscar® submission, this engrossing and unforgettable tale of modern life in the Middle East is a razor-sharp look at a country’s long-simmering resentments toward Palestinian refugees, and its traumatized civil war wounds. Audience Award – New Auteurs WHAT WILL PEOPLE SAY (DIR Iram Haq) Iram Haq’s sophomore feature is a powerful story of a young woman growing up between two cultures, with no control over her life choices, who must carve out her own path despite a significant culture clash. Audience Award – American Independents BODIED (DIR Joseph Kahn) Whether it’s sci-fi, satire, or race relations, Joseph Kahn’s auteur style defies anticipations. In BODIED, a white boy explores rap battle vernacular, immersed in a subculture that’s simply spectacular. Grand Jury Award for Live Action Short GAZE (DIR Farnoosh Samadi) Jury Statement: “No good deed goes unpunished” is the phrase that stays with the viewer as you watch the film that captured the top honor this year. The filmmaker lures you in and then, like any classic thriller, hooks you until the final gasp — the low hum of a motorbike replacing John Williams’ iconic notes in JAWS. Underneath, the film is a subtle examination of class and gender in Iranian society. Grand Jury Award for Animated Short THE BURDEN (DIR Niki Lindroth von Bahr) Jury Statement: A film whose stranded, unremarkable inhabitants convey the weight of the world through song and dance and reveal the anguish we all feel about life. Special Jury Mention SILICA (DIR Pia Borg) Jury Statement: We would like to recognize Borg’s beautifully composed, lush 35mm cinematography. Her blend of vivid landscape photography with microscopic and CG elements elevates this exploration of territorial constructs. The Shorts Jury was comprised of Jeffrey Bowers (Senior Curator, Vimeo), Moira Griffin (Executive Director of Production, Creative Labs, 21st Century Fox) and Nathan Silver (director, ACTOR MARTINEZ, THIRST STREET). The Grand Jury Award winners for Live-Action and Animated Short, as decided by the Shorts Jury, will be automatically eligible for the Academy Award® shortlists in the Best Live Action Short and Best Animated Short categories.
