Awards

 [caption id="attachment_2883" align="alignnone" width="550"]Little Children Big Words[/caption]

This year’s list of 14 short films nominated for the European Film Academy were announced earlier this month at the International Short Film Festival in Drama (Greece). The nominees will be presented to the over 2,700 members of the European Film Academy and it is they who will elect the overall winner: the European Film Academy Short Film 2012 which will be presented at the 25th European Film Awards Ceremony on December 1, 2012 in Malta. 

NOMINATED ARE: 

Ghent Short Film Nominee 

DEMAIN, ÇA SERA BIEN (Tomorrow Will Be Good) 
directed by Pauline Gay 
France, 16 min, fiction 

Valladolid Short Film Nominee 
SUPERMAN, SPIDERMAN SAU BATMAN (Superman, Spiderman or Batman) 
directed by Tudor Giurgiu 
Romania, 11 min, fiction 

Cork Short Film Nominee 
TWO HEARTS 
directed by Darren Thornton 
Ireland, 17 min, fiction 

Bristol Short Film Nominee 
MITEN MARJOJA POIMITAAN (How To Pick Berries) 
directed by Elina Talvensaari 
Finland, 18 min, documentary 

Angers Short Film Nominee 
L’AMBASSADEUR ET MOI (The Ambassador And Me) 
directed by Jan Czarlewski 
Switzerland, 15 min, documentary 

Rotterdam Short Film Nominee 
IM FREIEN (In the Open) 
directed by Albert Sackl 
Austria, 23 min, experimental 

Berlin Short Film Nominee 
VILAINE FILLE MAUVAIS GARÇON (Two Ships) 
directed by Justine Triet 
France, 30 min, fiction 

Tampere Short Film Nominee 
CSICSKA (Beast) 
directed by Attila Till 
Hungary, 20 min, fiction 

Krakow Short Film Nominee 
VILLA ANTROPOFF 
directed by Vladimir Leschiov & Kaspar Jancis 
Latvia/Estonia, 13 min, animation 

Grimstad Short Film Nominee 
SESSIZ / BÉ DENG (Silent) 
directed by L. Rezan Yeşilbaş 
Turkey, 14 min, fiction 

Vila do Conde Short Film Nominee 
MANHÃ DE SANTO ANTÓNIO (Morning of Saint Anthony’s Day) 
directed by João Pedro Rodrigues 
Portugal, 25 min, fiction 

Locarno Short Film Nominee 
BACK OF BEYOND 
directed by Michael Lennox 
UK, 25 min, fiction 

Venice Short Film Nominee 
TITLOI TELOUS (Out of Frame) 
directed by Yorgos Zois 
Greece, 10 min, experimental 

Drama Short Film Nominee 
EINSPRUCH VI (Objection VI) 
directed by Rolando Colla 
Switzerland, 17 min, fiction 

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Seth MacFarlane, the creative force behind the television series “Family Guy” and co-creator of “American Dad!” and “The Cleveland Show,was announced earlier this week as the host the 85th Academy Awards to be broadcast live on Sunday, February 24, on the ABC Television Network.

“We are thrilled to have Seth MacFarlane host the Oscars. His performing skills blend perfectly with our ideas for making the show entertaining and fresh,” said Zadan and Meron. “He will be the consummate host, and we are so happy to be working with him.”

“It’s truly an overwhelming privilege to be asked to host the Oscars,” said MacFarlane. “My thoughts upon hearing the news were, one, I will do my utmost to live up to the high standards set forth by my predecessors; and two, I hope they don’t find out I hosted the Charlie Sheen Roast.”

Seth is unbelievably talented,” said Academy President Hawk Koch. “We couldn’t be happier with the creative team we’ve assembled. With Craig, Neil, and now Seth, we’re off to a great start.”

MacFarlane made his feature directorial debut this summer with the box office success “Ted. “He also co-wrote and produced the film, and voiced the title character. “Ted” has brought in over $420 million worldwide, making it one of the highest-grossing films of the year.

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The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the key dates for the 85th Academy Awards season.

The key dates are:          
 
Friday, November 30, 2012:         Official Screen Credits due
Saturday, December 1, 2012:         Governors Awards presentation
Monday, December 17, 2012:         Nominations voting begins
Thursday, January 3, 2013:         Nominations voting ends 5 p.m. PT
Thursday, January 10, 2013:         Nominations announced 5:30 a.m. PT, Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater
Monday, February 4, 2013:         Nominees Luncheon
Friday, February 8, 2013:         Final voting begins
Saturday, February 9, 2013:         Scientific and Technical Awards presentation
Tuesday, February 19, 2013:         Final voting ends 5 p.m. PT
Sunday, February 24, 2013:         85th Academy Awards presentation
 
The Academy Awards ceremony will be held at The Dolby Theatre™ at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and will be televised live by the ABC Television Network.

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[caption id="attachment_2865" align="alignnone" width="550"]ALOIS NEBEL[/caption]

The European Film Academy announced the three nominations in the category EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY ANIMATED FEATURE FILM 2012.

ALOIS NEBEL
Czech Republic/Germany/Slovakia
DIRECTED BY: Tomáš Lunák
A black & white tale about the hallucinations of a lonely train dispatcher at the Czechoslovak border.

[caption id="attachment_2866" align="alignnone" width="550"]ARRUGAS WRINKLES[/caption]

ARRUGAS
WRINKLES
Spain
DIRECTED BY: Ignacio Ferreras
The story of Emilio and Miguel’s newly formed friendship at their nursing home and the discovery of new beginnings in the most unusual of places

[caption id="attachment_2867" align="alignnone" width="550"]THE PIRATES! IN AN ADVENTURE WITH SCIENTISTS[/caption]

THE PIRATES! IN AN ADVENTURE WITH SCIENTISTS
UK/USA
In a quest from exotic Blood Island to the foggy streets of Victorian London, a pirate captain fights his rivals for the ‘Pirate of the Year’ award.

The winner  will be announced at the European Film Awards Ceremony in Malta on Saturday, 1 December.

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[caption id="attachment_2430" align="alignnone" width="554"]Undefeated – winner of 2012 Academy Award for Best Documentary[/caption]

Monday, September 24, 5 p.m. PT is the deadline for filmmakers to submit documentary features to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for consideration for the 85th Academy Awards®.

To be eligible, the documentaries must complete seven-day commercial runs in both Los Angeles County and the Borough of Manhattan in New York between January 1, 2012, and December 31, 2012.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2011 will be presented on Sunday, February 24, 2013, at The Dolby Theatre™ at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live on the ABC Television Network. 

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Craig Zadan and Neil Meron who produced the 2002 Academy Award Best Picture winner “Chicago,” will produce the 85th Academy Awards, Academy President Hawk Koch announced this week. The 85th Academy Awards will air live on Oscar® Sunday, February 24, 2013.

“Craig and Neil have great talent relationships and bring an infectious energy to the production,” said Academy CEO Dawn Hudson.” They are creative producers in the best sense of the word.”

Zadan and Meron served as executive producers on the 2002 Best Picture winner “Chicago,” which won Oscars® in 6 of the 13 categories in which it was nominated. Their credits also include the features “Footloose” (2011), “Hairspray” and “The Bucket List.”  Zadan also produced the original “Footloose” (1984).

Zadan and Meron’s work in television includes the series “SMASH” and such movies as “A Raisin in the Sun” and the upcoming “Steel Magnolias.”

For Broadway, they recently produced the Tony Award® winning revivals of “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” and “Promises, Promises.”

Their work has amassed 73 Emmy® nominations; 12 Tony nominations; and seven Grammy® nominations.

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Actor, singer, dancer, writer and comedian Dick Van Dyke will receive SAG-AFTRA’s highest honor – the SAG Life Achievement Award for career achievement and humanitarian accomplishment. Van Dyke will be presented the performers union’s most prestigious accolade, given annually to an actor who fosters the “finest ideals of the acting profession,” at the 19th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards®, which premieres live on TNT and TBS on Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013, at 8 p.m. ET, 7 p.m. CT, 6 p.m. MT and 5 p.m. PT.

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The Scientific and Technical Awards Committee of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced today that seven scientific and technical achievements have been selected for further awards consideration.

The list is made public to allow individuals and companies with similar devices or claims of prior art the opportunity to submit their achievements for review. The deadline to submit additional entries is Tuesday, August 28, at 11:59 p.m. PT.

The committee has selected the following methods or devices for further consideration:

Tissue: A Physically-Based Character Simulation Framework (Weta Digital)
Zviz: Previsualization System (Lucasfilm)
Light: Lighting Tool (PDI Dreamworks)
Wavelet Turbulence for Fluid Simulation (University of California, Santa Barbara)
Planar Tracking: mocha and Enabling Technology (Imagineer Systems Ltd.)
Cine VCLX Portable Power System (Anton/Bauer)
Matthews MAX Menace Arm (Matthews Studio Equipment)

After thorough investigations are conducted on each of the entries, the committee will meet in early December to vote on recommendations to the Academy’s Board of Governors, which will make the final awards decisions.

The 2012 Scientific and Technical Awards will be presented at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills on February 9, 2013.

[via press release]

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[caption id="attachment_2495" align="alignnone"]Asghar Farhadi Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film[/caption]

Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi, director of A Separation (Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film) and his producer, Memento Films Production’s Alexandre Mallet-Guy, will be awarded the European Commission’s first EU Media Prize at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival.

Farhadi and Mallet-Guy will receive the award for their new project that will be filmed in France and in French in the Fall.

“In these times when certain politicians are trying to turn the beautiful rainbow of cultural diversity in the world into differences and confrontations, I believe that this MEDIA award for my next film project is a very encouraging sign,” Farhadi said of the prize.

The MEDIA prize is awarded to the best project with box-office potential submitted by a screenwriter and a production company. The project is selected from the applications submitted for development support from the MEDIA program in a given year. MEDIA will allocate support for the screenplay, casting, preparing a financial plan, marketing and piloting production. The EU MEDIA prize is part of the MEDIA program’s new €1.8 billion agenda set to kick off in 2014 and run through 2020 called “Creative Europe” meant to facilitate cultural exchange among film industry professionals through digital technology.

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