Awards

[caption id="attachment_2288" align="alignnone" width="550"]Searching for Sugar Man won the award for Best Documentary [/caption]

Argo and Life of Pi were the big winners last night at the 85th Academy Awards. Argo took the biggest prize, Best Picture, in addition to Best Editing and Best Adapted Screenplay; and Ang Lee’s Life of Pi grabbed four wins including Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects and Best Score. 

[caption id="attachment_2949" align="alignnone" width="550"]Amour won the award for Foreign Language Film[/caption]

Searching for Sugar Man won the award for Best Documentary and as expected Amour won the award for Foreign Language Film.

The full list of winners of 85th Academy Awards:

Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz

Animated Short Film: Paper Man

Animated Feature Film: Brave

Cinematography: Claudio Miranda for Life of Pi

Visual Effects: Life of Pi

Costume Design: Anna Karenina

Makeup and Hairstyling: Les Miserables

Live Action Short Film: Curfew

Documentary Short Subject: Innocente

Documentary Feature: Searching for Sugar Man

Foreign Language Film: Amour

Sound Mixing: Les Miserables

Sound Editing: Zero Dark Thirty and Skyfall (A tie)

Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway

Film Editing: Argo

Production Design: Lincoln

Original Score: Life of Pi

Original Song: Skyfall

Adapted Screenplay: Chris Terrio for Argo

Original Screenplay: Quentin Tarantion for Django Unchained

Directing: Ang Lee

Actress: Jennifer Lawrence

Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis

Best Picture: Argo

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[caption id="attachment_3236" align="alignnone" width="550"]Producer Paul Garnes, writer/director Ava DuVernay, and producer Howard Barish accept the John Cassavetes Award for ‘Middle of Nowhere’ onstage during the 2013 Film Independent Spirit Awards at Santa Monica Beach on February 23, 2013 in Santa Monica, California.[/caption]

Silver Linings Playbook, The Sessions and The Perks of Being A Wallflower were among the winners at the 28th Film Independent Spirit Awards held on Saturday night. Beasts of the Southern Wild, Magic Mike, Amour and The Invisible War also received awards at the ceremony, which is held in a tent on the beach in Santa Monica.

This year’s major category winners were Silver Linings Playbook, which won Best Feature, Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Female Lead and The Sessions, which won Best Supporting Female and Best Male Lead; The Perks of Being A Wallflower, which won Best First Feature and Safety Not Guaranteed, which won Best First Screenplay; Beasts of the Southern Wild, which won Best Cinematography, Magic Mike, which won Best Supporting Male and Middle of Nowhere which won the John Cassavetes Award; Sony Pictures Classics’ Amour, which won Best International Film and The Invisible War, which won Best Documentary. A Special Distinction Award was given posthumously to Cinematographer Harris Savides.

The 6th annual Robert Altman Award was given to one film’s director, casting director, and ensemble cast. Sean Baker’s Starlet received this award, along with casting directors Julia Kim and ensemble cast members Dree Hemingway, Besedka Johnson, Karren Karagulian, Stella Maeve, James Ransone.

The 2013 Chaz and Roger Ebert Fellowship, which is awarded to a filmmaker in Project Involve, Film Independent’s diversity mentorship program and includes a cash grant of $10,000, was given to Melissa Haizlip, director of the documentary Mr. SOUL!. 

The following is a complete list of the winners:

Best Feature: Silver Linings Playbook (The Weinstein Company)
Producers: Bruce Cohen, Donna Gigliotti, Jonathan Gordon

Best Director: David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook (The Weinstein Company)

Best Screenplay: David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook (The Weinstein Company)

Best First Feature: The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Summit Entertainment)
Writer/Director: Stephen Chbosky / Producers: Lianne Halfon, John Malkovich, Russell Smith

Best First Screenplay: Derek Connolly, Safety Not Guaranteed (FilmDistrict)

John Cassavetes Award (For best feature made under $500,000): Middle of Nowhere (AFFRM in partnership with Participant Media)
Writer/Director/Producer: Ava DuVernay / Producers: Howard Barish, Paul Garnes

[caption id="attachment_3237" align="alignnone" width="550"]Actor Fred Armisen (L) and actress Helen Hunt [/caption]

Best Supporting Female: Helen Hunt, The Sessions (Fox Searchlight)

Best Supporting Male: Matthew McConaughey, Magic Mike (Warner Bros.Pictures)

[caption id="attachment_2171" align="alignnone" width="445"]Actress Jennifer Lawrence speaks onstage during the 2013 Film Independent Spirit Awards[/caption]

Best Female Lead: Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook (The Weinstein Company)

Best Male Lead: John Hawkes, The Sessions (Fox Searchlight)

Robert Altman Award: Starlet (Music Box Films)
Director: Sean Baker / Casting Director: Julia Kim / Ensemble Cast: Dree Hemingway, Besedka Johnson, Karren Karagulian, Stella Maeve, James Ransone

Best Cinematography: Ben Richardson, Beasts of the Southern Wild (Fox Searchlight)

Best International Film: Amour (France – Sony Pictures Classics) Director: Michael Haneke

Best Documentary: The Invisible War (Cinedigm Entertainment Group)
Director: Kirby Dick / Producers: Amy Ziering, Tanner King Barklow

Special Distinction: Harris Savides

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Ben Affleck won the Directors Guild of America’s Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for Argo at the 65th Annual DGA Awards Dinner on Saturday night in Los Angeles. Malik Bendjelloul won the Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary for Searching for Sugar Man.  This is Ben Affleck and Malik Bendjelloul’s first win.

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[caption id="attachment_3102" align="alignnone" width="550"]The Sapphires[/caption]

The 2nd Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) Awards were dominated by The Sapphires, which won five of a possible six AACTA Awards: Best Cinematography (Warwick Thornton), Best Editing (Dany Cooper ASE), Best Production Design (Melinda Doring – who also won this Award last year for The Eye of the Storm), Best Costume Design (Tess Schofield) and Best Sound (Andrew Plain, Bry Jones, Pete Smith, Ben Osmo, John Simpson).

And in Los Angeles, Silver Linings Playbook was the big winner at the AACTA International Awards, winning Best Film; Best Direction for David O. Russell; and Best Lead Actress for Jennifer Lawrence.

The offbeat comic drama sees Lawrence playing a reckless young widow who befriends a bipolar schoolteacher (Bradley Cooper) who is obsessing about his ex-wife. Rounding out the film’s stellar cast are Robert De Niro,Jacki Weaver and Chris Tucker.

Winners of the AACTA Awards:

AACTA RAYMOND LONGFORD AWARD

Al Clark

AACTA AWARD FOR BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Iron Sky. Samuli Torssonen, Jussi Lehtiniemi, Juuso Kaari, Kelly Myers.

DOCUMENTARY

AACTA AWARD FOR BEST FEATURE LENGTH DOCUMENTARY
Storm Surfers 3D. Ellenor Cox, Marcus Gillezeau.

AACTA AWARD FOR BEST DOCUMENTARY UNDER ONE HOUR
Then The Wind Changed. Jeni McMahon, Celeste Geer. ABC1

AACTA AWARD FOR BEST DOCUMENTARY SERIES
Go Back To Where You Came From. Rick McPhee, Ivan O’Mahoney. SBS

AACTA AWARD FOR BEST DIRECTION IN A DOCUMENTARY
Fighting Fear. Macario De Souza. FOXTEL – Movie Network

AACTA AWARD FOR BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY IN A DOCUMENTARY
Fighting Fear. Tim Bonython, Chris Bryan, Macario De Souza, Lee Kelly. FOXTEL – Movie Network

AACTA AWARD FOR BEST EDITING IN A DOCUMENTARY
Once Upon A Time In Cabramatta – Episode 1. Sam Wilson. SBS

AACTA AWARD FOR BEST SOUND IN A DOCUMENTARY
Dr Sarmast’s Music School. Dale Cornelius, Livia Ruzic, Keith Thomas. ABC1

SHORT FILM

AACTA AWARD FOR BEST SHORT ANIMATION
The Hunter. Marieka Walsh

AACTA AWARD FOR BEST SHORT FICTION FILM
Julian. Robert Jago, Matthew Moore.

AACTA AWARD FOR BEST SCREENPLAY IN A SHORT FILM
Transmission. Zak Hilditch.

FEATURE FILM

AACTA AWARD FOR BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
The Sapphires. Warwick Thornton.

AACTA AWARD FOR BEST EDITING
The Sapphires. Dany Cooper ASE.

AACTA AWARD FOR BEST SOUND
The Sapphires. Andrew Plain, Bry Jones, Pete Smith, Ben Osmo, John Simpson.

AACTA AWARD FOR BEST ORIGINAL MUSIC SCORE
Not Suitable For Children. Matteo Zingales, Jono Ma.

AACTA AWARD FOR BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
The Sapphires. Melinda Doring.

AACTA AWARD FOR BEST COSTUME DESIGN
The Sapphires. Tess Schofield.

AACTA INTERNATIONAL AWARD FOR BEST SCREENPLAY
Django Unchained. Quentin Tarantino

AACTA INTERNATIONAL AWARD FOR BEST DIRECTION
Silver Linings Playbook. David O. Russell

AACTA INTERNATIONAL AWARD FOR BEST ACTOR
Daniel Day-Lewis. Lincoln

AACTA INTERNATIONAL AWARD FOR BEST ACTRESS
Jennifer Lawrence. Silver Linings Playbook

AACTA INTERNATIONAL AWARD FOR BEST FILM
Silver Linings Playbook. Bruce Cohen, Donna Gigliotti, Jonathan Gordon

AACTA INTERNATIONAL AWARD FOR BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Robert De Niro. Silver Linings Playbook

AACTA INTERNATIONAL AWARD FOR BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Jacki Weaver. Silver Linings Playbook

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[caption id="attachment_3141" align="alignnone" width="550"]Neighbouring Sounds (O som ao redor)[/caption]

The winners of the 3rd Annual Cinema Tropical Awards were announced last week in New York City. The Brazilian film, Neighbouring Sounds (O som ao redor) took the top prize for Best Feature Film. A thrilling debut from a breakout talent, Neighboring Sounds delves into the lives of a group of prosperous middle-class families residing on a quiet street in Recife, close to a low-income neighborhood. The private security firm hired to police the street becomes the catalyst for an exploration of the neighbors’ discontents and anxieties—their feelings exacerbated by the palpable unease of a society that remains unreconciled to its troubled past and present inequities. 

The Lifeguard (El Salvavidas) from Chile, was awarded the prize for Best Documentary. In the film, Mauricio, a lifeguard on a Chilean beach, considers himself to be a model of efficiency and professionalism. His colleagues, however, think otherwise, and speculate on why he never goes into the water. Maite Alberdi’s visually gorgeous feature documentary debut has the intensity of a short story; beginning as a quirky character study of lifeguards and beachgoers, it becomes something altogether darker and more shocking when events take a dramatic turn.| EIFF.

The complete list of winners

Best Feature Film:
O SOM AO REDOR / NEIGHBORING SOUNDS
(Kleber Mendonça Filho, Brazil)

Best Documentary Film:
EL SALVAVIDAS / THE LIFEGUARD
(Maite Alberdi, Chile)

Best Director, Feature Film:
Matías Meyer, LOS ÚLTIMOS CRISTEROS / THE LAST CHRISTEROS
(Mexico)

Best Director, Documentary Film:
Jose Álvarez, CANÍCULA
(Mexico)

Best First Film:
EL ESTUDIANTE / THE STUDENT
(Santiago Mitre, Argentina)

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[caption id="attachment_3105" align="alignnone" width="550"]How To Survive A Plague[/caption]

The Directors Guild of America today announced the nominees for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentaries for the year 2012.

The winners will be announced at the 65th Annual DGA Awards Dinner on Saturday, February 2, 2013, hosted by director/actor/producer Kelsey Grammer.

The nominees for the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary for 2012 are (in alphabetical order):

MALIK BENDJELLOUL
Searching For Sugar Man
This is Mr. Bendjelloul’s first DGA Award nomination.

KIRBY DICK
The Invisible War 
This is Mr. Dick’s first DGA Award nomination.

DAVID FRANCE
How To Survive A Plague
This is Mr. France’s first DGA Award nomination.

LAUREN GREENFIELD
The Queen of Versailles
This is Ms. Greenfield’s first DGA Award nomination.

ALISON KLAYMAN
Ai WeiWei: Never Sorry
This is Ms. Klayman’s first DGA Award nomination.

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[caption id="attachment_2949" align="alignnone" width="550"]Amour[/caption]

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association handed out the annual Golden Globes last night in Hollywood, and Ben Affleck’s Argo was the night’s biggest winner, taking home awards for best picture and director in a motion picture. Another winner, Michael Haneke picked up the best foreign film award for Amour, which now seems to be a lock on the same award in the upcoming Academy Awards.

The winners of the 70th Annual Golden Globe Awards for Motion Pictures 

BEST MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
ARGO
Warner Bros. Pictures, GK Films, Smokehouse Pictures; Warner Bros. Pictures

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
JESSICA CHASTAIN Zero Dark Thirty

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
DANIEL DAY-LEWIS Lincoln

BEST MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
LES MISERABLES
Universal Pictures, A Working Title Films/Cameron Mackintosh Productions; Universal Pictures

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
JENNIFER LAWRENCE Silver Linings Playbook

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
HUGH JACKMAN Les Miserables

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
BRAVE
Walt Disney Pictures, Pixar Animation Studios; Walt Disney Pictures

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
AMOUR (Austria)
Les Films Du Losange, X Filme Creative Pool, Wega Film; Sony Pictures Classics

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
ANNE HATHAWAY Les Miserables

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
CHRISTOPH WALTZ

BEST DIRECTOR – MOTION PICTURE BEN AFFLECK

BEST SCREENPLAY – MOTION PICTURE QUENTIN TARANTINO

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE – MOTION PICTURE MYCHAEL DANNA

BEST ORIGINAL SONG – MOTION PICTURE
“Skyfall”
Music & Lyrics by: Adele and Paul Epworth

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[caption id="attachment_2331" align="alignnone" width="553"]5 Broken Cameras[/caption]

5 Broken Cameras, Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi’s documentary about Israeli settlements encroaching upon Burnat’s Palestinian village, was named Outstanding Feature at the 6th Annual Cinema Eye Honors for Nonfiction Filmmaking at the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, Queens last night.  

A slate of Oscar shortlisted films won in the other categories.  Dimitri Doganis received Outstanding Production for The Imposter, T. Woody Richman and Tyler H. Walk won for Outstanding Editing for How to Survive a Plague, Jeff Orlowski took Outstanding Cinematography for Chasing Ice and Oskar Gullstrand and Arvid Steen won the award for Outstanding Achievement in Graphic Design or Animation for Searching for Sugar Man.

Lee Hirsch’s Bully received the Cinema Eye Audience Choice Prize.

Cinema Eye presented honors for Nonfiction Short Filmmaking to Robert-Jan Lacombe’sGood-bye Mandima (Kwa Heri Mandima), the Spotlight Award was presented to Wojciech Staron for Argentinian Lesson and the Heterodox Award for Narrative Filmmaking, went to Jem Cohen’s Museum Hours, that recognizes a narrative film that imaginatively incorporates nonfiction strategies, content and/or modes of production.

This year’s Legacy Award was presented to the 1993 verite classic The War Room, which took viewers behind the scenes of the 1992 Bill Clinton campaign.  

The following is a complete list of Cinema Eye Honors winners for 2012:

Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking

5 Broken Cameras
Directed by Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi
Produced by Christine Camdessus, Serge Gordey, Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi

Outstanding Achievement in Direction

Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady
Detropia

Audience Choice Prize

Bully
Directed by Lee Hirsch

Outstanding Achievement in Production

Dimitri Doganis
The Imposter

Outstanding Achievement in Editing

T. Woody Richman and Tyler H. Walk
How to Survive a Plague

Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography

Jeff Orlowski
Chasing Ice

Spotlight Award

Argentinian Lesson
Directed by Wojciech Staron

Heterodox Award

Museum Hours
Directed by Jem Cohen

Presented by Marie Therese Guirgis and Eugene Hernandez

Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Short Filmmaking

Goodbye Mandima (Kwa Heri Mandima)

Directed by Robert-Jan Lacombe

Presented by Laura Gabbert and Sam Green

Outstanding Achievement in an Original Music Score

Dial.81

Detropia

Presented by Laura Gabbert and Sam Green

Outstanding Achievement in Graphic Design and Animation

Oskar Gullstrand and Arvid Steen

Searching for Sugar Man

Presented by Jonathan Caouette and Susan Froemke

Outstanding Achievement in a Debut Feature Film

Jason Tippet and Elizabeth Mims

Only the Young

Presented by Jonathan Caouette and Susan Froemke

Legacy Award

The War Room

Directed by Chris Hegedus and D A Pennebaker

Produced by R.J. Cutler, Wendy Ettinger and Frazer Pennebaker

Presented by Michael Moore

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