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  • Five Debut Films Nominated for EFA Discovery Award

    [caption id="attachment_2332" align="alignnone" width="553"]10 TIMER TIL PARADIS (Teddy Bear)[/caption]

    The European Film Academy announced the nominees for the EUROPEAN DISCOVERY 2012 – Prix FIPRESCI, an award presented annually as part of the European Film Awards to a young and upcoming director for a first full-length feature film. 

    NOMINATED ARE:

     

    10 TIMER TIL PARADIS (Teddy Bear)
    Denmark, 92 min
    DIRECTED BY: Mads Matthiesen
    WRITTEN BY: Mads Matthiesen & Martin Pieter Zandvliet
    PRODUCED BY: Morten Kjems Juhl

    BROKEN
    UK, 90 min
    DIRECTED BY: Rufus Norris
    WRITTEN BY: Mark O’Rowe 
    PRODUCED BY: Dixie Linder, Tally Garner, Nick Marston & 
    Bill Kenwright

    KAUWBOY
    The Netherlands, 81 min
    DIRECTED BY: Boudewijn Koole 
    WRITTEN BY: Boudewijn Koole & Jolein Laarman 
    PRODUCED BY: Jan van der Zanden & Wilant Boekelman

    ПОРТРЕТ В СУМЕРКАХ / PORTRET V SUMERKHAK 
    (Twilight Portrait)
    Russia, 105 min
    DIRECTED BY: Angelina Nikonova  
    WRITTEN BY: Angelina Nikonova & Olga Dihovichnaya 
    PRODUCED BY: Leonid Ogaryov, Angelina Nikonova & 
    Olga Dihovichnaya

    DIE VERMISSTEN (Reported Missing)
    Germany, 86 min
    DIRECTED BY: Jan Speckenbach  
    WRITTEN BY: Jan Speckenbach & Melanie Rohde 
    PRODUCED BY: Anke Hartwig

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  • Starlet from SXSW Festival to Open in NY and LA on November 9th

    Starlet, directed by Sean Baker, and official selections at SXSW Film Festival 2012 and Locarno Film Festival 2012, will open in New York and Los Angeles on November 9th.

    Starlet explores the unlikely friendship between 21-year-old Jane played by Dree Hemingway, and 85-year-old Sadie played by Besedka Johnson. Besedka Johnson is the winner of the OUTSTANDING ACTING award at SXSW Film Festival 2012.

     

    [ Starlet explores the unlikely friendship between 21-year-old Jane (Dree Hemingway), and 85-year-old Sadie (Besedka Johnson), two women whose worlds collide in California’s San Fernando Valley. Jane spends her time getting high with her dysfunctional roommates, Melissa and Mikey, while taking care of her Chihuahua, Starlet. Sadie, an elderly widow, passes her days alone, tending to her flower garden.

    After a confrontation between the two women at Sadie’s yard sale, Jane uncovers a hidden stash of money inside a relic from Sadie’s past. Jane attempts to befriend the caustic older woman in an effort to solve her dilemma and secrets emerge as their relationship grows.

    Starlet is Sean Baker’s follow-up to the acclaimed Prince of Broadway, winner of the Best Narrative Feature at the Los Angeles Film Festival. ]

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  • 71 Countries Vie for 2012 Foreign Language Film Oscar

    [caption id="attachment_2889" align="alignnone" width="550"]After Lucia[/caption]

    A record 71 countries, including first-time entrant Kenya, have submitted films for consideration in the Foreign Language Film category for the 85th Academy Awards®.

    The 2012 submissions are:

     

    Afghanistan, “The Patience Stone,” Atiq Rahimi, director;
    Albania, “Pharmakon,” Joni Shanaj, director;
    Algeria, “Zabana!” Said Ould Khelifa, director; 
    Argentina, “Clandestine Childhood,” Benjamín Ávila, director;
    Armenia, “If Only Everyone,” Natalia Belyauskene, director; 
    Australia, “Lore,” Cate Shortland, director;
    Austria, “Amour,” Michael Haneke, director; 
    Azerbaijan, “Buta,” Ilgar Najaf, director;
    Bangladesh, “Pleasure Boy Komola,” Humayun Ahmed, director;
    Belgium, “Our Children,” Joachim Lafosse, director;
    Bosnia and Herzegovina, “Children of Sarajevo,” Aida Begic, director;
    Brazil, “The Clown,” Selton Mello, director;
    Bulgaria, “Sneakers,” Valeri Yordanov and Ivan Vladimirov, directors;
    Cambodia, “Lost Loves,” Chhay Bora, director;
    Canada, “War Witch,” Kim Nguyen, director;
    Chile, “No,” Pablo Larraín, director;
    China, “Caught in the Web,” Chen Kaige, director;
    Colombia, “The Snitch Cartel,” Carlos Moreno, director;
    Croatia, “Vegetarian Cannibal,” Branko Schmidt, director;
    Czech Republic, “In the Shadow,” David Ondrícek, director;
    Denmark, “A Royal Affair,” Nikolaj Arcel, director;
    Dominican Republic, “Jaque Mate,” José María Cabral, director; 
    Estonia, “Mushrooming,” Toomas Hussar, director;
    Finland, “Purge,” Antti J. Jokinen, director;
    France, “The Intouchables,” Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano, directors;
    Georgia, “Keep Smiling,” Rusudan Chkonia, director;
    Germany, “Barbara,” Christian Petzold, director;
    Greece, “Unfair World,” Filippos Tsitos, director;
    Greenland, “Inuk,” Mike Magidson, director;
    Hong Kong, “Life without Principle,” Johnnie To, director;
    Hungary, “Just the Wind,” Bence Fliegauf, director;
    Iceland, “The Deep,” Baltasar Kormákur, director;
    India, “Barfi!” Anurag Basu, director; 
    Indonesia, “The Dancer,” Ifa Isfansyah, director;
    Israel, “Fill the Void,” Rama Burshtein, director;
    Italy, “Caesar Must Die,” Paolo Taviani and Vittorio Taviani, directors;
    Japan, “Our Homeland,” Yang Yonghi, director; 
    Kazakhstan, “Myn Bala: Warriors of the Steppe,” Akan Satayev, director;
    Kenya, “Nairobi Half Life,” David ‘Tosh’ Gitonga, director;
    Kyrgyzstan, “The Empty Home,” Nurbek Egen, director;
    Latvia, “Gulf Stream under the Iceberg,” Yevgeny Pashkevich, director;
    Lithuania, “Ramin,” Audrius Stonys, director;
    Macedonia, “The Third Half,” Darko Mitrevski, director;
    Malaysia, “Bunohan,” Dain Iskandar Said, director; 
    Mexico, “After Lucia,” Michel Franco, director;
    Morocco, “Death for Sale,” Faouzi Bensaïdi, director;
    Netherlands, “Kauwboy,” Boudewijn Koole, director;
    Norway, “Kon-Tiki,” Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg, directors;
    Palestine, “When I Saw You,” Annemarie Jacir, director; 
    Peru, “The Bad Intentions,” Rosario García-Montero, director;
    Philippines, “Bwakaw,” Jun Robles Lana, director;
    Poland, “80 Million,” Waldemar Krzystek, director;
    Portugal, “Blood of My Blood,” João Canijo, director;
    Romania, “Beyond the Hills,” Cristian Mungiu, director;
    Russia, “White Tiger,” Karen Shakhnazarov, director;
    Serbia, “When Day Breaks,” Goran Paskaljevic, director;
    Singapore, “Already Famous,” Michelle Chong, director;
    Slovak Republic, “Made in Ash,” Iveta Grófová, director;
    Slovenia, “A Trip,” Nejc Gazvoda, director;
    South Africa, “Little One,” Darrell James Roodt, director;
    South Korea, “Pieta,” Kim Ki-duk, director; 
    Spain, “Blancanieves,” Pablo Berger, director;
    Sweden, “The Hypnotist,” Lasse Hallström, director;
    Switzerland, “Sister,” Ursula Meier, director;
    Taiwan, “Touch of the Light,” Chang Jung-Chi, director;
    Thailand, “Headshot,” Pen-ek Ratanaruang, director;
    Turkey, “Where the Fire Burns,” Ismail Gunes, director;
    Ukraine, “The Firecrosser,” Mykhailo Illienko, director;
    Uruguay, “The Delay,” Rodrigo Plá, director;
    Venezuela, “Rock, Paper, Scissors,” Hernán Jabes, director;
    Vietnam, “The Scent of Burning Grass,” Nguyen Huu Muoi, director.

    The 85th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Thursday, January 10, 2013, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

    Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2012 will be presented on Sunday, February 24, 2013, at The Dolby Theatre™ at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live on the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide.

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  • 14 Shorts Nominated for European Film 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 to Host 85th Academy Awards

     

    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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  • Tribeca Films to Release the Award Winning Spanish Thriller No Rest for the Wicked in December

    [caption id="attachment_2877" align="alignnone" width="550"]José Coronado in No Rest for the Wicked directed by Enrique Urbizu. Photo courtesy of Tribeca Film.[/caption]

    Tribeca Film will release the award-winning thriller No Rest for the Wicked (No habra paz para los malvados), directed by Spanish thriller/film noir director Enrique Urbiz, which is currently screening as part of Fantastic Fest in Austin. Tribeca Film plans a December release for the film.

    Santos Trinidad (José Coronado) is a dirty cop with a violent streak and a serious thirst for rum and Coke. During a drunken binge, he murders three people in a bar. A witness escapes from the building before Santos can catch him. While Santos sets out to kill the witness and cover up his crimes, a judge and the police conduct an investigation into the murders. Santos’ hunt for the witness and the parallel police investigation slowly converge to reveal a massive criminal conspiracy that no one involved could have ever anticipated.

    The film swept the 2012 Goya Awards —the Spanish equivalent of the Oscars— with wins for Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Screenplay, Best Editing, and Best Sound. No Rest for the Wicked was scripted by Urbizu and Michel Gatzambide and produced by Gonzalo Salazar-Simpson and Alvaro Augustin as well as Lazona and Telecinco Cinema.

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  • Filmmakers Win Twelve Filmmaker Fund Grants From Rooftop Films

    [caption id="attachment_2766" align="alignnone" width="550"]Rooftop Films Summer Series screenings[/caption]

    In addition to the Summer Series – which takes place in unique outdoor venues every weekend throughout the summer – Rooftop Films also provides grants to filmmakers. Rooftop Films announced the 2012 Filmmakers’ Fund grantees with 12 grants, including a new $10,000 cash award from AT&T, plus grants from DCTV, Eastern Effects, Edgeworx Studios and the Adrienne Shelly Foundation.

    Rooftop Films’ Founder and Artistic Director, Mark Elijah Rosenberg, said of the grants: “We would not be able to make the Rooftop Filmmakers’ Fund grants without the support of our community—our audience and our sponsors—so it’s wonderful to be able to represent the diversity of that community with a wide range of films this year, ranging from comedies and animation to serious films addressing global political issues. Each of these filmmakers previously screened at our festival, so it’s a wonderful opportunity for us to give something back to them and help them make new films which will sure to make a big impact in the near future.”

    The 2012 Grantees are: 

    ROOFTOP FILMS & AT&T FEATURE FILM GRANT:
    Bill and Turner Ross, untitled Texas / Mexico film

    ROOFTOP FILMS & DCTV COLOR CORRECTION GRANT:
    Tony Gerber and Maxim Pozdorovkin, Citizen Bout

    ROOFTOP FILMS & EASTERN EFFECTS EQUIPMENT GRANT:
    Alison Bagnall, Funny Bunny

    ROOFTOP FILMS & EDGEWORX POST-PRODUCTION GRANT:
    Shaka King, Newlyweeds

    ROOFTOP FILMS EQUIPMENT GRANT:
    Jeremy Saulnier, Blue Ruin

    ROOFTOP FILMS & ADRIENNE SHELLY FOUNDATION SHORT FILM GRANT FOR WOMEN:
    Talibah Newman, Sweet Honey Chile’

    ROOFTOP FILMS & DCTV EQUIPMENT AND SERVICES SHORT FILM GRANTS:
    Julia Pott, Neighbors “Diamonds”
    Jesse Moss, Reality Party

    ROOFTOP FILMMAKERS’ FUND SHORT FILM GRANTS:
    Nellie Kluz, Gold Party
    Stephen Irwin, The Obvious Child
    Edwin Martinez, The Last Doo Wop
    David and Nathan Zellner, Part-Time Jobs
    Mauricio Arango, We Won’t Always Be Hyenas

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  • Gay Independent Film In The Family Returns to NYC Theatre on November 16

    Patrick Wang’s award-winning debut independent feature film In The Family returns to New York City’s Cinema Village on November 16. The  film has won multiple awards, including nomination for an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature and filmmaker Patrick Wang was named one of “25 New Faces of Independent Film” in 2012 by Filmmaker Magazine.

    In the film, Chip Hines (Sebastian Banes), a precocious and loving six year-old, only knows life with his two Dads, Cody Hines, his biological father, “Pa”, (soap sensation, Trevor St. John, ONE LIFE TO LIVE) and the kind and resourceful Joey Williams, “Dad” (writer-director Wang). Both men are embraced by Cody’s family and by their community of co-workers and friends. Caught up in the lapidary and subtle rhythms of their small, sophisticated Southern town, Martin, Tennessee, Cody teaches Junior High Math and Joey is a general contractor who has been supervising the restoration and preservation of a mansion owned by retired attorney Paul Hawks and his wife Marge (Susan Kellermann (BEETLEJUICE; 33 VARIATIONS)).

    Suddenly their world is shattered when Cody is killed in a car accident. Gradually Joey and young Chip work to regroup and regain their balance until Joey learns that Cody’s Will, written six years earlier, was never amended to insure his position as Chip’s Dad; Cody had named his sister, Eileen, as Chip’s legal guardian, and Chip is taken away from Joey. When Joey objects, a restraining order is placed against him. Instantly Joey is without standing in a world he had trusted as safe, and rational, and loving.

    Joey has the support of his friends, but the prospects are bleak until his client, Paul Hawks—in a towering performance by Brian Murray (American Theatre Hall of Fame; three-time Tony Award nominee)—guides Joey to the restoration and preservation of his broken world. Wang’s assured pacing and mise-en-scene are correlatives for Joey’s methodical pursuit of a way back to his son. As a consequence of this exquisite control, the audience has time to engage in his images and inhabit his story, and a profoundly personal experience emerges. Also joining the luminous ensemble are Peter Hermann (WAR HORSE; UNITED 93); Park Overall (EMPTY NEST; BILOXI BLUES); Kelly McAndrew (CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF); Elaine Bromka (UNCLE BUCK); Eisa Davis (PASSING STRANGE); and Gina Tognoni (GUIDING LIGHT).

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_wUKachuhs

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  • Key Dates for 85th Academy Awards

     

    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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  • Three Films Nominated for European Film Academy Animated Feature Film 2012

    [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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  • Maryam Keshavarz and Paolo Marinou-Blanco Win 2012 SFFS / Hearst Screenwriting Grant

    Screenwriting partners Maryam Keshavarz and Paolo Marinou-Blanco won this year’s $15,000 San Francisco Film Society/Hearst Screenwriting Grant for continuing development of their script, The Last Harem. Musa Syeed received an honorable mention for his script The Doctor.

    The Last Harem is described as “A battle between a young female musician and the mother of the newly ascended boy-king for the affection of the new monarch and control of the palace’s extensive harem will determine who becomes the most powerful woman in the Persian empire.”

    Circumstance, Maryam Keshavarz’s first narrative feature, premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, and won the Sundance Audience Award. The film also won Best First Film at the Rome Film Festival and the Audience and Best Actress Awards at Outfest, and was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award. The Last Harem is slated to be her third narrative feature as a director.

    Paolo Marinou-Blanco’s first feature, Goodnight Irene, premiered at the Edinburgh International Film Festival to much critical acclaim, went on to travel to dozens of international festivals and was theatrically released in Europe in 2008. The Last Harem is his first collaboration with writer/director Maryam Keshavarz.

    Honorable mention fillm, Musa Syeed’s The Doctor’s synopsis, “A lowly construction worker in New York City has managed to convince his family in India that he’s still a doctor. When they send his younger brother to live with him, he maintains the charade by working at the one clinic that will let him practice without a license.”

    Musa Syeed’s debut feature film Valley of Saints premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award for World Cinema: Dramatic and the Alfred P. Sloan Prize. He previously co-directed Bronx Princess (Official Selection, Berlinale) and produced A Son’s Sacrifice (Best Doc Short, Tribeca Film Festival), both of which aired nationally on PBS.

    Previous winners of the SFFS/Hearst Screenwriting Grant are Ian Olds and Paul Felten for The Western Habit (2011), Eric Escobar for East County (2010) and Mora Stephens for Made in the USA (2009).

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  • Documentary Feature Film Entries Due Monday September 24 for 2012 Oscars

    [caption id="attachment_2430" align="alignnone" width="554"]UNDEFEATED - winner of 2012 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature FilmUndefeated – 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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