• TIFF Launches New Festivals For Kids and Youth

    [caption id="attachment_2252" align="alignnone" width="550"]Funky Forest[/caption]

    TIFF, the organization behind September’s Toronto International Film Festival, announced today two new film festivals directed towards children and youth with a new emphasis on interactive programming, including gaming and participatory activities in a digital environment. The two new film festivals represent an evolution of the Sprockets Toronto International Film Festival for Children and Youth, effectively dividing its programming into separate events for two age groups. Running from April 10 through 22, 2012, the TIFF Kids International Film Festival will celebrate special programming and activities for children aged 3 to 13. New for 2012 is TIFF Kids digiPlaySpace, a family-friendly interactive environment which includes interactive installations, learning-centric games, apps, new digital creative tools and hands-on production activities. Also launching this year, the TIFF Next Wave Film Festival runs May 10 through 12, 2012 and engages youth aged 14 to 18 with programming aimed at a teen audience.

    “We’ve had the pleasure of seeing our children’s film festival grow at a phenomenal pace into one of the most prominent and respected in the world, one that is extremely successful with children in elementary and middle schools and with teen audiences,” said Shane Smith, Director of Public Programmes, TIFF. ?It’s fitting that as we celebrate our 15th anniversary, we separate our programming into two festivals that allow us to broaden and deepen the selection and experience for each audience, as well as their families and educators. We’re beyond excited to be presenting both the TIFF Kids International Film Festival and the TIFF Next Wave Film Festival this year.?

    In addition to premiere screenings of high-calibre feature films and shorts from around the world, special guests, learning workshops and the Jump Cuts competitions, interactive engagement will be a key feature of the TIFF Kids International Film Festival—both online and through on-site activities. Not only will young audiences take over all five cinemas and learning studios of TIFF Bell Lightbox, but for the first time the first floor gallery space will be transformed into the TIFF Kids digiPlaySpace—an interactive playground where children will learn, laugh and be entertained by emerging creative technologies and innovative media experiences. Several installations, games and workshop zones will allow children to exercise their creativity and see first-hand how the future of storytelling is evolving.

    A signature of the TIFF Kids digiPlaySpace is the Canadian premiere of Funky Forest, an interactive ecosystem where children create trees with their bodies and then divert the water flowing from a waterfall to keep the trees alive. The health of the trees contributes to the overall health of the forest and the types of creatures that inhabit it. Other highlights include installations from leading interactive play developers Aesthetec Studio, where movement and voice is transformed into light and music; giant green screens that enable children to immerse themselves into the worlds of film and dance; and stop-motion stations that provide the chance for kids to learn the magic of animation.

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  • TIFF is Calling Young Filmmakes for the TIFF Kids and TIFF Next Wave Jump Cuts Young Filmmakers competitions and TIFF Kids Juries

    Toronto International Film Festival is encouraging young filmmakers and cinephiles to take part in its two new film festivals, the TIFF Kids International Film Festival and the TIFF Next Wave Film Festival, both happening this Spring at TIFF Bell Lightbox. Running from April 10 through 22, 2012, the TIFF Kids International Film Festival will celebrate special programming and activities for children aged 3 to 13. The TIFF Next Wave Film Festival runs May 10 through 12, 2012 and connects with youth aged 14 to 18 with programming aimed at a teen audience.

    Entering its 11th year, the Jump Cuts Young Filmmakers programme engages Ontario’s young people and gives emerging directors the opportunity to see their work on the big screen. The TIFF Kids International Film Festival Jump Cuts competition is open to young filmmakers in two categories: grades 3 to 6 and grades 7 to 8.The submission deadline is March 5, 2012 and entries can be submitted via tiff.net/tiffkids. The TIFF Next Wave Film Festival Jump Cuts competition is open to amateur filmmakers in grades 9 through 12. The submission deadline is March 19, 2012 and entries can be submitted via tiff.net/nextwave/jumpcuts.

    The TIFF Kids International Film Festival is also looking for young cinephiles to participate on their young people’s juries. The jurors actively discuss the films they see and work collaboratively to reach consensus on determining the Festival winners. TIFF Kids jurors attend the Festival for free and watch films in special reserved jury seating, all while enjoying complimentary popcorn and drinks. Winners of the internationally recognized awards will be announced at the end of the Festival. To apply for a place on the juries, young film fans aged 8 to12 must write a short review (100 to 250 words) of a movie they either particularly enjoyed or did not like. The official Jury Entry Form can be found on the TIFF Kids website. All reviews must be received by February 10, 2012.

     

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  • Detachment starring Adrien Brody in Theaters on March 16

    Director Tony Kaye’s (American History X) long-awaited film Detachment starring Academy Award® winner Adrien Brody will be available nationwide On Demand beginning February 24, 2012. The film will open in theaters beginning in NY on March 16, 2012 and LA on March 23, 2012 with additional select cities.

    Academy Award® winner Adrien Brody stars as Henry Barthes, a substitute teacher who conveniently avoids any emotional connections by never staying anywhere long enough to form a bond with either his students or colleagues.  A lost soul grappling with a troubled past, Henry finds himself at a public school where an apathetic student body has created a frustrated, burned-out administration.  Inadvertently becoming a role model to his students, while also bonding with a runaway teen who is just as lost as he is, Henry finds that he’s not alone in a life and death struggle to find beauty in a seemingly vicious and loveless world.

    Kaye has molded a contemporary vision of people who become increasingly distant from others while still feeling the need to connect. Detachment features a stellar ensemble cast, including Academy Award® winner Marcia Gay Harden, Christina Hendricks, William Petersen, Bryan Cranston, Tim Blake Nelson, Lucy Liu, Blythe Danner, James Caan, and newcomers Sami Gayle and Betty Kaye.

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  • Canadian Film Starbuck Takes Top Honors at 2012 Palm Springs International Film Festival

    [caption id="attachment_2153" align="alignnone"]Starbuck [/caption]

    The 23rd Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) wraps today Monday with the Best of the Fest screenings but announced this year’s award winners at a luncheon on Sunday, January 15, 2012.

    AUDIENCE AWARDS
    This year’s Festival attendees selected Starbuck (Canada) directed by Ken Scott, as the Mercedes-Benz Audience Award Best Narrative Feature. The past comes back with a vengeance in this Canadian comedy about a class action suit against prolific sperm donor David Wozniak, aka Starbuck. Twenty years after his successful moneymaking scheme, all David’s 142 children want to know is, “Who’s my Daddy?”

    The runner-up film was Come As You Are (Belgium) directed by Geoffrey Enthoven. The other narrative films in alphabetical order include: The Flowers of War (China), If I Were You (Canada), In Darkness (Poland), Monsieur Lazhar (Canada), Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (UK), Simon and the Oaks (Sweden), A Simple Life (Hong Kong), Sonny Boy (Netherlands), War of the Buttons (France) and Wunderkinder (Germany).

    The Girls in the Band (USA) directed by Judy Chaikin and Wish Me Away (USA) directed by Bobbi Birleffii and Beverly Kopf tied for the Audience Award Best Documentary Feature. The Girls in the Band is about the hidden history of women jazz musicians in this glorious celebration of some of our greatest musicians, period. Wish Me Away is the inspiring, award-winning documentary about courageous singer-songwriter Chely Wright, a devout Christian who also happens to be a lesbian.

    The runner-up documentary films in alphabetical order include: First Position: A Ballet Documentary (USA), Follow Me: The Yoni Netanyahu Story (USA), Shakespeare High (USA), The Story of Film: An Odyssey (UK) and Vito (USA).

    Both winners will receive the John Kennedy Statue (“The Entertainer”) specially designed for the Festival.

    FIPRESCI AWARD
    A special jury of international film critics reviewed 40 of the 63 official Foreign Language submissions to the Academy Awards® screened at this year’s Festival to award the FIPRESCI Award for Best Foreign Language Film of the Year. The jury selected The Turin Horse, Hungary’s official entry for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, directed by Béla Tarr, “for the power of its austerity and radical commitment to its vision.” The film is an unforgettable end-of-days parable largely confined to an ascetic shack shared by an old man and his daughter as a terrible blight takes hold outside.

    Matthias Schoenaerts received the FIPRESCI Award for Best Actor for his role in Bullhead (Belgium) directed by Michaël R. Roskam, “for his superb portrayal of an innocent and sensitive man trapped in a truculent body.” The ensemble female cast (Leila Hatami, Sareh Bayat and Sarina Farhadi) from A Separation (Iran) received the FIPRESCI Award for Best Actress, “for their naturalistic, powerful and fully interdependent portrayals of three women grappling with complex questions of guilt and morality.” The film is directed by Asghar Farhadi.

    The 2012 FIPRESCI jury members were Mario Abbade from Almanaque Virtual, Correio Braziliense and Globo (Brazil) and President and Curator of the Rio de Janeiro Association of Film Critics; Nathan Lee, former film critic for the New York Times, Village Voice, and NPR, currently contributing editor of Film Comment magazine (US); and Boyd van Hoeij, critic for Variety, Winq (Netherlands), Mate (US/UK), Filmkrant (Netherlands) and Indiewire (US).

    NEW VOICES/NEW VISIONS AWARD
    The New Voices/New Visions competition includes ten new international talents making their feature film debut at the Festival, with the additional criteria that the films selected are currently without U.S. distribution. The jury selected The House (Slovak Republic) directed by Zuzana Liová. The winner receives a sculpture designed by famed glass artist Dale Chihuly.

    The jury stated “Although the story told in The House is not a new one, we felt that the direction and performances took the film to the next level, and made us understand why a father may not be able to let go of his children, and also why they would want to leave. The motivations behind the characters felt real and made for a compelling film about a girl’s journey to adulthood.” The film is about contemporary Eastern Europe’s divisions – between generations, genders, economic strata, city and country – are given incisive treatment in this affecting family drama about an ambitious teen, her disowned elder sister and their dour, controlling father.

    The films were juried by Jeff Lipsky, Co-Managing Executive Adopt Films; Paul Hudson, Co-Founder Outsider Films; Tom Quinn, Co-President The Weinstein Company/New Label. The winner will receive a Chihuly award and $60,000 Panavision camera rental package

    THE JOHN SCHLESINGER AWARD
    The Tiniest Place (Mexico), directed by Tatiana Huezo Sanchez, received The John Schlesinger Award, which is presented a first-time documentary filmmaker. The Tiniest Place is the heartbreaking yet hopeful story of Cinquera, a small town in rural El Salvador that was completely depopulated during the Civil War, as told by the survivors who have returned with astonishing resilience to rebuild their lives on their native soil. The winner receives the John Kennedy Statue (“The Entertainer”).

    The films were judged by Mark Jonathan Harris, three-time Oscar-winning documentary director of Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport, The Long Way Home, and The Redwoods; Oliver Ike, director of theatrical and non-theatrical sales at Seventh Art Releasing; and Michael Lumpkin, Executive Director of the International Documentary Association (IDA).

    THE HP BRIDGING THE BORDERS AWARD
    Terraferma (Italy), directed by Emanuele Crialese, received the HP Bridging the Borders Award presented by Cinema Without Borders and Hewlett Packard, which honors the film that is most successful in exemplifying art that promotes bringing the people of our world closer together. In Italy’s Best Foreign Language Film Oscar submission, an elderly Sicilian fisherman who rescues a boatload of African immigrants, must decide whether to do what the law demands or what he knows to be right. The prize includes an HP 8560w Elitebook Mobile Workstation with a built-in HP DreamColor display, valued at $4000.

    The runner-up was Le Havre (Finland) directed by Aki Kaurismäki, Finland’s Best Foreign Language Film Oscar submission.

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  • The Descendants and The Artist Lead the 69th Golden Globes Awards

    The 69th Golden Globes went down last night and The Artist and The Descendants were two of the night’s big winners. The Artist received the award for Best Motion Picture-Drama and The Descendants received the award for Best Motion Picture-Comedy Or Musical.

    Michelle Williams won the award for BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL for her work in “My Week With Marilyn,”

     

    [caption id="attachment_2245" align="alignnone" width="399"]Asghar Farhadi and Peyman Moaadi [/caption]

    Asghar Farhadi and Peyman Moaadi accepted the Golden Globe for BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM, for their film “A Separation” (Iran), produced by The Country of Iran (Jodaeiye Nader az Simin) Asghar Farhadi; Sony Pictures Classics.

     

    Christopher Plummer received the Golden Globe for BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE for his work in “Beginners”

    The complete list of winners include:

    FILM

    MOTION PICTURE-DRAMA
    The Descendants
    Ad Hominem Enterprises; Fox Searchlight Pictures

    ACTOR-MOTION PICTURE DRAMA
    George Clooney, The Descendants

    MOTION PICTURE-COMEDY OR MUSICAL
    The Artist
    A La Petite Reine – Studio 37 – La Classe Americaine – JD Prod- France3 Cinema – Jouror Production-uFilms co-production; The Weinstein Company

    ACTRESS-MOTION PICTURE DRAMA
    Meryl Streep for The Iron Lady

    ACTOR-MOTION PICTURE COMEDY OR MUSICAL
    Jean Dujardin for The Artist

    DIRECTOR-MOTION PICTURE
    Martin Scorsese for Hugo

    ACTRESS-MOTION PICTURE COMEDY OR MUSICAL
    Michelle Williams for My Week With Marylin

    SUPPORTING ACTRESS-MOTION PICTURE
    Octavia Spencer for The Help

    SUPPORTING ACTOR-MOTION PICTURE
    Christopher Plummer for Beginners

    SCREENPLAY-MOTION PICTURE
    Woody Allen for Midnight In Paris

    FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
    A Separation
    The Country of Iran
    (Jodaeiye Nader az Simin) Asghar Farhadi; Sony Pictures Classics

    ANIMATED FILM
    The Adventures Of Tintin
    Paramount Pictures/Columbia Pictures/Hemisphere Capital/Amblin Entertainment/Wingnut Films Production/Kennedy/Marshall Production A Steven Spielberg Film; Paramount Pictures and Columbia Pictures

    ORIGINAL SCORE-MOTION PICTURE
    Ludovic Bource for The Artist

    ORIGINAL SONG-MOTION PICTURE
    “Masterpiece” from W.E.
    Music & Lyrics by Madonna, Julie Frost and Jimmy Harry

     

    TELEVISION

    TELEVISION SERIES-COMEDY OR MUSICAL
    Modern Family (ABC)
    Twentieth Century Fox Television

    ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES-COMEDY OR MUSICAL
    Matt LeBlanc for Episodes

    ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES-DRAMA
    Claire Danes for Homeland

    SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR TV MOVIE
    Jessica Lange for American Horror Story

    SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR TV MOVIE
    Peter Dinklage for Game Of Thrones

    ACTOR MINISERIES OR TV MOVIE
    Idris Elba for Luther

    ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES-COMEDY OR MUSICAL
    Laura Dern for Enlightened (HBO)

    MINISERIES OR TV MOVIE
    Downton Abbey (Masterpiece) (PBS) A Carnival/Masterpiece Co-production

    ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES OR TV MOVIE
    Kate Winselt for Mildred Pierce (HBO)

    ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES-DRAMA
    Kelsey Grammer for Boss (Starz)

    TELEVISION SERIES-DRAMA
    Homeland (Showtime) SHOWTIME Presents, Teakwood Lane Productions, Cherry Pie Productions, Keshet, Fox 21

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  • Film Independent Spirit Awards 2012 Filmmaker Grant Winners Announced

    [caption id="attachment_2227" align="alignnone" width="550"]Heather Courtney, director of Where Soldiers Come From[/caption]

    Film Independent announced the winners of its four Spirit Awards filmmaker grants on Saturday at its annual Spirit Awards Nominee Brunch hosted by Mark Duplass and Sarah Paulson.

    Mark Jackson, director of Without, received the Audi Someone to Watch Award, which recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition. The award, which is in its eighteenth year, includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Audi of America. The finalists for the award included Simon Arthur for Silver Tongues and Nicholas Ozeki for Mamitas.

    Heather Courtney, director of Where Soldiers Come From received the Nokia Truer Than Fiction Award, which is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not received significant recognition. The award is in its seventeenth year and includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Nokia. Danfung Dennis for Hell and Back Again and Alma Har’el for Bombay Beach were also finalists for the award.

    Sophia Lin, producer of Take Shelter received the Piaget Producers Award, which honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources demonstrate the creativity, tenacity, and vision required to produce quality, independent films. The annual award, in its fifteenth year, includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Piaget. Finalists were Chad Burris for Mosquita Y Mari and Josh Mond for Martha Marcy May Marlene.

    Benjamin Murray and Alysa Nahmias for Unfinished Spaces received the second annual Jameson FIND Your Audience Award, which helps one low-budget independent film find a broader audience. The award included a $40,000 marketing and distribution grant, funded by Jameson® Irish Whiskey. The other finalists were Cara Marcous for On the Ice and Sheldon Larry for Leave It On The Floor. The nominating committee was composed of publicist and Film Independent Board Member Laura Kim, filmmaker Scott Macaulay and CrowdStarter’s Liz Ogilvie.

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  • The Artist and Incdendies Among French Lumière Award Winners

    [caption id="attachment_2225" align="alignnone"]Incendies[/caption]

    The Artist won best film at the Lumière Awards, aka the French Golden Globes, and leading actress Bérénice Bejo received the award for Best Actress.

    Poliss received two awards including Best Director for Maïwenn Le Besco, and Best Cinematography for Pierre Aim.  Best screenplay went to Jean-Louis Milesi and Robert Guediguian for The Snows of Kilimanjaro.

    Denis Villeneuve received the prize for best Francophone picture from outside France for Incendies.

    Omar Sy won Best Actor for his performance in Untouchable. Other acting awards include  Alice Barnole, Adèle Haenel and Céline Sallette shared the prize for most promising new female actress for their performances in Bertrand Bonello’s House of Tolerance and Denis Menochet won most promising new male actor for his performance in Les Adoptés.

    The Lumière Awards were launched in 1995 under the initiative of the late producer Daniel Toscan du Plantier and American journalist Edward Behr.

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  • Daniel Radcliffe To Announce The 2012 BAFTA Film Awards Nominations

     

    On Tuesday 17 January, actors Daniel Radcliffe and Holliday Grainger will join BAFTA’s Chairman Tim Corrie to announce the nominations for the 2012 Orange British Academy Film Awards.

    BAFTA Chief Executive Amanda Berry, Chair of the Film Committee Nik Powell and Pippa Harris Deputy Chair of the Film Committee will also be in attendance.

    The Orange British Academy Film Awards, hosted by Stephen Fry, will take place on Sunday 12 February 2012.

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  • Michael Fassbender of Shame Among 2012 Irish Film and Television Academy Nominees

    [caption id="attachment_2221" align="alignnone"] Michael Fassbender – Shame[/caption]

    The Irish Film and Television Academy announced the nominees for the 9th Annual Irish Film and Television Awards, which takes place on Saturday 11th February 2012 .

    Academy CEO, Aine Moriarty stated that: “The Irish Film & Television Awards is Ireland’s showcase to the world of what our small but outstanding film and television community has to offer: excellent and challenging feature films and dramas; entertaining television and engaging factual content. The Irish industry consistently delivers world-class standards of work that is watched by a global audience. Ireland’s economic struggles have been well documented, but against this pressure it’s heartening to see how Ireland’s hard-working creative community continues to punch above its weight and really deliver.”

    The features nominated for Best Film at IFTA 2012 are the period drama Albert Nobbs, Irish psychological thriller Charlie Casanova, black comedy The Guard, and rural drama Stella Days. Screenwriters for all four of the Best Film contenders – John Banville, Glenn Close & Gabriella Prekop , John Michael McDonagh, Terry McMahon and Antoine O’Flaherta – have been nominated for Script Film whilst McDonagh and McMahon join fellow debut director Rebecca Daly (The Other Side of Sleep) and IFTA winner Thaddeus O’Sullivan (Stella Days) in the category for Best Film Director.

    In the feature film acting categories, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy star Ciaran Hinds receives an IFTA nomination alongside The Guard actor Brendan Gleeson. Michael Fassbender has been nominated for his performance in Steve McQueen’s drama Shame and Martin Sheen, an Irish citizen, has also been nominated for his role as Irish priest Fr. Daniel Barry in the Irish production Stella Days. Sheen’s Stella Days co-star Marcella Plunkett has also been nominated with Antonia Campbell Hughes (The Other Side of Sleep) included for the first time in the Lead Actress category following her Rising Star nomination in 2011. Newcomer Aoife Duffin is also nominated for her performance in Behold the Lamb. IFTA winning actress Saoirse Ronan has been IFTA nominated for her lead turn in Hanna. Albert Nobbs star Glenn Close and The Guard actor Don Cheadle have both been included in the International categories for their performances in these Irish features.

    NOMINEES FOR THE 9TH ANNUAL IRISH FILM & TELEVISION AWARDS

    FILM CATEGORIES

    BEST FILM

    Albert Nobbs- Alan Moloney, Bonnie Curtis, Julie Lynn and Glenn Close (Parallel Film Productions)
    Charlie Casanova- Terry McMahon (Source Productions)
    Stella Days- Jackie Larkin& Leslie McKimm (Newgrange Pictures)
    The Guard- Ed Guiney, Andrew Lowe, Chris Cark, Flora Fernandez Marengo (Element Pictures / Reprisal Films)

    DIRECTOR FILM

    Rebecca Daly – The Other Side of Sleep (Fastnet Films)
    John Michael McDonagh – The Guard (Element Pictures / Reprisal Films)
    Terry McMahon – Charlie Casanova (Source Productions)
    Thaddeus O’Sullivan – Stella Days (Newgrange Pictures)

    SCRIPT FILM

    John Banville, Glenn Close & Gabriella Prekop  – Albert Nobbs (Parallel Film Productions)
    John Michael McDonagh – The Guard (Element Pictures / Reprisal Films)
    Terry McMahon – Charlie Casanova (Source Productions)
    Antoine O’Flaherta – Stella Days (Newgrange Pictures)

    ACTOR IN A LEAD ROLE IN A FEATURE FILM

    Michael Fassbender – Shame (Momentum Pictures)
    Brendan Gleeson – The Guard (Element Pictures / Reprisal Films)
    Ciarán Hinds – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (Focus Features)
    Martin Sheen – Stella Days (Newgrange Pictures)

    ACTRESS IN A LEAD ROLE IN A FEATURE FILM

    Aoife Duffin – Behold The Lamb (Dumbworld Productions)
    Antonia Campbell Hughes – The Other Side of Sleep (Fastnet Films)
    Marcella Plunkett – Stella Days (Newgrange Pictures)
    Saoirse Ronan -Hanna (Focus Features)

    ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A FEATURE FILM

    Liam Cunningham – The Guard (Element Pictures / Reprisal Films)
    Brendan Gleeson – Albert Nobbs (Parallel Film Productions)
    Ciarán Hinds – The Debt (Universal Pictures)
    Chris O’Dowd – Bridesmaids (Universal Pictures)

    ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A FEATURE FILM

    Maria Doyle Kennedy – Albert Nobbs (Parallel Film Productions)
    Fionnula Flanagan – The Guard (Element Pictures / Reprisal Films)
    Brenda Fricker – Albert Nobbs (Parallel Film Productions)
    Amy Huberman – Stella Days (Newgrange Pictures)

    GEORGE MORRISON FEATURE DOCUMENTARY AWARD

    Bernadette; Notes on a Political Journey- Lelia Doolan, (Digital Quilts)
    Knuckle- Ian Palmer, (RISE Films)
    Men of Arlington- Enda Hughes, (Hotshot Films)
    Off The Beaten Track- Dieter Auner, (Ikandi Productions)

    SPECIAL IRISH LANGUAGE AWARD

    Corp + Anam – Paddy Hayes (Magamedia)
    Mobs Cheanada – Dathai Keane (Abú Media)
    Ray McAnally – M’Athair – Brian Reddin (Dearg Films)
    Seacht – Colin O’Donnell (Stirling Film & Television)

    ANIMATION

    23 Degrees 5 Minutes – Darragh O’Connell (Brown Bag Films)
    The Boy in the Bubble – Kealan O’ Rourke (Igloo Films)
    The Last Train – Alex Sherwood (Giant Creative)
    Origin – James Stacey (Souljacker)

    PHILIPS SHORT FILM AWARD

    The Boy In The Bubble- Kealan O’ Rourke (Igloo Films)
    Cluck- Michael Lavelle (Tilted Productions)
    Downpour- Claire Dix (Zucca Films)
    Foxes- Lorcan Finnegan (Lovely Productions)
    The Shore- Terry George (All Ashore)

    INTERNATIONAL CATEGORIES

    INTERNATIONAL FILM

    Bridesmaids (Universal Pictures)
    Drive (Eclipse Pictures)
    Senna (Universal Pictures)
    Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (Focus Features)

    INTERNATIONAL ACTOR

    Don Cheadle – The Guard (Element Pictures / Reprisal Films)
    Leonardo DiCaprio – J Edgar (Warner Bros Pictures)
    Ryan Gosling – Drive (Eclipse Pictures)
    Gary Oldman – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (Focus Features)

    INTERNATIONAL ACTRESS

    Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
    Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
    Tilda Swinton, We Need To Talk About Kevin
    Kirsten Wiig, Bridesmaids

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  • Generation Program is Complete for 2012 Berlin Film Fest

    [caption id="attachment_2219" align="alignnone"]Comes A Bright Day[/caption]

    A total of 58 short and full-length films from 32 countries have been selected for the Generation Kplus and Generation 14plus competitions for 2012 Berlin International Film Festival.

    Eleven children from Berlin between the ages of eleven and 14 as well as seven young adults have been invited to be on the Children’s and Youth Juries. They will award Crystal Bears for the best short and feature-length films.

    Generation 14plus

    Comes A Bright Day (Great Britain, by Simon Aboud) – Against the backdrop of an armed robbery at a London jewellers, much more is at stake than money. Where diamonds are involved, love is not far. Cast: Craig Roberts, Imogen Poots, Kevin McKidd, Timothy Spall and others. World Premiere

    Lal Gece (Night of Silence, Turkey, by Reis Çelik) – When the groom lifts the bride’s veil, he is looking into the face of a 14-year-old girl. As tradition has it, a night in the bridal chamber seals the marriage. Cast: Ilyas Salman, Dilan Aksüt and others. World Premiere

    Maori Boy Genius (New Zealand, by Pietra Brettkelly, documentary) – A young Maori, Ngaa Rauuira, is the chosen one. He fights with all his heart for the cultural concerns of his people. And they see Aotearoa’s (New Zealand’s) next Premiere Minister in him. World Premiere

    Nosilatiaj. La Belleza (Beauty, Argentina, by Daniela Seggiaro) – Yolanda is a housemaid for a “Criolla” family. In the Wichi culture from which the girl comes, beautiful long hair has great meaning. The film tells about a painfully cutting experience. World Premiere

    Snackbar (Netherlands, by Meral Uslu) – Ali’s snack bar is a refuge for a gang of local youth of Moroccan descent. They quarrel, laugh and fight there every day. When it gets out of hand, Ali intervenes. World Premiere

    Two Little Boys (New Zealand, by Robert Sarkies) – Friends since early childhood, nothing can separate Deano and Nige, not even death. Until the tragic accident with a Norwegian football star. Cast: Bret McKenzie, Hamish Blake and others. World Premiere

    Una Noche (One Night, USA/Cuba/Great Britain, by Lucy Mulloy) – Florida is their last hope. Only 90 miles separate life in Havana from the freedom they long for. Elio and Raul build a raft, but then Lila joins them. That was not the plan. World Premiere

    As announced earlier, the programme also includes the following films:

    Electrick Children (USA, by Rebecca Thomas) – WP
    Joven & Alocada (Young & Wild, Chile, by Marialy Rivas) – EP
    Kronjuvelerna (The Crown Jewels, Sweden, by Ella Lemhagen) – IP
    Magi I Luften (Love Is In The Air, Denmark/Sweden, by Simon Staho) – IP
    Mustafa’s Sweet Dreams (Greece/Great Britain, by Angelos Abazoglou) – WP
    ORCHIM LeREGA (Off White Lies, Israel/France, by Maya Kenig) – EP
    Un Mundo Secreto (A Secret World, Mexico, by Gabriel Mariño) – WP
    Wandeukyi (Punch, Republic of Korea, by Han Lee) – EP


    Generation Kplus

    ARCADIA (USA, by Olivia Silver) – In Arcadia, California, everything is going to be fine, Tom promises his children. He loads them into the car and travels across the entire country. More than anything else, 12-year-old Greta hopes to see her mother again. Cast: Ryan Simpkins, John Hawkes and others. World Premiere

    GATTU (India, by Rajan Khosa) – The sky is full of kites and none flies as high or fast as Kali. In order to beat the black kite, Gattu has to reach for the sky. International Premiere

    Isdraken (The Ice Dragon, Sweden, by Martin Högdahl) – Whales cry when they lose their herds. Banished by the youth welfare office to northern Sweden, Mike knows the feeling. It’s only when he meets the very cool Pi that the ice begins to melt. World Premiere

    Kikoeteru, furi wo sita dake (Just Pretended to Hear, Japan, by Kaori Imaizumi) – Her spirit will protect you! After her mother’s death, Sachi’s only hope is spiritual comfort. But what if there’s no such thing as ghosts? International Premiere

    Pacha (Bolivia/Mexico, by Hector Ferreiro) – A shoeshine boy gets caught up in the turmoil of the Bolivian “gas war”. In the streets the Indigenous population is protesting for their rights, while in his dreams the boy is walking the paths of his culture. World Premiere

    Zarafa (France/Begium, by Rémi Bezançon and Jean-Christophe Lie, animation) – Maki has only just made friends with Zarafa, when the orphaned baby giraffe is given to the King of France as a gift. A richly illustrated adventure, from Africa to Paris. International Premiere

    As announced in the first press release, the programme also includes the following films:

    Kauwboy (Netherlands, by Boudewijn Koole) – WP
    Die Kinder vom Napf (The Children from the Napf, Switzerland, by Alice Schmid) – IP
    Lotte ja kuukivi saladus (Lotte and the Moonstone Secret, Estonia/Latvia, by Janno Põldma and Heiki Ernits) – IP
    The Mirror Never Lies (Indonesia, by Kamila Andini) – EP
    Nono (Philippines, by Rommel Tolentino) – EP
    Patatje Oorlog (Taking Chances, Netherlands, by Nicole van Kilsdonk) – IP


    Out of Competition

    Vierzehn (Fourteen, Germany, by Cornelia Grünberg, documentary) – Soon their lives revolve around diapers, not parties. Four 14-year-old girls and their babies. An exciting new phase is beginning before they have had time to live out the last one. World Premiere

    The Monkey King – Uproar in Heaven 3D (People’s Republic of China, by Da Su and Chen Zhihong) – 130,000 hand-painted water colours and voices from the Peking Opera are brought back to life in the elaborately restoration of this famous classic. A wonderfully entertaining animation film: now in 3D. International Premiere



    Short Films Generation 14plus

    663114 (Japan, by Isamu Hirabayashi, Berlinale Shorts 2010: Aramaki) – GP
    Banga Inte (Unruly, Sweden, by Fanni Metelius) – IP
    Berlin Recyclers (Germany, by Nikki Schuster) – WP
    Broer (Brother, Netherlands, by Sacha Polak) – IP
    CRAZY DENNIS TIGER (Germany, by Jan Soldat, Berlinale Shorts 2010: Geliebt) – WP
    Hiljainen Viikko (All Hallow’s Week, Finland, by Jussi Hiltunen) – GP
    Jeunesses Françaises (French Kids, France, by Stephan Castang) – IP
    Kiss (Australia, by Alex Murawski) – GP
    Lambs (New Zealand, by Sam Kelly) – WP
    Levis hest (Levi’s Horse, Norway, by Torfinn Iversen) – IP
    Meathead (New Zealand, by Sam Holst) – GP
    Nani (USA, by Justin Tipping) – IP
    Supermarket Girl (Great Britain, by Matt Greenhalgh) – WP
    The Wilding (Australia, by Grant Scicluna) – WP


    Short Films Generation Kplus

    Bara lite (Just a Little, Sweden, by Alicja Björk Jaworski) – WP
    Bardo (Macedonia, by Marija Apchevska) – WP
    Being Bradford Dillman (Great Britain, by Emma Burch) – IP
    B I N O (Australia, by Billie Pleffer) – WP
    Caochang (Playground, People’s Republic of China, by Qi Wang) – IP
    Chinti (Russian Federation, by Natalia Mirzoyan) – WP
    Corrida (Latvia, by Janis Cimermanis) – WP
    Der kleine Vogel und das Blatt (The Little Bird and the Leaf, Switzerland, by Lena von Döhren) – WP
    Hazenpad (The Path of a Hare, Netherlands, by Lotte van Elsacker) – IP
    Hjältar (Heroes, Sweden, by Carolina Hellsgård) – WP
    Julian (Australia, by Matthew Moore) – WP
    L (Brazil, by Thais Fujinaga) – EP
    Layla Bahir (Bright Night, Israel, by Li At Glik) – WP
    Papa’s Tango (Netherlands, by Michiel van Jaarsveld) – IP
    The Quiet One (Sweden, by Emelie Wallgren, Ina Holmqvist, documentary) – GP
    Rising Hope (Germany, by Milen Vitanov) – WP
    Snow in Paradise (New Zealand, by Justine Simei-Barton, Nikki Si’ulepa) – WP

    WP = World Premiere, IP = International Premiere, EP = European Premiere, GP = German Premiere

     

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  • Glasgow Short Film Festival Announces Selection For 2012 International And Scottish Competitions

    [caption id="attachment_2217" align="alignnone"]Jimmy by Martin Smith[/caption]

    Glasgow Short Film Festival announced the selection for the 2012 competitions. Sixty-nine films will screen across International and Scottish competitions, including five Scottish films which have been selected for both competitions. The selection includes seven World Premieres, one International Premiere, three European Premieres, twenty-one UK Premieres and twenty Scottish Premieres.

    Amongst the selected films are two films by Scottish musicians: John Maclean (The Beta Band) presents Pitch Black Heist, featuring Michael Fassbender, and Douglas Hart (The Jesus & Mary Chain) presents his fiction debut Long Distance Information, featuring Peter Mullan. Anarchic American animator Bill Plympton presents Guard Dog Global Jam, an extraordinary remake of his 2005 film Guard Dog, for which he enlisted seventy animators via the internet, each recreating a shot in their own style.

    Audience favourite and multi-award winning Las Palmas, by Swedish filmmaker Johannes Nyholm, features a toddler interacting with puppets to hilarious effect. Belgian filmmaker Rachel Lang presents the UK Premiere of her film White Turnips Make It Hard To Sleep, which recently won the prestigious Ingmar Bergman Award at Uppsala Short Film Festival. Kirkcaldy Man, Julian Schwanitz’s haunting documentary in search of champion darts player Jocky Wilson, makes its debut UK screening.

    Each competition will be judged by an international jury of filmmakers, curators and writers, who will select the film they consider the most innovative and outstanding work in each programme. Audiences attending competition programmes will have the opportunity to vote for their favourite to win the Audience Award in each competition.

    INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION

    15 Summers Later
    Scottish Premiere / Perdo Collantes / Spain / 2011 / 5 min / Fiction

     

    663114
    UK Premiere / Isamu Hirabayashi / Japan / 2011 / 8 min / Animation

    910712 Heejung
    UK Premiere / Yoo Won-Sang / South Korea / 2010 / 17 min / Fiction

    Asylum
    Joern Utkilen / UK / 2010 / 17 min / Fiction

    Birth of a Nation
    UK Premiere / Daya Cahen / Netherlands / 2010 / 10 min / Experimental

    Come To Harm
    Scottish Premiere / Börkur Sigþórsson / Iceland / 2011 / 18 min / Fiction

    Decapoda Shock
    Scottish Premiere / Javier Chillon / Spain / 2011 / 9 min / Fiction

    The Factory (A Fábrica)
    UK Premiere / Aly Muritiba / Brazil / 2011 / 15 min / Fiction

    Fini
    Scottish Premiere / Jacob Secher Schulsinger / Denmark / 2010 / 29 min / Documentary

    Ghosts (Fantasmas)
    UK Premiere / André Novais Oliveira / Brazil / 2010 / 11 min / Experimental

    Goodbye Mandima (Kwa Heri Mandima)
    UK Premiere / Robert-Jan Lacombe / Switzerland / 2010 / 11 min / Documentary

    Green Crayons
    Scottish Premiere / Kazik Radwanski / Canada / 2010 / 10 min / Fiction

    Guard Dog Global Jam
    Scottish Premiere / Bill Plympton / USA / 2011 / 6 min / Animation

    Huma, Bird of Fortune (Homayeh Saadat)
    UK Premiere / Alireza Rofougaran / Iran / 2010 / 4 min / Documentary

    I’m Not The Enemy
    UK Premiere / Bjørn Melhus / Germany / 2011 / 13 min / Experimental

    I’m So Happy (Soy tan feliz)
    UK Premiere / Vladimir Duran / Argentina/Colombia / 2011 / 14 min / Fiction

    Jimmy
    Martin Smith / UK / 2011 / 12 min / Documentary

    Killing the Chickens to Scare the Monkeys
    UK Premiere / Jens Assur / Sweden / 2011 / 24 min / Fiction

    Kin
    UK Premiere / L’Atelier Collectif / Belgium / 2010 / 11 min / Animation

    Las Palmas
    Scottish Premiere / Johannes Nyholm / Sweden / 2011 / 13 min / Fiction

    Long Distance Information
    Scottish Premiere / Douglas Hart / UK / 2011 / 8 min / Fiction

    The Making of Longbird
    Scottish Premiere / Will Anderson / UK / 2011 / 15 min / Animation

    Maria
    European Premiere / Erik Bostedt / UK / 2011 / 15 min / Fiction

    Now Follows (Nun Sehen Sie Folgendes)
    Scottish Premiere / Erik Schmitt & Stephan Müller / Germany / 2010 / 5 min / Fiction

    A Piece of Summer (Kawalek Lata)
    Scottish Premiere / Marta Minorowicz / Poland / 2010 / 25 min

    Pioneer
    Scottish Premiere / David Lowery / USA / 2011 / 16 min / Fiction

    Possessed
    UK Premiere / Fred Worden / USA / 2010 / 9 min / Experimental

    Power!
    UK Premiere / Christina Ebelt & Mischa Leinkauf / Germany / 2010 / 28 min / Fiction

    Proposal
    International Premiere / Chris King / USA / 2011 / 16 min / Fiction

    Repressed (Förträngd)
    Scottish Premiere / Jimmy Olsson / Sweden / 2010 / 15 min / Fiction

    River Rites
    UK Premiere / Ben Russell / USA/Suriname / 2011 / 11 min / Experimental

    Sergeant (Narednik)
    UK Premiere / Nikola Ljuca / Serbia / 2011 / 21 min / Fiction

    Shirin
    World Premiere / Stephen Fingleton / UK / 2011 / 13 min / Fiction

    Silent River (Apele Tac)
    Scottish Premiere / Anca Miruna Lazarescu / Germany/Romania / 2011 / 30 min / Fiction

    The Stranges Ones (Deux Inconnus)
    Scottish Premiere / Lauren Wolkenstein & Christopher Radcliff / France / 2011 / 15 min / Fiction

    Three Walls
    UK Premiere / Zaheed Mawani / Canada / 2011 / 26 min / Documentary

    Tidy Up
    European Premiere / Satsuki Okawa / Japan/USA / 2011 / 15 min / Fiction

    To Make a Prairie
    UK Premiere / James Nares / USA / 2010 / 13 min / Experimental

    Tumult
    Johnny Barrington / UK / 2011 / 13 min / Fiction

    We, the Masses
    UK Premiere / Eoghan Kidney / Ireland / 2011 / 13 min / Animation

    Where Are They Now?
    Joanna Coates / UK / 2011 / 14 min / Fiction

    White Turnips Make it Hard to Sleep (Les Navets Blancs Empêchent de Dormir)
    UK Premiere / Rachel Lang / France/Belgium / 2011 / 27 min / Fiction

    The Wind is Blowing On My Street (Dar Kouche Baad Miayad)
    Scottish Premiere / Saba Riazi / Iran / 2010 / 15 min / Fiction


    SCOTTISH COMPETITION

    Asexual Healing
    European Premiere / Martha Appelt / UK / 2010 / 15 min / Fiction

    Asylum
    Joern Utkilen / UK / 2010 / 17 min / Fiction

    Bird
    World Premiere / Alasdair Bayne / UK / 2011 / 13 min / Fiction

    A Cuillin Rising
    Catriona MacInnes / UK / 2011 / 20 min / Fiction

    Dogged
    Scottish Premiere / Jo Shaw / UK / 2011 / 9 min / Experimental

    Egg & Fag
    Rose Hendry / UK / 2011 / 2 min / Experimental

    Étude
    Ania Hazel Leszczynska / UK / 2011 / 4 min / Animation

    The Fisherman’s Daughter
    Tom Chick / UK / 2011 / 7 min / Fiction

    Five, Six, Seven, Eight!
    World Premiere / Felipe Bustos Sierra / UK / 2012 / 10 min / Fiction

    Fixing Luka
    Jessica Ashman / UK / 2011 / 11 min / Animation

    The Golden Bird
    Cat Bruce / UK / 2011 / 12 min / Animation

    Guilt
    UK Premiere / Hákon Pálsson / UK / 2011 / 14 min / Fiction

    James Dean
    Lucy Asten Elliott / UK / 2011 / 8 min / Fiction

    Jimmy
    Martin Smith / UK / 2011 / 12 min / Documentary

    Joking Apart
    World Premiere / Ronald Forbes / UK / 2011 / 5 min / Experimental

    Kirkcaldy Man
    UK Premiere / Julian Schwanitz / UK / 2011 / 18 min / Documentary

    The Lady with the Lamp
    World Premiere / Duncan Cowles / UK / 2011 / 4 min / Documentary

    Long Distance Information
    Scottish Premiere / Douglas Hart / UK / 2011 / 8 min / Fiction

    The Making of Longbird
    Scottish Premiere / Will Anderson / UK / 2011 / 15 min / Animation

    Night Shift
    Ruth Reid / UK / 2011 / 9 min / Documentary

    No More Shall We Part
    Scottish Premiere / Shaun Hughes / UK / 2011 / 25 min / Fiction

    The Perfect Fit
    Tali Yankelevich / UK / 2011 / 9 min / Documentary

    Philippa & Nancy
    World Premiere / Paul White, Ciara Barry, Claire McInnes & Nora Smyth / UK / 2011 / 8 min / Fiction

    The Phone Box
    Ian Robertson / UK / 2011 / 5 min / Fiction

    Pitch Black Heist
    Scottish Premiere / John Maclean / UK / 2011 / 13 min / Fiction

    Pouncer
    Scottish Premiere / Louis Paxton / UK / 2011 / 15 min / Fiction

    The Rule of Thumb
    Gregor Johnstone / UK / 2011 / 18 min / Fiction

    Saved
    Stuart Elliott / UK / 2011 / 11 min / Fiction

    Three-Legged Horses
    World Premiere / Felipe Bustos Sierra / UK / 2011 / 20 min / Fiction

    Tumult
    Johnny Barrington / UK / 2011 / 13 min / Fiction

    Wind Over Lake
    Jeorge Elkin / UK / 2010 / 34 min / Fiction

     

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  • Finalists Named for 24th-annual USC Libraries Scripter Award

    [caption id="attachment_2215" align="alignnone"]Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy[/caption]

    The authors and screenwriters of A Dangerous Method; The Descendants; Jane Eyre; Moneyball; and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy have been named finalists for the 24th-annual USC Libraries Scripter Award.

    The 2012 finalists, in alphabetical order by film title, are: screenwriter Christopher Hampton for A Dangerous Method, adapted from the nonfiction book A Most Dangerous Method: The Story of Jung, Freud, and Sabina Spielrein by John Kerr and the 2002 stage play The Talking Cure by Hampton; screenwriters Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, and Jim Rash for The Descendants, adapted from Kaui Hart Hemmings’ novel (itself an expansion of her first published short story, “The Minor Wars”); screenwriter Moira Buffini for Jane Eyre, adapted from the 1847 book by Charlotte Brontë; screenwriters Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin, and Stan Chervin for Moneyball, based on Michael Lewis’ book, Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game; and screenwriters Bridget O’Connor and Peter Straughan and author John le Carré for the thriller Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.

    Established by the Friends of the USC Libraries in 1988, Scripter honors the screenwriter(s) of the year’s most accomplished cinematic adaptation as well as the author(s) of the written work upon which the screenplay is based.

    The winning writers and screenwriters will be announced at a black-tie ceremony to be held Saturday, Feb. 18, 2012 in the historic Edward L. Doheny Jr. Memorial Library on the campus of the University of Southern California. Academy Award winners Helen Mirren and Taylor Hackford return this year as honorary dinner chairs.

    Paul Haggis—a 2005 Scripter winner for his screenplay for Million Dollar Baby and the recipient of two Oscars for his film Crash—will be honored with the 2012 USC Scripter Literary Achievement Award.

    “I am deeply honored to be receiving this award,” said Haggis of his selection as the Scripter Literary Achievement honoree. “If I have a gift, a big part of it is in choosing great material to adapt, and being fortunate enough to collaborate with truly great filmmakers.”

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