The Big Sick[/caption]
This year’s 52nd Karlovy Vary International Film Festival will open with director Michael Showalter’s unconventional romantic comedy The Big Sick, and close with director Denis Villeneuve’s mysterious sci-fi Arrival, in which one of the main roles was played by Jeremy Renner, one of the festival’s guests this year and a recipient of the President’s Award.
The Big Sick
Like many other comedians, Kumail wants to escape the small stages of out-of-the-way clubs and perform before a large audience. Yet he fails to impress the man capable of arranging an appealing engagement for him, and, what’s more, his new show on his Pakistani origins slips into a boring monologue. Kumail also struggles with his parents, who would rather see their son as a lawyer married to one of the Pakistani girls they keep trying to fix him up with. Things get even more complicated when he meets Emily and falls for her quirkiness and sense of humour. The question of whether to tell his parents about his girlfriend, who meets none of their basic criteria, seriously complicates Kumail’s life. The film’s husband-and-wife co-writers, Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani, based their film on their own life story, thus reinforcing its authenticity. Add to this the sense of lightness and immediacy typifying the film’s direction, and we get a fun and candid comedy that avoids the usual rom-com clichés.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GX3Regj6nAg
Arrival
When several giant ships of unknown origin appear at over a dozen locations on Earth, top teams of scientists set out to study them. The American team is headed by physicist Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner) and linguist Louise Banks (Amy Adams), who join forces in order to show that the extraterrestrial visitors are a threat to mankind only if we fail to communicate with them. One of the most original science fiction movies of recent years, Arrival cemented director Denis Villeneuve’s position as one the most closely watched directors working today.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLO4X6UI8OYArrival
A compelling and provocative science fiction thriller that centers on extraterrestrial first contact, from acclaimed director Denis Villeneuve, starring Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner.
Directed by Denis Villeneuve
Starring Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker, Michael Stuhlbarg
Genre(s) Sci-Fi Film
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THE BIG SICK to Open, ARRIVAL to Close Karlovy Vary International Film Festival | Trailers
[caption id="attachment_20114" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] The Big Sick[/caption]
This year’s 52nd Karlovy Vary International Film Festival will open with director Michael Showalter’s unconventional romantic comedy The Big Sick, and close with director Denis Villeneuve’s mysterious sci-fi Arrival, in which one of the main roles was played by Jeremy Renner, one of the festival’s guests this year and a recipient of the President’s Award.
The Big Sick
Like many other comedians, Kumail wants to escape the small stages of out-of-the-way clubs and perform before a large audience. Yet he fails to impress the man capable of arranging an appealing engagement for him, and, what’s more, his new show on his Pakistani origins slips into a boring monologue. Kumail also struggles with his parents, who would rather see their son as a lawyer married to one of the Pakistani girls they keep trying to fix him up with. Things get even more complicated when he meets Emily and falls for her quirkiness and sense of humour. The question of whether to tell his parents about his girlfriend, who meets none of their basic criteria, seriously complicates Kumail’s life. The film’s husband-and-wife co-writers, Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani, based their film on their own life story, thus reinforcing its authenticity. Add to this the sense of lightness and immediacy typifying the film’s direction, and we get a fun and candid comedy that avoids the usual rom-com clichés.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GX3Regj6nAg
Arrival
When several giant ships of unknown origin appear at over a dozen locations on Earth, top teams of scientists set out to study them. The American team is headed by physicist Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner) and linguist Louise Banks (Amy Adams), who join forces in order to show that the extraterrestrial visitors are a threat to mankind only if we fail to communicate with them. One of the most original science fiction movies of recent years, Arrival cemented director Denis Villeneuve’s position as one the most closely watched directors working today.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLO4X6UI8OY
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Southeastern Film Critics Association Named MOONLIGHT the Best Movie of 2016
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MOONLIGHT[/caption]
The Southeastern Film Critics Association has named “Moonlight” the best film of 2016. The film was also the winner or runner-up in seven of the nine other categories in which it was eligible.
The Southeastern Film Critics Association (SEFCA) represents print, broadcast and online journalists in nine Southern states, including Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Virginia and North and South Carolina.
The organization’s Gene Wyatt Award, dedicated to the film that best represents “the spirit of the South,” went to Arkansas-born writer-director Jeff Nichols’ “Loving,” a drama based on the true-life story of the Virginia couple whose interracial marriage led to the Supreme Court’s ruling against “miscegenation” laws. Nichols — the brother of Ben Nichols, frontman of the Memphis rock band Lucero — previously won the Wyatt for “Mud” (2012) and his debut feature, “Shotgun Stories” (2007). “Moonlight,” set mostly in Florida, was the Wyatt runner-up.
The complete results of 2016 Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards:
Top 10 Films
1. “Moonlight.”
2.”Manchester by the Sea.”
3. “La La Land.”
4. “Hell or High Water.”
5. “Loving.”
6. “Arrival.”
7. “Fences” and “Jackie” (tie).
8. “Nocturnal Animals.”
9. “Hidden Figures.”
Best Actor:
Winner — Casey Affleck, “Manchester by the Sea.”
Runner-up — Denzel Washington, “Fences.”
Best Actress:
Winner — Natalie Portman, “Jackie.”
Runner-up — Ruth Negga, “Loving.”
Best Supporting Actor:
Winner — Mahershala Ali, “Moonlight.”
Runner-up — Jeff Bridges, “Hell or High Water.”
Best Supporting Actress:
Winner – Viola Davis, “Fences.”
Runner-up – Naomie Harris, “Moonlight.”
Best Ensemble:
Winner — “Moonlight.”
Runner-up — “Manchester by the Sea.”
Best Director:
Winner (tie) — Damien Chazelle, “La La Land,” and Barry Jenkins, “Moonlight.”
Best Original Screenplay:
Winner — Kenneth Lonergan, “Manchester by the Sea.
Runner-up — “Hell or High Water.”
Best Adapted Screenplay:
Winner — Barry Jenkins, “Moonlight” (from the play by Tarell Alvin McCraney).
Runner-up — Eric Heisserer, “Arrival” (from the short story by Ted Chiang).
Best Documentary:
Winner — “I Am Not Your Negro.”
Runner-up — “OJ: Made in America.”
Best Foreign Language Film:
Winner — “The Handmaiden” (South Korea).
Runner-up — “Elle” (France).
Best Animated Film:
Winner — “Zootopia.”
Runner-up — “Kubo and the Two Strings.”
Best Cinematography:
Winner — Linus Sandgren, “La La Land.”
Runner-up — James Laxton, “Moonlight.”
The Gene Wyatt Award:
Winner — “Loving.”
Runner-up — “Moonlight.”
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MOONLIGHT and LOVE & FRIENDSHIP Lead Nominations for London’s Critics’ Circle Film Awards
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Love & Friendship[/caption]
Barry Jenkins’ drama Moonlight and Whit Stillman’s comedy Love & Friendship lead the nominations for the 37th London Critics’ Circle Film Awards, garnering seven nominations each. Both are up for Film of the Year, as well as multiple acting honors. The gala ceremony will be held on Sunday January 22nd, 2017, in London, at The May Fair Hotel.
Following close behind is Maren Ade’s German comedy Toni Erdmann with six nominations, while La La Land, Manchester by the Sea and American Honey have five citations each. The winners will be voted on by 140 members of The Critics’ Circle Film Section.
The nominations were announced at The May Fair today by actress Chloe Pirrie and actor-filmmaker Craig Roberts. The 22nd January ceremony will again be hosted by actor-filmmakers Alice Lowe and Steve Oram, who won the critics’ Breakthrough Filmmakers prize in 2012 for their screenplay for Sightseers and have gone on to write and direct Prevenge and Aaaaaaaah!, respectively.
“Our critics nominated more than 160 titles for Film of the Year alone, representing the range of wide opinions and the sheer number of movies critics watch each year,” says Rich Cline, chair of the Critics’ Circle Film Awards. “There was love for everything from Aferim to Zootropolis, including Captains America and Fantastic, plus acclaimed women from Jackie, Julieta, Moana, Christine, Krisha and Victoria to Miss Sloane and Florence Foster Jenkins. Making it onto that final list of nominees is never easy.”
British actors Naomie Harris, Andrew Garfield, Kate Beckinsale and Tom Bennett each received nominations both for specific performances and for their body of work in 2016. Unusually, the writer-directors of four Film of the Year contenders are also nominated for both Screenwriter and Director: Moonlight’s Jenkins, Toni Erdmann’s Ade, La La Land’s Damien Chazelle and Manchester by the Sea’s Kenneth Lonergan.
In addition to Film of the Year, Gianfranco Rosi’s immigration-themed film Fire at Sea is also nominated for both Foreign-Language Film and Documentary. Also contending for Film of the Year are Andrea Arnold’s American Honey, Tom Ford’s Nocturnal Animals, László Nemes’ Son of Saul and Ken Loach’s I, Daniel Blake.
Last year’s ceremony saw George Miller winning both Film and Director for Mad Max: Fury Road, with three awards going to Andrew Haigh’s 45 Years and the Dilys Powell Award presented to Kenneth Branagh.
The full list of nominees for the 37th London Critics’ Circle Film Awards:
FILM OF THE YEAR
American Honey
Fire at Sea
I, Daniel Blake
La La Land
Love & Friendship
Manchester by the Sea
Moonlight
Nocturnal Animals
Son of Saul
Toni Erdmann
FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR
Fire at Sea
Son of Saul
Things to Come
Toni Erdmann
Victoria
DOCUMENTARY OF THE YEAR
The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years
Cameraperson
The Eagle Huntress
Fire at Sea
Life, Animated
BRITISH/IRISH FILM OF THE YEAR
American Honey
High-Rise
I, Daniel Blake
Love & Friendship
Sing Street
ACTOR OF THE YEAR
Casey Affleck – Manchester by the Sea
Adam Driver – Paterson
Andrew Garfield – Hacksaw Ridge
Jake Gyllenhaal – Nocturnal Animals
Peter Simonischek – Toni Erdmann
ACTRESS OF THE YEAR
Amy Adams – Arrival
Kate Beckinsale – Love & Friendship
Sandra Hüller – Toni Erdmann
Isabelle Huppert – Things to Come
Emma Stone – La La Land
SUPPORTING ACTOR OF THE YEAR
Mahershala Ali – Moonlight
Tom Bennett – Love & Friendship
Jeff Bridges – Hell or High Water
Shia LaBeouf – American Honey
Michael Shannon – Nocturnal Animals
SUPPORTING ACTRESS OF THE YEAR
Viola Davis – Fences
Greta Gerwig – 20th Century Women
Naomie Harris – Moonlight
Riley Keough – American Honey
Michelle Williams – Manchester by the Sea
DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR
Maren Ade – Toni Erdmann
Damien Chazelle – La La Land
Barry Jenkins – Moonlight
Kenneth Lonergan – Manchester by the Sea
László Nemes – Son of Saul
SCREENWRITER OF THE YEAR
Maren Ade – Toni Erdmann
Damien Chazelle – La La Land
Barry Jenkins – Moonlight
Kenneth Lonergan – Manchester by the Sea
Whit Stillman – Love & Friendship
BRITISH/IRISH ACTOR
Tom Bennett – Love & Friendship, Life on the Road
Andrew Garfield – Hacksaw Ridge, Silence
Hugh Grant – Florence Foster Jenkins
Dave Johns – I, Daniel Blake
David Oyelowo – A United Kingdom, Queen of Katwe
BRITISH/IRISH ACTRESS
Kate Beckinsale – Love & Friendship
Rebecca Hall – Christine
Naomie Harris – Moonlight, Our Kind of Traitor, Collateral Beauty
Ruth Negga – Loving, Iona
Hayley Squires – I, Daniel Blake
YOUNG BRITISH/IRISH PERFORMER
Ruby Barnhill – The BFG
Lewis MacDougall – A Monster Calls
Sennia Nanua – The Girl With All the Gifts
Anya Taylor-Joy – The Witch, Morgan
Ferdia Walsh-Peelo – Sing Street
BREAKTHROUGH BRITISH/IRISH FILMMAKER
Babak Anvari – Under the Shadow
Mike Carey – The Girl With All the Gifts
Guy Hibbert – Eye in the Sky, A United Kingdom
Peter Middleton & James Spinney – Notes on Blindness
Rachel Tunnard – Adult Life Skills
BRITISH/IRISH SHORT FILM
Isabella – Duncan Cowles & Ross Hogg
Jacked – Rene Pannevis
Sweet Maddie Stone – Brady Hood
Tamara – Sofia Safonova
Terminal – Natasha Waugh
TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT
American Honey – Robbie Ryan, cinematography
Arrival – Sylvain Bellemare, sound design
High-Rise – Mark Tildesley, production design
Jackie – Mica Levi, music
Jason Bourne – Gary Powell, stunts
La La Land – Justin Hurwitz, music
Moonlight – Nat Sanders & Joi McMillon, editing
Sing Street – Gary Clark & John Carney, music
Rogue One – Neal Scanlan, visual effects
Victoria – Sturla Brandth Grovlen, cinematography