The Dig

  • Nomadland Wins Top Honors in Phoenix Film Critics 2020 Awards

    Frances McDormand in the film NOMADLAND.
    Frances McDormand in the film NOMADLAND. Photo Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2020 20th Century Studios All Rights Reserved

    “Nomadland” took the top honors in the Phoenix Film Critics Society’s 2020 awards, winning the awards for Best Picture, Best Cinematography and Best Director, Chloe Zhao.

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  • THE FAVOURITE Starring Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz Leads 2018 British Independent Film Awards Nominations

    [caption id="attachment_30988" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]The Favourite The Favourite[/caption] The Favourite, Yorgos Lanthimos’s black comedy about the 18th century court of Queen Anne, leads the list of nominations for the 2018 British Independent Film Awards (BIFAs) with 13 noms including Best British Independent Film, Best Director and Best Screenplay.  The Favourite also sweeps the technical categories, newly introduced for the 2017 awards, with nominations for seven of the nine awards, including Best Production Design, Best Cinematography supported by Blackmagic Design, Best Make-up & Hair Design and Best Costume Design. The Best British Independent Film nominees are American Animals – with 11 nominations, Beast – with 10 nominations, Disobedience – with 5 nominations, You Were Never Really Here – with 8 nominations, and The Favourite. The nominations list demonstrates a record year for female representation, with over 40% of the individual nominations recognizing women in the industry across directing, writing, producing, performance and craft. Female nominees make up over 50% of the talent nominated for Best British Independent Film and dominate both Most Promising Newcomer and Breakthrough Producer supported by Creativity Media, with four out of five nominations for each award. Over 140 British films were submitted for consideration and 37 different British feature films have been nominated across the BIFA categories.

    BEST BRITISH INDEPENDENT FILM

    AMERICAN ANIMALS BART LAYTON / KATHERINE BUTLER / DIMITRI DOGANIS / DERRIN SCHLESINGER / MARY JANE SKALSKI BEAST MICHAEL PEARCE / KRISTIAN BRODIE / LAUREN DARK / IVANA MACKINNON DISOBEDIENCE SEBASTIÁN LELIO / REBECCA LENKIEWICZ / ED GUINEY / FRIDA TORRESBLANCO / RACHEL WEISZ THE FAVOURITE YORGOS LANTHIMOS / DEBORAH DAVIS / TONY MCNAMARA / CECI DEMPSEY / ED GUINEY / LEE MAGIDAY YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE LYNNE RAMSAY / PASCAL CAUCHETEUX / ROSA ATTAB / JAMES WILSON / REBECCA O’BRIEN

    BEST SCREENPLAY

    AMERICAN ANIMALS BART LAYTON BEAST MICHAEL PEARCE DISOBEDIENCE SEBASTIÁN LELIO / REBECCA LENKIEWICZ THE FAVOURITE DEBORAH DAVIS / TONY MCNAMARA YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE LYNNE RAMSAY

    BEST DIRECTOR

    AMERICAN ANIMALS BART LAYTON BEAST MICHAEL PEARCE THE FAVOURITE YORGOS LANTHIMOS LEAN ON PETE ANDREW HAIGH YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE LYNNE RAMSAY

    BEST BRITISH SHORT

    THE BIG DAY DAWN SHADFORTH / KELLIE SMITH / MICHELLE STEIN BITTER SEA FATEME AHMADI / EMMA PARSONS THE FIELD SANDHYA SURI / BALTHAZAR DE GANAY / THOMAS BIDEGAIN POMMEL PARIS ZARCILLA / SEBASTIAN BROWN / IVAN KELAVA TO KNOW HIM TED EVANS / KELLIE SMITH / JENNIFER MONKS / MICHELLE STEIN

    BEST ACTOR

    THE HAPPY PRINCE RUPERT EVERETT LEAN ON PETE CHARLIE PLUMMER A PRAYER BEFORE DAWN JOE COLE STAN & OLLIE STEVE COOGAN YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE JOAQUIN PHOENIX

    BEST ACTRESS

    BEAST JESSIE BUCKLEY DISOBEDIENCE RACHEL WEISZ THE ESCAPE GEMMA ARTERTON THE FAVOURITE OLIVIA COLMAN FUNNY COW MAXINE PEAKE

    BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

    AMERICAN ANIMALS EVAN PETERS AMERICAN ANIMALS BARRY KEOGHAN COLETTE DOMINIC WEST DISOBEDIENCE ALESSANDRO NIVOLA LEAN ON PETE STEVE BUSCEMI

    BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

    APOSTASY MOLLY WRIGHT DISOBEDIENCE RACHEL MCADAMS THE FAVOURITE EMMA STONE THE FAVOURITE RACHEL WEISZ STAN & OLLIE NINA ARIANDA

    MOST PROMISING NEWCOMER

    APOSTASY MOLLY WRIGHT BEAST JESSIE BUCKLEY BEEN SO LONG MICHAELA COEL JELLYFISH LIV HILL OBEY MARCUS RUTHERFORD

    THE DISCOVERY AWARD

    THE DIG ANDY TOHILL / RYAN TOHILL / STUART DRENNAN / BRIAN J. FALCONER IRENE’S GHOST IAIN CUNNINGHAM / REBECCA MARK-LAWSON / DAVID ARTHUR / ELLIE LAND A MOMENT IN THE REEDS MIKKO MAKELA / JAMES WATSON SUPER NOVEMBER DOUGLAS KING / JOSIE LONG VOYAGEUSE MAY MILES THOMAS

    THE DOUGLAS HICKOX AWARD (DEBUT DIRECTOR)

    APOSTASY DANIEL KOKOTAJLO BEAST MICHAEL PEARCE CALIBRE MATT PALMER PILI LEANNE WELHAM RAY & LIZ RICHARD BILLINGHAM

    DEBUT SCREENWRITER

    AMERICAN ANIMALS BART LAYTON APOSTASY DANIEL KOKOTAJLO BEAST MICHAEL PEARCE CALIBRE MATT PALMER THE PARTY’S JUST BEGINNING KAREN GILLAN

    BEST DOCUMENTARY

    BEING FRANK: THE CHRIS SIEVEY STORY STEVE SULLIVAN EVELYN ORLANDO VON EINSIEDEL / JOANNA NATASEGARA ISLAND STEVEN EASTWOOD / ELHUM SHAKERIFAR NAE PASARAN FELIPE BUSTOS SIERRA UNDER THE WIRE CHRIS MARTIN / TOM BRISLEY

    BREAKTHROUGH PRODUCER

    APOSTASY MARCIE MACLELLAN BEAST KRISTIAN BRODIE CALIBRE ANNA GRIFFIN RAY & LIZ JACQUI DAVIES STAN & OLLIE FAYE WARD

    BEST INTERNATIONAL INDEPENDENT FILM

    CAPERNAUM NADINE LABAKI / JIHAD HOJEILY / MICHELLE KESERWANI / KHALED MOUZANAR / MICHEL MERKT COLD WAR PAWEL PAWLIKOWSKI / JANUSZ GLOWACKI / EWA PUSZCZYNSKA / TANYA SEGHATCHIAN THE RIDER CHLOÉ ZHAO / MOLLYE ASHER / SACHA BEN HARROCHE / BERT HAMELINCK ROMA ALFONSO CUARÓN / GABRIELA RODRIGUEZ / NICOLÁS CELIS SHOPLIFTERS HIROKAZU KOREEDA

    BEST CASTING

    AMERICAN ANIMALS AVY KAUFMAN APOSTASY MICHELLE SMITH BEAST JULIE HARKIN THE FAVOURITE DIXIE CHASSAY STAN & OLLIE ANDY PRYOR

    BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

    AMERICAN ANIMALS OLE BRATT BIRKELAND THE FAVOURITE ROBBIE RYAN LEAN ON PETE MAGNUS NORDENHOF JØNCK A PRAYER BEFORE DAWN DAVID UNGARO YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE TOM TOWNEND

    BEST COSTUME DESIGN

    COLETTE ANDREA FLESCH AN EVENING WITH BEVERLY LUFF LINN ALYSSA TULL THE FAVOURITE SANDY POWELL PETERLOO JACQUELINE DURRAN STAN & OLLIE GUY SPERANZA

    BEST EDITING

    AMERICAN ANIMALS NICK FENTON / JULIAN HART / CHRIS GILL THE FAVOURITE YORGOS MAVROPSARIDIS HAPPY NEW YEAR, COLIN BURSTEAD BEN WHEATLEY A PRAYER BEFORE DAWN MARC BOUCROT YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE JOE BINI

    BEST MAKE-UP & HAIR DESIGN

    COLETTE IVANA PRIMORAC THE FAVOURITE NADIA STACEY PETERLOO CHRISTINE BLUNDELL A PRAYER BEFORE DAWN STACEY LOUISE HOLMAN STAN & OLLIE MARK COULIER / JEREMY WOODHEAD

    BEST MUSIC

    AMERICAN ANIMALS ANNE NIKITIN BEAST JIM WILLIAMS FUNNY COW RICHARD HAWLEY ISLAND OF THE HUNGRY GHOSTS AARON CUPPLES YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE JONNY GREENWOOD

    BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

    COLETTE MICHAEL CARLIN THE FAVOURITE FIONA CROMBIE PETERLOO SUZIE DAVIES RAY & LIZ BECK RAINFORD STAN & OLLIE JOHN PAUL KELLY

    BEST SOUND

    AMERICAN ANIMALS ANDREW STIRK THE FAVOURITE JOHNNIE BURN A PRAYER BEFORE DAWN SÉVERIN FAVRIAU TIME TRIAL CJ MIRRA YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE PAUL DAVIES

    BEST EFFECTS

    DEAD IN A WEEK (OR YOUR MONEY BACK) MATTHEW STRANGE / MARK WELLBAND EARLY MAN HOWARD JONES PETERLOO GEORGE ZWIER / PAUL DRIVER

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  • 63rd Cork Film Festival to Showcase Films with a Focus on Current Global Issues

    [caption id="attachment_32194" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]Sissy Spacek and Robert Redford in The Old Man and the Gun. Sissy Spacek and Robert Redford in The Old Man and the Gun.[/caption] The 63rd Cork Film Festival, running from November 9 to 18, 2018, will showcase Irish and international films with a focus on current global issues. The 2018 program for Ireland’s first and largest film festival, launched today  features films with themes centered on LGBT, mental health, child poverty, gender equality, and human rights. Over 250 Irish and international features and shorts will be screened across the Festival, with 90% being Irish premieres. Speaking on today’s program launch, Festival Producer and CEO Fiona Clark said: “Our mission is to bring people together through an outstanding program of films and events and to create an unforgettable festival experience over 10 days in Cork. “As a destination for great storytelling on film, this year’s program includes numerous award-winners from the 2018 international festival circuit, alongside fresh new voices, together showcasing the latest and best independent cinema. For many films presented, this is the only opportunity to see them on the big screen in Cork and Ireland.” Special presentations include a cine concert of the 1920s silent horror Nosferatu (November 13) at St Fin Barre’s Cathedral, with a new score by Cork composers Irene and Linda Buckley. This year’s collaboration with the National Sculpture Factory is Alan Butler’s On Exactitude in Science (November 12 – 14) a work comprising Godfrey Reggio’s Koyaanisqatsi (1983) in synchronicity with Butler’s 2017 remake. Speaking on the representation of Irish film in the Festival, program Director Michael Hayden stated: “It is fantastic that we can open the Festival with a film with such distinct Cork connections. Carmel Winters’ highly anticipated and award-winning second feature Float like a Butterfly is a special film that fiercely challenges patriarchy and stereotypes. Carmel, and many of the cast and crew, will be in attendance for this European premiere on 9 November. “Selecting Float like a Butterfly as the Opening Gala is indicative of the Festival’s commitment to celebrating Irish film, and we have secured some of the most celebrated films of the year. These include the Irish premiere of Yorgos Lanthimos’ feminist comedy The Favourite on 10 November, produced by Element Pictures and starring Olivia Colman, Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz; and The Dig, directed by Ryan and Andrew Tohill, starring Moe Dunford, which was awarded Best Irish Feature at Galway Film Fleadh earlier this year.” The Closing Night Gala will also feature the work of an outstanding female director, with the Irish premiere of Nadine Labaki’s multi-award-winning Capernaum (November 18). This urgent and important film is on child poverty and the denial of an individual’s human rights. Other Irish premieres of international features include The Old Man and the Gun, starring Robert Redford as a septuagenarian bank robber; Peter Strickland’s sumptuous and spooky tale, In Fabric; and Wash Westmoreland’s period biopic, Colette, starring Keira Knightley. The program features 40 documentaries, with highlights to include veteran auteur Frederick Wiseman’s Monrovia, Indiana, and Werner Herzog’s Meeting Gorbachev, cementing Cork Film Festival as the destination festival for documentary in Ireland. Illuminate, the Festival’s unique series of film and discussion events exploring mental health and wellbeing, is presented in association with Arts+Minds, the HSE Cork Mental Health Service and Irish Rail Iarnród Éireann. Screenings include Trauma is a Time Machine, For the Birds, and Ordinary People. The fun-packed family strand will be screened throughout the Festival at The Gate Cinema. The program includes the highly-anticipated family friendly animations, The Grinch (November 10) and The Overcoat (November 17), which features the voice of Cork actor Cillian Murphy. In total, 117 world-class shorts will be presented across the 10 days and will be considered for either the Grand Prix Irish Short or the Grand Prix International Short Awards. The winners of both, announced at the Awards Ceremony on November 18 at the Triskel, will be automatically longlisted for the Oscars®.

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  • 46 Breakout Films Selected for 2018 Toronto International Film Festival Discovery Program

    [caption id="attachment_31512" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]Screwdriver Screwdriver[/caption] The Toronto International Film Festival revealed the 46 breakout films from 50 international storytellers that will screen in its 2018 Discovery lineup,  marking a record year for the program. Hailing from 37 different countries, these promising new filmmakers present works that explore identity, complex portraits of women, and youth as they struggle to navigate a fragile world. Twenty-nine of the films will make their World Premieres at the Festival. The lineup stands out for the impressive number of Asian and Eastern European films — accounting for 26% of the Discovery program — and the number of films directed by women. Opening this year’s Discovery program will be Bai Xue’s The Crossing, a captivating Chinese film following the journey of an ordinary teenage girl who becomes entangled in illicit activities. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVd56lm-8Cs The program’s highlights include: Adina Pintilie’s innovative Touch Me Not, winner of the Golden Bear and Best First Feature in Berlin; Syrian director Soudade Kaadan’s The Day I Lost My Shadow, a bewitching film on the Syrian conflict; Nino Zhvania’s Parade, the only Georgian feature in the selection; Lithuanian director Marija Kavtaradze’s touching Summer Survivors; Han Ka-ram’s charming Our Body; and renowned Nigerian actor Genevieve Nnaji’s exciting directorial debut, Lionheart. This year’s lineup also stands out for the strong portrayals of sensitive and witty women within it. Among them are Arturo Infante’s sci-fi comedy The Extraordinary Journey of Celeste García , starring popular actor María Isabel Díaz; Mexican director Lila Avilés’ The Chambermaid; Arash Lahooti’s Orange Days; Nikos Labôt’s Her Job; and Woman at War by Icelandic director Benedikt Erlingsson, which has already earned critical praise. Putting the struggles of young characters front and centre, the Discovery program includes UK actor-director Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje’s Farming, which tells the story of a Nigerian immigrant facing a racist skinhead gang in 1980s England; Carmel Winters’ beautiful Float Like a Butterfly; Lukas Dhont’s Girl; Daniel Sawka’s Icebox; Rosanne Pel’s Light as Feathers; Darko Štante’s Consequences; Ash Mayfair’s The Third Wife; Imogen Thomas’ poetic Emu Runner; Ethiopian–Israeli filmmaker Aäläm-Wärqe Davidian’s Fig Tree; and Joël Karekezi’s The Mercy of the Jungle, showcasing the breakthrough performance of TIFF International Rising Star Stéphane Bak. Risk-takers and daring artists also stand out in this year’s slate, as in Wanuri Kahiu’s Rafiki, an electric female LGBTQ+ love story set in Kenya, where homosexuality is illegal; Sameh Zoabi’s border-crossing dark comedy Tel Aviv on Fire; Ognjen Glavonić’s The Load; and Irish brothers Andy and Ryan Tohill’s suspenseful thriller The Dig. Bold Australian filmmaker Benjamin Gilmour will present the groundbreaking Jirga . To close this bright selection, Palestinian director Bassam Jarbawi will introduce North American audiences to his exceptional first feature film, Screwdriver, a gripping drama that examines the psychological impact of the Palestinian–Israeli conflict. The 43rd Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 6 to 16, 2018

    2018 Toronto International Film Festival Discovery Program

    aKasha hajooj kuka | Sudan/South Africa/Qatar/Germany North American Premiere ANIARA Pella Kågerman, Hugo Lilja | Sweden World Premiere Blind Spot (Blindsone) Tuva Novotny | Norway International Premiere The Chambermaid (La Camarista) Lila Avilés | Mexico World Premiere Complicity (Kazenoki Wa Koto No Youni) Kei Chikaura | Japan/China World Premiere Consequences (Posledice) Darko Štante | Slovenia/Austria World Premiere Discovery Opening Film The Crossing (Guo Chun Tian) Bai Xue | China World Premiere The Day I Lost My Shadow (Yom Adaatou Zouli) Soudade Kaadan | Syria/France/Qatar/Lebanon North American Premiere The Dig Andy Tohill, Ryan Tohill | United Kingdom North American Premiere An Elephant Sitting Still (Da Xiang Xi Di Er Zuo) Hu Bo | China Canadian Premiere Emu Runner Imogen Thomas | Australia World Premiere ENDZEIT – EVER AFTER (ENDZEIT) Carolina Hellsgård | Germany World Premiere The Extraordinary Journey of Celeste García (El Viaje Extraordinario de Celeste García) Arturo Infante | Cuba/Germany World Premiere Farming Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje | United Kingdom World Premiere Fig Tree Aäläm-Wärqe Davidian | Israel/Germany/France/Ethiopia World Premiere Float Like a Butterfly Carmel Winters | Ireland World Premiere Girl Lukas Dhont | Belgium Canadian Premiere Gwen William McGregor | United Kingdom World Premiere Helmet Heads (Cascos Indomables) Neto Villalobos | Costa Rica/Chile World Premiere Her Job Nikos Labôt | Greece/France/Serbia World Premiere Icebox Daniel Sawka | USA World Premiere Jirga Benjamin Gilmour | Australia North American Premiere Light as Feathers Rosanne Pel | Netherlands World Premiere Lionheart Genevieve Nnaji | Nigeria World Premiere The Load (Teret) Ognjen Glavonic | Serbia/France/Croatia/Iran/Qatar North American Premiere Manta Ray (Kraben Rahu) Phuttiphong Aroonpheng | Thailand/France/China North American Premiere The Mercy of the Jungle Joël Karekezi | Belgium/France/Germany North American Premiere Orange Days (Rooz-haye Narenji) Arash Lahooti | Iran World Premiere Our Body (A-wol Ba-di) Han Ka-ram | South Korea World Premiere Parade (Aglumi) Nino Zhvania | Georgia/Russia World Premiere Phoenix (Føniks) Camilla Strøm Henriksen | Norway/Sweden World Premiere Rafiki Wanuri Kahiu | Kenya/South Africa/France/Lebanon/Norway/Netherlands/Germany/USA North American Premiere Saf Ali Vatansever | Turkey/Germany/Romania World Premiere Discovery Closing Film Screwdriver (Mafak) Bassam Jarbawi | Palestine/USA/Qatar North American Premiere Summer Survivors Marija Kavtaradze | Lithuania World Premiere Tel Aviv on Fire Sameh Zoabi | Luxembourg/France/Israel/Belgium North American Premiere The Third Wife Ash Mayfair | Vietnam World Premiere Tito and the Birds (Tito e os Pássaros) Gustavo Steinberg, Gabriel Bitar, André Catoto | Brazil North American Premiere Too Late to Die Young (Tarde para morir joven) Dominga Sotomayor | Chile/Brazil/Argentina/Netherlands/Qatar North American Premiere Touch Me Not Adina Pintilie | Romania/Germany/Czech Republic/Bulgaria/France North American Premiere Twin Flower (Fiore Gemello) Laura Luchetti | Italy World Premiere Woman at War (Kona fer í stríð) Benedikt Erlingsson | Iceland/France/Ukraine North American Premiere Previously announced Canadian titles in the Discovery programme include Akash Sherman’s Clara , Gwaai Edenshaw and Helen Haig-Brown’s Edge of the Knife, Jasmin Mozaffari’s Firecrackers, and Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein’s Freaks.

    TIFF DOCS

    Reason (Vivek) Anand Patwardhan | India World Premiere

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