• Director David Dusa wins Calgary International Film Festival 2011 Mavericks for FLEURS DU MAL (Flowers of Evil)

    Director David Dusa’s FLEURS DU MAL (FLOWERS OF EVIL) earned him the coveted title as Calgary International Film Festival’s 2011 Maverick filmmaker. Dusa was one of the eight first-time feature filmmakers competing for the $5,000 cash prize.

    Beginning with a man in Tunisia burning himself to death in December 2010, and continuing through the Syrian and Lybian revolutions, pro-democracy rebellions erupted across the Middle East in the “Arab Spring.” Dusa’s film is the first to document the on-the-ground reality of technology-fuelled social change now sending shockwaves through the Arab world. It also has the eternally captivating power of a good old-fashioned love story.

    Gecko, a young, carefree Parisian street-dancer, meets Anahita, an Iranian in exile, and finds himself tangled up in her history and the live internet broadcasts of the chaos in Iran following the controversial election in June of 2009. When the Islamic government cracked down on the traditional media, the citizens started broadcasting information through the internet. These brutal images reached the world directly – and now David Dusa’s FLEURS DU MAL personalizes them.


     

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  • Ten finalist for the Academy’s Nicholl Screening Fellowship

    [caption id="attachment_1660" align="alignnone" width="550"]2010 Nicholl Fellows[/caption]

    Ten finalists, including seven individual writers and three writing teams have been selected as finalists for the 26th annual Don and Gee Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The Academy’s Nicholl Committee may award as many as five of the prestigious $30,000 fellowships.

    This year’s finalists are (listed alphabetically by author):

    Chris Bessounian & Tianna Langham, Los Angeles, Calif., “Guns and Saris”
    Dion Cook, Altus, Oklahoma, “Cutter”
    K.E. Greenberg, Los Angeles, Calif., “Blood Bound”
    Ehud Lavski, Tel Aviv, Israel, “Parasite”
    John MacInnes, Los Angeles, Calif., “Outside the Wire”
    Aaron Marshall, West Hollywood, Calif., “Fig Hunt: The Quest for Battle Armor Star Captain”
    Khurram Mozaffar, Lisle, Illinois, “A Man of Clay”
    Matthew Murphy, Culver City, Calif., “Unicorn”
    Abel Vang & Burlee Vang, Fresno, Calif., “The Tiger’s Child”
    Paul Vicknair & Chris Shafer, Los Angeles & Hermosa Beach, Calif., “A Many Splintered Thing”

    The finalists were selected from a record 6,730 scripts submitted for this year’s competition. The competition is open to any individual who has not sold or optioned a screenplay or teleplay for more than $5,000, or received a fellowship or prize that includes a “first look” clause, an option, or any other quid pro quo involving the writer’s work.

    The 2011 Nicholl Fellowships will be presented on Thursday, November 3, at a ceremony held at the Beverly Wilshire.

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  • Academy Award-Nominated Michelle Williams to receive The “Hollywood Actress Award”

    [caption id="attachment_1658" align="alignnone" width="550"]Michelle Williams in Wendy and Lucy[/caption]

    The 15th Annual Hollywood Film Festival and Hollywood Film Awards, presented by Starz Entertainment,announced that Academy Award-nominated actress Michelle Williams will be honored with the “Hollywood Actress Award,” at the festival’s Hollywood Film Awards Gala Ceremony, which will take place October 24, 2011, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills.

    In the past eight years a total of 73 Oscar nominations and 27 Oscars were given to the honorees of the Hollywood Awards.

    The 2011 Hollywood Film Festival has also announced that they will honor Academy Award-nominated actor Christopher Plummer with the “Hollywood Supporting Actor Award” for “Beginners,” actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt with the “Hollywood Breakthrough Actor Award” for “50/50,” actress Jessica Chastain with the “Hollywood Breakthrough Actress Award” for “The Tree of  Life,” “Coriolanus,” “The Debt,” “The Help,” and “Take Shelter,” and actress Felicity Jones with the “New Hollywood Award” for “Crazy Love.” Other honorees include the cast of “The Help” (Jessica Chastain, Viola Davis, Bryce Dallas Howard, Allison Janney, Chris Lowell, Ahna O’Reilly, Octavia Spencer, Emma Stone, Sissy Spacek, Mary Steenburgen, Cicely Tyson and Mike Vogel), Cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, Editor Stephen Mirrione, Production Designer James Murakami, and Visual Effects Supervisor Scott Farrar at their annual Awards Gala. In addition, Gore Verbinski’s  “Rango” will be honored at the Hollywood Film Awards Gala Ceremony, along with additional honorees to be announced in the coming weeks.

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  • “5 Star Day” to be released on November 2nd

    Breaking Glass Pictures has acquired all U.S. rights to director Danny Buday’s debut feature film 5 STAR DAY, starring Cam Gigandet and Jena Malone for a November 2nd national theatrical release, followed by a VOD release on November 4th and a DVD release set for the first quarter of 2012.

    In 5 STAR DAY, Jake Gibson’s (Cam Gigandet) horoscope forecasts a flawless day the morning of his birthday. Little does he realize, his entire world is about to be turned upside down as everything that could go wrong—does.

    Now, determined to disprove the theory of Astrology, Jake embarks on a journey to find the three people born the same time and place as himself: a single mom haunted by her past (Jena Malone), an overworked nurse (Brooklyn Sudano) and an undiscovered jazz singer (Max Hartman). What Jake learns along the way is an important lesson about life, love, fate and destiny that will unexpectedly change his life forever.

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  • Luc Besson’s The Lady to close Third annual Doha Tribeca Film Festival

    [caption id="attachment_1654" align="alignnone" width="550"]The Lady [/caption]

    The 2011 Doha Tribeca Film Festival’s (DTFF) announced today that Luc Besson’s The Lady is the closing night film for the five-day Festival (October 25-29) along with the Contemporary World Cinema programme.

    Starring Michelle Yeoh, David Thewlis, William Hope and Sahajak Boonthanakit, The Lady is an epic biopic depicting the real life love story of Burmese activist Aung San Suu Kyi’s marriage to writer-academic, Michael Aris, as she fights against governmental oppression to instill democracy into Burma’s political system.

     

    CONTEMPORARY WORLD CINEMA: FILM PROGRAMME

    Almanya – Welcome To Germany (Yasemin Samdereli) – Narrative (GERMANY, TURKEY)
    2010
    MENA PREMIERE
    A charming cross-cultural comedy about three generations of German-Turks, Almanya is the story of a Turkish family living in Germany who set off together for their homeland. Moving across the past and present, the journey is full of memories, arguments and reconciliations, until the family trip takes an unexpected turn …

    The Artist (Michel Hazanavicius) – Narrative (FRANCE) 2011
    MENA PREMIERE
    A visually enthralling homage to the early years of cinema, The Artist is a black and white silent film set in Hollywood in the late 1920s. In an ambitious and beautifully executed celebration of the silver screen we follow the last great silent film star, George Valentin and his relationship with a beautiful extra, whose star is on the rise in the talkie circuit.

    Bullhead (Rundskop) (Michaël R. Roskam) – Narrative (BELGIUM) 2011
    MENA PREMIERE
    A crime-drama about Jacky Vanmarsenille, a young Limburg cattle farmer who is approached by an unscrupulous veterinarian to make a shady deal with a notorious West-Flemish beef trader. A confrontation with a secret from Jacky’s past sets in motion a chain of events with far-reaching consequences.

    Chinese Take Away (Un cuento chino) (Sebastián Borensztein) – Narrative (ARGENTINA,
    SPAIN) 2011
    MENA PREMIERE
    A delightful and heartwarming Latin American comedy, Chinese Take-Away is the story of Jun, a Chinese man who has just landed in Argentina and doesn’t speak a word of Spanish, and Roberto, the grumpy shopkeeper who is forced to adopt him.

    Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope (Morgan Spurlock) – Documentary (USA) 2011
    MENA PREMIERE
    Morgan Spurlock explores the hopes and dreams of fans making the annual pilgrimage to Comic-Con – the San Diego convention which began as a fringe comic book meet in 1970 and has now become the pop culture event of the year. As we follow the aspiring punters we also meet the people who turned their passions into professions including Stan Lee, Joss Whedon, Frank Miller and Matt Groening and along the way, witness the spectacle that Comic-Con has become.

    Declaration of War (La guerre est déclarée) (Valérie Donzelli) – Narrative (FRANCE) 2011
    MENA PREMIERE

    Based on the filmmaker’s personal experience, Declaration of War is an intimate portrait of the struggle endured by a young woman and the father of her child when they find out their son has a brain tumor. Thrust from their young, carefree love into a harsh and unexpected chaos, the traumatic experience reveals their strength, courage and heroism.

    Headhunters (Hodejegerne) (Morten Tyldum) – Narrative (NORWAY) 2011
    MENA PREMIERE
    Based on the best-selling novel by Jo Nesbø, this Norwegian crime thriller follows Roger, a successful corporate headhunter and secret art thief. He risks everything to obtain a valuable painting owned by a former mercenary and when things go bad, he is forced to run for his life.

    The Hunter (Daniel Nettheim) – Narrative (AUSTRALIA) 2011
    MENA PREMIERE
    Based on the acclaimed novel by Julia Leigh, The Hunter is a powerful psychological drama that tells the story of Martin, a mercenary sent from Europe by a mysterious biotech company to Australia’s Tasmanian wilderness on a dramatic hunt for the last Tasmanian Tiger.

    In the Open (El campo) (Hernán Belón) – Narrative (ARGENTINA, ITALY, FRANCE) 2011
    MENA PREMIERE
    A young woman, Elisa, moves to the country with her husband and young daughter. She has a successful career, a happy family and plans for the future but when they arrive at the rundown provincial home, a strange feeling slowly takes over her and her sixth sense begins to awaken.

    Mama Africa – (Mika Kaurismäki) – Documentary (GERMANY, SOUTH AFRICA, FINLAND)
    2011
    MENA PREMIERE
    A documentary about the late, incredibly talented and charismatic South African musical icon, Miriam Makeba, who traveled the world with her powerful voice speaking a message against racism and poverty and for equality and peace. Mama Africa is homage to an extraordinary and impressive artist who, through more than 50 years of performing, incarnates the voice and the hope of Africa.

    Toll Booth (Gise Memuru) (Tolga Karaçelik) – Narrative (TURKEY) 2010
    MENA PREMIERE
    Kenan is a reclusive toll booth attendant living with his ailing father. His reclusive, humdrum life takes a dramatic turn when the newly appointed toll booth manager visits for supervision in this darkly comedic tale of miscommunication, isolation and father/son conflict.

    Tormented (Rabitto Horaa) (Takashi Shimizu) – Narrative (JAPAN) 2011
    MENA PREMIERE
    Tormented ventures into the terrifying corners of the mind through a young boy whose family seems to be falling apart around him. He manifests a dangerous friendship and reliance on a stuffed toy rabbit that comes to life. Is he crazy; is his sister alive or dead; is their storybook illustrating father going insane or are they all delusional?

    Where Do We Go Now? (W Halla’ La Wein?) (Nadine Labaki) – Narrative (LEBANON,
    FRANCE, ITALY, EGYPT) 2011
    GULF PREMIERE
    Set in a religiously mixed Lebanese village during the fall-out from a distant war, this poignant fable centers on a group of women as they unwaveringly attempt to preserve their town in the midst of inter-religious tensions.

    The Woman in the Fifth (Pawel Pawlikowski) – Narrative (FRANCE, POLAND, UK) 2011
    MENA PREMIERE
    American writer Tom Ricks comes to Paris desperate to put his life back together and win back the love of his estranged wife and daughter. Things don’t go according to plan and when he gets involved with a beautiful and mysterious widow, an obscure force seems to take control of his life.

    ¡Vivan las Antípodas! (Long Live The Antipodes!) (Victor Kossakovsky) – Documentary
    (GERMANY, ARGENTINA, NETHERLANDS, CHILE) 2011
    MENA PREMIERE
    A breathtakingly original documentary which views the world upside down by visiting four pairs of locations which are diametrically opposite to eachother on the earth’s surface. The pairs seem mythically connected, somehow united by their oppositeness: a peaceful sunset in Entre Rios to the bustling streets of Shanghai; fields of burning black lava in Hawaii to a village kiosk in Botswana – 8000 miles through the centre of the Earth.

    Vol Spécial (Special Flight) (Fernand Melgar) – Documentary (SWITZERLAND) 2011
    MENA PREMIERE
    A powerful and moving documentary about the thousands of illegal immigrants and asylum seekers held every year at a Switzerland detention centre prior to being expelled from the country. Through the stories of six migrants, the film reveals the months of waiting, hope and despair and the relationships that form between the deeply human wardens, and immigrants at the end of their journeys.

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  • 14th Arpa International Film Festival Award Winners

    [caption id="attachment_1652" align="alignnone" width="550"]Best Picture -Three Veils [/caption]

    The 14th Arpa International Film Festival wrapped on Saturday with a screening of FIVE MINARETS IN NEW YORK followed by a the awards ceremony. Taking top honors were THREE VEILS, MY UNCLE RAFAEL, THE LAST TIGHTROPE DANCER IN ARMENIA and BOLIS.

    The Best Picture honor this year went to Rolla Selbak’s drama, THREE VEILS. BEST DIRECTOR and BEST SCREENPLAY kudos went to director Marc Fusco and writers Scott Yagemann and Vahik Pirhamzei for their comedy MY UNCLE RAFAEL.

    Pirhamzei also received the festival’s 2011 Breakthrough Performance Award for his starring role in the film. Arman Yeritsyan and Inna Sahakyan’s THE LAST TIGHTROPE DANCER IN ARMENIA was given the award for Best Documentary with Eric Nazarian’s BOLIS winning BEST SHORT FILM.

    List Of Winners:
    Best Picture:
    Three Veils (L.A. premiere)
    USA
    Director: Rolla Selbak
    Producer: Ahmad Zahra
    Writer: Rolla Selbek

    Three Veils is a film about three young Middle-Eastern women living in the U.S., each with her own personal story. Leila is engaged to be married, however as the wedding night approaches, she becomes less and less sure of how her life is playing out. Amira is a very devout Muslim, but is dealing with her deep repressions about her intimate
    feelings toward women. Nikki is acting out her promiscuity as she battles her own demons after a tragic death in the family. As the film progresses, all three stories unfold and blend into each other as connections are revealed between the three women.

    Best Screenplay/Best Director:
    My Uncle Rafael (North American premiere)
    USA
    Director: Marc Fusco
    Producers: Michael Garrity, Vahik Pirhamzei
    Writers: Scott Yagemann, Vahik Pirhamzei

    A desperate TV producer convinces an old Armenian Uncle to star in a new reality show. Cultures collide when Uncle Rafael is thrown into the Schumacher family household where he has one week to save a broken and dysfunctional American family from falling apart. The only rule – everyone must follow his rules. Starring Vahik Pirhamzei, John
    Michael Higgins, Missi Pyle, Anthony Clark, Rachel Blanchard, Joe Lo Truglio, Anahid Avanesian, Carly Chaikin, Sage Ryan, Ursula Taherian,
    and Lupe Ontiveros.

    Best Documentary:
    The Last Tightrope Dancer In Armenia
    Armenia
    Directors: Arman Yeritsyan, Inna Sahakyan
    Producer: Vardan Hovhannisyan
    Writers: Arman Yeritsyan, Inna Sahakyan

    Zhora and Knyaz were once the most celebrated masters of tightrope dancing in Armenia. Today, they are the only surviving performers who can keep this ancient art alive against the current of contemporary society, but all their students grow up and find other interests in life. Why is their art not important anymore?

    Best Short Film
    Bolis (World Premiere)
    USA, Turkey
    Director: Eric Nazarian
    Writer: Eric Nazarian
    Producers: Huseyin Karabey, Sevil Demirci.

    Armenak is a successful oud player who is in Istanbul for the first time for an important musical event. His feelings toward the city, which his Armenian grandfather fled at the tip of the sword in 1915, are very complex. Armenak arrives full of prejudice, expecting to hate the place, but instead finds it very familiar. The decision comes naturally to him to search for his grandfather’s old musical instrument shop with only an old photo and a street name. Is it destiny or coincidence that leads him to his destination?

    Special Awards
    2011 Breakthrough Performance Award
    Vahik Pirhamzei for My Uncle Rafael (USA)

    AT&T Award for Environmental Conservation and Stewardship Marion Stoddart:

    The Work of 1000 (WEST COAST PREMIERE)

    Director: Susan Edwards – 2011 AT&T Award for Environmental Conservation and Stewardship Recipient
    Producer: Dorie Clark
    Writer: Susan Edwards

    Marion Stoddart lived next to one of America’s most polluted rivers and transformed herself from a 1960s housewife to a citizen leader and environmental hero honored by the United Nations. The Work of 1000 is the documentary film chronicling her life, achievements, setbacks, and unwavering belief that one person can make a difference in the world.

    Armin T. Wegner Humanitarian Award

    Children of War (USA, Uganda)
    Director: Bryan Single – 2011 Armin T. Wegner Award Recipient
    Producers: Bryan Single, Farzad Karimi, Timothy Beckett
    Associate Producers: Anahid Aramouni Keshishian, Shannon McBrien, Grant Inglett

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  • Roman Polanski Finally Honored by Zurich Film Festival

    Director Roman Polanski attended the 7th Zurich Film Festival to accept the lifetime achievement award that was intended for him two years ago, to honor his outstanding career achievements as a filmmaker. Almost two years to the day, Polanski was arrested on his way to the festival ceremony to receive the award.

    The World Premiere of a full-length non fiction film followed the ceremony. In the documentary, Polanski reportedly briefly addressed the sexual assault case, with the bulk of the film dedicated to his childhood in German-occupied Poland, including his escape from the Warsaw ghetto and his early life and career.


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  • British Independent Film Awards to be held on Sunday December 4th

    The British Independent Film Awards announced on its website that the 2011 ceremony will will take place on Sunday December 4th at Old Billingsgate in Central London.

    Nominations will be announced in October 31st.

    Created in 1998, The British Independent Film Awards set out to celebrate merit and achievement in independently funded British filmmaking, to honor new talent, and to promote British films and filmmaking to a wider public.

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  • Toronto International Film Festival Supports Detained Iranian Filmmakers

    The Toronto International Film Festival in a press release expressed its deep concern in response to the recent arrest of six Iranian filmmakers by the Iranian authorities on charges of espionage. The six filmmakers are Mojtaba Mirtahmasb, Katayoun Shahabi, Hadi Afarideh, Nasser Saffarian, Shahnama Bazdar and Mohsen Shahrnazdar.

    The detaineed filmmakers have been accused of collaborating with the BBC network, forbidden in Iran, and of portraying a negative image of the country in their films.

    Mr. Mojtaba Mirtahmasb is the co-director of banned Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi’s latest film THIS IS NOT A FILM, which was most recently screened as part of the 36th Toronto International Film Festival.


    image via insideofiran

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  • Oscars Update Foreign Language And Short Film Entries Due October 3 for 2011 Oscars®

    The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is already gearing up for the 84th Academy Awards. The Academy announced today that Monday, October 3, is the deadline to submit entries in the Live Action Short Film, Animated Short Film and Foreign Language Film categories to be considered for the 84th Academy Awards®.  Complete entries must arrive at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences by 5 p.m. PT that day.

    The 84th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Tuesday, January 24, 2012, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

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  • Twin Cities Film Fest announces 2011 Awards “Like Crazy” wins Best Feature

    ,

    [caption id="attachment_1641" align="alignnone" width="550"]2011 Twin Cities Film Fest Best Feature Award. [/caption]

    The Twin Cities Film Fest (TCFF) wrapped and announced the audience and other special award-winners of the 2011 festival.

    2011 Twin Cities Film Fest Best Feature Award

    “Like Crazy,” directed by Drake Doremus

    2011 Twin Cities Film Fest North Star Award for Excellence

    Tom Sizemore (For an indelible body of work, including TCFF official selection “White Knight”)

    2011 Twin Cities Film Fest Shorts Film Award

    “14 Minutes,” directed by Elise Plakke

    2011 Twin Cities Film Fest Audience Best Documentary Award

    “Signing On: Stories of Deaf Breast Cancer Survivors, Their Families and the Deaf Community,” directed by Barbara Allen

    2011 Twin Cities Film Fest Audience Best Minnesota Feature Award

    “Lambent Fuse,” directed by Matt Cici

    2011 Twin Cities Film Fest Audience Best Minnesota Shorts Award

    “Sidewalk Sonata,” directed by Nicholas Clausen

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  • 2011 Woodstock Film Festival Maverick Award Winners

    [caption id="attachment_1639" align="alignnone" width="550"]BEST FEATURE NARRATIVE: On The Ice[/caption]

    The 12th Anniversary Woodstock Film Festival which began Wednesday, Sept. 21st, will close Sunday September 25th, 2011, held its Maverick Awards Ceremony last night at the historic Backstage Studio Productions in Kingston, NY.

    A special Tribute to Gary Winick was included in the ceremony, to honor the filmmaker and pioneering producer who passed away in February of this year from brain cancer at the age of 49.

     

    The Lee Marvin Award for BEST FEATURE NARRATIVE: On The Ice, Dir. Andrew O. MacLean.

    The Maverick Award for BEST FEATURE DOCUMENTARY: Semper Fi: Always Faithful, Dir: Tony Hardmon & Rachel Libert (Winner), Skateistan: Four Wheels and a Board in Kabul, Dir: Kai Sehr (Honorable Mention) and Dolphin Boy, Dir: Dani Menkin and Yonatan Nir (Honorable Mention).

    The Maverick Award for BEST ANIMATION: Luminaris, Dir. Juan Pablo Zaramella.

    The Diane Seligman Award for BEST SHORT NARRATIVE: We’re Leaving, Dir. Zachary Treitz (Winner), Block, Dir. Chadd Harbold (Honorable Mention).

    The Diane Seligman Award for BEST STUDENT SHORT FILM: The Recorder Exam, Dir. Bora Kim (Winner), Manhattan Melody, Dir: Sasha Gordon (Runner Up), Babyland, Dir: Marc Fatello (Honorable Mention), Bayou Black, Dir. Jonas Carpignano (Honorable Mention), Gravity, Dir. Pamela Romanowsky (Honorable Mention).

    The Diane Seligman Award for BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY: Poetry of Resilience, Dir: Katja Esson (Winner), The Thing That Happened, Dir. Andrew Walton (Honorable Mention).

    The Haskell Wexler Award for BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: On The Ice, Director of Photography: Lol Crawley (Winner)

    James Lyons Award for BEST EDITING of a FEATURE NARRATIVE: Tilt, Kostadin Kostadinov, Zorica Nikolova (Winners), 96 Minutes, Aram Nigoghossian (Honorable Mention).

    James Lyons Award for BEST EDITING of a FEATURE DOCUMENTARY: Bombay Beach, Alma Har’el, Joe Lindquist (Winners), Semper Fi: Always Faithful, Purcell Carson (Honorable Mention)

    The James Lyons Awards for BEST EDITING were presented by accomplished editors Sabine Hoffman, Sabine Krayenbuhl, and Doug Abel.

    HONORARY TRAILBLAZER AWARD: CEO of The Creative Coalition Robin Bronk.

    HONORARY MAVERICK AWARD: Director Tony Kaye (American History X).

    MEERA GANDHI GIVING BACK AWARD: Actor Mark Ruffalo (Reservation Road, The Kids Are All Right).

    EXCELLENCE IN ACTING AWARD: Actor Ellen Barkin (Another Happy Day, Sea of Love).

    Audience awards in both Best Feature Narrative and Best Feature Documentary will be announced Sunday night Sept 25.

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