• Perfection and LA Comedy Shorts Festival Block Added to 2012 Oxford Film Festival and Music Festival

    [caption id="attachment_2258" align="alignnone"]Perfection[/caption]

    “Perfection” and “L.A. Comedy Shorts Festival” have been added to the Oxford Film Festival and Music Festival since the original lineup was announced.

    A new film, “Perfection” has been added to the line-up and will have its world premiere with the festival. “Perfection” is Christina Beck’s first feature film and was nominated by IFP for best screenplay and selected for their Rough Cut Labs. Beck was awarded the Adrienne Shelly female directing grant.

    The festival will present a block from the L.A. Comedy Shorts Festival, the largest comedy film festival in the United States. Co-founded by Gary Anthony Williams (“Boston Legal,” “Special Agent Oso,” “Malcolm in the Middle”), L.A. Comedy Shorts attracts heavy- weights from the world of comedy. Major sponsors include Will Ferrell and Judd Apatow’s website ‘FunnyOrDie.com, Catoon Network, Atom.com and Atom TV on Comedy Central, and Freemantle’s Atomic Wedgie.

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  • Derby City Film Festival Announces 2012 Award Finalists

    [caption id="attachment_2256" align="alignnone"]Below Zero[/caption]

    With the festival opening in lass than a month, the organizers of The Derby City Film Festival have announced the award finalists for the 2012 edition. Awards will be handed out in 7 categories; US Short Film, International Short Film, Student Short Film, Documentary Film, Feature Film, Best Actor and Best Actress. The festival has also partnered with York Entertainment, based in Los Angeles, who will offer distribution to one or more of the Feature Films and IndieFlix, based in Seattle, who will hold an on-line short film contest the week before the opening of the festival.

    Three films with Kentucky ties are among the finalists. One, the short film “Bizarnival: Tuxedos in the Attic” from filmmakers Todd Sheene, Allen Martin, and Scott Stafford screens Saturday February 18th at 4:00 PM with Shorts Group C. “Bizarnival” is a pseudo-experimental film which follows three men who seek the key to a magic suitcase, guarded by a mechanical man, and takes them on a journey through the ridiculously fantastic world of Bizarnival. “Bizarnival” is nominated for Best US Short Film.

    James Sheldon who stars as the title character from Alex O. Gaynor’s “Wid Winner and the Slipstream” is nominated for Best Actor. ‘Wid Winner & the Slipstream’ is a poetic, blue-collar story of a disenchanted auto parts store clerk and the road trip that will change his life. “Wid” screens Friday February 17th at 7:00 PM.

    “It’s in the Blood” from Louisville natives and Ballard High School graduates Scooter Downey & Sean Elliot is up for three awards including Best Feature Film and two Best Actor Nominations for the film’s stars Sean Elliot & Lance Henriksen. “Blood”  tells the tale of a father and son who become stranded in the wild and must confront the horrors of their past to escape with their lives.  However, this wilderness is not what it seems, and as they deteriorate, so to does their concept of reality: horrifying creatures, ghostly apparitions, is it all in their heads, or could the truth be far more terrible? “It’s in the Blood” screens at 8:00 PM on February 18th with the short film “Endless”.

    Another film up for three awards is the closing film of the festival, the Edward Furlong film “Below Zero”, which will screen at 6:00 PM on Sunday February 19th. “Zero” follows screenwriter Jack “The Hack” (Furlong) who, facing writer’s block and a crucial deadline, decides to remove himself from all distractions by locking himself in the freezer of an abandoned slaughterhouse, where fiction and reality blur. Inspired by true events, method writer Signe Olynyk’s BELOW ZERO is a twisty story within a story, within a real-life story. The film also stars Kristin Booth and Michael Berryman. “Zero” was directed by Justin Thomas Ostensen who’s film “By the Wayside” screened at the inaugural DCFF in 2008. “Zero” is nominated for Best Feature, Best Actor (Furlong) and Best Actress (Booth).

    All 9 of the Short Film Finalists (US, International & Student) have also been invited to take part of the DCFF-IndieFlix on-line film contest which will run February 10th-16th. All films will be available to watch on-line and the public can vote on their favorite. The winning film will receive a one year subscription to Videoblocks & The Footage Firm, an online library of downloadable production material, video clips and royalty free music. A link to the IndieFlix film contest will be available on the DCFF website starting February 10th.

    York Entertainment has invited 4 films to be considered for distribution. Included among the finalists is “Overtime” from Louisville filmmakers Matt Neihoff & Brian Cunningham. The other three are “Below Zero”, “Blind Turn” & “It’s in the Blood”. Any agreement will be between York and the selected film(s) and the festival will not be part of the negotiations

    The 2012 Derby City Film Festival runs February 17th – 19th at the Clifton Center in Louisville, Kentucky. The full festival schedule and film descriptions are available on the festival website. Tickets for all films and screening groups are also on-sale through the website. More information on the festival can be found at the festival website: www.derbycityfilmfest.com or by calling the DCFF office at 502-454-7801. Additional details about the upcoming festival will be released in the coming weeks.

    The following includes the full list of award finalists for the 2012 Derby City Film Festival.


    Best Feature:
    Below Zero: Directed by: Justin Thomas Ostensen
    It’s in the Blood (KY Premiere): Directed by: Scooter Downey
    Johnny’s Gone (KY Premiere): Directed by: Giorgio Serafini

    Best Documentary
    Bailout (USA – KY Premiere): Directed by: Sean Patrick Fahey
    Israel vs. Israel (Israel – KY Premiere): Directed by: Terje Carlsson
    Holding the Line (Libya/UK – US Premiere): Directed by: Patrick Wells

    Best US Short Film
    Bizarnival: Tuxedos in the Attic: Directed by: Todd Sheene, Allen Martin, and Scott Stafford
    Easy Street (KY Premiere): Directed by Russell Greene
    Grounded (World Premiere): Directed by Kevin Margo

    Best International Short
    Donkey (UK – KY Premiere); Directed by: Keir Burrows
    Employee of the Month (Switzerland – KY Premiere): Directed by: Olivier Beguin
    Endless (UK – KY Premiere): Directed by: Matt Bloom

    Best Student Short
    GoldenBox (USA): Directed by: Matt MacDonald
    Made in China (USA – World Premiere): Directed by: Kellen Moore
    Thin Air (USA – World Premiere): Directed by: Max Rosen

    Best Actor
    Sean Elliot – It’s in the Blood
    Lance Henriksen – It’s in the Blood
    James Sheldon – Wid Winner and the Slipstream
    Edward Furlong – Below Zero
    Michal Cholka – Znikniecie

    Best Actress
    Katarzyna Zawiglak-Dolny – Znikniecie
    Inge Chiles – Thin Air
    LaDon Drummond  – Johnny’s Gone
    Rachel Boston – Blind Turn
    Kristin Booth – Below Zero

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  • Full Frame Documentary Film Festival Announces its 2012 Thematic Program and Tribute

    [caption id="attachment_2254" align="alignnone"]Ross McElwee – Photographic Memory[/caption]

    The Full Frame Documentary Film Festival has announced its 2012 Thematic Program and Tribute. The annual Full Frame Tribute will be presented to Stanley Nelson for his significant contribution to the documentary form. The 2012 Thematic Program will focus on family, with a series of films curated by Ross McElwee. McElwee will also present his most recent film “Photographic Memory” at the April event.

    “Exploring one’s family seems deeply entwined with the desire to document and record one’s surrounding world,” said director of programming Sadie Tillery. “For many, the first form of documentary encountered was through family pictures, videos, albums. We consider many personal stories each year, and we wanted to bring a selection of that work to the forefront and view it as a collective.”

    “Documentary cameras have long courted danger,” said McElwee. “Recently, they’ve been hauled onto the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan, slipped behind the fences of polluting oil industries, and onto the streets during crackdowns by military dictatorships.   But perhaps the most challenging place to try to film is within the realm of your own family.  The risk in doing so is, of course, not physical, but rather emotional. In this selection of American documentaries, the filmmakers explore the delicate terrain along the fault line of family.”

    Ross McElwee grew up in North Carolina. He has made nine feature-length documentaries as well as several shorter films, many of which were shot in his homeland of the American South. His films include “Sherman’s March,” “Time Indefinite,” “Six O’Clock News,” and “Bright Leaves.” He has screened numerous films at Full Frame and received the Festival’s Career Award in 2007. McElwee has been teaching filmmaking at Harvard University since 1986 where he is a professor in the Department of Visual and Environmental Studies.

    McElwee’s latest film “Photographic Memory” contemplates the filmmaker’s relationship with his young adult son, Adrian. In exploring their strained bond, McElwee travels back to St. Quay-Portrieux in Brittany, where he spent time as a young man himself, and seeks out those he was close to there at a similar time of his own life. Adrian McElwee and the film’s producer Marie-Emmanuelle Hartness will also be present for the screening in Durham.

    The Full Frame Documentary Film Festival has received a $20,000 grant from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to support the 2012 Thematic Program.

    The Festival will also honor filmmaker Stanley Nelson with the annual Full Frame Tribute. Nelson’s body of work includes the critically acclaimed films “A Place of Our Own,” “Freedom Riders,” “Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple,” “Wounded Knee,” “Sweet Honey in the Rock: Raise Your Voice,” and “The Murder of Emmett Till,” among numerous other titles.  An Emmy-winning MacArthur “genius” Fellow, Nelson is co-founder and Executive Director of Firelight Media, which provides technical education and professional support to emerging documentarians, and co-founder of the documentary production company, Firelight Films.

    “Stanley Nelson is an incredible filmmaker, and it’s been a privilege to showcase his films over the years,” said Tillery. “We not only look forward to screening a selection of his work during the Festival, but also spotlighting the significant ways in which he supports and encourages up and coming filmmakers through Firelight Media. We’re excited that he will be joining us in Durham.”

    “I am thrilled to be honored with the 2012 Full Frame Tribute,” said Nelson.  “Full Frame’s past honorees include not only some of the most important documentary filmmakers working today, but some of my personal mentors and role models. I am humbled to be in their illustrious company.

    “I have been working in documentary film for decades, and I believe that now, in these difficult and tumultuous times, independent documentary films are more important than ever.  We need a diversity of voices and vision of independent filmmakers of all kinds, particularly from those communities that have been left out of the mainstream, to tell us who we are as a nation, and where we are – and should be – going.  That is what I try to do through my work as a filmmaker and through the Firelight Media Producers’ Lab, and that is what Full Frame has shown itself committed to as well.

    “In providing a creative community, an exhibition showcase, and building audiences for documentaries, Full Frame is a rare and critical organization in the field.  I’m grateful to be part of the Full Frame family.”

    Specific titles for the Thematic Program and Full Frame Tribute, along with attending guests, will be announced in March.

    The 15th Annual Full Frame Documentary Film Festival will be held April 12-15, 2012, in Durham, N.C., with Duke University as the presenting sponsor. Festival passes can be purchased online at www.fullframefest.org.

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  • 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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