Alternative Film Guide

In Ognjen Svilicic’s Armin, a father and son travel to the big city where they encounter myriad temptations. Armin is Croatia’s entry for the 2008 best foreign-language film Oscar.

FIPRESCI Awards

Best Foreign Language Film: Armin (Croatia) directed by Ognjen Svilicic

Best Actor: Song Gang-ho for Secret Sunshine (South Korea) directed by Lee Chang-dong

Best Actress: Anamaria Marinca and Laura Vasiliu for 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (Romania) directed by Cristian Mungiu.

Helen Hunt’s directorial debut, Then She Found Me, which opens in the U.S. in May 2008, was the opening gala presentation at the 2008 Palm Springs Film Festival. The romantic comedy follows a woman who tries to reconcile reality with her desire for a perfect family. Colin Firth, Bette Midler, and Matthew Broderick co-star. Screenplay by Hunt, Vic Levin, and Alice Arlen.

Audience Award for Narrative Feature: Then She Found Me (USA) directed by Helen Hunt

Runners-up: The Year My Parents Went on Vacation (Brazil), Late Bloomers (Switzerland), Red Like the Sky (Italy), How About You (Ireland), The Band’s Visit (Israel), Shake Hands With the Devil (Canada), The Counterfeiters (Austria), Children of Glory (Hungary), Noodle (Israel), and 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (Romania).

Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature: Autism: The Musical (USA) directed by Tricia Regan

Runners-up: Body of War (USA), Anita O’Day: The Life of a Jazz Singer (USA), Call Me Troy (USA), War/Dance (USA), As Seen Through These Eyes (Canada), Please Vote For Me (China), The Business of Being Born (USA), Hats Off (USA), The Pixar Story (USA) and Angels in the Dust (South Africa).

Directed by Ann-Kristin Reyels (who co-wrote the screenplay with Marek Helsner), the coming-of-age comedy Hounds portrays the emotional travails of a 16-year-old whose mother has abandoned the family and whose father is having an affair. Enters a mute girl to save the day. Constantin von Jascheroff, Josef Hader, and Luise Berndt star.

New Visions Award: Hounds (Germany) directed by Ann-Kristin Reyels

Special Jury Mention: The Waltz, directed by Salvatore Maira

Special Mention (Cinematography): Two Embraces, directed by Enrique Begne; cinematography by Frederico Barbarosa

Nadav Schirman’s documentary The Champagne Spy depicts the life and times of a Mossad spy who pretended to be an ex-Nazi playboy known as Wolfgang Lotz so as to sabotage Egypt’s weapons program. Lotz, however, apparently became much too enamored of his alter ego.

John Schlesinger Award for Outstanding First Feature (Narrative or Documentary): The Champagne Spy (Israel), by Nadav Schirman

Red Star Award: Ben X (Belgium), by Nic Balthazar

Bridging the Border’s Award: The Band’s Visit (Israel), directed by Eran Korilin

Frederick Loewe Award for Film Composing: James Newton Howard

Sonny Bono Visionary Award: Joe Wright

Desert Palm Achievement Award: Halle Berry, Daniel Day-Lewis

Chairman’s Vanguard Award: Juno, by Jason Reitman

Director Of The Year Award: Sean Penn, Into the Wild

Breakthrough Performance Award: Marion Cotillard, La Vie en Rose

Rising Star Award: Emile Hirsch, Nikki Blonsky

Ensemble Performance Award: Hairspray

Patron of the Arts Award: Jerry Weintraub