Canadian Movie Awards: Rwanda Horror & Cop Comedy + Helen Mirren & Meryl Streep Top London

Canadian Movie Awards: Olivier Gourmet in Congorama

Quebec’s 2007 Jutra Awards, presented on Sunday, Feb. 18, offered a whole array of surprises.

Even though the bilingual box office smash Bon Cop, Bad Cop and the drama Un dimanche à Kigali / A Sunday in Kigali received the most nominations – 12 apiece – both were completely shut out of the film, acting, directing, and writing categories.

Instead, the comedy-drama Congorama came out on top as best film of 2006, in addition to wins for best director (Philippe Falardeau, right), best screenplay (also Falardeau), best actor (double winners Paul Ahmarani and Olivier Gourmet), and best supporting actor (Gabriel Arcand). Overall, Congorama won five of its six nominations. (André Turpin lost in the best cinematography category to Pierre Mignot – his third Jutra in a row – for Un dimanche à Kigali.)

“This is one I didn’t see coming,” Falardeau told the audience at Montreal’s Place des Arts after winning the best director Jutra. “It’s just like a bus that came out of nowhere.”

A Can$5 million Franco-Belgian-Canadian production, Congorama follows a Belgian inventor (Gourmet) who, after discovering that he was adopted, travels to Quebec to learn about his family background. Following a car accident, he and a mentally unbalanced inventor (Ahmarani) experience a number of unusual adventures. The film had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival‘s Directors Fortnight last year.

Though a major hit among film critics, Congorama failed to ignite Quebec’s box office. Earlier in February, it won a single Genie – for best original screenplay (unlike the Jutras, the Genies have two writing categories) – at the Canadian Academy Awards ceremony. (This year’s Genies were dominated by another Quebec-made film, Maurice Richard / The Rocket, which was up for last year’s Jutras.)

In spite of the Congorama sweep in the top categories, Un dimanche à Kigali was actually the most honored production, winning a total of six Jutras. Bon Cop, Bad Cop won only one – for best editing (Jean-François Bergeron) – in addition to a Billet d’Or as the top-grossing Québécois film of the year.

Céline Bonnier (above) was chosen best actress for her performance as an ex-con in Délivrez-moi. Fanny Malette was the best supporting actress for her suicidal escort in Cheech.

Another Jutra surprise was the choice for the “most illustrious (Quebec-made) film outside Quebec,” which went – for the second year in a row – to Jean-Marc Vallée’s 2005 box office smash C.R.A.Z.Y., a touching comedy-drama about a young gay man growing up in the Montreal of the 1960s and 1970s.

C.R.A.Z.Y. swept both the Jutras and the Genies last year, and it has been sold to dozens of countries around the world. Inexplicably – much too good for American audiences? – it hasn’t been released theatrically in the United States, though it has popped up on cable.

As an aside … I find it curious that, at least online, the English-language Canadian media has devoted precious little space to the Jutras.

Philippe Falardeau quote: Globe and Mail

Interview (in French) with Philippe Falardeau at Canoë

2006 Jutra Award Winners: Théâtre Maisonneuve de la Place des Arts in Montreal on February 18, 2007

BEST FILM / MEILLEUR FILM
Bon Cop, Bad Cop, Kevin Tierney (Park Ex Pictures)
* Congorama, Luc Déry Kim McCraw (micro_scope, Tarantula)
Un dimanche à Kigali / A Sunday in Kigali, Lyse Lafontaine Michael Mosca (Productions Equinoxe)
La Vie secrète des gens heureux / The Secret Life of Happy People, Roger Frappier Luc Vandal (MaxFilms)

BEST DIRECTION /MEILLEURE RÉALISATION
Érik Canuel, Bon Cop, Bad Cop
* Philippe Falardeau, Congorama
Robert Favreau, Un dimanche à Kigali / A Sunday in Kigali
Claude Gagnon, Kamataki

BEST ACTOR / MEILLEUR ACTEUR
* Paul Ahmarani and Olivier Gourmet, Congorama
Marc Béland, Guide de la petite vengeance / The Little Revenge Guide
Patrick Huard and Colm Feore, Bon Cop, Bad Cop
Luc Picard, Un dimanche à Kigali / A Sunday in Kigali

BEST ACTRESS / MEILLEURE ACTRICE
* Céline Bonnier, Délivrez-moi / Forgive Me
Fatou NDiaye, Un dimanche à Kigali / A Sunday in Kigali
Danielle Proulx, Histoire de famille / Family Story
Ginette Reno, Le Secret de ma mère / My Mothers Secret

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR / MEILLEUR ACTEUR DE SOUTIEN
* Gabriel Arcand, Congorama
Gabriel Gascon, Guide de la petite vengeance / The Little Revenge Guide
Pierre Lebeau, Bon Cop, Bad Cop
Gilles Renaud, La Vie secrète des gens heureux / The Secret Life of Happy People

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS / MEILLEURE ACTRICE DE SOUTIEN
Céline Bonnier, Un dimanche à Kigali / A Sunday in Kigali
Ane Dorval, La Vie secrète des gens heureux / The Secret Life of Happy People
Lucie Laurier, Bon Cop, Bad Cop
* Fanny Mallette, Cheech

BEST SCREENPLAY / MEILLEUR SCÉNARIO
Leila Basen, Alex Epstein, Patrick Huard, Kevin Tierney, Bon Cop, Bad Cop
* Philippe Falardeau, Congorama
Stéphane Lapointe, La Vie secrète des gens heureux / The Secret Life of Happy People
Robert Morin, Que Dieu bénisse lAmérique / God Bless America

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY / MEILLEURE DIRECTION DE LA PHOTOGRAPHIE
Yves Bélanger, Cheech
* Pierre Mignot, Un dimanche à Kigali / A Sunday in Kigali
Allen Smith, Guide de la petite vengeance / The Little Revenge Guide
André Turpin, Congorama

BEST EDITING / MEILLEUR MONTAGE
* Jean-François Bergeron, Bon Cop, Bad Cop
Hélène Girard, Un dimanche à Kigali / A Sunday in Kigali
Denis Papillon, Histoire de famille / Family Story
Arthur Tarnowski, Duo

BEST SCORE / MEILLEURE MUSIQUE
Benoît Charest, Guide de la petite vengeance / The Little Revenge Guide
Michel Corriveau, Bon Cop, Bad Cop
Jorane, Kamataki
* Jorane, Un dimanche à Kigali / A Sunday in Kigali

BEST ART DIRECTION / MEILLEURE DIRECTION ARTISTIQUE
* André-Line Beauparlant, Un dimanche à Kigali / A Sunday in Kigali
Jean Bécotte, Bon Cop, Bad Cop
Patrice Bengle, Délivrez-moi / Forgive Me
François Laplante, Black Eyed Dog

BEST COSTUME DESIGN / MEILLEURS COSTUMES
Anne Duceppe, Le Génie du crime / The Criminal Mastermind
* Michèle Hamel, Un dimanche à Kigali / A Sunday in Kigali
François Laplante, Black Eyed Dog
Ginette Magny, Le Secret de ma mère / My Mothers Secret

BEST SOUND / MEILLEUR SON
Dominique Chartrand, Christian Rivest, Gavin Fernandes, Pierre Paquet, Bon Cop, Bad Cop
Mario Auclair, Pierre-Jules Audet, Stéphane Bergeron, Cheech
Normand Mercier, Michel B. Bordeleau, Geoffrey Mitchell, Histoire de famille / Family Story
Michel Charron, Louis Dupire, Jean-François Sauvé, Hans Peter Strobl, Bernard Gariépy-Strobl, Sans elle / Without Her
* Claude La Haye, Hans Peter Strobl, Marie-Claude Gagné, Un dimanche à Kigali / A Sunday in Kigali

BEST MAKEUP / MEILLEUR MAQUILLAGE
Claudette Beaudoin-Casavant, Bon Cop, Bad Cop
Marie-Angèle Breitner, Le Secret de ma mère / My Mothers Secret
* Marie-Angèle Breitner, Un dimanche à Kigali / A Sunday in Kigali
Nicole Lapierre, La Rage de lange

BEST COIFFURE / MEILLEURE COIFFURE
* Ginette Cérat-Lajeunesse, Le Secret de ma mère / My Mothers Secret
Johanne Paiement, Bon Cop, Bad Cop
Denis Parent, Sans elle / Without Her
Martin Rivest, Le Génie du crime / The Criminal Mastermind

BEST DOCUMENTARY / MEILLEUR DOCUMENTAIRE
* À force de rêves, Serge Giguère (Rapide blanc, Office national du film)
Le Côté obscur de la Dame Blanche / The Dark Side of Dame Blanche, Patricio Henriquez (Office national du film)
Notre Père / Our Father, Marie-Julie Dallaire (Sogestalt télévision Québec)
Un fleuve humain / A Human River, Sylvain LEspérance (Les films du Tricycle)

BEST ANIMATED FILM / MEILLEUR FILM DANIMATION
Lhomme qui atttendait / The Man Who Waited, Theodore Ushev (Office national du film/Valkyrie Films)
Ici par ici, Obom (Office national du film)
Jaime Lo, petite et timide / Jaime Lo, Small and Shy, Lillian Chan (Office national du film)
* McLarens Negatives, Marie-Josée Saint-Pierre (vidéographe)

BEST SHORT / MEDIUM-LENGTH FILM / MEILLEUR COURT / MOYEN MÉTRAGE
À Lombre, Simon Lavoie (Amazone Film)
* Les Eaux mortes, Guy Édoin (Locomotion Distribution)
Les Jours, Maxime Giroux (NuFilms)
Petit Dimanche, Nicolas Roy (Nitrofilms)

HONORARY AWARD / PRIX HOMMAGE: Pierre Curzi

BILLET DOR: Bon Cop Bad Cop

MOST ILLUSTRIOUS FILM OUTSIDE QUEBEC: C.R.A.Z.Y.

Genie Awards Winners: Good Cop Bad Cop Flick Tops

Last night, the Canadian Academy’s Genie Awards ceremony proved itself no more and no less prone to inane outcomes than those of other film academies the world over. Nine Genies went to the Quebecois hockey biopic The Rocket / Maurice Richard, including awards for Best Director (Charles Binamé), Best Actor (Roy Dupuis), Best Actress (Julie Le Breton), and Best Editing (Michel Arcand). Canadian Academy-ites, however, opted for the bilingual comedy-thriller Bon Cop, Bad Cop as Best Canadian Film of 2006.

Whether Bon Cop, Bad Cop is bon or bad, I don’t know as I haven’t seen the film. But one would expect that the “best Canadian film of 2006” would have received top honors in another category other than best sound. In any case, no one will be able to accuse the Canadian Academy of being an elitist body that favors obscure films – at least until next year.

Bon Cop, Bad Cop, after all, has become the biggest homemade box office smash in Canada’s history, and one more piece of evidence proving that le cinéma Québécois is the engine propelling the Canadian film industry. In fact, Quebec-made films seem to be not only the engine, but just about the whole train.

In addition to Bon Cop, Bad Cop and Maurice Richard, other films out of Quebec that earned Genies last night include Robert Favreau’s Un dimanche à Kigali / A Sunday in Kigali, which won the best original screenplay award (for Favreau and Gil Courtemanche); Congorama, for best adapted screenplay (Philippe Falardeau); and Sans elle / Without Her, winner of the best score award (for Jean Robitaille). Also, it should be noted that four of the five best film nominees came out of Quebec.

The winners of Quebec’s Prix Jutra will be announced on Feb. 18. Don’t expect Maurice Richard to win anything. The hockey film was included in last year’s Jutra shortlist – it lost in every category, mostly to the local box office sensation C.R.A.Z.Y., a Quebecois drama about a young gay man growing up in the Montreal of the 1960s and 1970s. C.R.A.Z.Y. also swept the 2006 Genies.

Le cinéma Québécois rules. Why? It helps to have a generous government willing to support the arts – and it helps to speak French. Instead of being swallowed whole by mega-budget Hollywood trash so beloved by the braindead everywhere, the Quebec film industry has been able to create its own highly successful cultural identity – or “identities,” considering the variety of locally produced films. As they say, Vive la difference…

More details on several of the films mentioned above can be found in the 2007 Genie nominations article.

27th Genie Awards- 2006

The 27th Genie Award nominees were announced on January 9, 2007.

The 27th Genie Award winners were announced at The Carlu atop Torontos College Park on February 13, 2007.

Best Film
* Bon Cop, Bad Cop – Kevin Tierney
Guide de la Petite Vengeance / The Little Book of Revenge – Roger Frappier, Luc Vandal
Maurice Richard / The Rocket – Denise Robert, Daniel Louis
Trailer Park Boys: The Movie – Barrie Dunn, Mike Clattenburg, Michael Volpe
Un dimanche à Kigali / A Sunday in Kigali – Lyse Lafontaine, Michael Mosca

Achievement in Direction
Bon Cop, Bad Cop – Érik Canuel
Guide de la Petite Vengeance / The Little Book of Revenge – Jean-François Pouliot
La Vie secrète des gens heureux / The Secret Life of Happy People – Stéphane Lapointe
* Maurice Richard / The Rocket – Charles Binamé
Un dimanche à Kigali / A Sunday in Kigali – Robert Favreau

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Bon Cop, Bad Cop – Patrick Huard
Bon Cop, Bad Cop – Colm Feore
Congorama – Olivier Gourmet
* Maurice Richard / The Rocket – Roy Dupuis
Un dimanche à Kigali / A Sunday in Kigali – Luc Picard

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Le Secret de ma mère – Ginette Reno
* Maurice Richard / The Rocket – Julie Le Breton
Snow Cake – Sigourney Weaver
Tideland – Jodelle Ferland
Un dimanche à Kigali / A Sunday in Kigali – Fatou NDiaye

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Eve and the Fire Horse – Chan Chit Man Lester
Guide de la Petite Vengeance / The Little Book of Revenge – Michel Muller
* Maurice Richard / The Rocket – Stephen McHattie
Trailer Park Boys: The Movie – Hugh Dillon
Whole New Thing – Robert Joy

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Eve and the Fire Horse – Vivian Wu
La Vie secrète des gens heureux / The Secret Life of Happy People – Marie Gignac
Niagara Motel – Caroline Dhavernas
Snow Cake – Emily Hampshire
* Snow Cake – Carrie-Anne Moss

Best Original Screenplay
* Congorama – Philippe Falardeau
Guide de la Petite Vengeance / The Little Book of Revenge – Ken Scott
La Vie secrète des gens heureux / The Secret Life of Happy People – Stéphane Lapointe
Le Secret de ma mère – Martin Girard, Ghyslaine Côté
Maurice Richard / The Rocket – Ken Scott

Best Adapted Screenplay
Cheech – François Létourneau
Trailer Park Boys: The Movie – Mike Clattenburg, Robb Wells
* Un dimanche à Kigali / A Sunday in Kigali – Robert Favreau, Gil Courtemanche

Achievement in Cinematography
Beowulf & Grendel – Jan Kiesser
Bon Cop, Bad Cop – Bruce Chun
* Maurice Richard / The Rocket – Pierre Gill
Snow Cake – Steve Cosens
Tideland – Nicola Pecorini

Achievement in Editing
Bon Cop, Bad Cop – Jean-François Bergeron
Cheech – Michel Grou
Congorama – Frédérique Broos
* Maurice Richard / The Rocket – Michel Arcand
Tideland – Lesley Walker

Achievement in Music – Original Score
Beowulf & Grendel – Hilmar Orn Hilmarsson
Cheech – Normand Corbeil
La Vie secrète des gens heureux / The Secret Life of Happy People – Pierre Desrochers
Maurice Richard / The Rocket – Michel Cusson
* Sans elle / Without Her – Jean Robitaille

Achievement in Music – Original Song
Bon Cop, Bad Cop – “Tattoo”
Eric Lapointe, Stéphane Dufour, Jamil
Eighteen – “In a Heartbeat”
Bramwell Tovey, Richard Bell
La Belle bête / The Beautiful Beast – “Trace-Moi”
Patrick Watson, Caroline Dhavernas
La Rage de lange / Angels Rage – “LAstronaute”
Dan Bigras
* Unnatural & Accidental – “Have Hope”
Jennifer Kreisberg

Achievement in Art Direction/Production Design
Bon Cop, Bad Cop – Jean Bécotte
Eve and the Fire Horse – Mary-Ann Liu, Athena Wong
La Rage de lange / Angels Rage – François Séguin
* Maurice Richard / The Rocket – Michel Proulx
Tideland – Jasna Stefanovic

Achievement in Costume Design
Eve and the Fire Horse – Sandy Buck
* Maurice Richard / The Rocket – Francesca Chamberland
The Journals of Knud Rasmussen – Michelline Amaaq
Tideland – Mario Davignon

Achievement in Overall Sound
* Bon Cop, Bad Cop – Dominique Chartrand, Gavin Fernandes, Nathalie Morin, Pierre Paquet
Eve and the Fire Horse – Daniel Pellerin, Gashtaseb Ariana, Jeff Carter
Maurice Richard / The Rocket – Claude Hazanavicius, Claude Beaugrand, Luc Boudrias, Bernard Gariépy Strobl
Tideland – David Lee, Douglas Cooper, Robert Farr
Un dimanche à Kigali / A Sunday in Kigali – Marie-Claude Gagné, Claude La Haye, Bernard Gariépy Strobl, Hans Peter Strobl

Achievement in Sound Editing
Beowulf & Grendel – Jane Tattersall, Barry Gilmore, David McCallum, Donna Powell, Dave Rose
Bon Cop, Bad Cop – Christian Rivest, Valéry Dufort-Boucher, Tchae Measroch
Cheech – Pierre-Jules Audet, Guy Francoeur, Guy Pelletier
* Maurice Richard / The Rocket – Claude Beaugrand, Olivier Calvert, Jérôme Décarie, Natalie Fleurant, Francine Poirier
Un dimanche à Kigali / A Sunday in Kigali – Marie-Claude Gagné

Best Documentary
La planète blanche / The White Planet – Jean Lemire, Thierry Piantanida, Thierry Ragobert
* Manufactured Landscapes – Jennifer Baichwal, Nick de Pencier, Gerry Flahive, Daniel Iron, Peter Starr

Best Live Action Short Drama
Big Girl – Renuka Jeyapalan, Anneli Ekborn, Michael Gelfand
Hiro – Matthew Swanson, Oliver-Barnet Lindsay
Jack et Jacques – Marie-Hélène Copti
* Le Rouge au sol / Red – Maxime Giroux, Paul Barbeau
Snapshots for Henry – Teresa Hannigan, Charlotte Disher

Best Animated Short
Histoire tragique avec fin heureuse / Tragic Story with Happy Ending – Regina Pessoa, Patrick Eveno, Abi Feijò, Jacques-Rémy Girerd, Marcel Jean
* The Danish Poet – Torill Kove, Lise Fearnley, Marcy Page

Helen Mirren & Meryl Streep Top London + Cillian Murphy Movies Top Irish Awards

The 2007 London Film Critics’ Circle Award winners were announced this evening at a ceremony held in aid of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children at the Dorchester Hotel.

London Film Critics’ Awards chair Marianne Gray stated that The Queen – winner of the best British film, best British director (Stephen Frears), best British actress (Helen Mirren), and best screenplay (Peter Morgan) awards – “symbolizes everything that is right with the British film industry at the moment and it is great to see that it can compete with the best that Hollywood can offer.”

The Queen was also in the running for the Film of the Year award, but despite its symbolizing “everything that is right with the British film industry” the royal drama lost out to United 93.

The most intriguing aspect of the London critics’ top-film pick is that United 93 also happens to be a British production – even if set aboard an American plane. Paul Greengrass, Tim Bevan, and Eric Fellner were, in fact, voted best British producers of the year – even though their film failed to win a place among the nominees for best British film of 2006. Go figure.

Greengrass was also voted best director, while American performers Forest Whitaker (in the British-made The Last King of Scotland) and Meryl Streep (in The Devil Wears Prada) were chosen best actor and best actress.

Helen Mirren, invincible on this side of the Atlantic, has fared considerably less well in Britain. Besides losing out to Meryl Streep, Mirren has also lost best actress awards to Judi Dench (for Notes on a Scandal) at the Evening Standard British Film Awards, and to Kate Dickie (for Red Road) at the British Independent Film Awards. (In Britain, they have fewer film honors than in the U.S. That I’m aware of, there’s no award-giving Cornwall Film Critics Society or Manchester Film Critics Association.)

Michael Caine (for a minor role in The Prestige) and Emily Blunt (for her popular scenery-chewing in The Devil Wears Prada) were voted best British supporting players. (There’s no “best [international] supporting player” category.)

In addition to Streep’s well-deserved recognition – even though hers is in fact a supporting performance – the other good news from the London Critics was the choice of Pedro Almodóvar’s Volver as best foreign language film of the year.

Volver, which has just won the Spanish Academy’s Goya Awards for best film and best director, has done excellent business in Britain.

Now, the London critics clearly love Hollywood fare. Since its inception in 1980, only eight Film of the Year awards have gone to non-American productions, five of which were British. Of the other three, Babe, The Piano, and Paris, Texas, one (Babe) had some American financing while another was set in the United States (Paris, Texas). No production in a language other than English has thus far been chosen Film of the Year.

A few 2005 American releases that arrived in Britain only last year made the London Film Critics’ nominations cut, among them Good Night and Good Luck., Capote, and The Squid and the Whale. But since we’re now in 2007, they were apparently deemed passé. Even Philip Seymour Hoffman’s Capote, the favorite among the favorites of 2005, lost the best actor award to this year’s favorite among favorites, Forest Whitaker.

In fact, the new and the newsworthy received the bulk of the London critics’ attention. With the exception of Infamous (best British actor Toby Jones) and Red Road (best British newcomer Andrea Arnold), every winning film at the London critics’ ceremony is up for some Academy Award or other.

See also: “Star-Struck Golden Globes & Critics’ Choice Awards Nods: From Brad Pitt to Mel Gibson.”

Marianne Gray quote: The Hollywood Reporter

The 27th London Film Critics’ Circle Award nominations were announced on Dec. 14.

The 27th London Film Critics’ Circle Award winners were announced at the Dorchester Hotel on Feb. 8. Mariella Frostrup and Paul Gambaccini hosted the evening.

2006 London Film Critics Award Winners – Article.

Film of the Year
The Departed.
Little Miss Sunshine.
Volver.
* United 93.
The Queen.

The Attenborough Award for Best British Film
Children of Men.
* The Queen.
Red Road.
The Last King of Scotland.
The Wind That Shakes the Barley.

Best Foreign Language Film
Apocalypto.
Black Book.
The Death of Mr Lazarescu.
The Child.
Pan’s Labyrinth.
* Volver.

Best Director
Guillermo del Toro, Pan’s Labyrinth.
Pedro Almodóvar, Volver.
* Paul Greengrass, United 93.
Martin Scorsese, The Departed.
Alfonso Cuarón, Children of Men.

Best British Director
Andrea Arnold, Red Road.
* Stephen Frears, The Queen.
Christopher Nolan, The Prestige.
Kevin Macdonald, The Last King of Scotland.
Ken Loach, The Wind That Shakes the Barley.

Best Actor
Jeff Daniels, The Squid and the Whale.
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Capote.
Richard Griffiths, The History Boys.
David Strathairn, Good Night, and Good Luck..
* Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland.

Best Actress
Helen Mirren, The Queen.
Penélope Cruz, Volver.
Judi Dench, Notes on a Scandal.
* Meryl Streep, The Devil Wears Prada.
Joan Allen, The Upside of Anger.

Best British Actor
Sacha Baron Cohen, Borat.
* Toby Jones, Infamous.
Timothy Spall, Pierrepoint.
James McAvoy, The Last King of Scotland.
Christian Bale, The Prestige.

Best British Actress
Judi Dench, Notes on a Scandal.
* Helen Mirren, The Queen.
Kate Winslet, Little Children.
Loraine Stanley, London to Brighton.
Kate Dickie, Red Road.

Best British Supporting Actor
Eddie Marsan, Pierrepoint.
* Michael Caine, The Prestige.
Bill Nighy, Notes on a Scandal.
Leslie Phillips, Venus.
Dominic Cooper, The History Boys.

Best British Supporting Actress
* Emily Blunt, The Devil Wears Prada.
Emma Thompson, Stranger Than Fiction.
Juliet Stevenson, Pierrepoint.
Emily Watson, The Proposition.
Helen McCrory, The Queen.

Best British Newcomer
* Andrea Arnold, writer/director, Red Road.
Paul Andrew Williams, writer/director/producer, London to Brighton.
Jodie Whittaker, actress, Venus.
Clare-Hope Ashitey, actress, Children of Men.
Rebecca Hall, actress, The Prestige.

Best Screenwriter
* Peter Morgan, The Queen.
Noah Baumbach, The Squid and the Whale.
Guillermo del Toro, Pan’s Labyrinth.
Dan Futterman, Capote.
Michael Arndt, Little Miss Sunshine.

Best British Producer
* Paul Greengrass, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, United 93.
Al Clark, Ken Marshall, Rachel Robey, Paul Andrew Williams, London to Brighton.
Lisa Bryer, Andrea Calderwood, Charles Steel, The Last King of Scotland.
Rebecca O’Brien, The Wind That Shakes the Barley.
Graham King, The Departed.

Dilys Powell Award for outstanding contribution to cinema: Leslie Phillips.

Helen Mirren tops ‘London Evening Standard’ Awards

As The Queen, Helen Mirren has brought back to her castle just about every best actress award in the United States. Ironically, she hasn’t fared all that well in Britain. First, she lost to Kate Dickie (Red Road) at the 2006 British Independent Film Awards and now she’s lost the Evening Standard Award to Judi Dench’s lonely, conniving lesbian teacher in Notes on a Scandal.

As far as the 2007 Academy Awards are concerned, there’s no suspense in the best actress category. Barring a meteor crashing into Earth during the Oscar ceremony, Helen Mirren will leave the Kodak Theater with one of those elongated androgynous statuettes in hand.

In her home turf, however, Mirren’s position is more precarious. Although I’d say she’s the favorite at the British Academy of Film awards (Kate Dickie is not in the running, though Judi Dench is), Mirren doesn’t have her name already engraved on the best actress Bafta statuette.

Update: We need to take that totally back. See below:

Royal Movies.

Personally, I think that Judi Dench’s win is not only deserving – she evokes empathy for a potential villainess – but also welcome. Last year’s films showcased numerous actresses in top form (e.g., Mirren, Dench, Penélope Cruz, Kate Winslet, Annette Bening, Meryl Streep), but U.S. critics, guilds, and Golden Globers – ever the victims of Groupthink Disease – opted to praise the same actress (and oftentimes the same actor, the same two or three films, the same two or three screenplays, and so on) ad nauseam. With her Evening Standard win, Judi Dench has had her work – which is just as flawless as Mirren’s – finally recognized by an award-giving group.

Other Evening Standard winners were best film United 93, best screenplay for Peter Morgan for both The Queen and The Last King of Scotland (actually co-written with Jeremy Brock), best comedian Sacha Baron Cohen for Borat, a technical award to cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle for The Last King of Scotland and Brothers of the Head (above, with Harry Treadaway and Luke Treadaway), and a special award to Stephen Frears “for making British film reverberate around the world.”

And finally, the other big surprise at the Evening Standard awards was Daniel Craig’s best actor win for the dismal (but widely praised) Casino Royale. Craig must have won the award for keeping a straight face while telling friends and foes that he’s bondjamesbond, while chasing a mad terrorist at the airport, while having his balls busted, while … I’d better stop here.

Best Film: United 93 directed by Paul Greengrass

Best Actor: Daniel Craig, Casino Royale

Best Actress: Judi Dench, Notes on a Scandal

Best Screenplay: Peter Morgan, The Queen and The Last King of Scotland

The Peter Sellers Award for Comedy: Sacha Baron Cohen, Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan

Technical Achievement: Cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle, The Last King of Scotland and Brothers of the Head

Most Promising Newcomer: Director Paul Andrew Williams, London to Brighton

The Alexander Walker Special Award: Director Stephen Frears, “for making British film reverberate around the world”

‘The Wind That Shakes the Barley’ with Padraic Delaney and Cillian Murphy.

Cillian Murphy Movies Top 2007 Irish Film Awards: ‘The Wind That Shakes the Barley,’ ‘Breakfast on Pluto’

Strangely, although it failed to get nominated in the Best Director (Ken Loach) and Best Screenplay (Paul Haverty) categories, 2006 Cannes winner The Wind That Shakes the Barley was chosen as the Best Irish Film at the 2007 Irish Film & Television Academy Awards ceremony held on February 9, 2007, in Dublin.

Starring Cillian Murphy and Padraic Delaney, The Wind That Shakes the Barley follows members of the Irish Republican Army as they fight the British in the early 20th century. Liam Cunningham, as a train driver who becomes an activist, was selected as the year’s Best Supporting Actor. Other The Wind That Shakes the Barley cast members include Orla Fitzgerald, Mary O’Riordan, Mary Murphy, Laurence Barry, Damien Kearney, and Frank Bourke.

Cillian Murphy: Best Actor for ‘Breakfast on Pluto’ transvestite cabaret singer

Cillian Murphy, for his part, was the winner of the Best Actor Irish Film Award – but not for The Wind That Shakes the Barley. Instead, Murphy was honored for his performance as a transvestite cabaret singer in Neil Jordan’s sociopolitical comedy-drama Breakfast on Pluto. Additionally, Breakfast on Pluto received three other Irish Film Awards: Best Director, Best Screenplay (Jordan and Pat McCabe), and Best Hair and Make-Up.

More Irish Film Awards 2007 winners: Eva Birthistle, ‘Little Miss Sunshine’

Eva Birthistle was voted Best Actress for playing the proprietress of a small-town pub – and the object of fanatical priest Matthew Macfadyen’s hatred – in Brian Kirk’s dark drama Middletown.

Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris’ Little Miss Sunshine, everybody’s favorite faux irreverent comedy, was the Best International Film. Little Miss Sunshine‘s ensemble features Toni Collette, Greg Kinnear, Alan Arkin, Steve Carell, Paul Dano, and Abigail Breslin.

AWARDS IN FILM

Best Film
Breakfast on Pluto
The Front Line
Middletown
Small Engine Repair
* The Wind That Shakes the Barley

Best International Film
Babel
Casino Royale
The Departed
* Little Miss Sunshine
United 93

Best Director
John Boorman – The Tiger’s Tail
David Gleeson – The Front Line
* Neil Jordan – Breakfast on Pluto
Brian Kirk – Middletown

Best Actor in a Lead Role
Pierce Brosnan – The Matador
Colin Farrell – Miami Vice
Brendan Gleeson – Studs
* Cillian Murphy – Breakfast on Pluto
Cillian Murphy – The Wind That Shakes the Barley

Best Actress in a Lead Role
* Eva Birthistle – Middletown
Gemma Doorly – A Song for Rebecca
Pauline McLynn – Gypo
Ruth Negga – Isolation

Best Actor in a Supporting Role
* Liam Cunningham – The Wind That Shakes the Barley
Padraic Delaney – The Wind That Shakes the Barley
Gerard McSorley – Middletown
Stephen Rea – Breakfast on Pluto

Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Sinead Cusack – The Tiger’s Tail
Orla Fitzgerald – The Wind That Shakes the Barley
* Fionnula Flanagan – Transamerica
Ruth Negga – Breakfast on Pluto

Best Script
Daragh Carville – Middletown
David Gleeson – The Front Line
Niall Heery – Small Engine Repair
* Neil Jordan & Pat McCabe – Breakfast on Pluto

Best Cinematography
* Seamus Deasy – The Tiger’s Tail
Seamus McGarvey – World Trade Center
Declan Quinn – Breakfast on Pluto
Robbie Ryan – Isolation

Best Music
Niall Byrne – Small Engine Repair
Patrick Cassidy – The Front Line
Glen Hansard – Once
* Stephen McKeon – The Tiger’s Tail

Best Production Design
Tom Conroy – Breakfast on Pluto
* Mark Geraghty – Get Rich or Die Tryin’
Ashleigh Jeffers – Middletown
Mark Lowry – Small Engine Repair

Best Costume Design
Joan Bergin – The Prestige
* Consolata Boyle – The Queen
Eimer Ni Mhaoldomhnaigh – Breakfast on Pluto
Maeve Patterson – The Tiger’s Tail

Best Hair & Makeup
Martina McCarthy, Denise Watson – The Tiger’s Tail
* Lorraine Glynn, Lynn Johnson – Breakfast on Pluto
Morna Ferguson, Lorraine Glynn – Middletown

AWARDS ACROSS FILM & TELEVISION

The BSE/IFB & NIFTC Breakthrough Talent Award
Padraic Delaney – Actor (The Wind That Shakes the Barley)
Orla Fitzgerald – Actress (The Wind That Shakes the Barley)
Domhnall Gleeson – Actor (Studs)
* Niall Heery – Writer/Director (Small Engine Repair)
Brian Kirk – Director (Middletown)
Lucy Kennedy – TV Presenter (The Podge and Rodge Show)

Best Editing in Film / TV Drama
Dermot Diskin – Showbands
Cúán MacConghail – Studs
* Stephen O’Connell – Stardust
Ray Roantree – Fallout

Best Sound in Film / TV Drama
* Peter Blayney, Patrick Drummond, John Fitzgerald, Mervyn Moore – Lassie
Michelle Cunniffe, John Fitzgerald, Nikki Moss, Simon Willis – Middletown
John Fitzgerald, Peter Blayney, Jon Stevenson & Dan Birch – Stardust
Brendan Deasy – The Tiger’s Tail

Best Short Film
Bongo Bong
The Faeries of Blackheath Woods
* Joyriders
The White Dress

Best Short Animation
Badly Drawn Roy
* Horn Ok Please
Pilgrim

AWARDS IN TELEVISION (Partial list)

Best Single Drama / Drama Serial
Fallout
Hide & Seek
Legend
* Stardust

Best Drama Series / Soap
* The Clinic
Murphy’s Law
Ros na Rún
Showbands

Best Actor in a Lead Role
Liam Cunningham – Showbands (Series 2)
* Ciaran Hinds – Rome
Michael McElhatton – Hide & Seek
James Nesbitt – Murphy’s Law

Best Actress in a Lead Role
Ruth Bradley – Legend
Anne Marie Duff – The Virgin Queen
Aisling O’Sullivan – The Clinic
* Ger Ryan – Stardust

Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Liam Cunningham – Murphy’s Law
Allen Leech – Legend
* Gary Lydon – The Clinic
Christopher O’Dowd – Showbands

Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Leigh Arnold – The Clinic
* Ruth Bradley – Stardust
Gemma Craven – The Clinic
Tina Kelleher – Showbands

Best Single Documentary
The Brothers
* Flann O’Brien: The Lives of Brian
The Ghosts of Duffy’s Cut
NO GO – The Free Derry Story
Tails from America

Best Documentary Series
The Family Silver: Bawnmore (Liberty Films)
Junior Doctors (Mint Productions & Flame Television)
* The Legend of Liam Clancy (Crossing the Line Films)
Made in America (Coco Television Productions Ltd)

Best Irish Language
Aifric
An Gealigoir Nocht
* Maírtín Ó Cadhain: Rí an Fhocail
Ros na Rún

Industry Contribution Award: Casting Director Nuala Mosielle

Lifetime Achievement Award: Television Presenter Gay Byrne

PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARDS

Best Irish Film
Breakfast on Pluto
Lassie
Studs
* The Wind That Shakes the Barley

Best International Actor
Sacha Baron Cohen, Borat
Daniel Craig, Casino Royale
* Leonardo DiCaprio, The Departed
Ian McKellen, X-Men: The Last Stand

Best International Actress
Penélope Cruz, Volver
Eva Green, Casino Royale
* Helen Mirren, The Queen
Kate Winslet, The Holiday

Best Television Personality
Eamonn Holmes, BBC NI
Gerry Kelly, UTV
Martin King, TV3
Taragh Loughrey Grant, Channel 6
Daithi Ó Se, TG4
* Bill O’Herlihy, RTE

Padraic Delaney and Cillian Murphy The Wind That Shakes the Barley photo: Pathé Distribution