Film Awards: Free Jimmy.
Norway Film Awards: Amandas
The nominations for the 2005-2006 Amandas were announced on June 28.
The winners of the 2005–2006 Amandas were announced on Aug. 18, during the Norwegian Film Festival at Haugesund.
The biting drama Den Brysomme mannen / The Bothersome Man, the apparent favorite at Norway’s 2006 Amanda Film Awards, did win three of the six top awards this past Friday, Aug. 18: Best Director (Jens Lien), Best Actor (Trond Fausa Aurvåg, who also directed the winning short film, Alene menn sammen / Lonely Together), and Best Original Screenplay (Per Schreiner). But strangely the “best directed” and “best written” Norwegian film of the year lost the Best Film award to the CGI-animated Slipp Jimmy fri / Free Jimmy, Christopher Nielsen’s bizarre tale about a bunch of misfits who try to free a drug-addicted elephant (that’s Jimmy).
The Best Actress was Ane Dahl Torp for her late 1960s Communist sympathizer in Gymnaslærer Pedersen / Comrade Pedersen.
Walk the Line beat Brokeback Mountain and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory for the Best Foreign Film award.
According to the Norwegian Film Institute (website), after 20 years as a public broadcasting presentation the Amanda ceremony was aired for the first time on a commercial broadcaster, TV2. The event took place at the Haugesund Concert Hall, as part of the 34th Norwegian International Film Festival (website).
The nominations for the Amanda Film Awards, the Norwegian Oscars, were announced on June 28 in Oslo. Jens Lien’s psychological thriller Den brysomme mannen / The Bothersome Man, which has been selected for the upcoming Toronto Film Festival, and Arild Frølich’s Pitbullterje, the tale of an unlikely friendship between two boys, received five nominations each. Ulrik Imtiaz Rolfsen’s Izzat, a crime drama set in Oslo’s Pakistani community, received four nods. All three films are vying for the Best Film award.
The other Best Film nominees are Hallvard Bræin and Arne B. Rostad’s documentary Giganten / The Giant, which depicts the life of Norwegian broadcaster and journalist Erik Bye, and Christopher Nielsen’s animated feature Slipp Jimmy fri / Free Jimmy.
The winners will be announced on August 18, during the Norwegian International Film Festival at Haugesund.
BEST FILM
Den Brysomme mannen / The Bothersome Man, Prod. Jørgen Storm Rosenberg, for Tordenfilm
Giganten / The Giant, Prods. Thorleif Hauge and Finn Gjerdrum, for Paradox Spillefilm
Izzat, Prods. John M Jakobsen and Sveinung Golimo, for Filmkameratene
Pitbullterje, Prods. Finn Gjerdrum, Thorleif Hauge, and Stein B. Kvae, for Paradox Spillefilm
* Slipp Jimmy fri / Free Jimmy, Prod. Lars Andreas Hellebust, for Storm Studio
BEST FOREIGN FILM
Brokeback Mountain, Dir. Ang Lee (USA), Local distr. Sandrew Metronome Norge
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Dir. Tim Burton (USA), Local distr. Sandrew Metronome Norge
* Walk the Line, Dir. James Mangold (USA), Local distr. Fox Film A/S
BEST DIRECTOR
* Jens Lien, Den Brysomme mannen / The Bothersome Man
Petter Næss, Elsk meg i morgen / Love Me Tomorrow
Arild Frølich, Pitbullterje
BEST ACTOR
* Trond Fausa Aurvåg, Den Brysomme mannen / The Bothersome Man
Emil Marwa, Izzat
Bjørnar Teigen, Import-eksport
BEST ACTRESS
Mariann Saastad Ottesen, Elsk meg i morgen / Love Me Tomorrow
Kristin Skogheim, Pitbullterje
* Ane Dahl Torp, Gymnaslærer Pedersen / Comrade Pedersen
BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE
Petronella Barker, Den Brysomme mannen / The Bothersome Man
* Talat Hussain, Import-eksport
Sven Nordin, Elsk meg i morgen / Love Me Tomorrow
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
* Per Schreiner, Den Brysomme mannen / The Bothersome Man
Leon Bashir, Ulrik Imtiaz Rolfsen, Izzat
Endre Lund Eriksen, Pittbullterje
THE CANAL+/SF NORGE AMANDA FOR BEST NORDIC NEWCOMER
Princess, Dir. Anders Morgenthaler, Prod. Zentropa Entertainments (Denmark)
* Tyttö sinä olet tähti / Beauty and the Bastard, Dir. Dome Karukoski, Prod. Helsinki-Filmi (Finland)
Blóðbönd / Thicker than Water, Dir. Árni Ólafur Ásgeirsson, Prod. Pegasus Pictures (Iceland)
Izzat, Dir. Ulrik Imitaz Rolfsen, Prod. Filmkameratene (Norway)
Om Gud vill / God Willing, Dir. Amir Chamdin, Prod. Chamdin Stöhr & SHE with Sonet Film, Film i Väst (Sweden)
BEST YOUTH / CHILDREN’S FILM
Izzat, Dir. Ulrik Imtiaz Rolfsen
* Pitbullterje, Dir. Arild Frølich
Tommys inferno, Dir. Ove Raymond Gyldenås
BEST SHORT FILM
* Alene menn sammen / Lonely Together, Dir. Trond Fausa Aurvåg
Den danske dikteren / The Danish Poet, Dirs. Torill Kove
Sniffer and Bobbie Peers
THE DVD AMANDA
Le Couperet / The Ax, Dir. Costa-Gavras (Belgium / France / Spain), Local distr Warner Bros. Entertainment Norge A/S
Everything Is Illuminated, Dir. Liev Schreiber (USA), Local distr Warner Bros. Entertainment Norge A/S
* Sometimes in April, Dir. Raoul Peck (France / USA / Rwanda), Local distr Warner Bros. Entertainment Norge A/S
Amber Tamblyn Best Actress: Locarno Film Festival
Winners at the 59th Locarno Film Festival were announced at the Swiss mountain resort this past Saturday, Aug. 12.
The (mostly) Swiss-German co-production Das Fräulein won the Golden Leopard for Best Film. Directed by Andrea Staka, Das Fräulein tells the story of three women from the former Yugoslavia, all of whom have sought a new life in Zurich.
The Jury Prize went to Ryan Fleck’s Half Nelson, which stars Ryan Gosling as a drug-addicted teacher who befriends one of his students, a girl from one of New York City’s rough ghettoes.
Laurent Achard was chosen Best Director for his Le Dernier des fous / The Last of the Crazy Ones (France), a dark tale about a young boy trying to cope with his disintegrating family.
The Best Actor Award was given to Burghart Klaussner for Der Mann von der Botschaft, in which he plays an attaché to the German embassy in Tbilisi, Georgia, who befriends a local girl. Amber Tamblyn was chosen Best Actress for her role as a sixteen-year-old girl accused of killing her newborn child in Stephanie Daley.
The 2006 Locarno Film Festival winners were announced on Aug. 12.
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION
GOLDEN LEOPARD FOR BEST FILM:
DAS FRÄULEIN by Andrea Štaka (Switzerland / Germany / Bosnia-Herzegovina)
SPECIAL JURY PRIZE (“for a film that best conveys the
spirit of communication between people and culture”):
HALF NELSON by Ryan Fleck (USA)
PRIZE FOR BEST DIRECTING:
Laurent Achard for LE DERNIER DES FOUS (France / Belgium)
LEOPARD FOR BEST ACTOR:
Burghart Klaussner for DER MANN VON DER BOTSCHAFT by Dito Tsintsadze (Germany)
LEOPARD FOR BEST ACTRESS:
Amber Tamblyn for STEPHANIE DALEY by Hilary Brougher (USA)
SPECIAL MENTION:
BODY RICE by Hugo Vieira da Silva (Portugal)
FILMMAKERS OF THE PRESENT COMPETITION
GOLDEN LEOPARD:
VERFOLGT by Angelina Maccarone, Germany
SPECIAL JURY PRIZE CINECINEMA AUTEUR:
CHAND KILO KHORMA BARAYE MARASSEM-E TADFIN by Saman Salour, Iran
SPECIAL JURY MENTION:
TARACHIME by Naomi Kawese
LEOPARD FOR BEST FIRST FILM:
L’ANNEE SUIVANTE by Isabelle Czajka (France)
SPECIAL MENTION:
SO LANGE DU HIER BIST by Stefan Westerwelle (Germany)
AUDIENCE AWARD:
DAS LEBEN DER ANDEREN / THE LIVES OF OTHERS by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck (Germany)
LEOPARDS OF TOMORROW
LEOPARDS OF TOMORROW – NEW SWISS TALENT
GOLDEN LEOPARD:
NACHTFLATTERN by Carmen Stadler
SILVER LEOPARD:
ASCHENBRüDER by Markus Heiniger and Steve Walker
THE ACTION LIGHT PRIZE FOR BEST SWISS NEWCOMER:
LA VéRITé VRAIE by Tania Zambrano-Ovalle
SPECIAL MENTION:
NOUVEL ORDRE by Gregory Bindschedler, Jean-Daniel Schneider, and Ausonio Tavares de Sousa
LEOPARDS OF TOMORROW – “EAST OF THE MEDITERRANEAN”
GOLDEN LEOPARD:
BUBACHKI / BUGS by Igor Ivanov (Macedonia)
SILVER LEOPARD:
WEST BANK STORY by Ari Sandel (USA)
FILM AND VIDEO SUBTITLING PRIZE:
BIR DAMLA SU by Deniz Gamze Ergüven (France)
SPECIAL MENTION:
DEFTERI FISI by Vardis Marinakis (Greece)
LEOPARDS OF TOMORROW – “CINEMA AND YOUTH”:
“EAST OF THE MEDITERRANEAN”:
ASCHENBRüDER by Steve Walker and Markus Heiniger
SPECIAL MENTION:
YASMINE TUGHANI / LA CHANSON DE YASMINE by Najwa Najjar (Palestine)
and
RAM ZA SLIKU MOJE DOMOVINE by Elmir Jukic (Bosnia-Herzogovinia / Slovenia)
YOUTH JURY AWARDS:
1st PRIZE:
DAS FRÄULEIN by Andreas Staka (Switzerland / Germany)
2nd PRIZE:
CHAHAR SHABEN SOURI / FIREWORKS WEDNESDAY by Asghar Farhadi
3rd PRIZE:
SUZANNE by Vivianne Candas (France)
SPECIAL PRIZE “to the film with the best interpretation of the concept ‘Environment is quality of life'”:
AGUA by Veronica Chen (Argentina / France)
SPECIAL MENTION:
HALF NELSON by Ryan Fleck (USA)
and
MNGOTOCHIE by Andrei A Eshpai (Russia)
NETPAC AWARD (for the promotion of Asian cinema):
DON’T LOOK BACK / NAE-CHUNGCHUM-AEGUE-GOHAM by Kim Young-Nam
and
BLISS / FU SHENG by Sheng Zhimin
FIPRESCI AWARD:
NAE-CHUNGCHUN-AEGAE-GOHAM / DON’T LOOK BACK by Young- Nam Kim
ECUMENICAL AWARD:
AGUA by Veronica Chen (Argentina / France)
SPECIAL MENTION:
LE DERNIER DE FOUS by Laurent Achard (France / Belgium)
FICC / IFFS DON QUIJOTE AWARD:
DAS FRÄULEIN by Andrea Stahl (Switzerland / Germany)
CICAE / ARTE AWARD:
JIMMY DELLA COLLINA by Enrico Pau (Italy)
SPECIAL MENTION:
DAS FRÄULEIN by Andrea Staka (Switzerland / Germany)
and
MNOTOCHIE by Andrei A. Eshpai (Russia)
CRITICS’ WEEK AWARD:
ZEIT DES ABSCHIEDS by Mehdi Sahebi (Switzerland)
SPECIAL MENTION:
AZ ELET VENDEGE / A GUEST OF LIFE by Tibor Szemzo (Hungary)
International Competition Jury:
Ann Hui – Director – China (President)
Edo Bertoglio – Photographer – Switzerland
Antonio Capuano – Director – Italy
Peter Rommel – Producer – Germany
Nobuhiro Suwa – Director – Japan
Filmmakers of the Present Competition Jury:
Emmanuelle Antille – Director and Video Artist – Switzerland
Tania Blanich – Director of the Program for Media Artists of the Rockefeller Foundation – USA
Hernan Musaluppi – Producer – Argentina
Rafi Pitts – Director – Iran / France
Heidrun Schleef – Screenwriter – Germany / Italy
Leopard for Best First Film Jury:
Lisandro Alonso – Director – Argentina
Christian Baute – Producer – Germany / France
João Pedro Rodrigues – Director – Portugal
Leopards of Tomorrow Jury:
Jacqueline Ada – Section Head of Coopération à la Direction des Affaires Européennes et Internationales du Centre National de la Cinématographie (CNC) – France
Jan Cvitkovic – Director – Slovenia
José Dubey – Film Marketing & Distribution – Switzerland
Thanassis Karathanos – Producer – Greece / Germany
Clara Khouri – Actress – Israel
Netpac Jury:
Shozo Ichiyama – Japan
Min Byung Lock – South Korea
Indu Shrikent – India
FIPRESCI Jury:
Léna Adam – France
Alexander Fedorov – Russia
Peter Holdener – Switzerland
Violeta Kovacsics – Spain
Rüdiger Suchsland – Germany
Ecumenical Jury:
Nicolae Dascalu – Romania
Maggie Morgan – Egypt
Ruben Rossello – Switzerland
Brigitta Rotach Schmid – Switzerland
Carlo Tagliabue – Italy
Magali Van Reeth – France
FICC (International Federation of Film Societies) Jury:
Sabine Girsberger – Switzerland
Niall Foran – Ireland
Kari Skjerve Bjerkan – Norway
CICAE / ARTE PRIZE Jury:
Dominique Bax – France
Tibor Biro – Hungary
Pinia Frey – Switzerland
Critics’ Week Jury:
Alberto Castellano – Italy
Julia Marx – Switzerland
Fawzi Soliman – Egypt
2006 Gramado Film Festival – Brazilian and Latin Cinema 2006 Kikito Awards
2006 Gramado Film Festival Awards: Aug. 19.
I’ve finally added the list of Kikito winners at this year’s Gramado Film Festival of “Brazilian and Latin Cinema.” The Kikitos were handed out on Aug. 19 in the small town of Gramado, located in the Brazilian south.
The Best Brazilian Feature award was given to two films: the semi-documentary Serras da Desordem (literally, “Hills of Disorder”) and the social drama Anjos do Sol / Angels of the Sun.
Directed by Andrea Tonacci, Serras da Desordem follows a nomad Indian who, after surviving an attack by local landowners, spends ten years roaming the hills of the Brazilian mid-west. Tonacci also took home the Best Director award. Rudi Lagemann’s Anjos do Sol portrays the plight of a pre-teen girl who is forced into prostitution.
The Best Actress award was given to Mel Lisboa for her 1960s political militant in Sonhos e Desejo / Dreams and Desire, while the Best Actor was Antônio Calloni for his ruthless pimp in Anjos do Sol.
The Best Latin American Film was Francisco Vargas Quevedo’s El Violin / The Violin, about the tensions between Mexican peasants and that country’s military in the Guerrero region. El Violin also won the Critics’ Prize and the Audience Award.
Santiago Film Festival Awards
2006 Santiago Film Festival Awards: August 14, 2006
En el hoyo, Juan Carlos Rulfo’s documentary about construction workers building the second deck of Mexico City’s Periferico freeway, won the Grand Prize at the second Santiago International Film Festival. En el hoyo also took home the Premio Sin Fronteras (Without Borders Award), which guarantees commercial distribution in Chile.
French filmmaker Pascale Breton won the Best Director Award for Illumination, which revolves around the troubled emotional life of a young man (Clet Beyer) living on the coast of Britanny.
Peruvian director Claudia Llosa received an Honorable Mention for her film Madeinusa, the tale of an adolescent from rural Peru who falls in love with a visitor from Lima, while Rodrigo Moreno’s Argentinian political drama El Custodio received a Special Mention.
Best Film: En el hoyo (Mexico) by Juan Carlos
Rulfo
Best Director: Pascale Breton for Illumination (France)
Honorable Mention: Claudia Llosa for Madeinusa (Peru)
Special Mention: El Custodio (Argentina) by
Rodrigo Moreno
Premio Sin Fronteras / Without Borders Award: En
el hoyo (Mexico) by Juan Carlos Rulfo
Jury Members: Alicia Scherson, Phillipe Jalladeau, Peter Scarlet, Klaus Eder
The World’s Fastest Indian was the big winner in the film categories at this year’s Air New Zealand Screen Awards ceemony held in Auckland this past Thursday, Aug. 24.
Writer-director Roger Donaldson’s film about an ageing bike racer who set the land-speed world record at a bike competition in Utah won seven awards, including Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Actor (Anthony Hopkins).
Other winners include American actress Ruby Dee, for her role as a Fijian matriarch in No. 2, and cinematographer Alun Bollinger for his work on River Queen, the tale of an Irish family caught on both sides of the British-Maori war of the 1860s.
This year, only four films were in competition in the 13 categories of the Air New Zealand Screen (Feature Film) Awards. Besides the aforementioned three films, the romantic comedy Sione’s Wedding was also in the running. All four titles were nominated for the Best Picture Award.
According to Stuff, earlier this year The World’s Fastest Indian became the highest-grossing New Zealand film production ever.
FILM
BEST PICTURE
No. 2 Tim White, Philippa Campbell, Lydia Livingstone
River Queen Don Reynolds & Chris Auty
Sione’s Wedding John Barnett & Chloe Smith
* The World’s Fastest Indian Gary Hannam & Roger Donaldson
BEST DIRECTOR
No. 2 Toa Fraser
Sione’s Wedding Chris Graham
* The World’s Fastest Indian Roger Donaldson
BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
River Queen Cliff Curtis
Sione’s Wedding Shimpal Lelisi
* The World’s Fastest Indian Anthony Hopkins
BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
* No. 2 Ruby Dee
River Queen Samantha Morton
Sione’s Wedding Teuila Blakely
BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
* No. 2 Rene Naufahu
No. 2 Xavier Horan
River Queen Rawiri Pene
BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
* No. 2 Mia Blake
No. 2 Miriama McDowell
Sione’s Wedding Madeleine Sami
BEST SCREENPLAY
No. 2 Toa Fraser
Sione’s Wedding James Griffin & Oscar Kightley
* The World’s Fastest Indian Roger Donaldson
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
No. 2 Leon Narbey
* River Queen Alun Bollinger
The World’s Fastest Indian David Gribble ACS
BEST EDITING
No. 2 Chris Plummer
Sione’s Wedding Paul Maxwell
* The World’s Fastest Indian John Gilbert ACE
BEST ORIGINAL MUSIC
* No. 2 Don McGlashan
The World’s Fastest Indian J.Peter Robinson
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
River Queen Rick Kofoed
Sione’s Wedding Iain Aitken
* The World’s Fastest Indian J. Dennis Washington & Rob Gillies
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
* River Queen Barbara Darragh
Sione’s Wedding Jane Holland
The World’s Fastest Indian Nancy Cavallaro & Jane Holland
BEST SOUND
No. 2 Tim Prebble, Mike Hedges & Dave Madigan
Sione’s Wedding Tony Johnson
* The World’s Fastest Indian Tim Prebble, Gethin Creagh & Michael Hedges
BEST DIGITAL FEATURE
Banana in a Nutshell Roseanne Liang
* {Dream} Preserved Stephen Kang
Squeegee Bandit Rhonda Kite & Sandor Lau
BEST TECHNICAL CONTRIBUTION TO A DIGITAL FEATURE
EVENT 16 Derek Pearson
Hidden Tim McLachlan
* Squeegee Bandit Sandor Lau
BEST SHORT FILM
Blue Willow Veialu Aila-Unsworth
* Nature’s Way Jane Shearer
Us James Blick
BEST PERFORMANCE IN A SHORT FILM
Nature’s Way Matthew Sunderland
The Lost One Anna Hutchison
* Us Alison Bruce
BEST SCRIPT FOR A SHORT FILM
Blue Willow Veialu Aila-Unsworth
* Dead Letters Paolo Rotondo
Us James Blick
BEST TECHNICAL CONTRIBUTION TO A SHORT FILM
Dead Letters Grant Major
* Nature’s Way Andrew Commis
The Ambassador’s Brain Tom Reilly
TELEVISION
BEST DRAMA
* Outrageous Fortune Mike Smith (South Pacific Pictures)
The Insiders Guide to Love Dave Gibson, Donna Malane & Chris Tyson (The Gibson Group)
The Market Rachel Jean (Isola Productions Ltd)
SONY BEST DRAMA SERIES
* Outrageous Fortune Mike Smith (South Pacific Pictures)
The Insiders Guide to Love Dave Gibson, Donna Malane & Chris Tyson (The Gibson Group)
The Market Rachel Jean (Isola Productions Ltd)
BEST COMEDY
* bro’Town Elizabeth Mitchell (Firehorse Films)
Facelift – Series 3 Chris Ellis & Dave Gibson (The Gibson Group)
Seven Periods with Mr. Gormsby Tom Scott & Danny Mulheron (Direct Hit)
BEST DIRECTING, DRAMA/COMEDY SHOW
Interrogation Murray Keane
Outrageous Fortune Mark Beesley
* The Insiders Guide to Love Nathan Price
BEST ACTOR
Outrageous Fortune Antony Starr
* The Insiders Guide to Love Gareth Reeves
The Market Xavier Horan
BEST ACTRESS
Interrogation Luanne Gordon
* The Insiders Guide to Love Kate Elliott
The Market Cherie James
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Interrogation Joel Tobeck
The Insiders Guide to Love Nick Dunbar
* The Market Pete Smith
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
* Interrogation Claire Chitham
Outrageous Fortune Antonia Prebble
The Market Anapela Polataivao
BEST SCRIPT, SINGLE EPISODE OF A DRAMA SERIES
* Interrogation “Girl In Woods (Non Speaking)” Fiona Samuel
Outrageous Fortune Ep 13 – Rachel Lang & James Griffin
The Insiders Guide to Love Ep 6 – Paula Boock
BEST SCRIPT, SINGLE EPISODE OF A COMEDY SERIES
* bro’Town Ep 2.6 “Touched by a Teacher” – Oscar Kightley, Mario Gaoa, David Fane, Shimpal Lelisi & Elizabeth Mitchell
Seven Periods with Mr. Gormsby Ep 3 – Dave Armstrong, Danny
Mulheron, Tom Scott
The Pretender Ep 1 – Peter Cox
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Black Grace – From Cannon’s Creek to Jacob’s Pillow Aileen O’Sullivan & Toby Mills (Seannachie / Tawera Productions)
Lifting of the Makutu Peta Carey (Watershed Films)
* The Promise Leanne Pooley (Spacific Films)
BEST DIRECTING, DOCUMENTARY
Earthquake Gaylene Preston
* Lifting of the Makutu Peta Carey
The Promise Leanne Pooley
BEST DOCUMENTARY / FACTUAL SERIES
* High Times Rachel Jean (Isola Productions Ltd)
Off the Rails – A Love Story Melanie Rakena & Marcus Lush (Jam TV)
Wicked Weather John Hyde (NHNZ)
BEST MAORI-LANGUAGE SHOW
* Koi Chris Winitana (Awekura Productions)
Moteatea Hinewehi Mohi & Fran Davey (Raukatauri Productions)
Pukana Matai Smith (Cinco Cine Film Productions )
BEST CHILDREN’S SHOW
* Holly’s Heroes Dave Gibson (The Gibson Group) Ann Darrouzet & Jenni Tosi (Tosi Westside)
Smokefree Rockquest 2005 – Pamela Cain & Lorraine Barry (Screentime Ltd)
QTV Project Q Episode 1 Microbial Forensics – Glenis Giles (Oliver Giles Productions)
BEST LIFESTYLE/ENTERTAINMENT SHOW
* Dancing with the Stars Debra Kelleher (TVNZ)
Game of Two Halves Carlena Smith (Eyeworks Touchdown)
The Living Room – Series 3 Mark Albiston & Amelia Bardsley (Sticky Pictures)
BEST EVENT BROADCAST
National Maori Sports Awards 2005 – Bailey Mackey & Brendon Butt (Maori Television)
Shihad Live Aotea Square – Hayley Cunningham (Visionary Film and Television)
* Westfield Style Pasifika 2005 – Stan Wolfgramm & Julie Smith (Drum Productions)
BEST REALITY SERIES
* Border Patrol – Busted At The Border Nigel Snowden (Cream TV)
Miss Popularity Greg Heathcote & Julie Christie (Eyeworks Touchdown)
The Big Experiment Charlotte Purdy, Sam Blackley, Jill Graham
(Rogue Productions)
PRESENTER ENTERTAINMENT/FACTUAL
* Off the Rails – A Love Story Marcus Lush
The Tem Show Tem Morrison for Greenstone Pictures
What Now Tamati Coffey for Whitebait TV
BEST DIRECTING, FACTUAL/ENTERTAINMENT/REALITY
Intrepid Journeys – Cuba with Kim Hill Jane Andrews
Off the Rails – A Love Story Melanie Rakena
* The Living Room – Series 3 Mark Albiston
BEST CAMERAWORK, DRAMA
* The Insiders Guide to Love Simon Baumfield
The Insiders Guide to Love David Paul
The Market Grant McKinnon
BEST CAMERAWORK, DOCUMENTARY
Black Grace – From Cannon’s Creek to Jacob’s Pillow Michael O’Connor
Lifting of the Makutu Renaud Maire
* The Promise Wayne Vinten
BEST EDITING, DRAMA
* Interrogation Lisa Hough
Outrageous Fortune Nicola Smith
The Insiders Guide to Love Paul Sutorius
BEST EDITING, DOCUMENTARY
* Black Grace – From Cannon’s Creek to Jacob’s Pillow Ken Sparks
High Times Mark Taylor
The Promise Tim Woodhouse
BEST ORIGINAL MUSIC
Earthquake Plan 9: David Donaldson, Stephen Roche, Janet
Roddick
Lands of Our Fathers – My African Legacy Jonathan Besser, Whirimako Black, Oliver Mtukudzi
* The Insiders Guide to Love David Long
CONTRIBUTION TO A SOUNDTRACK
* Earthquake Melanie Graham, Polly McKinnon & Mike Hedges
Frontier of Dreams Ian Leslie, Chris Todd & Ray Beentjes
Outrageous Fortune Steve Finnigan & Tom Miskin
ACHIEVEMENT IN PRODUCTION DESIGN
* bro’Town Ant Sang
Interrogation Brett Schwieters
Outrageous Fortune Clayton Ercolano
CONTRIBUTION TO DESIGN
Facelift – Series 3 Alex Kennedy for Kennedy Model Making
* The Insiders Guide to Love Nic Smillie
The Survivor Files Karl Butler
Toronto Film Festival Movies: Toronto Vanguard
The list of films to be screened at this year’s edition of the Toronto International Film Festival can be found here.
Among the entries in the “Contemporary World Cinema” sidebar are Jens Lien’s quirky drama Den brysomme mannen / The Bothersome Man (Norway), winner of the Best Director and Best Screenwriting awards at this year’s Norwegian Film Institute Amanda Awards; Jeffrey Jeturian’s Kubrador / The Bet Collector (The Philippines), the story of a bet collector whose life is changed following a death in the neighborhood, and the winner of this year’s OSIAN-CINEFAN Festival’s Best (Asian) Film Award; and Robert Favreau’s Un Dimanche à Kigali / A Sunday in Kigali (Canada), which stars Luc Picard as a journalist returning to Rwanda after the genocide in order to find his long-lost Rwandan lover.
Also, Jasmila Žbanic’s portrayal of the aftermath of Bosnia’s civil war, Grbavica (Bosnia and Herzegovina / Austria), winner of the Golden Bear at the last Berlin Film Festival; Hans-Christian Schmid’s Requiem (Germany), starring Berlin Film Festival and German Film Academy Best Actress winner Sandra Hüller as a woman possessed by the devil; and Rachid Bouchareb’s look at misplaced patriotism (and the winner of an ensemble Best Actor Award at this year’s Cannes Film Festival), Indigènes / Days of Glory (France / Morocco / Algeria / Belgium), in which North Africans fight for France – the colonizing power – during World War II. (The Toronto Festival site compares Indigènes to Edward Zwick’s deeply flawed and highly sentimental Glory; I hope they are way off the mark.)
And finally, Denis Dercourt’s La Tourneuse de pages / The Page Turner (France), about the symbiotic relationship between a piano player (the excellent Catherine Frot) and her soothing page turner played by Déborah François (the synopsis reminds me of the flawed but touching Food of Love); Francisco Vargas Quevedo’s El Violin / The Violin (Mexico), which depicts the tensions between Mexican peasants and that country’s military in the Guerrero region; and Szabólcs Hajdu’s Fehér tenyér / White Palms (Hungary), the story of a Hungarian gymnast attempting to regain his psychological and physical balance after immigrating to Canada.
Among the films to be screened at the “Special Presentations” sidebar are Zabou Breitman’s L’ Homme de sa vie / The Man of My Life (France), which revolves around the unlikely friendship that develops between a bourgeois, happily married man (Bernard Campan) and a free-spirited gay man (Charles Berling) during a summer vacation in the French countryside; Eytan Fox’s The Bubble (Israel) – the title refers to cosmopolitan Tel Aviv – which depicts the dramatic changes in the lives of three roommates when one of them (played by Ohad Knoller of Yossy & Jagger) begins an affair with a Palestinian (Fox co-wrote the screenplay with partner Gal Uchovsky); and Paris, je t’aime (France), a compilation film directed by a number of international names, including Isabel Coixet, Walter Salles, Gérard Depardieu, Sylvain Chomet, Alfonso Cuarón, Wes Craven, and Richard LaGravenese.
Also included in the “Special Presentations” sidebar are a series of classic Norman McLaren shorts, including Pas de deux (1968), Neighbours (1952), and La Merle (1958).
The “Gala Presentations” sidebar includes Steven Zaillian’s much-delayed All the King’s Men (USA), a remake of the 1949 Academy Award-winning film, starring Sean Penn in the old Broderick Crawford role (based on Louisiana governor Huey Long) of an ambitious and corrupt politician in the American South; Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Best Director winner at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, Babel (USA), about the lack of interconnectedness between human beings – including Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, and Gael García Bernal – in our dysfunctional world (the screenplay was written by frequent Iñárritu collaborator Guillermo Arriaga); and Pedro Almodóvar’s Volver (Spain), which portrays the relationship between two sisters (Penélope Cruz and Lola Dueñas) and the ghost of their mother (Almodóvar veteran Carmen Maura). Volver won an ensemble Best Actress Award at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, while Almodóvar took the Best Screenplay Award.
The “Masters” sidebar will showcase films by the likes of Alain Resnais (Cœurs / Private Fears in Public Places), Nanni Moretti (Il Caimano / The Caiman), Margarethe von Trotta (Ich bin die Andere / I Am the Other Woman), Gianni Amelio (La Stella che non c’è / The Missing Star), Volker Schlöndorff (STRAJK – Die Heldin von Danzig / STRIKE), Werner Herzog (Rescue Dawn), and Ken Loach (The Wind That Shakes the Barley).
The full list of films to be screened at this year’s edition of the Toronto International Film Festival can be found here.
This year, the Toronto International Film Festival launches the Vanguard sidebar, “hitting audiences with a raw, pulsating aesthetic that speaks to sexual, cultural and cinematic freedoms,” as per the festival’s press release. “The Festival has felt the need for some time to establish a program for ‘early adopters’, says Noah Cowan, Festival Co-Director, “people who delight in movies that push the envelopes of technology, culture, sexuality and cinema itself. These films are edgy, irreverent, definitely sexy, and have a palpable, youthful zing.” To date, the program features 11 titles including four world and six North American premieres.
Among Toronto’s Vanguard films are Geoffrey Wright’s Macbeth (Australia), referred to as a “gritty and ferociously inventive contemporary adaptation” of Shakespeare’s play, set in the seedy underworld of Melbourne’s street gangs; Jean-Marc Barr and Pascal Arnold’s Chacun sa nuit (France / Denmark), the story of a highly sexual and highly sexually arousing stud (Arthur Dupont) who ends up – what else? – murdered, and the attempts of his sister (and sometime lover, played by Lizzie Brocheré) to uncover the truth; Antti-Jussi Annila’s Jade Warrior (Finland / China / Estonia), which combines Chinese and Finnish mythology by placing an ancient Chinese warrior in modern-day Finland; and John Cameron Mtichell’s sexually explicit Shortbus (US), which has already caused a sensation at Cannes.
Also, Christian Volckman’s Renaissance (France / UK / Luxembourg), an anime film noir described as a cross between Metropolis and Blade Runner; Johnnie To’s two-part actioner Election (Hong Kong); Bobcat Goldthwait’s Sleeping Dogs Lie (US), a dark comedy about a young woman (Melinda Page Hamilton) whose deep dark secret, when revealed, turns her life into chaos; and Gerardo Naranjo’s Drama/Mex (Mexico), which follows the emotional ups and downs of a teen prostitute and three sexually-charged youths throughout the course of one steamy Acapulco night.
The 2006 Sarajevo Film Festival came to a close yesterday, Aug. 26. The Heart of Sarajevo Best Film prize went to Andrea Štaka’s Das Fraulein (Germany / Switzerland / Bosnia-Herzegovina), the story of three female immigrants from the former Yugoslavia living in Zurich. (Das Fraulein also won the Best Film prize at this year’s Locarno Film Festival.)
The Best Actor winner was Rakan Rushaidat, for his “minimalist but effective performance” in All for Free / Sve Dzaba (Croatia / Bosnia-Herzegovina / Serbia), while the Best Actress Award was given to Marija Skaricic for her performance “built on unpredictable and unconventional emotional expression” in Das Fraulein.
Michael Winterbottom and Mat Whitecross’ political faux-documentary The Road to Guantanamo won the Audience Award.
The list of winners at the Sarajevo Film Festival was basically a regional affair, comprised almost exclusively of productions with creative and/or financial links to Southeastern Europe.
The festival’s Best Film prize is accompanied by 25,000 euros. The Best Acting awards come with 2,500 euros.
The 12th Sarajevo Film Festival was held between Aug. 18-26.
Feature Film
Heart of Sarajevo for Best Film:
DAS FRAULEIN / DAS FRÄULEIN (Switzerland, Gemany, Bosnia and Herzegovina) by Andrea Štaka
Special Jury Award:
MUM’N’DAD / MAMA I TATA (Bosnia and Herzegovina) by Faruk Loncarevic
Heart of Sarajevo for Best Actress:
Marija Škaricic for DAS FRAULEIN / DAS FRÄULEIN (Switzerland, Gemany, Bosnia and Herzegovina) by Andrea Štaka
Heart of Sarajevo for Best Actor:
Rakan Rushaidat ALL FOR FREE / SVE DŽABA (Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia) by Antonio Nuic
Special Mention:
PAPER WILL BE BLUE / HIRTIA VA FI ALBASTRA (Romania) by Radu Muntean
Short Film
Heart of Sarajevo for Best Film:
GOOD LUCK NEDIM (Slovenia) by Marko Šantic
Special Jury Mentions:
IT’S NOT THAT I KNOW, THAT’S JUST THE WAY IT IS / NIJE DA ZNAM, NEGO JE TAKO (Croatia) by Tanja Golic
and
THOUGHT OF THE DAY / SKEPSI TIS IMERAS (Greece) by Yiannis Gaitanidis
Documentary Film
Heart of Sarajevo for Best Documentary Film:
FACING THE DAY / ŠTO SA SOBOM PREKO DANA (Croatia) by Ivona Juka
Human Rights Award:
UKOVAR – FINAL CUT / VUKOVAR – POSLEDNJI REZ (Serbia) by Janko Baljak
Honorary Heart of Sarajevo Awards: Mike Leigh, British director
“The award is given in recognition of the outstanding contribution to the art of cinema and the support to the development of the Sarajevo Film Festival.”
and
Gavrilo Grahovac, Bosnia-Herzegovina Minister of Culture and Sports
“For his outstanding contribution to the development of the film industry of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and to that the Sarajevo Film Festival.”
Prix European Film Academy/UIP:
GOOD LUCK NEDIM (Slovenia) by Marko Šantic
Award for the best short movie granted by the International United Pictures. The winner is qualifying for the Award (EFA)
CICAE (Confederation Internationale des Cinemas d’art et Essai) Award:
PAPER WILL BE BLUE / HIRTIA VA FI ALBASTRA (Romania) by Radu Muntean
European Documentary Network Talent Award:
Džemal Šabic for TWO SISTERS (STORY ABOUT LOVE) (Bonia-Herzegovina)
Audience Award:
THE ROAD TO GUANTANAMO by Michael Winterbottom and Mat Whitecross
Runners-up:
Carnival
Volver
Das Fräulein
Nafaka
Skritek
The Edge of Hope
Dear Father, Quiet, We’re shooting
Seven and a Half
The Melon Route
My Country, My Country
All for Free
Peaceful Warrior
Vukovar – Final Cut
The Hell
Best Teen Film: WHOLETRAIN (Germany) by Florian Gaag
Feature Film Jury: President of the Jury Jasmila Žbanic, director (Bosnia and Herzegovina); Wouter Barendrecht, founder of Fortissimo Film Sales (the Netherlands); Jan Cvitkovic, director (Slovenia); Kim Dong-ho, director of the Pusan International Film Festival (Korea); Jérôme Paillard, director of the Cannes Film Festival Market (France)
Short Film Jury: President of the Jury: Valeria Golino, actress (Italy); Niki Mossböck, film editor (Austria); Ognjen Svilicic, director and screenwritter (Croatia)
Documentary Film Jury: President of the Jury: Peter Liechti, independent filmmaker (Switzerland); Anette Olsen, journalist (Denmark); Irene Bignardi, film critic (Italy)
EFA/UIP Jury: Susan Coulter, President of The Global Film Initiative; Stefan Arsenijevic, Film and TV director; Jytte Jensen, Curator in the Department of Film and Media at The Museum of Modern Art
CICAE Jury: Chiara Barbo, Cinema Critic at VIVILCINEMA; Astrid Kuehl, Managing Director of Hamburg Short Film Agency, co-director of Hamburg International Short Film Festival; Olivier Gicart, Cultural Affairs, Province of Hainaut, in charge of Cinema activities for the Art Cinemas Plaza in Mons and Le Parc in Charleroi
EDN Jury: Anette Olsen, freelance journalist; Peter Liechti, Independent filmmaker; Irene Bignardi, film critic and journalist