65th Directors Guild of America Awards Winners

As expected by me, Ben Affleck got the Guild's top award and now the "heat" for him not being nominated at Oscar has risen to the maximum level. If him and his film has been honored in many industry awards, I really wonder what happened with AMPAS members; probably we will never know for sure but it is very strange when many -especially Guilds- honor him and he was unable to get enough votes to get an Oscar nomination.

Really glad that Searching for Sugar Man and Malik Bendjelloul are winning "everything" -well, almost all documentary awards in festivals and seasonal awards- as will not get tired of saying that is the best documentary I have seen "ever" (up to this year).

Winners are in *BLUE. To check winners in non-film categories go here.

1/8/13
A few minutes ago the DGA announced the five nominees for current edition of the guild awards and on Saturday, February 2 at the Ray Dolby Ballroom will be the awards ceremony that will include honoring documentary films which will be announced on January 14 –will modify post to include these nominations-.

DGA President Taylor Hackford commented: "DGA members have chosen an incredibly rich and varied group of filmmakers to nominate for this year's Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film Award. These directors represent the highest standard of filmmaking, and their films are a testament to artistic achievement, innovative storytelling and the passion that filmmakers share with their audiences. Being nominated by their peers is what makes this award particularly meaningful for directors, and I congratulate all of the nominees for their outstanding work."

Feature Film Award
*Ben Affleck for Argo
Kathryn Bigelow for Zero Dark Thirty
Tom Hooper for Les Misérables
Ang Lee for Life of Pi
Steven Spielberg for Lincoln

Documentary Award
*Malik Bendjelloul for Seaching For Sugar Man
Kirby Dick for The Invisible
David France for How To Survive A Plague
Lauren Greenfield for The Queen of Versailles
Alison Klayman for Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry

In the past ten years the Oscar and DGA’s nominees have coincided only twice, so can assume that what the approx. 14,500 guild members chose could be different than what total Academy members that vote for Oscar nominations could select. Most are speculating that Tom Hooper will not make it to Oscar but now I’m wondering if Steven Spielberg will get a nod. The two Anderson’s (Paul and Wes) were snubbed from these awards and now is questionable if they will get a nod. Most notable are the absence of movies from TWC. Anyway next Thursday we will learn what will happen with Oscar and how similar nods are to above ones.

To read nominees in the Directorial Team go here. On other news, Milos Forman will receive the DGA Lifetime Achievement Award and Michael Apted the Aldrich Award. Television nominees will be announced on January 9 and you can use above link to check them on or after that date.

17th Annual Art Directors Guild Awards Winners

Last night winners announced at the awards ceremony in *BLUE. To learn Television and other categories winners use link at post bottom, there are some surprises for me.

From winners there are only two films in the Oscar category, so we can assume that Guild members that also are AMPAS members will split vote among these two: Anna Karenina and Life of Pi. As have seen both movies my personal opinion is that Production Design is a lot better in Life of Pi; but recognize that Anna Karerina has a very original production design, so original that made film unwatchable for me. Sigh.

1/3/13
The Art Directors Guild (ADG) today announced nominations in nine categories of Production Design for theatrical motion pictures, television, commercials and music videos competing in the ADG’s 17th Annual Excellence in Production Design Awards. The nominations were announced by ADG Council Chair John Shaffner and Awards co-producers Greg Grande and Raf Lydon. Deadline for final voting, which is done online, is January 31.

The ADG represents nearly 2,000 members who work throughout the United States, Canada and the rest of the world in film, television and theater as Production Designers, Art Directors, and Assistant Art Directors; Scenic, Title and Graphic Artists; Illustrators and Matte Artists; and Set Designers and Model Makers. Members will now have to vote to define winners and the awards ceremony will take place Saturday, February 2, 2013, from the International Ballroom of the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills with Paula Poundstone serving as host for the fourth consecutive year.

These are the nominations for Feature Film

Period Film
*Sarah Greenwood for Anna Karenina
Sharon Seymour for Argo
J. Michael Riva for Django Unchained
Eve Stewart for Les Misérables
Rick Carter for Lincoln

Fantasy Film
Uli Hanisch and Hugh Bateup for Cloud Atlas
*David Gropman for Life of Pi
Arthur Max for Prometheus
Nathan Crowley and Kevin Kavanaugh for The Dark Night Rises
Dan Hannah for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Contemporary Film
Nelson Coates for Flight
*Dennis Gassner for Skyfall
Alan MacDonald for The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Eugenio Caballero for The Impossible
Jeremy Hindle for Zero Dark Thirty

To learn nominees in television, commercials and music videos go here. Nominations show us a great variety of films that could get an Oscar nomination in this category; but up to this moment Anna Karenina, Les Misérables, Lincoln and The Hobbit are the ones with more buzz along with another film that got no nod from this guild, The Master.

42nd International Film Festival Rotterdam Award Winners

These are all the festival award winners announced in different dates, including today's announcement plus Friday, February 1st award ceremony.

Hivos Tiger Award
The three winners of the equal Hivos Tiger Awards

Môj pes Killer (My Dog Killer), Mira Fornay, Slovakia and Czech Republic, 2013.
‘The challenge for showing a very strong subject from the inside reveals the difficulty of life and a sense of violence.’

Soldate Jeannette (Soldier Jane), Daniel Hoeslm, Austria, 2012.
‘The breaking out of two women is realized with strong imagery and visual power. Each shot is minimal but gives a high construction of forms and shapes; a very formalistic approach.’

Larzanandeye charbi (Fat Shaker), Mohammad Shirvani. Iran, 2013.
‘The film introduces the audience to a very different world. It is a fascinating story with superb characters. The cinematography really draws out the story, the paranoia and the characters.’

Other Awards

FIPRESCI Award: O quinto evanxeo de Gaspar Hauser (The Fifth Gospel of Kaspar Hauser), Alberto Gracia, Spain
‘For Alberto Gracia’s radical and audacious desire to capture the world as seen through the eyes of a legendary, rebel madman. Mysterious and bravely resisting any amount of words to precisely describe what he’s achieved on screen, Gracia’s work is both meticulously structured and yet as untamed as a dream in the deepest dark of night. We celebrate the film’s achievement to convey Kaspar’s divided selves, identities and visions through purely cinematic means, and to also question the very purpose of cinema itself.’

NETPAC Award: Yang tidak dibicarakan ketika membicarakan cinta (What They Don't Talk About When They Talk About Love), Mouly Surya, Indonesia
‘For its delicate portrayal of the desires and fantasies of its visually-impaired characters in a Jakarta school of the blind that appeals to the senses in evoking the textures and rhythms of the emerging southeast Asian cinema.’

The Big Screen Award: Bellas Mariposas (Pretty Butterflies), Salvatore Mereu, Italy
‘Representing the audience, we felt the duty to watch out for a refreshing movie. One that would be an addition to what is on offer in Dutch cinemas; one that we don’t want others to miss. We found this voice in a movie with a young perspective that frolics from characters to plotlines and is just a celebration of life all together.’

Dutch Circle of Film Critics (KNF) Award: El Futuro (The Future), Alicia Scherson, Chile, Germany, Italy and Spain
‘In a solid competition, a number of titles distinguished themselves by taking more risks. One film caught the jury's eye with its distinct tone of voice. The film plays with light and darkness on many levels; perhaps surprisingly, this is reflected most effectively in the inventive and atmospheric soundtrack. The intriguing central relationship, which calls back memories to Last Tango in Paris, is intimately portrayed by Manuella Martelli and Rutger Hauer.’

UPC Audience Award: Matterhorn, Diedrik Ebbinge, Netherlands
Dioraphte Award: Wadja, Haifaa Al Mansour, Saudi Arabia and Germany

Moviezone Award (Young People's Jury): Les Chevaux de Dieu (God's Horses), Nabil Ayouch, Morocco, France and Belgium

Lions Film Award: Penumbra, Eduardo Villanueva, Mexico

Awards for Best Cine Mart Projects

Euroimages Co-Production Development Award for Best European Project: Jätten (The Giant), Johannes Nyholm, Sweden
‘A project of a talented filmmaker who is about to make a leap from widely appreciated short films to his first fiction that will a tender melodrama.’

ARTE International Prize: The Lobster, Yorgos Lanthimos, Ireland, UK and Greece
‘A very exciting and original project from one of the most talented emerging filmmakers of the last decade.’

WorldView New Genres Fund Development Award: Zama, Lucrecia Martel, Argentina and Spain
‘A visually stunning and uniquely approached period project by one of South America’s most influential director.’

Tiger Awards for Short Films
Three equal winners

The Tiger's Mind, Beatrice Gibson, UK, 20'
Unsupported Transit, Zachary Formwalt, Netherlands, 15'
Janus, Erik van Lieshout, Netherlands, 51'

IFFR 2013 Short Film Nominee for the European Awards 2013
Though I Know the River is Dry, Omar Robert Hamilton, Egypt, Palestine and UK, 20'

Two films particularly call my attention and have been following them since I learn about them. According to photos and trailer Soldier Jane seems to have outstanding visuals and I'm very intrigued by the Chilean film, El Futuro.

36th Göteborg International Film Festival Awards Winners

Last night at the Stora Teatern the fest had the Dragon Awards ceremony and here are all the award winners.

Dragon Awards

Best Nordic Film
Før snøen faller (Before Snowfall), Hisham Zaman, Norway, Germany and Iraq
Jury’s motivation: “The Dragon Award for Best Nordic Film goes to a film with an original and honest vision that goes beyond clichés. By using an exceptional cast and a precise and vivid style of cinematography the director succeeds in telling a story that reveals the impact of tradition and culture and the fact that they can be conquered by naive, true love. The winner is Before Snowfall.”

The Ingmar Bergman International Debut Award
Carne de Perro (Dog Flesh), Fernando Guzzoni, Chile, Germany and France
Jury’s motivation: ”A man cannot cope with the deeds of his past and experiences an intense daily suffering. An exceptional performance constitutes the chore in a multilayered tale of redemption, executed with complete artistic control.”

Best Nordic Documentary
Laulu koti-ikävästä (Finnish Blood, Swedish Heart), Mika Ronkainen, Finland and Sweden
Jury’s motivation: “The Dragon Award for Best Nordic Documentary goes to Finnish Blood, Swedish Heart, a touching story of inner and outer exile, which brings out a rarely discussed trauma of the Swedish welfare state of the prosperous 60s and 70s. With great sensibility and refinement, the director describes a personal relationship between father and son and their emotional trip down memory lane in the search of a sense of belonging. Their conversations and meetings with other Swedish Finns along the way gradually unfolds the theme of rootlessness and estrangement, while intertwined live recordings of Finnish immigrant songs from the 70s poetically comment on the theme and widens the picture to encompass an entire culture.”

Lorens Award
Malik Bendjelloul for Searching for Sugar Man, Sweden and UK
Jury’s motivation: “Behind this exceptionally well-produced film lies labor that persevered, often against the odds. Despite considerable solitary labor, it has become an international success story. The film has prevailed at something unusual for documentary film: namely reaching out to a greater audience and using the full potential of cinematography. No journey was too long and no effort too great for the launch and contact with the public. The jury was completely unanimous that the 2013 Lorens Award would be awarded to Malik Bendjelloul for the film Searching for Sugar Man."

FIPRESCI Prize
Nordvest (Northwest), Michael Noer, Denmark
“For its solid acting performances and its balanced and realistic portrayal of a young man's descent into a criminal world.”

Audience Awards
Best Feature Film: Wadja, Haiffa al-Mansour, Saudi Arabia and Germany
Best Nordic Film: Kapringen (A Hijacking), Tobias Lindholm, Denmark

The Church of Sweden Film Award: Godheten, Stefan Jarl, Sweden (documentary)

Short Films
Dragon Award New Talent: La Ravaudeuse, Simon Filliot, France, 10'
Jury’s motivation: “So said—but so beautiful. Poverty, greed, fraternal affection, eroticism and painful death. It all begins with a dramatic birth in a home in the crack between dream and reality—where loneliness hangs over everything. With their accomplished craft, the director invokes both tension and strong characters. With La Ravaudeuse, Simon Filliot has created something entirely new, a completely living world of sackcloth, twine and tangled wool. A moving and well-made pastoral drama that leaves no one untouched.”

Startsladden Award: Gabriel och lasermannen (The Day my Dad was Shot), Babak Najafi, Sweden, 13'

Best Swedish Novella Film: Vatten, Niclas Larson, Sweden, 30'
Special Mention: 10 Guds Siffror (Remnants of a Life), Ivica Zubak, Sweden, 30'

Audience Award: Vatten, Niclas Larson, Sweden, 30'

Last, the best photo from this year's festival:  Baby Dragon.

3rd Les Magritte du Cinéma Awards Winners.

Awards gave some surprises to me, except all the awards that A perdre la raison won. Winners are in *BLUE. To learn winners in all categories go Academy site.

1/11
Yesterday the André Delvaux Academy announced the nominations for the awards third edition and this year the ceremony will be presided by none other than great Yolande Moreau. Also this year Le Magritte d’Honneur goes to extraordinary director Costantin Costa Gravas.

Awards ceremony will be on February 2 at Square, Brussels and will be broadcast live by BeTV 1 and VOO.

Best Film
38 témoins (One Night), Lucas Belvaux
*A perdre la raison (Our Children), Joachim Lafosse
Dead Man Talking, Patrick Ridremont
Mobile Home, François Pirot

Best Flemish Coproduction
*Tot altijd (Time of My Life), Nic Balthazar
Het varken van Madonna (Madonna’s Pig), Frank Van Passel
Little Black Spiders, Patrice Toye

Best Foreign Film in Coproduction
De rouille et d'os (Bone and Rust), Jacques Audiard
*L'exercice de l'Etat (The Minister), Pierre Schoeller
The Angels' Share, Ken Loach
Le cochon de Gaza (When Pigs Have Wings), Sylvain Estibal

Best Director
Lucas Belvaux for 38 témoins (One Night)
*Joachim Lafosse for A perdre la raison (Our Children)
Patrick Ridremont for Dead man talking
François Pirot for Mobile home

Best Actress
*Émilie Dequenne in A perdre la raison (Our Children)
Christelle Cornil in Au cul du loup (Miles from Anywhere)
Déborah François in Les tribulations d'une caissière
Marie Gillain in Toutes nos envies (All Our Desires)

Best Supporting Actress
Natacha Régnier in 38 témoins (One Night)
Stéphane Bissot in A perdre la raison (Our Children)
*Yolande Moreau in Camille redouble (Camille Rewinds)
Catherine Salée in Mobile Home

Best Female Newcomer
Pauline Burlet in Dead Man Talking
Aurora Marion in La folie Almayer (Almayer’s Folly)
Mona Jabé in Miss mouche
*Anne-Pascale Clairembourg in Mobile Home

Best Actor
Jérémie Renier in Cloclo
Matthias Schoenaerts in De rouille et d'os (Rust and Bone)
*Olivier Gourmet in L'exercice de l'Etat (The Minister)
Benoît Poelvoorde in Le grand soir

Best Supporting Actor
*Bouli Lanners in De rouille et d'os (Rust and Bone)
Jean-Luc Couchard in Dead Man Talking
Denis M’Punga in Dead Man Talking
Dieudonné Kabongo in L'envahisseur

Best Male Newcomer
*David Murgia in La tête la première
Martin Swabey in Little Glory
Gael Maleux in Mobile Home
Cédric Constantin in Torpédo

Best Screenplay
*Lucas Belvaux for 38 témoins (One Night)
Joachim Lafosse and Matthieu Reynaert for A perdre la raison (Our Children)
Patrick Ridremont and Jean-Sébastien Lopez for Dead Man Talking
François Pirot, Maarten Loix and Jean-Benoît Ugeux for Mobile Home

To check nominees in all categories plus info about each film please go here, available only in French. Dead Man Talking leads with eight (8) nominations ahead of Our Children, Mobile Home and One Night.

2nd AACTA Awards Winners

As expected -by me- The Sapphires won the most awards: Best Film, Best Director, Best Lead Actress, Best Lead Actor, Best Supporting Actress and Best Adapted Screenplay, bringing the tally to a total of 11 awards including the five previously announced. Believe that all honors are well-deserved as is good movie with a better story. To learn winners in all categories go here.

Winners are in *BLUE.

1/27/13
In the second year the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) celebrates Australian cinema -as a substitution of the previous Australian Film Institute (AFI) awards that run since 1958- we find expected nominations and some films that seem to be worth to watch.

Awards ceremony will be on January 30 at The Star Event Centre in Sydney, will be hosted by Russell Crowe and expect to see Geoffrey Rush (AACTA President), Cate Blanchett and many more. Ceremony will be broadcast live on Network Ten.

As expected crowd-pleaser The Sapphires leads with 12 nominations followed by Burning Man, Lore, Wish You Were Here and Mental each with 8 nominations. Here are the nominations for top film categories.

Best Film
Burning Man
Lore
*The Sapphires
Wish You Were Here

Best Direction
Jonathan Teplitzky for Burning Man
Cate Shortland for Lore
*Wayne Blair for The Sapphires
Kieran Darcy-Smith for Wish You Were Here

Best Lead Actress
Toni Collette in Mental
*Deborah Mailman in The Sapphires
Felicity Price in Wish You Were Here
Sarah Snook in Not Suitable For Children

Best Lead Actor
Joel Edgerton in Wish You Were Here
Matthew Goode in Burning Man
*Chirs O'Dowd in The Sapphires
Guy Pearce in 33 Postcards

To check nominees in all film plus television categories go here. International awards already have been announced and Silver Linings Playbook took almost all the awards if you wish to check the nominations as well as the award winners please go here.

63rd Berlin International Film Festival - Official Program Lineup

In this morning press conference the festival full program was announced and was going to do one post for all sections, but this year each section will have their own post. We start with the Official Program that this year has 24 films.

Films in main competition include 19 movies with a few well-known directors and some of the most extraordinary actresses: Juliette Binoche, Isabelle Huppert, Catherine Deneuve and Nina Hoss. Obviously those films have instantly become must be seen for me.

Also as expected the last installment in the Ulrich Seidl's Paradise trilogy, Paradise: Hope, will premier in competition; but perhaps the film that many of us have been anxiously waiting for -since more than a year- is what makes this fest edition most interesting. I'm talking about the film by this year festival Jury President, master extraordinaire Wong Kar Wai, The Grandmaster starring none other than his regular most admired by me, Tony Leung.

Remarkably after reading about each of the following films became absolutely impressed by the quality of some of them as some of the few images available are really breathtaking.

Official Program

In Competition

Camille Claudel 1915, Bruno Dumont, France (photo)
Долгая счастливая жизнь Dolgaya schastlivaya zhizn (A Long and Happy Life), Boris Khlebnikov, Russia (photo)
Elle s'en va (On my Way), Emmanuelle Bercot, France
Epizoda u životu berača željeza (An Episode in the Life of an Iron Picker), Danis Tanović, Bosnia and Herzegovina, France and Slovenia
Gloria, Sebastián Lelio, Chile and Spain
Gold, Thomas Arslan, Germany
Layla Fourie, Pia Marais, Germany, South Africa, France and Netherlands
The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman, Fredrik Bond, USA
누구의 딸도 아닌 해원 Nugu-ui Ttal-do Anin Haewon (Nobody's Daughter Haewon), Hong Sangsoo, South Korea
Paradies: Hoffnung (Paradise: Hope), Ulrich Seidl, Austria, France and Germany
Pardé (Closed Curtain), Jafar Panahi and Kamboziya Partovi, Iran
Poziţia Copilului (Child's Pose), Călin Peter Netzer, Romania
Prince Avalanche, David Gordon Green, USA
Promised Land, Gus Van Sant, USA
La Religieuse (The Nun), Guillaume Nicloux, France, Germany and Belgium
Side Effects, Steven Soderbergh, USA
Уроки гармонии Uroki Garmonii (Harmony Lessons), Emir Baigazin, Kazakhstan and Germany
Vic+Flo ont vu un ours (Vic+Flo Saw a Bear), Denis Côté, Canada
W imię… (In the Name of), Małgośka Szumowska, Poland

Out of Competition
Opening Film: Yi dai zong shi (The Grandmaster), Wong Kar Wai, Hong Kong and China
Before Midnight, Richard Linklater, USA and Greece
The Croods, Kirk DeMicco and Chris Sanders, USA (Animation)
Dark Blood, George Sluizer, Netherlands
Night Train to Lisbon, Bille August, Germany, Switzerland and Portugal

International Jury
President: Wong Kar Wai, director, China
Susanne Bier, director, Denmark
Athina Rachel Tsangari, director and producer, Greece
Adreas Dresen, director, Germany
Ellen Kuras, director and cinematographer, USA
Shirin Neshat, artist and director, Iran and USA
Tim Robbins, actor, USA

Again I'm impressed with the quality of the international jury, especially for the first three. Besides the actresses already mentioned, there are many more international and American actors/actresses that definitively call my attention. Perhaps I'm a bit award season burnt but find that many of this year films are especially worth watching, hope I'm right.

Among the films out of competition and besides the festival opening film the most intriguing movie absolutely is George Sluizer's Dark Blood as has a great cast but the leading actor is none other than River Phoenix. Yes, is Joaquin Phoenix brother, a great young actor that passed away in 1993. As took so many years for film to be released, here is a brief film story.

"When Dark Blood’s leading actor River Phoenix died suddenly ten days before the end of the shoot in 1993, the film’s insurance company became the owner of the unfinished material. Years later, director George Sluizer managed to save his footage from being destroyed. In January 2012 he decided to finish the film by reading aloud off-screen the missing scenes from the screenplay. The resulting work is an existentialist latter-day Western which derives much of its evocative power from the presence of its leading man, who was himself teetering on the brink of death."

Can't help to comment that from the American films there is one that is the remake of an Icelandic comedy, Á annan veg (Either Way) by Hafsteinn Gunnar; what pop-up is one of the stars, Paul Rudd, that usually does the kind of comedy I really dislike. Festival praises movie to have "visual poetry" of early David Gordon Green movies so perhaps movie can be different to regular Paul Rudd's fare. But have to admit that I highly enjoy Emile Hirch performances, so probably will end up watching film for sure. The name of the movie: Prince Avalanche.

I'm looking forward to see many of these films hopefully in the very near future.

Cheers!!!

Watch some trailers, all synopsis/images @MOC