Posted by editor@vimooz.com on May 13, 2009 under Documentary, IFP, Politics | 
The first annual forum jointly produced by the United Nations Department of Public Information and the Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP) ‑‑ entitled “Envision: Addressing Global Issues through Documentaries” ‑‑ will take place 14-15 May at the Directors Guild Theatre in New York City.
The event combines film presentations with live-audience discussions on pressing global issues related to the Millennium Development Goals, bringing together the international filmmaking community, entrepreneurs, activists, journalists, public policymakers, and non-governmental organizations with United Nations experts. This year’s focus is on the Development Goals and their impact on women.
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Posted by editor@vimooz.com on December 3, 2008 under Awards, IFP |
IFP announced last night, the winners of the 18th Annual Gotham Independent Film AwardsTM at a ceremony held at New York City’s Cipriani Wall Street.
Presented by IFP, the nation’s oldest and largest organization of independent filmmakers, the Gotham Independent Film AwardsTM is one of the leading awards for independent film and the first major honors of the film awards season. The awards provide critical early recognition for worthy independent films, such as past winners JUNO (2007), HALF NELSON (2006), and JUNEBUG (2005) – all of which went on to earn numerous awards and Oscar® nominations for their stars Ellen Page, Ryan Gosling, and Amy Adams, respectively.
A total of 22 films received nominations in six categories: Best Feature, Best Documentary, Breakthrough Director, Breakthrough Actor, Best Ensemble Performance, and Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near YouTM. New this year, the recipient of the Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near YouTM will receive a cash award of $15,000 provided by Artists Public Domain, the non- profit dedicated to supporting the artistic vision of filmmakers working outside of the commercial mainstream, and D.R. Reiff & Associates Inc., a full service brokerage firm specializing in Arts & Entertainment Insurance.
Selecting this year’s nominees were 18 critics, journalists, and film programmers. Final award recipients were determined by separate juries of writers, directors, actors, producers, casting directors, composers and others directly involved in making films. (See below for jurors.) The recipient of The Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near YouTM award was determined by the editors of Filmmaker magazine, a publication of IFP, and a curator from The Museum of Modern Art.
In addition to the juried awards, four Tributes were presented this evening – to actor Penélope Cruz (VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA, ELEGY), president of HBO Documentary Films’ Sheila Nevins, filmmaker Gus Van Sant (MILK, DRUGSTORE COWBOY), and filmmaker Melvin Van Peebles (SWEET SWEETBACK’S BAADASSSS SONG, CONFESSIONSOFA EX-DOOFUS ITCHYFOOTED MUTHA).
The ceremony was hosted by Aasif Mandvi, actor, filmmaker and correspondent for THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART. Mandvi has also earned acclaim as an actor and writer for both stage and screen. In 2008, Filmmaker Magazine named Mandvi one of the 25 New Faces of Independent Film. He recently completed production on 7 TO THE PALACE, an independent film that he stars in and co-wrote. The film is loosely based on his critically acclaimed one-man show, SAKINA’S RESTAURANT, which earned him a 1999 Obie Award.
The 18th Annual Gotham Independent Film AwardTM Recipients
Best Feature presented by actors Michelle Williams & Marisa Tomei.
FROZEN RIVER (pictured above)
Directed by Courtney Hunt; Produced by Heather Rae, Chip Hourihan (Sony Pictures Classics)
The Best Feature Jury included actor Steve Buscemi, filmmakers Mira Nair and Whit Stillman, editor Lee Percy and producer Sarah Green.
Best Documentary presented by filmmaker Mira Nair and actor Dennis Hopper.
TROUBLE THE WATER
Directed & Produced by Tia Lessin & Carl Deal (Zeitgeist Films in association
with HBO Documentary Films)
The Best Documentary Jury included filmmakers Barbara Kopple, Stanley
Nelson, Terry Zwigoff, Peter Gilbert and Cynthia Wade.
Breakthrough Director Award presented by actors Patricia Clarkson & Mickey
Rourke.
Lance Hammer
Director, BALLAST (Alluvial Film Company)
The Breakthrough Director Jury included actor/filmmaker Ethan Hawke,
director of photography Maryse Alberti, producer Frida Torresblanco, and
filmmakers Charles Burnett & Rebecca Miller.
Breakthrough Actor Award presented by actors Amy Adams & Debra Winger
Melissa Leo
Actress, FROZEN RIVER (Sony Pictures Classics)
The Breakthrough Actor Jury included actors Amy Ryan and Terrence Howard,
filmmaker Rian Johnson, producer Lydia Dean Pilcher and composer Carter
Burwell.
Best Ensemble Performance Award presented by actors Ethan Hawke &
Jennifer Esposito.
SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Samantha Morton, Michelle Williams, Catherine
Keener, Emily Watson, Dianne Wiest, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Hope Davis and
Tom Noonan (Sony Pictures Classics); Casting Director Jeanne McCarthy
- AND -
VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA
Scarlett Johansson, Rebecca Hall, Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz & Patricia
Clarkson (The Weinstein Company); Casting Directors Patricia Kerrigan DiCerto
& Juliet Taylor
The Best Ensemble Performance Jury included actors Olympia Dukakis, Matt
Dillon and Jennifer Esposito, filmmaker Doug Liman, and casting director Ellen
Lewis.
Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You Award presented by actors
Rosemarie DeWitt & Melissa Leo.
SITA SINGS THE BLUES
Written, Directed & Animated by Nina Paley
The recipient of The Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near YouTM award
was determined by the editors of Filmmaker magazine, a publication of IFP,
and a curator from The Museum of Modern Art.
Tags: 7 TO THE PALACE, Aasif Mandvi, Add new tag, BALLAST, Barbara Kopple, casting director Ellen Lewis, Catherine Keener, CONFESSIONSOFA EX-DOOFUS ITCHYFOOTED MUTHA, Courtney Hunt, Cynthia Wade, Dianne Wiest, DRUGSTORE COWBOY, Elegy, Emily Watson, filmmaker Doug Liman, Frozen River, Gotham Independent Film Awards, Gus Van Sant, Hope Davis, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Lance Hammer, Marisa Tomei, Matt Dillon and Jennifer Esposito, Melissa Leo, Melvin Van Peebles, Michelle Williams, Mickey Rourke, MILK, Nina Paley, Olympia Dukakis, Patricia Clarkson, Penélope Cruz, Peter Gilbert, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Rosemarie DeWitt, Samantha Morton, Sheila Nevins, SITA SINGS THE BLUES, Sony Pictures Classics, Stanley Nelson, SWEET SWEETBACK'S BAADASSSS SONG, SYNECDOCHE NEW YORK, Terry Zwigoff, Tom Noonan, Trouble The Water, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Posted by editor@vimooz.com on November 10, 2008 under Awards, IFP |
The year’s best independent films and talent will come to life throughout the city as part of the Gotham Independent Film Awards Series, a three-week program of screenings and panel discussions taking place from November 20th to December 6th.
Presented by IFP, the nation’s oldest and largest organization of independent filmmakers, the series celebrates the nominees and tribute honorees for the 18th Annual Gotham Independent Film AwardsTM. The Gotham Independent Film Awards is one of the leading awards for independent film and the first major honors of the film awards season. The awards ceremony will take place on Tuesday, December 2nd at New York City’s Cipriani Wall Street.
The Series will give New York film lovers a range of opportunities to meet the filmmakers and actors behind some of the year’s most acclaimed independent films, including Gus Van Sant (MILK), Rosemarie DeWitt (RACHEL GETTING MARRIED), Rebecca Hall (VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA), and Melissa Leo (FROZEN RIVER).
The series will also provide New Yorkers with a rare chance to see all of the nominees for “Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You,” a popular category which honors the year’s best American independent films on the festival circuit that have yet to be picked up for theatrical distribution.
“The Gotham Independent Film Awards Series gives New Yorkers a chance to see up close some of the most talked about and acclaimed independent film talent of the year,” says Michelle Byrd, Executive Director of IFP. “It provides everyone with a backstage pass to the talent that will be celebrated at this year’s awards ceremony.”
The series includes:
“Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near YouTM” – For the third year, IFP’s Filmmaker Magazine has teamed with MoMA to select the year’s best films fresh off the festival circuit which have yet to be released theatrically. Among the nominees are three narrative films that blur distinctions between fiction and documentary through vérité techniques, using non-professional actors, handheld cameras, home movie footage, and gritty location shoots. These include Tom Quinn’s THE NEW YEAR PARADE, about a South Philadelphia working-class family torn apart by divorce; Antonio Campos’s AFTERSCHOOL, a disturbing study of violence and voyeurism at a New England prep school; and Jake Mahaffy’s WELLNESS, the tragic and quintessentially American portrait of a door-to-door salesman who unwittingly participates in a pyramid scheme. Also featured is Nina Paley’s delightful animated musical SITA SINGS THE BLUES, in which the filmmaker interweaves the epic saga of ancient Indian lovers with her own romantic travails. The fifth nominee, Taylor Greeson’s MEADOWLARK, is a haunting autobiographical documentary in which the filmmaker’s adolescent experiences of first love and family tragedy become entwined. Screenings run November 20th – 23rd. SITA SINGS THE BLUES (82 min) Thursday, November 20th at 6:00 p.m. and Saturday, November 22nd at 3:00 p.m./ WELLNESS (90 min) Thursday, November 20th at 8:00 p.m. and Saturday, November 22nd at 6:00 p.m. / THE NEW YEAR PARADE (85 min.) Friday, November 21st at 6:00 p.m. and Sunday, November 23rd at 1:30 p.m. / AFTERSCHOOL (106 min.) Friday, November 21st at 8:15 p.m. and Sunday, November 23rd at 5:30 p.m. / MEADOWLARK (77 min) Saturday, November 22nd at 8:15 p.m. and Sunday, November 23rd at 3:45 p.m. / MoMA, consult www.moma.org for tickets
MoMA’s Modern Mondays: “The Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near YouTM” Nominee Panel – Building upon the Museum’s long tradition of exploring cinematic experimentation, Modern Mondays is the new weekly showcase for innovation on screen. The focus – a moderated conversation and clip reel – featuring the directors nominated for the Gothams “Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near YouTM” Award. Monday, November 24th from 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. / MoMA Education and Research Center, 4 West 54 Street, Theater 3, mezzanine $10
The Breakthrough Director’s Panel – Past winners include Ryan Fleck for HALF NELSON (2006), Bennett Miller for CAPOTE (2005), and Joshua Marston for MARIA FULL OF GRACE (2004). Meet this year’s up-and-coming director nominees: Lance Hammer, whose film, BALLAST, received the most 2008 Gotham Independent Film Awards nominations (four); Antonio Campos (AFTERSCHOOL); Dennis Dortch (A GOOD DAY TO BE BLACK & SEXY); Barry Jenkins (MEDICINE FOR MELANCHOLY); and Alex Rivera (SLEEP DEALER).
Sponsored by Nokia. Sunday, November 30th from 3:00 – 4:30 p.m. / DGA Theater $12
VOLVER Screening – BAM will host a screening of VOLVER, Pedro Almodóvar’s award-winner which led this year’s Gotham Independent Awards Tribute honoree Penélope Cruz to her first Oscar nomination in 2007. In Spanish. 121 minutes. Monday, December 1st at 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. / BAM Rose Cinemas $11. Screening courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.
The Breakthrough Actor’s Panel – Past winners in this closely- watched category include Ellen Page for JUNO (2007) and Amy Adams for JUNEBUG (2005). Find out who will be the next independent film breakout star at a panel discussion with this year’s nominees Pedro Castaneda (AUGUST EVENING), Rosemarie DeWitt (RACHEL GETTING MARRIED), Rebecca Hall (VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA), Melissa Leo (FROZEN RIVER), Alejandro Polanco (CHOP SHOP), and Micheal J. Smith, Sr. (BALLAST). Monday, December 1st from 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. / DGA Theater $12
Melvin Van Peebles Screenings- Probably best known for his revolutionary SWEET SWEETBACK’S BAADASSSSS SONG, this “godfather” of independent film and recipient of a Tribute at this year’s Gotham Independent Film Awards will introduce his 1968 debut STORY OF A 3-DAY PASS and this year’s, CONFESSIONS OF A EX-DOOFUS-ITCHY FOOTED MUTHA. STORY OF A 3-DAY PASS in French and English. 87 min. Monday, December 1 at 6:15 p.m. / CONFESSIONS OF A EX-DOOFUS-ITCHY FOOTED MUTHA 99 min.
Monday, December 1st at 8:00 p.m. and Saturday, December 6th at 3:00 p.m. / MoMA $10. Filmmaker introductions only at December 1 screenings.
Screenings courtesy of Melvin Van Peebles.
Special Screening of Gus Van Sant’s MILK with Q&A by Director – On the heels of its opening on November 26th, MoMA will host an exclusive screening of MILK followed by one of the only East Coast public appearances by the film’s director and Gotham Tribute honoree Gus Van Sant. The film stars Sean Penn as slain San Francisco politician Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California. 128 min. Wednesday, December 3rd at 7:00 p.m. / MoMA $10. Screening courtesy of Focus Features.
Conversation with Sheila Nevins – Gotham Tribute honoree Sheila Nevins, President of HBO Documentary Films, will participate in a conversation with Variety Editor-in-Chief Peter Bart. The conversation will be bookended by screenings of HBO’s original production TAXICAB CONFESSIONS, NY NY (directed by Joe and Harry Gantz; running time approx. 1 hour) and ROMAN POLANSKI: WANTED AND DESIRED (directed by Marina Zenovich; running time one hour, forty minutes), a Gotham nominee for Best Documentary. Thursday, December 4th. TAXICAB CONFESSIONS, NY NY screens at 6:30 p.m. / Panel at 7:30 p.m. / ROMAN POLANSKI: WANTED AND DESIRED screens at 8:30 p.m. / Tribeca Film Center Screening Room. Free. Must RSVP. Screenings courtesy of HBO Documentary Films.
Venues & Tickets
Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Rose Cinemas and BAMcinématek – 30 Lafayette Avenue at Ashland Place. For tickets: www.bam.org.
Directors Guild Theater – 110 West 57th Street, between Sixth and Seventh Avenues. For tickets: www.gotham.ifp.org.
The Museum of Modern Art’s The Roy and Niuta Titus Theaters – 11 West 53 Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. For tickets: www.moma.org.
Tribeca Film Center Screening Room – 375 Greenwich Street, between North Moore and Franklin Streets. For tickets: www.gotham.ifp.org.
[via press release]
Posted by editor@vimooz.com on October 20, 2008 under IFP |
IFP announced today the nominees for the 18th Annual Gotham Independent Film AwardsTM which will take place on Tuesday, December 2nd at New York City’s Cipriani Wall Street. It also announced the new name for the awards, making the subtle shift from the Gotham Awards to the Gotham Independent Film AwardsTM.
Presented by IFP, the nation’s oldest and largest organization of independent filmmakers, the Gotham Independent Film AwardsTM is one of the leading awards for independent film and the first major honors of the film awards season. The awards provide critical early recognition for worthy independent films, such as past winners Juno (2007), Half Nelson (2006), and Junebug (2005) – all of which went on to earn numerous awards and OscarTM nominations for their stars Ellen Page, Ryan Gosling, and Amy Adams, respectively.
Garnering four separate nominations – the most for this year – is Ballast, Lance Hammer’s directorial debut and multiple-award winner from festivals as diverse as Sundance, Berlin, Deauville and others. It was nominated for Best Feature, Breakthrough Director, Breakthrough Actor and Best Ensemble Performance.
Six films received two nominations, including Antonio Campos’ directorial debut from Cannes Afterschool; Courtney Hunt’s Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner Frozen River; Jonathan Demme’s current release Rachel Getting Married; Charlie Kaufman’s directorial debut from Cannes Synecdoche, New York; Woody Allen’s latest Vicky Cristina Barcelona and Tom McCarthy’s sophomore effort, The Visitor.
A total of 22 films received nominations in six categories: Best Feature, Best Documentary, Breakthrough Director, Breakthrough Actor, Best Ensemble Performance, and Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near YouTM.
New this year, the recipient of the Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near YouTM will receive a cash award of $15,000 provided by Artists Public Domain, the non-profit dedicated to supporting the artistic vision of filmmakers working outside of the commercial mainstream, and D.R. Reiff & Associates Inc., a full service brokerage firm specializing in Arts & Entertainment Insurance.
“Contradicting the doom and gloom stories about the state of independent film, 2008 has proven to be an extremely strong year for an immensely diverse group of filmmakers tackling a range of subjects and forms in new and dynamic ways,” says Michelle Byrd, executive director of IFP. “Impressively, nearly 50% of our titles are directorial debuts.”
IFP previously announced that actor Penélope Cruz, president of HBO Documentary Films’ Sheila Nevins, and filmmakers Gus Van Sant and Melvin Van Peebles will be presented with Tributes at this year’s awards ceremony.
Selecting this year’s nominees were 18 critics, journalists, and film programmers (see list below). Final award recipients will be determined by separate juries of writers, directors, actors, producers, casting directors, composers and others directly involved in making films. The recipient of The Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near YouTM award will be determined by the editors of Filmmaker Magazine, a publication of IFP, and a curator from The Museum of Modern Art.
The 18th Annual Gotham Independent Film AwardTM nominees are:
Best Feature
Ballast
Lance Hammer, director; Lance Hammer, Nina Parikh, producers (Alluvial Film Company)
Frozen River
Courtney Hunt, director; Heather Rae, Chip Hourihan, producers (Sony Pictures Classics)
Synecdoche, New York
Charlie Kaufman, director; Anthony Bregman, Charlie Kaufman, Spike Jonze, Sidney Kimmel, producers (Sony Pictures Classics)
The Visitor
Tom McCarthy, director; Mary Jane Skalski, Michael London, producers (Overture Films)
The Wrestler
Darren Aronofsky, director; Scott Franklin, Darren Aronofsky, producers (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Best Documentary
Chris & Don: A Love Story
Guido Santi & Tina Mascara, directors; Julia Scott, Tina Mascara, Guido Santi, James White, producers (Zeitgeist Films)
Encounters at the End of the World
Werner Herzog, director; Henry Kaiser, producer (THINKFilm / Image Entertainment)
Man on Wire
James Marsh, director; Simon Chinn, producer (Magnolia Pictures)
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired
Marina Zenovich, director; Jeffrey Levy-Hinte, Lila Yacoub, Marina Zenovich, producers (THINKFilm in association with HBO Documentaries)
Trouble the Water
Tia Lessin & Carl Deal, producers/directors (Zeitgeist Films)
Best Ensemble Performance
Ballast
Micheal J. Smith, Sr., JimMyron Ross, Tarra Riggs, Johnny McPhail (Alluvial Film Company)
Rachel Getting Married
Anne Hathaway, Rosemarie DeWitt, Bill Irwin, Tunde Adebimpe, Mather Zickel, Anna Deavere Smith, Anisa George, Debra Winger (Sony Pictures Classics)
Synecdoche, New York
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Samantha Morton, Michelle Williams, Catherine Keener, Emily Watson, Dianne Wiest, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Hope Davis, Tom Noonan (Sony Pictures Classics)
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Scarlett Johansson, Rebecca Hall, Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz (The Weinstein Company)
The Visitor
Richard Jenkins, Hiam Abbas, Haaz Sleiman, Danai Gurira (Overture Films)
Breakthrough Director
Antonio Campos for Afterschool
Dennis Dortch for A Good Day to Be Black & Sexy (Magnolia Pictures)
Lance Hammer for Ballast (Alluvial Film Company)
Barry Jenkins for Medicine for Melancholy (IFC Films)
Alex Rivera for Sleep Dealer (Maya Releasing)
Breakthrough Actor
Pedro Castaneda in August Evening (Maya Releasing)
Rosemarie DeWitt in Rachel Getting Married (Sony Pictures Classics)
Rebecca Hall in Vicky Cristina Barcelona (The Weinstein Company)
Melissa Leo in Frozen River (Sony Pictures Classics)
Alejandro Polanco in Chop Shop (Koch Lorber Films)
Micheal J. Smith, Sr. in Ballast (Alluvial Film Company)
Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near YouTM
Afterschool
Antonio Campos, director; Josh Mond, Sean Durkin, producers
Meadowlark
Taylor Greeson, producer/director
The New Year Parade
Tom Quinn, director; Steve Beal, Tom Quinn, producers
Sita Sings the Blues
Nina Paley, producer/director
Wellness
Jake Mahaffy, director; Jake Mahaffy, Jeff Clark, producers
Posted by editor@vimooz.com on September 24, 2008 under IFP, Industry, New Release |
IFP announced today the launch of its “First Weekend” series, a new program that seeks to connect audiences directly with new independent films.
Presented by IFP, the nation’s oldest and largest organization of independent filmmakers, IFP’s “First Weekend” series is a quarterly program designed to guarantee sold out shows during their Opening Weekend for independent filmmakers self-distributing their work. In purchasing a $25 ticket and supporting the series, audiences are directly supporting truly independent films and filmmakers. The full box-office proceeds will go directly toward the film’s theatrical run. The audience also gets to join in a post screening conversation hosted by a notable personality and attend an exclusive after party in celebration of the film.
Lending their names as “hosts” in support of the series is an eclectic mix of artists including: actors Vera Farmiga and Kerry Washington, authors Jonathan Lethem and Salman Rushdie, playwright Sarah Jones, playwright/filmmaker Neil LaBute, and the Beastie Boys’ own Adam Yauch.
“We are extremely excited by the diversity of artists interested in partnering with IFP in support of filmmakers self-distributing their work,” said IFP Executive Director Michelle Byrd. “We couldn’t think of a film more deserving of a communal effort to get the word out and help us launch this series than Lance Hammer’s beautifully rendered and highly lauded, award-winner, BALLAST.”
IFP’s “First Weekend” Series
Date: Thursday, October 2 at 8pm
Location: Film Forum, 209 West Houston Street, NYC. Details on the private after-party provided upon purchase of ticket.
To purchase an IFP “First Weekend” ticket: www.ifp.org
Your $25 admission gets you:
- a ticket to the Opening Weekend screening at 8pm on Oct 2 at Film Forum
- an invitation to the post-screening Q&A between Lance Hammer and Tony Award-winning playwright/poet/activist/actress Sarah Jones (”Bridge & Tunnel”)
- an invitation to the exclusive after-party with the filmmaker and members of NY’s arts community, including members of the Host Committee
About BALLAST
With awards from the 2008 Sundance Film Festival (for Directing and Cinematography), San Francisco Film Festival (Fipresci Prize) and Buenos Aires International Film Festival (Fipresci and Directing), Ballast is the highly lauded feature debut by director Lance Hammer.
It’s the story of a single mother and her embattled son struggling to subsist in a small Mississippi Delta township. An act of violence thrusts them into the world of an emotionally devastated highway store owner, awakening the fury of a bitter and longstanding conflict. With the boy’s future hanging in the balance, the two adults must reckon with the past while together searching for a new way forward.
BALLAST will open in NYC on Oct 1 at the Film Forum. A national rollout will follow with a hybrid distribution plan of top arthouse theaters as well as leading museums, universities and film societies. Cities include: San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston Chicago, Washington DC, Philadelphia, Portland, Denver, San Diego, Minneapolis, Atlanta, Baltimore, Cleveland among others.
“I’m thrilled to be part of the IFP’s “First Weekend” initiative, a program that greatly supports independent filmmakers not only as artists but as DIY distributors as well,” says Lance Hammer, director of BALLAST.
The film is being distributed by director Lance Hammer’s Alluvial Film Company with the help of Independent film consultant Steven Raphael.
For more information go to www.ballastfilm.com
Posted by editor@vimooz.com on September 23, 2008 under HBO, IFP, Industry |
IFP announced today that president of HBO Documentary Films Sheila Nevins will be presented with a Gotham Award Tribute at the 18th Annual Gotham Awards™ on Tuesday, December 2nd in New York.
Presented by IFP, the nation’s oldest and largest organization of independent filmmakers, the Gotham Awards™ is one of the leading awards for independent film and the first major honors of the film awards season. The awards provide critical early recognition for worthy independent films, such as past winners JUNO (2007), HALF NELSON (2006), and JUNEBUG (2005) – all of which went on to earn numerous awards and Oscar™ nominations for their stars Ellen Page, Ryan Gosling, and Amy Adams, respectively.
“Sheila has unquestionably been one of the most influential forces in documentary filmmaking,” said Michelle Byrd, Executive Director of IFP. “She is almost singlehandedly responsible for bringing documentaries into mainstream popular culture. Her work has not only changed the documentary landscape, it’s opened minds and spurred change.”
During her tenure, HBO’s critically acclaimed documentaries have gone on to win 19 Academy Awards. Nevins’ remarkable career to date has had a formidable impact on the industry. She has also been a long time champion of IFP’s documentary programs including IFP’s “Spotlight on Documentaries”
Project Forum.
IFP also announced that Penélope Cruz, Gus Van Sant and Melvin Van Peebles would be presented with Gotham Awards Tributes at this year’s Gotham Awards.
Nevins, president of HBO Documentary Films, will be recognized for her contributions to the art of the documentary. She is responsible for overseeing the development and production of all documentaries for HBO and Cinemax and their multiplex channels. As an executive producer or producer, she has received 22 Primetime Emmy® Awards, 25 News and Documentary Emmys® and 28 George Foster Peabody Awards. Nevins was also presented with a Personal Peabody in recognition of her work and ongoing commitment to excellence.She holds a BA from Barnard College and an MFA in Directing from Yale University School of Drama.
Nominees for the 18th Annual Gotham Awards will be announced on October 20th, 2008, and winners will be honored at a star-studded ceremony at Cipriani Wall Street on December 2nd. Submissions are now being accepted in five of the six competitive categories, including: Best Feature, Best Documentary, Breakthrough Actor, Breakthrough Director and Best Ensemble Cast. Applications are available at http://gotham.ifp.org. The deadline for submissions is 5pm EST on Monday, September 22, 2008.