Posted by editor@vimooz.com on January 14, 2009 under Academy award, Awards, Foreign Film | Comments are off for this article
Nine films will advance to the next round of voting in the Foreign Language Film category for the 81st Academy Awards®. Sixty-five films had originally qualified in the category.
The films, listed in alphabetical order by country, are:
Austria, “Revanche,” Gotz Spielmann, director;
Canada, “The Necessities of Life,” Benoit Pilon, director;
France, “The Class,” Laurent Cantet, director;
Germany, “The Baader Meinhof Complex,” Uli Edel, director;
Israel, “Waltz with Bashir,” Ari Folman, director;
Japan, “Departures,” Yojiro Takita, director;
Mexico, “Tear This Heart Out,” Roberto Sneider, director; (pictured)
Sweden, “Everlasting Moments,” Jan Troell, director;
Turkey, “3 Monkeys,” Nuri Bilge Ceylan, director.
The shortlist will be winnowed down to the five 2008 nominees by specially selected committees in New York and Los Angeles. The committee members will spend this Friday, Saturday and Sunday viewing three of the films each day.
The 81st Academy Awards nominations will be announced on Thursday, January 22, 2009, at 5:30 a.m. PT and the Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2008 will be presented on Sunday, February 22, 2009, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network.
Posted by editor@vimooz.com on December 22, 2008 under Foreign Film | Comments are off for this article
Laurent Cantet’s “The Class,” winner of the prestigious Palm d’Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival and France’s submission to the Academy Awards for the best foreign language Oscar focuses on the classroom interactions between a high school teacher and his unruly, multicultural roster of young charges, presenting the face of the future of France.
Cantet got the idea for the film while while promoting his previous film, 2005’s “Heading South,” he met François Bégaudeau, who was promoting “Entre les Murs,” his book on his years as a high school teacher.
Cantet end up using Bégaudeau as the teacher in the film, and through casting found a school and the 25 volunteers who appear in the film. To allow the exchanges between Bégaudeau and the students to flow, Cantet had three cameras running at once, one on the teacher, one on the students and one to capture anything else. [via]
Posted by editor@vimooz.com on December 9, 2008 under Awards | Comments are off for this article
“Wall-E” was voted Best Picture of the Year, it was announced today by Lael Loewenstein, President of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA). The runner up was “The Dark Knight.”
LAFCA’s 34th annual achievement awards ceremony will be held Monday, January 12 at the InterContinental Los Angeles. The 34th annual Los Angeles Film Critics Association awards are dedicated to Manoel de Oliveira for his extraordinary contribution to the cinema as he enters his 101st year.
Other award winners are:
DIRECTOR: Danny Boyle, “Slumdog Millionaire”
Runner-up: Christopher Nolan, “The Dark Knight”
ACTRESS: Sally Hawkins, “Happy-Go-Lucky”
Runner-up: Melissa Leo, “Frozen River”
ACTOR: Sean Penn, “Milk”
Runner-up: Mickey Rourke, “The Wrestler”
SCREENPLAY: Mike Leigh, “Happy-Go-Lucky”
Runner-up: Charlie Kaufman, “Synecdoche, New York”
SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Penelope Cruz, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” and “Elegy”
Runner-up: Viola Davis, “Doubt”
SUPPORTING ACTOR: Heath Ledger, “The Dark Knight”
Runner-up: Eddie Marsan, “Happy-Go-Lucky”
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: “Still Life” (pictured) directed by Jia Zhangke
Runner-up: “The Class” directed by Laurent Cantet
DOCUMENTARY/NON-FICTION FILM: “Man on Wire” directed by James Marsh
Runner-up: “Waltz with Bashir” directed by Ari Folman
PRODUCTION DESIGN: Mark Friedberg, “Synecdoche, New York”
Runner-up: Nathan Crowley, “The Dark Knight”
ANIMATION: “Waltz with Bashir”
MUSIC/SCORE: A.R. Rahman, “Slumdog Millionaire”
Runner-up: Alexandre Desplat, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
CINEMATOGRAPHY: Yu Lik Wai, “Still Life”
Runner-up: Anthony Dod Mantle, “Slumdog Millionaire”
NEW GENERATION: Steve McQueen, “Hunger”
CAREER ACHIEVEMENT: John Calley (previously announced)
DOUGLAS E. EDWARDS INDEPENDENT/EXPERIMENTAL FILM/VIDEO: James Benning, “RR”
and “Casting a Glance”
Founded in 1975, The Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA) is comprised of Los Angeles-based, professional film critics working in the Los Angeles print and electronic media. Each December, LAFCA members vote on the year’s Achievement Awards, honoring screen excellence on both sides of the camera. Plaques of recognition are then presented to winners during LAFCA’s annual awards ceremony, held in mid-January. [via]
The American Film Institute (AFI) and Camelot Theatres will once again join forces to present the ninth annual “AFI PALM SPRINGS SHOWCASE.” Seven award-winning and critically acclaimed films from the 2008 AFI Los Angeles International Film Festival (AFI FEST) will be screened beginning Friday, November 14 and continuing through Sunday, November 16, 2008. AFI FEST Artistic Director Rose Kuo said of the program, “We are honored to present these diverse and innovative films from emerging talent as well as masters at our annual showcase in the Camelot Theatres.”
The seven films selected range from DOUBT, directed by John Patrick Shanley, who brings his Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning play to the screen, to Director Erick Zonca’s JULIA, a story about an alcoholic who kidnaps a child, starring Academy Award winner Tilda Swinton.
AFI FEST presented by Audi, is the longest-running film festival in Los Angeles and one of the most influential film festivals in North America. Each year the Festival presents one of the world’s most anticipated showcases of international film, demonstrating AFI’s commitment to celebrating the art form. This year, a portion of the proceeds from the Palm Springs Showcase event will benefit the Palm Springs Cultural Center.
Tickets for all screenings will be on-sale beginning October 31: $10 for adults, $9 for Seniors, and an “All Access” pass is available for $55. For more information, please contact the Camelot Theatres box office at 760/325-6565 or visit www.camelottheatres.com.
THE LINEUP INCLUDES:
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 14 – 7:30 PM
DOUBT Director: John Patrick Shanley
John Patrick Shanley brings his Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning play to the screen as a gripping story about the quest for truth, the forces of change, and the devastating consequences of blind justice in an age defined by moral conviction. Starring Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman.
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15 – 1:00 PM
THE CLASS Director: Laurent Cantet
This Palme d’Or-winning tale of a young teacher in a tough, multiracial Paris high school uses a documentary-like approach to explore the themes of redemption, tough love, and community dynamics, with Cantet (HEADING SOUTH) finding the delicate balance between grit and inspiration. Stars Francois Begaudeau, Nassim Amrabt, Laura Baguela, Cherif Bounaidja Rachedi. (French with English subtitles)
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15 – 4:00 PM
OF ALL OF THE THINGS Director: Jody Lambert
In the 1970s, songwriter Dennis Lambert had four songs in the top 100 at once, a feat previously accomplished only by the Beatles. Now retired, and selling real estate, Lambert’s discovery of an unlikely cult following-in the Philippines!! -lures him back on tour. This hilarious doc captures every note.
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15 – 7:30 PM
THE KINSEY SICKS: ALMOST INFAMOUS Director: Ken Bielenberg
ALMOST INFAMOUS takes us backstage with The Kinsey Sicks, a spellbinding drag a cappella performance troupe that has become a phenomenon in the U.S. and abroad. We glimpse the depth, humor and political savvy of the guys behind the girls, as they head to Las Vegas for an opened-run and a shot at infamy. But is Las Vegas ready for The Kinsey Sicks’ brand of edgy, raunchy and ruthlessly honest material? The documentary is a roller coaster ride of concert footage, archival performance footage and “confession cam” interviews that take us behind-the-scenes as the group fights for their artistic freedom, their relationships and their sanity, as they make their way to opening night in Sin City. Featuring Ben Schatz, Irwin Keller, Chris Dilley, and Jeff Manabat.
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 16 – 1:00 PM
EVERLASTING MOMENTS Director: Jan Troll
Sweden’s greatest living filmmaker affectionately tells the poignant story of a woman who, to help cope with her at-times brutal family life, turns to photography. “The pictures take me over,” she tells her friend, as she snaps photos that put her, for at least the flash of the shutter, in control of her world. Stars Maria Heiskanen, Mikael Persbrandt, and Jesper Christensen.
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 16 – 4:00 PM
TWO LOVERS Director: James Gray
A suicidal young man (Phoenix) is caught between two women: the daughter of his father’s business associate (Shaw), and a gorgeous blonde socialite (Paltrow). With its sincerity and rich characters, this very modern ode to the complications of romance radiates a streak of Golden Age Hollywood moviemaking. Starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Isabella Rossellini, Joaquin Phoenix, and Elias Koteas.
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 16 – 7:30 PM
JULIA Director: Erick Zonca
Moving easily between the most challenging art films and mainstream movies, always bringing intelligence, passion and a psychological edge to her roles, Tilda Swinton has proven herself one of the most versatile, compelling performers of her generation.
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“Wall-E” was voted Best Picture of the Year, it was announced today by Lael Loewenstein, President of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA). The runner up was “The Dark Knight.”
