Golden Astor Best Film: Nora's Will, by Mariana Chenillo

The Mexican comedy “Cinco dias sin Nora” (Nora’s Will) was awarded the Golden Astor at the 24th annual Mar del Plata Intl Film Festival, in Argentina. The debut film from director Mariana Chenillo,  is about a divorced man who has to figure out what to do with his ex’s body after she commits suicide.

The complete list of winners

Golden Astor to Best Film: Cinco días sin Nora, by Mariana Chenillo
Silver Astor to Best Director: Elia Suleiman for The Time that remains

Silver Astor to Best Script: V.O.S., by Cesc Gay

Silver Astor to Best Actor: Gary Piquer, for Mal día para pescar, by Álvaro Brechner.

Silver Astor to Best Actress: Allison Janney, for Life during wartime, by Todd Solonz.

Silver Astor to Jury’s Special Award: the cast of El cuerno de la abundancia, by Juan Carlos Tabío.

1st Jury’s Special Mention: Vikingo, by José Celestino Campusano.

2nd Jury’s Special Mention: to Andrey Khrzhanovskiy.

Best Latin American Feature Film Award
Ventana Sur Award to make three copies of the film, to the best Latin American Feature film to: La hora de la siesta, by Sofía Mora.

Mention to Hiroshima, by Pablo Stoll.

Best Latin American Short Film Award
Best Latin American Short Film Award: La chirola, by Diego Mondaca.

Argentinean Official Competition
Two best Argentinean feature films Award

TL-2- la felicidad es una leyenda urbana, by Tetsuo Lumière.

El hombre de al lado, by Gastón Duprat and Mariano Cohn.

Mention: Padres de la plaza: 10 recorridos posibles, by Joaquín Daglio.

Argentinean Short Film Official Competition Award: Ana y Mateo, by Natural Arpajou.

Special Mention to Argentinean Short Film Official Competition: Marcela, by Gastón Siriczman.

WIP (work in progress) Award: La Caracas, by Andrés Cedrón

NNON OFFICIAL AWARDS

FEISAL Award and Mention (Latin American Federation of Image and Sound Schools)

Best Argentinean director in competition graduated from a cinema school Award.

FEISAL Mention: Andrés no quiere dormir la siesta, by Daniel Bustamante.

FEISAL Award: El Perseguidor, by Víctor Cruz.

ACCA Award (Argentinean Cinematographic Reporters Association)

Mention: Room and a Half, by Andrey Khrzhanovskiy

Best Film from the International Competition Award: The time That Remains, by Elia Suleiman.

SIGNIS Award (World Catholic Association for Communication)

SIGNIS Special Mention: V.O.S., by Cesc Gay

SIGNIS Great Award to Best Film from the International Competition: Mother by Bong Joon-ho.

FIPRESCI Award (International Cinematographic Press Federation)

FIPRESCI grants International Critics Award to Argentinean film maker José Villafañe for his short film Elvira en el Rio Loro.
The jury of the International Cinematographic Press Federation grants the international critics Award to the film Vikingo, by José Celestino Campusano.

Without Frontiers” Annual Award

The Annual Program Without Frontiers to the Best Argentinean Short Films is granted for the fourth time in Mar del Plata International Film Festival. The Director of this Institution, Mr Carlos Martínez, will grant the Official Diploma to “Ana & Mateo” by the director Natural Arpajou, along with the selection Selection Certificate for San Francisco Short Film Festival and Festival du Cinema from Paris, 2010. The Annual Program Without Frontiers agrees with the decision of the Argentinean Competition Jury and grant also a Mention to “Marcela” by Gastón Siriczman, animated short film, that also is selected to the Festivals named before”.

Incentive Award towards a National Cinematographic Industry.

Argentinean Industrial Union granted the “Incentive Award towards a National Cinematographic Industry”, within the framework of the institutional agreement reached with the Cinema and Audiovisual Arts National Institute and the Cinematographic and Audiovisual Producers Argentinean Federation.
These awards honor the Producer and the Argentinean Cinematographic Production Company, for the enterprising character and/or activity that creates jobs, national profits and the compromise of reflecting our country identity.

The 1st Award was given by Dr Horacio Martínez -Jury President and Member of the Argentinean Industrial Union Board of Directors - and Mr. Pablo Rovito, President of FAPCA gave the Mention Award, as a Jury member.
The nominated to the Mention Award are: MAGMA CINE SRL, AZPEITIACINE SRL, MAGOYA FILMS, and HABITACION 1520 PRODUCCIONES
The winner is: Magma Cine SRL
The nominated to the First Award are: MC PRODUCCIONES SRL, HADDOCK FILMS and ALEPH MEDIA SA.
The winner is:  MC Producciones SRL

FILM SUBMISSIONS:  Please go to http://www.reelwork.org/submittingafilm.htm and download a submission form to submit directly to the festival.  Priority submission deadline for Reel Work 2010 is February 1.

Reel Work is dedicated to popularizing the history and culture of the labor movement and celebrating the empowerment of working people as they take joint action to improve their lives.

The Reel Work May Day Labor Film Festival takes place in California’s central coast communities in and around Santa Cruz each year during the week of May First.

Reel Work presents cultural events, bringing together award-winning documentary film producers, workers, activists, students, and the public with the goal of increasing community awareness of the central role of work in our lives, to discuss economic and global justice issues, and to bring alive the history and culture of the labor movement in the US and abroad. We highlight how workers and community members band together in united effort for mutual benefit to achieve justice and dignity in the streets, fields, and workshops.

Cinematic representations of labor each year include local and international works, world premieres as well as classics. We inspire festival participants to join in the struggle for worker rights locally, nationally and globally to achieve social justice and international solidarity.

An outpouring of generous cash and in-kind contributions from labor, business and community sponsors allows Reel Work to maintain its admission policy of voluntary donation at the door and support the type of independent documentary filmmaking that we have brought to the big screen since 2002.

Reel Work neither charges an entry fee nor offers awards, but covers transportation and lodging expenses to bring both filmmakers and activists featured in films to participate in the festival.

The festival seeks permission to air selected entries in Reel Work Labor Film Series on local non-profit cable access television.  And we seek permission to retain screener copies of films, which are placed in the Labor Film collection of the local Santa Cruz Public Library.

source: Reel Work May Day Labor Film Festival

The 2010 CMJ Music Marathon & Film Festival will take place in New York City from October 19 to 23. 5 days and nights of over 1,200 artists and 120,000 fans in more than 75 of the city’s greatest nightclubs and theaters. Headquarters will once again be located at New York University’s Greenwich Village campus.

Image via Facebook

While the title of the opening night film cannot be announced until December 2nd, that isn’t stopping Derby City Film Festival (DCFF) organizers from preparing for what is, “sure to be one of the greatest film events the city has ever seen.”

“I know it’s hard to take a statement like, “One of the greatest film events” at face value when we cannot follow it up with the title of the film yet.” says organizer Kris Rommel with a smile “But you’re just going to have to take it at face value.”

50 films were screened during the first DCFF festival held at the Louisville Memorial Auditorium in October 2008, including 19 films from Louisville and 5 world premieres. Films from Louisville filmmakers took home the audience awards for Best Short, Best Feature and Best of Festival. The opening of the festival included a Guinness World Record attempt for “Largest number of people dressed as Abraham Lincoln”.

“With the guidelines that Guinness gave us for setting the record, we knew it was going to be near impossible,” Kris remembers, “but everyone had a great time and that was most important.” 52 Lincoln’s in all participated in the record attempt.

Due to another film festival that was announced to take place in October of 2009, the DCFF decided to move to February 2010. “It was just better move all around. We had more time to plan the festival and instead of closing the year we get to kick it off!” Rommel says.

source: DCFF | image via: Facebook

Darby (Mandy Musgrave, left) and Kate (Hallee Hirsh) in “16 to Life”

Now in its seventh year, the Asheville Film Festival featured 93 films and screenplays. The festival winners were announced Saturday night. “16 to Life”,  the first feature from Emmy-nominated writer/director Becky Smith (Queer Eye for the Straight Guy) took home the top prize for Best Feature Film.  The film puts a wry, witty, and unpredictable ensemble cast in a small-town locale reminiscent of a Capra comedy. Before the clock strikes midnight, Kate, a 16-year-old rural American teenager, will learn what she has in common with a 16-year-old Chinese girl half a world, and a cultural revolution away.

The winners:
Best Feature Film: “16 to Life”

Runner-up: “Deadland”
Best Documentary: “Food Fight”

Runner-Up: “Bonecrusher”
Best Short Film: “Open Your Eyes”

Runner-Up: “True Beauty This Night”
Best Student Film: “Down in Number 5″

Runner-Up: “Autogenesis”
Best Animation: “O Pintor de Ceos (Painter of the Skies)”

Runner-Up: “The Mouse that Soared”

Best Feature: "The Things We Carry"

The 7th Wild Rose Independent Film Festival in Des Moines, Iowa culminated last Sunday with AriesWorks Entertainment’s special premiere Des Moines screening of the Iowa independent feature film, Haunting Villisca, based on the unsolved 1912 Villisca Axe murders and the current paranormal activity in the house where the crime took place. The film (not in competition at the festival) played to a packed house. Haunting Villisca is an Iowa film directed by James Serpento and produced by Kimberly Busbee and also was co-written by them.

This year’s WRIFF which ran 4 days, showcased 35 short, animated, documentary, music and feature films from Iowa, the U.S. and other countries, including Canada, the UK, France, Japan, Germany, China and Mexico.

The 2009 Wild Rose Independent Film Festival Winners

Best Feature:
The Things We Carry (CA) (Ian McCrudden - Director;
Athena Lobit, Alyssa Lobit - Producers)
Feature Certificate of Distinctive Achievement (CDA):
Son of the Sunshine (Canada) (Ryan Ward, Director; Paul Fler, Producer)

Best Iowa Film:
Ghost Player: Relive the Magic (IA) (Joe Scherrman);
Iowa Film CDA:
Hitmom (IA) (Joe Clarke)

Best Ensemble/Casting:
Son of the Sunshine (Canada) (Crystal Kramer) Ensemble/Casting CDAs (tie):
The Things We Carry (CA) (Freddy Luis);
Putting Down Puffy (CA) (Joe Adams)

Best Director:
Ryan Ward (Canada) (Son of the Sunshine)
Director CDA:
Tim Reischauer (CA) (Slice of Pie)

Best Actress:
Alyssa Lobit (CA ) (The Things We Carry)
Actress CDAs (tie):
Catherine Kresge (CA) (The Things We Carry);
Rebecca McMahon (Canada) (Son of the Sunshine)

Best Actor:
Ryan Ward (Canada) (Son of the Sunshine)
Actor CDA:
Rick Hall (CA) (Slice of Pie)

Best Cinematography:
Chance of a Lifetime (UK) (Sandy Crichton)
Cinematography CDAs (tie):
The Beneficiary (CA ) (Mateo Londono);
Putting Down Puffy (CA) (Ben Brunkhardt)

Best Screenplay:
The Things We Carry (CA) (Alyssa Lobit)
Screenplay CDA:
Slice of Pie CA (Rick Hall)

Best Debut Film:
The Guy Chronicles (CA) (Aaron Riggs, Ryan Kohler)
Debut Film CDA:
The Hands (CA) (Charise Studesville)

Best Short Film:
Slice of Pie (CA) (Tim Reischauer - Director/Producer, Rick Hall - Writer/Producer)
Short Film CDAs (tie):
Putting Down Puffy (CA) (Hugh Scott);
The Beneficiary (CA ) (Theodore Melfi)

Best Original Music:
Son of the Sunshine (Canada) (Mathew Montour)
Music CDA:
Slice of Pie (CA) (Laura Hall)

Best Documentary:
Chance of a Lifetime (UK) (Sandy Crichton)
Documentary CDA:
Ghost Player: Relive the Magic (IA) (Joe Scherrman)

Best Short Documentary:
The Marina Experiment (NY) (Marina Lutz)
Short Documentary CDA:
Throwing Plates: A Portrait of a Woman Ceramicist (IL) (Deidre Lee)

Best Music Documentary:
No Good Reason (MI) (Lawrence Marshall)

Best Musical Short:
The Line (CA) (Richard Sabatté - Director/Co-Writer,
Anita Merzell - Exec. Producer/Co-Writer)

Best Animation:
Skylight (Canada) (David Baas)
Animation CDA:
Lilium (CA) (Adam Burgett)

Best Editing:
Vamoose (TX/IA) (Jose and Francisco Rodriguez)
Editing CDA:
Putting Down Puffy (CA) (James Yuan)

Best Costume Design:
The Things We Carry (CA) (Jayme Bohn, Jennifer Standley)
Costumes CDA:
A War for II (IA) (Braden Boe, Casey Kappes)

Best Production Design:
The Things We Carry (CA) (Danielle Osborne)
Production Design CDA:
Putting Down Puffy (CA) (Nancy Scott)

Best Visual Effects:
Willful Entrapment (Canada) (Francois Driessen, Christopher Arnold)
Visual Effects CDA:
Son of the Sunshine (Canada) (Chris Drover)

Best Sound Design:
Son of the Sunshine (Canada)(Sean W. Karp)
Sound Design CDA:
Willful Entrapment (Canada) (Dmytro Velichenko, Michael Tompkins)

Best Makeup:
Son of the Sunshine (Canada) (Cathy Congiusti)
Makeup CDA:
Vamoose (IA/TX) (Francisco Rodriguez)

Best Student Film - College:
20 Mississippi (NY) (Michael Brettler, Writer/Director)
Student Film - College CDA:
The Guy Chronicles (CA) (Aaron Riggs, Ryan Kohler)

Best Student Mini-Pic - College:
Sara’s Portraits (IA/CA) (Jill Jones, Writer/Director)
Student Mini-Pic CDA - College (tie):
Good Night Victor (TX ) (Andrew Grissom);
Lilum (Derek Page) (CA)

Best Student Film - High School:
The Lullabye (IA )(Jessie Hixenbaugh, Aly Merschman)
Student Film - High School CDA:
Shoot (IA) (Lucas Baty)

Audience Award
Vamoose (TX/IA) (Jose and Francisco Rodriguez)

Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon stars in Invictus, directed by Clint Eastwood

The 21st Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) will present Morgan Freeman with the Career Achievement Award for Acting. The Festival runs January 5-18.

Festival chairman Harold Matzner said, “The Palm Springs International Film Festival is honored to present Hollywood legend Morgan Freeman with the Career Achievement Award for his large and extraordinary body of work and his many memorable performances throughout the years, including his role as Nelson Mandela in Invictus.”

From director Clint Eastwood and produced by Lori McCreary (with Rob Lorenz and Mace Neufeld), his partner in Revelations Entertainment, Invictus tells the inspiring true story of how Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman) joined forces with the captain of South Africa’s rugby team, Francois Pienaar (Matt Damon), to help unite their country. Newly elected President Mandela knows his nation remains racially and economically divided in the wake of apartheid. Believing he can bring his people together through the universal language of sport, Mandela rallies South Africa’s underdog rugby team as they make an unlikely run to the 1995 World Cup Championship match. Warner Bros. Pictures will release the film on December 11, 2009.

"Children of God" was written, directed and produced by Bahamian filmmaker Kareem Mortimer

Kareem Mortimer’s  “Children Of God” and Lee Daniels’ “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ By Sapphire” will open and close the 6th Bahamas International Film Festival (BIFF), which runs Dec. 10-17 on Paradise Island and Nassau.

‘Children of God’ originally titled “Daybreak” was shot last summer entirely in the Bahamas in Nassau and Eleuthera. The film is written, directed and produced by Bahamian filmmaker Kareem Mortimer, who says that “It is also a subtle and haunting look at race, sexuality and religion in the Bahamas which makes it a very timely and important film and also an extremely gorgeous one to look at. We are very proud of this effort and to open at the Bahamas International Film Festival (BIFF) is a dream come true” says Mortimer.

Set against the backdrop of a nation grappling with violent homophobia, the film tells the story of Jon, a white Bahamian artist who faces losing his scholarship at a local University and Lena a conservative religious woman who is struggling with a crumbling marriage. Both escape city life in Nassau to the island of Eleuthera, where their worlds collide in a fashion that will surprise audiences. The film stars Van Brown, Johnny Ferro, Mark Ford, Margaret Kemp, Stephen Tyrone Williams and a plethora of Bahamian cast.

“Precious,” written by Geoffrey Fletcher and directed by Lee Daniels, opened last week in the U.S. The film stars Gabourey Sidibe, Mo’Nique, Paula Patton and Mariah Carey in the story of an abused Harlem girl looking for a way out of a miserable situation.

image via Children of God

'Cars of the Revolution' (Devrim Arabalari)

‘Cars of the Revolution’ (Devrim Arabalari), a feature film by acclaimed Turkish director Tolga Ornek, will open the 2009 edition of  the Queens International Film Festival and will screen on November 12th at the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts.

This film takes place in 1961 when during a cocktail reception following a national convention on Turkey’s automobile industry, prominent Turkish journalists, bureaucrats and businessmen join President Cemal Gursel in a discussion of the country’s potential of building its own industry. When the president says Turkey has the power to manufacture cars on its own, the issue suddenly turns into a challenge that everybody in attendance is willing to take.

For its 7th edition, the festival will honor Turkish actress Meltem Cumbul and present a special recognition to the Cavu Pictures team, independent movie mavericks Isil Bagdadi and Michael Sergio, highlighting their rise to prominence in the world of independent film distribution and production.

ENTRE NOS, President's Award Winner / Best of the Fest

The Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival 2009 doesn’t wrap until Wednesday but the festival award winners were announced on Sunday. Entre Nos was awarded the President’s Award Winner / Best of the Fest.  In the film, Mariana (Paola Mendoza) is determined to keep her family together. Her children, Gabriel (Sebastian Villada Lopez), 10, and Andrea (Laura Montana Cortez), 6, have grown up in Colombia without their father. Finally after years of separation, the family is reunited in New York City.

The winners:

Spirit of Independents - BLACK DYNAMITE, WONDERFUL WORLD, DEAR LEMON LIMA, DON MCKAY, FAILING BETTER, HERE & THERE, WHEN THE EVENING COMES, ARTICLE 32, A BRIDGE LIFE, A CHEMICAL REACTION, CODY, INGELORE, OFFICIAL REJECTION, PADDLE TO SEATTLE, GASHOLE,
Special Jury Prizes
Feature Production - BEYOND THE POLE
Short Subject Production - MIRACLE FISH
Screenplay - PANDORA’S BOX
Acting Ensemble - FAILING BETTER NOW
Debut Performance by a Child -Sebastian Villada for ENTRE NOS
Debut Performance by a Child -Laura Montana for ENTRE NOS

Best Short (tie) PIGEON IMPOSSIBLE and THANK YOU FOR WASHING
Best Doc - MOUNT ST ELIAS
Best Children’s Film - AZUR AND ASMAL
Best Florida Doc - CIRCUS ROSAIRE
Best Florida Film - ROUGH WINDS
Audience Award Short - THE FINDING
Audience Award Doc - OFFICIAL REJECTION
Audience Award Foreign Feature - ITALIANS
Audience Award American Indie Feature - IN MY SLEEP
Best Actor American Indie (tie) - David Thornton for HERE & THERE, Henry Philips for PUNCHING THE CLOWN
Best Actress American Indie - Michelle Monaghan for TRUCKER
Best American Indie Director - Gregori Viens for PUNCHING THE CLOWN
Best Actor Foreign Film - John Hurt for AN ENGLISHMAN IN NEW YORK
Best Actress Foreign Film - Paola Mendoza for ENTRE NOS
Best Director Foreign Film - Darko Lungolov for HERE & THERE
Best First Time Director - James Mottern for TRUCKER
President’s Award Feature - ENTRE NOS
President’s Award Documentary - TURTLE: THE INCREDIBLE JOURNEY
President’s Award Short - LOVER
Best American Indie - PUNCHING THE CLOWN
Best Foreign Film - QUEEN TO PLAY
Best Film (Seashell Award) - ENTRE NOS
Star On The Horizon - Michelle Monaghan
Career Achievement - Matthew Broderick
Lifetime Achievement in Cinematography - Mario Tosi
Lifetime Achievement - Kevin McCarthy