A Separation to Receive European Commission’s first EU Media Prize at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival

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Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi, director of A Separation (Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film) and his producer, Memento Films Production’s Alexandre Mallet-Guy, will be awarded the European Commission’s first EU Media Prize at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival.

Farhadi and Mallet-Guy will receive the award for their new project that will be filmed in France and in French in the Fall.

“In these times when certain politicians are trying to turn the beautiful rainbow of cultural diversity in the world into differences and confrontations, I believe that this MEDIA award for my next film project is a very encouraging sign,” Farhadi said of the prize.

The MEDIA prize is awarded to the best project with box-office potential submitted by a screenwriter and a production company. The project is selected from the applications submitted for development support from the MEDIA program in a given year. MEDIA will allocate support for the screenplay, casting, preparing a financial plan, marketing and piloting production. The EU MEDIA prize is part of the MEDIA program’s new €1.8 billion agenda set to kick off in 2014 and run through 2020 called “Creative Europe” meant to facilitate cultural exchange among film industry professionals through digital technology.

NADER AND SIMIN, A SEPARATION Takes Top Awards at 6th Asian Film Awards

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The Iranian film, NADER AND SIMIN, A SEPARATION dominated the 6th Asian Film Awards (AFA) at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. NADER AND SIMIN, A SEPARATION won awards for Best Film, Best Editor, and Best Director and Best Screenwriter for screenwriter-director Asghar FARHADI.

The winners of the 6th AFA are:

Best Film
NADER AND SIMIN, A SEPARATION (Iran)

Best Director
Asghar FARHADI ― NADER AND SIMIN, A SEPARATION (Iran)

Best Actor
Donny DAMARA ― LOVELY MAN (Indonesia)

Best Actress
Deanie IP ― A SIMPLE LIFE (Hong Kong)

Best Newcomer
NI Ni ― THE FLOWERS OF WAR (Mainland China)

Best Supporting Actor
Lawrence KO ― JUMP! ASHIN (Taiwan)

Best Supporting Actress
Shamaine BUENCAMINO ― NIÑO (The Philippines)

Best Screenwriter
Asghar FARHADI ― NADER AND SIMIN, A SEPARATION (Iran)

Best Cinematographer
Jake POLLOCK, LAI Yiu-fai (HKSC) ― WU XIA (Mainland China / Hong Kong)

Best Production Designer
YEE Chung-man, SUN Li ― WU XIA (Mainland China / Hong Kong)

Best Composer
CHAN Kwong-wing, Peter KAM, Chatchai PONGPRAPAPHAN ― WU XIA
(Mainland China / Hong Kong)

Best Editor
Hayedeh SAFIYARI ― NADER AND SIMIN, A SEPARATION (Iran)

Best Visual Effects
Wook KIM, Josh COLE, Frankie CHUNG ― THE FLYING SWORDS OF DRAGON GATE (Hong Kong / Mainland China)

Best Costume Designer
YEE Chung-man, LAI Hsuan-wu ― THE FLYING SWORDS OF DRAGON GATE (Hong Kong / Mainland China)

The winners of the special awards of the 6th AFA are:

The Lifetime Achievement Award
Ann HUI

2011’s Top Grossing Asian Film Award
LET THE BULLETS FLY

The Edward Yang New Talent Award
Edwin

People’s Choice Awards: My Favorite Actor
Andy LAU ― A SIMPLE LIFE (Hong Kong)

People’s Choice Awards: My Favourite Actress
Eugene DOMINGO ― THE WOMAN IN THE SEPTIC TANK (The Philippines)

Academy Sets Date for Next Academy Awards

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The 85th Academy Awards nominations will be announced on Tuesday, January 15, 2013, and the Oscar® telecast will be presented on Sunday, February 24th.

The ceremony will take place at the Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and will be televised live by the ABC Television Network to more than 225 countries.

Winter's Bone Voted Best American Film by Danish Film Critics

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Lars von Trier's "Melancholia" was voted Best Danish Film, and Winter's Bone was voted Best American Film at the 65th Bodil Awards, presented Saturday 3 March 2012 by the Danish Film Critics' Association. "A Funny Man" won 4 awards, including Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor.

Best Danish Film
Melancholia - Lars von Trier

Best Actor
Nikolaj Lie Kaas – A Funny Man

Best Actress
Lene Maria Christensen – A Family

Best Supporting Actor
Lars Ranthe – A Funny Man

Best Supporting Actress
Paprika Steen - SuperClásico

Best Documentary Film
The Will - Christian Sønderby Jepsen

Best Director of Photography
Manuel Alberto Claro – Melancholia, Rebounce

Best Production Design
Charlotte Bay Garnov and Peter Grant – Dirch

Best Foreign Film (other than USA)
A Separation - Asghar Farhadi

Best American Film
Winter's Bone - Debra Granik

Special Bodil
Jes Graversen, film distributor, Miracle Film

Honorary Bodil
Ghita Nørby, actress

Blockbuster Audience Award
A Funny Man - Martin Zandvliet

Ib Award
Ib Tardini

Winners of the 84th annual Academy Awards

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No surprise here, The Artist was the big winner at the 84th annual Academy Awards, taking home the big award of the night, Best Picture along with Best Actor for leading actor Jean Dujardin.

The list of the winners from the 84th annual Academy Awards:

Best picture: “The Artist.”

Actress in a leading role: Meryl Streep, “Iron Lady.”

Actor in a leading role: Jean Dujardin, “The Artist.”

Actress in a supporting role: Octavia Spencer, “The Help.”

Actor in a supporting role: Christopher Plummer, “Beginners.”

Directing: Michel Hazanavicius, “The Artist.”

Cinematography: “Hugo.”

Art direction: “Hugo.”

Costume design: “The Artist.”

Makeup: “The Iron Lady.”

Foreign language film: “A Separation,” Iran.

Film editing: “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.”

Sound editing: “Hugo.”

Sound mixing: “Hugo.”

Documentary feature: “Undefeated.”

Animated feature film: “Rango.”

Visual effects: “Hugo.”

Original score: “The Artist.”

Original song: “Man or Muppet” from “The Muppets.”

Adapted screenplay: Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, “The Descendants.”

Original screenplay: Woody Allen, “Midnight in Paris.”

Live action short film: “The Shore.”

Documentary (short subject): “Saving Face.”

Animated short film: “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore.”

The Artist, Pariah, The Descendants Win at 27th Film Independent Spirit Awards

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The Artist, as expected, was the big winner at yesterday's 27th Film Independent Spirit Awards, winning awards for Best Feature, Best Director, Best Male Lead and Best Cinematography. Other winners included My Week With Marilyn, which won Best Female Lead; The Descendants, which won Best Supporting Female and Best Screenplay; Beginners, which won Best Supporting Male and Pariah, which won the John Cassavetes Award; 50/50, which won Best First Screenplay; Margin Call, which won Best First Feature; A Separation, which won Best International Film; and The Interrupters, which won Best Documentary.

The 5th annual Robert Altman Award was given to one film's director, casting director, and ensemble cast. J. C. Chandor's Margin Call received this award, along with casting directors Tiffany Little Canfield and Bernard Telsey and ensemble cast members Penn Badgley, Simon Baker, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Mary McDonnell, Demi Moore, Zachary Quinto, Kevin Spacey and Stanley Tucci.

The Spirit Awards was the first event to exclusively honor independent film, with artists receiving industry recognition first at the Spirit Awards include Joel & Ethan Coen, Spike Lee, Oliver Stone, Ashley Judd, Robert Rodriguez, David O. Russell, Edward Burns, Aaron Eckhart, Neil LaBute, Darren Aronofsky, Spike Jonze, Charlie Kaufman, Hilary Swank, Marc Forster, Todd Field, Christopher Nolan, Zach Braff, Amy Adams and many more.

The following is a complete list of 27th Film Independent Spirit Awards winners:

Best Feature - The Artist             

Best Director - Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist

Best Screenplay - Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash, The Descendants

Best First Feature - Margin Call, Director: J.C. Chandor

Best First Screenplay - Will Reiser, 50/50

John Cassavetes Award (For the best feature made under $500,000) -  Writer/Director: Dee Rees, Pariah                                                        
Best Supporting Female - Shailene Woodley, The Descendants

Best Supporting Male - Christopher Plummer, Beginners

Best Female - Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn

Best Male - Jean Dujardin, The Artist

Best Cinematography - Guillaume Schiffman, The Artist

Best Foreign Film - A Separation, Director: Asghar Farhadi

Best Documentary - The Interrupters, Director: Steve James


Two new filmmaker grants were awarded during the ceremony. The 2012 Chaz and Roger Ebert Fellowship, which recognizes a social-issue documentary and includes a cash grant of $10,000, was given to Katie Fairfax Wright and Malika Zouhali-Worrall, co-directors of the documentary Call Me Kuchu. The film was developed in Film Independent's 2011 Documentary Lab and has its world premiere at the 2012 Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the Teddy Award for Best Documentary.

The 2012 Giorgio Armani Directing Fellowship, which includes a cash grant of $10,000, was awarded to Grace Lee, director of the documentary American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs. The film, currently in post-production, is in Film Independent's 2012 Documentary Lab.

On January 14th, the following winners were honored at the Spirit Awards Filmmaker Grant and Nominee Brunch at BOA Steakhouse in West Hollywood:

The 18th Annual Audi Someone to Watch Award was given to Mark Jackson, director of Without. The $25,000 unrestricted grant, funded for the first time by Audi, recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not received appropriate recognition.

The 17th Annual Nokia Truer Than Fiction Award was given to Heather Courtney, director of Where Soldiers Come From. The $25,000 unrestricted grant, funded by Nokia, is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition.

The 15th Annual Piaget Producers Award was given to Sophia Lin, producer of Take Shelter. The $25,000 unrestricted grant, funded by Piaget, is presented to an emerging producer who, despite highly limited resources demonstrates the creativity, tenacity, and vision required to produce quality, independent films.

The 2nd Annual Jameson FIND Your Audience Award, which helps one low-budget independent film find a broader audience, was given to Benjamin Murray and Alysa Nahmias, co-directors of Unfinished Spaces. The $40,000 marketing and distribution grant, funded by Jameson® Irish Whiskey, was designed to meet independent filmmakers' biggest challenge today: How to get their films out into the marketplace.

The Descendants and Better This World Win WGA Awards

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The Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) announced the winners for outstanding achievement in writing for the screen during 2011. Among the winners, The Descendants won the award for Adapted Screenplay and Better This World won the award for Documentary Screenplay.

MOTION PICTURE WINNERS

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY 

Midnight in Paris, Written by Woody Allen; Sony Pictures Classics

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY 

The Descendants, Screenplay by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash; Based on the novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings; Fox Searchlight

DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY 

Better This World, Written by Katie Galloway & Kelly Duane de la Vega; Loteria Films

The Descendants, The Artist and Freedom Riders Among Winners of 62nd Annual ACE Eddie awards

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ACE, the AMERICAN CINEMA EDITORS, an honorary society of motion picture editors founded in 1950, presented the 62nd ACE Eddie awards. The Artist and The Descendants won the awards for Best Edited Feature Films and Freedom Riders won the award for Best Edited Documentary.

The winners of the 62nd Annual ACE Eddie awards are:

Best Edited Feature Film (Dramatic)
The Descendants
Kevin Tent, ACE

Best Edited Feature Film (Comedy or Musical)
The Artist
Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius

Best Edited Animated Feature Film
Rango
Craig Wood, ACE

Best Edited Half-Hour Series for Television
Curb Your Enthusiasm, “Palestinian Chicken”
Steven Rasch, ACE

Best Edited One-Hour Series for Commercial Television
Breaking Bad, “Face Off”
Skip MacDonald

Best Edited One-Hour Series for Non-Commercial Television
Homeland, “Pilot”
Jordan Goldman and David Latham

Best Edited Miniseries or Motion Picture for Television
Cinema Verite
Sarah Flack, ACE and Robert Pulcini

Best Edited Documentary
Freedom Riders
Lewis Erskine and Aljernon Tunsil

Best Edited Reality Series
Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, “Haiti”
Eric Lasby

Student Competition
Eric Kench, Video Symphony

Pariah and Sing Your Song Win at 43rd NAACP Image Awards

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The 43rd NAACP Image Awards was held over the weekend and Pariah triumphed over I Will Follow, Kinyarwanda, MOOZ-lum and The First Grader to win the award for Outstanding Independent Motion Picture. Other award winners include Sing Your Song won the award for Outstanding Documentary (Theatrical or Television) and In the Land of Blood and Honey won the award for Outstanding Foreign Motion Picture.

Winners of the 43rd annual NAACP Image Awards for Motion Pictures

Motion Picture- The Help

Actor in a motion picture - Laz Alonso, Jumping the Broom

Actress in a motion picture- Viola Davis, The Help

Supporting actor in a motion picture - Mike Epps, Jumping the Broom

Supporting actress in a motion picture - Octavia Spencer, “The Help”

Independent motion picture - Pariah

Foreign motion picture - In the Land of Blood and Honey

Documentary, theatrical or television - Sing Your Song

Dates Announced for 2012 British Independent Film Awards

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The Moët British Independent Film Awards announced today that this year’s awards will be held on Sunday December 9th 2012.

At the Moët BIFA’s Tyrannosaur also won the coveted Best British Independent Film, with Lynne Ramsay taking home Best Director for We Need to Talk About Kevin, Olivia Colman Best Actress for Tyrannosaur and Michael Fassbender Best Actor for Shame. Vanessa Redgrave won Best Supporting Actress for Coriolanus and Michael Smiley Best Supporting Actor for Kill List.

Now in its 15th year, the Awards were created by Raindance in 1998 and set out to celebrate merit and achievement in independently funded British filmmaking, to honor new talent, and to promote British films and filmmaking to a wider public.