The 63rd Berlin International Film Festival unveiled the poster for the 2013 festival which will take place from February 7 to 17, 2013. “The poster for the Berlinale 2013 will again add a bright note to the city’s winter landscape and set the mood for the Festival. The Berlinale Bear has no time to sleep in winter,” says Festival Director Dieter Kosslick.
“Safety Not Guaranteed” took top honors, winning Best Film as well as Best Original Screenplay (Derek Connolly) at the Indiana Film Journalists Association 2012 Awards. “Beasts of the Southern Wild” was the runner-up for Best Film and also won the Original Vision Award, which recognizes a film that is especially innovative or groundbreaking. Eight other films were named Finalists for Best Film.
Stephen Chbosky won Best Adapted Screenplay for “The Perks of Being a Wallflower.” “Rise of the Guardians” was named Best Animated Film, “Searching for Sugar Man“ Best Documentary and “The Raid: Redemption” Best Foreign Language Film.
The Hoosier Award, which recognizes a significant cinematic contribution by a person or persons with Indiana roots, went to Jon Vickers, Founding Director of Indiana University Cinema.
The following is the complete list of honored films:
The Las Vegas Film Critics Society selected “Life of Pi” as the best motion picture of 2012, along with Ang Lee as best director. “Life of Pi” took home a total of five awards including, best cinematography, musical score, visual effects and youth in film award for its young star, Suraj Sharma. Best Documentary went to Bully and Best Foreign Film went to Amour.
2012 Sierra Award winners
St. Louis Film Critics’ Awards Best Film:“Argo “runners-up: “Life of Pi” and “Lincoln”) Best Director:Ben Affleck (“Argo”)runner-up): Quentin Tarantino (“Django Unchained”) andBenh Zeitlin (“Beasts of the Southern Wild”) Best Actor:Daniel Day-Lewis (“Lincoln”) (runner-up): John Hawkes (“The Sessions”) Best Actress:Jessica Chastain (“Zero Dark Thirty”)(runner-up): Jennifer Lawrence (“Silver Linings Playbook”) Best Supporting Actor:Christoph Waltz (“Django Unchained”)(runner-up): Tommy Lee Jones (“Lincoln”) Best Supporting Actress:(Tie): Ann Dowd (“Compliance”) and Helen Hunt (“The Sessions”) Best Original Screenplay:”Zero Dark Thirty” (Mark Boal) (runner-up): […]
The Southeastern Film Critics’ Association voted Ben Affleck’s Argo the best motion picture of 2012, and the actor-director Affleck was named “Best Director.”
Ben Zeitlin’s Beasts of the Southern Wild was the overwhelming choice for the group’s Gene Wyatt award, given for the film that “best evokes the spirit of the South,” with Richard Linklater’s Bernie — yet another dramatization of a true story — finishing second. Beasts of the Southern Wild also made the Top 10 best films of 2012 list.
2012 SEFCA AWARD RESULTS
Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty was named best film of 2012 by the African-American Film Critics Association, but Middle of Nowhere written and directed by 2012 Sundance Film Festival winner of Best Director, Ava DuVernay, was also a big winner, grabbing awards for Best Actress, Best Screenplay, Best Independent Film, and Best Music.
Zero Dark Thirty chronicles the search for Osama bin-Laden and Middle of Nowhere is a drama about a woman and her relationship with her incarcerated lover.
The complete list of winners:
The Master, Paul Thomas Anderson’s drama about a battle of wills between a ravaged war veteran and the cult leader who offers him a place at his right hand, was the big winner of the Toronto Film Critics Association 2012 Awards.
Anderson’s film took Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay, with co-star Philip Seymour Hoffman named the year’s Best Supporting Actor. Anderson has now won Best Picture twice (previous was Magnolia 1999) and Best Director three times (previous was Magnolia and Punch-Drunk Love 2002). He also shared the Best Screenplay prize with Being John Malkovich author Charlie Kaufman (1999).
Canadian filmmakers were also honored in the TFCA’s other awards, with Stories We Tell winning the Allan King Documentary Award and Panos Cosmatos sharing the Best First Feature prize for Beyond the Black Rainbow with Benh Zeitlin’s Beasts of the Southern Wild.
The full list of Toronto Film Critics Association Awards winners and runners-up:
Sundance Institute announced the 25 feature-length documentary films that will receive $550,000 in grants from its Documentary Film Program and Fund (DFP).
Granted filmmakers reflect a range of experience, including five first-time feature filmmakers as well as noted documentarians Fred Wiseman, Sam Pollard and Jehane Noujaim. In-country filmmakers include those in Africa (Ghana), India and China, and additional countries of production include Afghanistan, Nepal, Senegal and Egypt.
DEVELOPMENT
Boomtown (U.S.)
Director: Beth Murphy
A modern day Grapes of Wrath story is playing out across America as families pack their bags and head to North Dakota in search of the American Dream.
Bukom Fighter (Ghana)
Director: Makafui Zimrani
A nine year old boy from a shanty town in Ghana tries to create hope for himself using the only resource at his disposal; the power of his fists.
Chameleon (Canada / Ghana)
Director: Ryan Mullins
Africa’s most famed investigative reporter, Anas Aremeyaw Anas, takes us deep undercover for his own brand of brazen journalism.
Perry vs. Schwarzenegger (U.S.)
Directors: Ryan White and Ben Cotner
In 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case that challenges California’s ban on same-sex marriage. Perry v. Schwarzenegger, filed by two couples with an unlikely legal team, has now reached the nation’s highest court and is poised to be the first ruling on the right of gay and lesbian Americans to marry.
Rise and Fall of ACORN (U.S.)
Directors: Reuben Atlas and Sam Pollard
In 2009 a national community-organizing group was destroyed. The complex story of ACORN involves a journalist posing as a pimp, embezzlement, and voter fraud.
HBO and Martin Scorsese will partner for a documentary about William Jefferson Clinton, 42nd President of the United States. According to the press release, the film will be made with Clinton’s full cooperation, and will explore his perspectives on history, politics, culture and the world, with Scorsese producing and directing, and Steve Bing producing.
“President Clinton is one of the most compelling figures of our time, whose world view and perspective, combined with his uncommon intelligence, make him a singular voice on the world stage,” said Plepler and Lombardo. “This documentary, under Marty’s gifted direction, creates a unique opportunity for the President to reflect on myriad issues that have consumed his attention and passion throughout both his Presidency and post-Presidency.”
“A towering figure who remains a major voice in world issues, President Clinton continues to shape the political dialogue both here and around the world,” observed Scorsese. “Through intimate conversations, I hope to provide greater insight into this transcendent figure.”
“I am pleased that legendary director Martin Scorsese and HBO have agreed to do this film,” said President Clinton. “I look forward to sharing my perspective on my years as President, and my work in the years since, with HBO’s audience.”
Sundance Institute has selected 12 projects for its 2013 January Screenwriters Lab, an immersive, five-day (January 11-16) writers’ workshop at the Sundance Resort in Utah. Participating independent screenwriters – drawn from around the world, including the United States, Iran, Europe, Mexico, and Somalia – will have the opportunity to work intensely on their feature film scripts with the support of established writers. The 2013 Lab is dedicated to the memory of Frank Pierson (1925-2012), a founding creative advisor of the Feature Film Program whose body of work and generosity as a mentor served as an inspiration to countless writers.
Keri Putnam, Executive Director of Sundance Institute, said, “Across all Sundance Institute Labs, which include offerings for various forms of artistic expression, the constant is creating an environment that encourages innovation and creative risk-taking. We look forward to building a unique community of artists at our Lab, in support of these emerging screenwriters and their stories.”
Michelle Satter, Founding Director of the Sundance Institute Feature Film Program, said, “We are thrilled to welcome the new group of writers to the Lab whose stories are timely, ambitious and singular in their vision and independent voice. Exploring themes that resonate across cultures, the writers have found diverse and dynamic approaches to storytelling that will inspire and move audiences in the years to come. The January Screenwriters Labs marks the beginning of a rigorous year-round process of creative and tactical support which is tailored to the needs of each individual project and extends from script development to connecting with audiences.”
The Fellows will work with a distinguished group of creative advisors at the Lab, including Marcos Bernstein, D.V. DeVincentis, Michael Goldenberg, Susannah Grant, Walter Mosley, Marti Noxon, Anjum Rajabali, Howard Rodman, David Seidler, Susan Shilliday, Zach Sklar, Dana Stevens, Robin Swicord, Mike White, Tyger Williams and Erin Cressida Wilson.
The projects and Fellows selected for the 2013 January Screenwriters Lab are:
The 24th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) which runs January 3-14, 2013, will honor Richard Gere with the Chairman’s Award. Richard Gere stars in Arbitrage from Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions. Gere plays New York hedge-fund magnate Robert Miller, who on the eve of his 60th birthday is desperate to complete the sale of his trading empire and makes an error that forces him to turn to an unlikely person for help. The film […]
Fifteen films have already been invited to compete in Generation Kplus and Generation 14plus at the 2013 Berlin International Film Festival. The early list includes 3 films from the US including Hide Your Smiling Faces directed by Daniel Patrick Carbone, The Cold Lands directed by Tom Gilroy and Tough Bond by Austin Peck, Anneliese Vandenberg. The complete Generation program will be announced in mid January. The 63rd Berlin International Film Festival will run February 7 – 17, 2013.
Films include: