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North African cinema was the big winner as the 5th Dubai Film Fest wrapped Thursday, with Franco-Algerian co-production “Masquerades” winning the Muhr Award for film.Lyes Salem’s pic, about an Algerian man who tries to marry off his narcoleptic sister, also won the fest’s inaugural Fipresci prize.
Another Franco-Algerian co-production, helmer Rabah Ameur-Zaimeche’s “Adhen-Dernier Maquis,” won the special jury prize, and laurels for editor and composer. Pic is about a group of immigrant workers in a Paris suburb who protest when their boss attempts to build an on-site mosque.
Moroccan helmer Nour-Eddine Lakhmari’s “Casanegra” won the actor prize — shared between Anas Elbaz and Omar Lotfi — and best cinematographer. French-Algerian thesp Hafsia Herzi picked up the best actress award for her turn in Moroccan director Souad El-Bouhati’s debut feature “Francaise.”
Palestinian helmer Annemarie Jacir won the script prize for her debut feature “Salt of This Sea.”
Fest expanded the Muhr awards section for Asian and African cinema. Korean helmer So Yong Kim won the film prize in that category for “Treeless Mountain.”
Fest co-production market, the Dubai Film Connection, selected its six projects out of 21 entries, with more than $100,000 in development coin doled out. Three projects received $25,000 each: Jordanian helmer Mahmoud al-Massad’s “This Is My Picture When I’m Dead,” Lebanese helmer Chadi Zeneddine’s “Barbershop Trinity” and Algerian helmer Djamila Sahraoui’s “Ouardia Once Had Sons.”
Fest wrapped Thursday with attendees calling the week-long event a success. Though there was a noticeably less glitzy feel to the 5th edition, fest boasted strong industry presence from the Middle East, Europe and the U.S. The inaugural Dubai Film Market received a thumbs-up from buyers and sellers for its user-friendliness, while the Dubai Film Connection increased the number of projects and coin it handed out.
The cause was heart disease, his nephew Robert Rosenthal said.
Mr. Mulligan received an Academy Award nomination for the film, based on Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about rape, racism and injustice in the Depression-era South. Gregory Peck won an Oscar for his portrayal of Atticus Finch, the Alabama lawyer who defends a black man (played by Brock Peters) falsely accused of raping a white woman. The film also won Oscars for its screenplay, by Horton Foote, and for art direction.
In interviews over the years, Robert Mulligan was often asked how a boy from the Bronx developed such an affinity for films with small-town Southern settings. The answer, he said, lay in the shared passion of both places for spinning fabulous yarns. As he told The Boston Herald in 1991: “Coming from Bronx Irish is hardly Southern. But there was that sense of the Irish storytellers, the fairy tales.”
The Rome Film Festival’s budget is being slashed from this year’s $24 million to a maximum of $15 million, rekindling questions about the future size and scope of the Eternal City extravaganza.
Citing the global economic crisis, a board meeting attended by Rome’s conservative mayor, Gianni Alemanno, on Wednesday deliberated the drastic cut, while confirming that the fest will run in 2009.
The event, launched in 2006 by Rome’s then-Mayor Walter Veltroni, has been captive to political turmoil ever since the left-wing Veltroni stepped down in May when Silvio Berlusconi won national elections and Alemanno gained power in the Italian capital.
That’s why the economic crunch isn’t the only crucial factor in determining Rome’s reconfiguration. Though the fest draws 70% of its funding from corporate sponsors, everything in Italy, including corporate funding, is political.
However, Rome’s budget for its fourth edition is only slightly less than the $16 million that the Venice Film Festival had at its disposal this year.
Meanwhile, Rome has other pressing issues to resolve. Giorgio Gosetti and Teresa Cavina — co-directors of its Cinema 2008 section, which made up most of the competition lineup of the fest — ankled after the October edition due to differences with fest prexy Gianluigi Rondi, who was installed in June.
Gosetti also headed Rome’s informal Business Street mart, while Cavina was chief of its New Cinema Network co-production mart.
Other European fests including Spain’s San Sebastian and Holland’s CineKid have issued public warnings that the looming threat of budget cuts could put them out of business.
By Nicky Vivarelli
Recession notwithstanding, cinema will continue to be the primary place to watch movies next year — as long as the movie is good, media analyst firm Screen Digest forecast Wednesday.
“Nothing is recession proof, but cinema is relatively recession resistant,” said David Hancock, Screen Digest head of cinema, commenting on a set of predictions for the biz next year.
However, anecdotal evidence suggests audiences may cut down on travel options or concessions expenditure, rather than eliminating the cinema ticket altogether, he added.
This year admissions in France will grow 4% and by 1% in the U.K. But admissions will drop 1.5% in Germany, 3% in Italy, after an excellent 2007, and 3% or more in Spain, Hancock said.
The forecasts in Screen Digest’s report, “Hard Times 2009,” range across key media markets:
* Thanks to the credit crunch, it will be harder and more expensive to tap the about $8 billion needed for digital upgrade of 110,000 modern screens worldwide.
* In Euro pay TV, Britain’s BSkyB will maintain customer growth and subscriber payments. But Spanish pay TV is slowing. France, Germany and Italy will also begin to slow soon.
* Hard times will bulwark value options, such as DVD. This year, DVD consumer spending will be Euros 10.2 billion ($14.3 billion), down on 2005’s peak of $16 billion.
* Traditional console gamers are relatively recession resilient. New, non-enthusiast gamers, most noticeably Nintendo DS and Wii players, may, however, drop out.
4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS, 2 DAYS The stark Romanian drama, directed by Cristian Mungiu and set during the dictatorship of Nicolae Ceausescu, portrays a country mired in depression and paranoia where everyday life involves navigating through a cruel bureaucratic jungle. The story follows two college girls, frightened, scatterbrained Gabita (Laura Vasiliu), who seeks an abortion, and her steadfast roommate, Otilia (Anamaria Marinca), who does all the difficult work in arranging the illegal and dangerous procedure. Otilia, who has her own problems, must abandon her friend in the shabby hotel in which the abortion is performed to attend a nightmarish dinner given by the family of her selfish, possessive boyfriend. With no cinematic frills and no music, “4 Months” is grimly realistic and unforgettable.
THE EDGE OF HEAVEN The destinies of six characters intersect in the compelling cross-cultural drama by the German-born Turkish filmmaker Fatih Akin, whose 2004 film “Head-On” established him as a major international talent. They include a boorish Turkish widower living in Germany; a prostitute he shelters in exchange for conjugal favors but accidentally kills during a squabble; his son, a German professor who moves back to Istanbul and buys a bookstore; the prostitute’s daughter, a headstrong political zealot; the young German woman she falls madly in love with; and the German woman’s strait-laced mother, a former hippie (memorably portrayed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s muse, Hannah Schygulla). As the paths of these fascinating, complicated people cross (two go to jail), Mr. Akin regards them with unwavering compassion.
Nominees were announced at the Beverly Hilton by Terrence Howard, Rainn Wilson, Elizabeth Banks and Brooke Shields.
NBC will air the Globes telecast, produced by Dick Clark Prods., on Jan. 11 — also from the Beverly Hilton
BEST FEATURE – DRAMA
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” - Warner Bros. Picturesand Paramount Pictures; Warner Bros. Pictures and Paramount Pictures
“Frost/Nixon” - Imagine Entertainment, Working Title, Studio Canal;Universal Pictures
“The Reader” - Mirage Enterprises; The Weinstein Company
“Revolutionary Road” - An Evamere Entertainment BBC FilmsNeal Street Production; DreamWorks Pictures in Association with BBC Films and Paramount Vantage
“Slumdog Millionaire” -Fox Searchlight Pictures and Warner Bros.; Fox Searchlight Pictures and Warner Bros.
BEST FEATURE – COMEDY
“Burn After Reading” - Working Title/Releasing Company; Focus Features in association with Studio Canal
“Happy-Go-Lucky” - Summit Entertainment, Film4, Ingenious Film Partners, Miramax Films; Miramax Films
“In Bruges” - Blueprint Pictures; Focus Features
“Mamma Mia!” - Relativity Media, Playtone, Littlestar; Universal Pictures
“Vicky Cristina Barcelona” - Mediapro; The Weinstein Company
ACTOR – DRAMA
Leonardo DiCaprio – “Revolutionary Road”
Frank Langella - “Frost/Nixon”
Sean Penn - “Milk”
Brad Pitt - “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Mickey Rouke - “The Wrestler”
ACTRESS – DRAMA
Anne Hathaway – “Rachel Getting Married”
Angelina Jolie - “Changeling”
Meryl Streep - “Doubt”
Kristin Scott Thomas - “I’ve Loved You So Long”
Kate Winslet - “Revolutionary Road”
ACTOR – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Javier Bardem – “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
Colin Farrell - “In Bruges”
James Franco - “Pineapple Express”
Brendan Gleeson - “In Bruges”
Dustin Hoffman - “Last Chance Harvey”
ACTRESS – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Rebecca Hall – “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
Sally Hawkins - “Happy-Go-Lucky”
Frances McDormand - “Burn After Reading”
Meryl Streep – “Mamma Mia!”
Emma Thompson - “Last Chance Harvey”
DIRECTOR – MOTION PICTURE
Danny Boyle – “Slumdog Millionaire”
Stephen Daldry -”The Reader”
David Fincher -”The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button”
Ron Howard – “Frost/Nixon”
Sam Mendes -”Revolutionary Road”
SUPPORTING ACTOR
Tom Cruise - “Tropic Thunder”
Robert Downey Jr. – “Tropic Thunder”
Ralph Fiennes - “The Duchess”
Philip Seymour Hoffman - “Doubt”
Heath Ledger - “The Dark Knight”
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams – “Doubt”
Penelope Cruz - “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
Viola Davis - “Doubt”
Marisa Tomei - “The Wrestler”
Kate Winslet – “The Reader”
SCREENPLAY – MOTION PICTURE
Simon Beaufoy – “Slumdog Millionaire”
David Hare - “The Reader”
Peter Morgan - “Frost/Nixon”
Eric Roth - “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
John Patrick Shanley - “Doubt”
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
“The Baader Meinhof Complex” (“Der Baader Meinhof Komplex”)(Germany) - Constantin Film Produktion GmbH; Summit Entertainment, LLC
“Everlasting Moments” (“Maria larssons eviga ögonblick”) (Sweden) - Final Cut Productions Aps; IFC Films
“Gomorrah” (“Gomorra”) (Italy) – Fandango; IFC Films
“I’ve Loved You So Long” (“Il y a longtemps que je t’aime”) (France) - UGC YM/UGC Images/France 3 Cinema/Integral Film;Sony Pictures Classics
“Waltz with Bashir” (Israel) – Bridgit Folman Film Gang/Les FilmsD’Ici/Razor Films/Arte France/ITVS International; Sony Pictures
ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
“Bolt” - Walt Disney Pictures; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
“Kung Fu Panda” - DreamWorks Animation SKG; Paramount Pictures
“Wall-E” - Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar Animation Studios; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
BEST SCORE
Alexandre Desplat – “The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button”
Clint Eastwood - “Changeling”
James Newton Howard - “Defiance”
A. R. Rahman - “Slumdog Millionaire”
Hans Zimmer - “Frost/Nixon”
BEST ORIGINAL SONG
“Down To Earth” from “Wall-E” – Music By: Peter Gabriel, Thomas Newman; Lyrics By: Peter Gabriel
“Gran Torino” from “Gran Torino” – Music By: Clint Eastwood,Jamie Cullum, Kyle Eastwood, Michael Stevens; Lyrics By: Kyle Eastwood, Michael Stevens
“I Thought I Lost You” from “Bolt” – Music & Lyrics By: Miley Cyrus,Jeffrey Steele
“Once In A Lifetime” from “Cadillac Records”
Music & Lyrics By: Beyoncé Knowles, Amanda Ghost, Scott Mcfarnon, Ian Dench, James Dring, Jody Street
“The Wrestler” from “The Wrestler” – Music & Lyrics By: Bruce Springsteen
TELEVISION
TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
“Dexter” (Showtime) – Showtime/John Goldwyn Productions/TheColleton Company/Clyde Phillips Productions
“House” (Fox) - Universal Media Studios In Association With Heel And Toe Films, Shore Z Productions And Bad Hat Harry Productions
“In Treatment” (HBO) - Sheleg, Closest To The Hole Productions In Association With Hbo Entertainment
“Mad Men” (AMC) - Lionsgate Television
“True Blood” (HBO) – Your Face Goes Here Productions In Association With Hbo Entertainment
TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
“30 Rock” - Universal Media Studios in association with Broadway Video and Little
Stranger Inc.
“Californication” - Showtime Presents in association with Aggressive Mediocrity, And Then…
“Entourage” - Leverage and Closest to the Hole Productions in association with HBO Entertainment
“The Office” – Deedle Dee Productions, Reveille LLC, Universal Media Studios
“Weeds” - Lionsgate Television
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
Gabriel Byrne – “In Treatment
Michael C. Hall – “Dexter
Jon Hamm - “Mad Men
Hugh Laurie – “House
Jonathan Rhys Meyers - “The Tudors
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
Sally Field – “Brothers And Sisters”
Mariska Hargitay - “Law And Order: Special Victims Unit”
January Jones - “Mad Men”
Anna Paquin - “True Blood”
Kyra Sedgwick - “The Closer”
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES -COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Christina Applegate - “Samantha Who?”
America Ferrera - “Ugly Betty”
Tina Fey - “30 Rock”
Debra Messing - “The Starter Wife”
Mary-Louise Parker - “Weeds”
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Alec Baldwin – “30 Rock”
Steve Carell - “The Office”
Kevin Connelly - “Entourage”
David Duchovny - “Californication”
Tony Shalhoub - “Monk”
MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
“A Raisin in the Sun” - Sony Pictures Television, Storyline Entertainment and Bad Boy Worldwide Entertainment
“Bernard and Doris” - Trigger Street Independent Productions in association with Little Bird and Chicago Films and HBO Films
“Cranford” – A Co-Production of BBC and WGBH Boston.
“John Adams” - Playtone in association with HBO Films
“Recount” - Spring Creek/Mirage Productions in association withTrigger Street Productions, Everyman Pictures and HBO Films
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Ralph Fiennes – “Bernard and Doris”
Paul Giamatti - “John Adams”
Kevin Spacey - ” Recount”
Kiefer Sutherland - “24: Redemption”
Tom Wilkinson - “Recount”
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Judi Dench – “Cranford”
Catherine Keener - “An American Crime”
Laura Linney - “John Adams”
Shirley Maclaine – “Coco Chanel”
Susan Sarandon - “Bernard And Doris”
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Eileen Atkins – “Cranford”
Laura Dern - “Recount”
Melissa George - “In Treatment”
Rachel Griffiths - “Brothers And Sisters”
Dianne Wiest - “In Treatment”
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Neil Patrick Harris - “How I Met Your Mother”
Denis Leary - “Recount”
Jeremy Piven - “Entourage”
Blair Underwood - “In Treatment”
Tom Wilkinson – “John Adams”
more about “Browser Button“, posted with vodpod
Nominees for the 14th annual Critics’ Choice Awards
PICTURE
“Changeling”
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“The Dark Knight”
“Doubt”
“Frost/Nixon”
“Milk”
“The Reader”
“Slumdog Millionaire”
“Wall-E”
“The Wrestler”
ACTOR
Clint Eastwood, “Gran Torino”
Richard Jenkins, “The Visitor”
Frank Langella, “Frost/Nixon”
Sean Penn, “Milk”
Brad Pitt, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Mickey Rourke, “The Wrestler”
ACTRESS
Kate Beckinsale, “Nothing But the Truth”
Cate Blanchett, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Anne Hathaway, “Rachel Getting Married”
Angelina Jolie, “Changeling”
Melissa Leo, “Frozen River”
Meryl Streep, “Doubt”
SUPPORTING ACTOR
Josh Brolin, “Milk”
Robert Downey, Jr., “Tropic Thunder”
Philip Seymour Hoffman, “Doubt”
Heath Ledger, “The Dark Knight”
James Franco, “Milk”
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Penelope Cruz, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
Viola Davis, “Doubt”
Vera Farmiga, “Nothing But the Truth”
Taraji P. Henson, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Marisa Tomei, “The Wrestler”
Kate Winslet, “The Reader”
ACTING ENSEMBLE
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“The Dark Knight”
“Doubt”
“Milk”
“Rachel Getting Married”
DIRECTOR
Danny Boyle, “Slumdog Millionaire”
David Fincher, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Ron Howard, “Frost/Nixon”
Christopher Nolan, “The Dark Knight”
Gus Van Sant, “Milk”
WRITER (ORIGINAL OR ADAPTED SCREENPLAY)
Simon Beaufoy, “Slumdog Millionaire”
Dustin Lance Black, “Milk”
Peter Morgan, “Frost/Nixon”
Eric Roth, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
John Patrick Shanley, “Doubt”
ANIMATED FEATURE
“Bolt”
“Kung Fu Panda”
“Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa”
“Wall-E”
“Waltz With Bashir”
YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS (UNDER 21)
Dakota Fanning, “The Secret Life of Bees”
David Kross, “The Reader”
Dev Petal, “Slumdog Millionaire”
Brandon Walters, “Australia”
ACTION MOVIE
“The Dark Knight”
“Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”
“Iron Man”
“Quantum of Solace”
“Wanted”
COMEDY
“Burn After Reading”
“Forgetting Sarah Marshall”
“Role Models”
“Tropic Thunder”
“Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
“John Adams”
“Recount”
“Coco Chanel”
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
“A Christmas Tale”
“Gomorrah”
“I’ve Loved You So Long”
“Let the Right One In”
“Mongol”
“Waltz With Bashir”
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
“I.O.U.S.A.”
“Man on Wire”
“Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired”
“Standard Operating Procedure”
“Young at Heart”
SONG
“Another Way to Die,” Jack White and Alicia Keys/Jack White, “Quantum of Solace”
“Down to Earth,” Peter Gabriel/Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman, “Wall-E”
“I Thought I Lost You,” Miley Cyrus and John Travolta/Miley Cyrus and Jeffrey Steele, “Bolt”
“Jaiho,” Sukhwinder Singh/A.R. Rahman and Gulzar, “Slumdog Millionaire”
“The Wrestler,” Bruce Springsteen/Bruce Springsteen, “The Wrestler”
COMPOSER
Alexandre Desplat, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Clint Eastwood, “Changeling”
Danny Elfman, “Milk”
Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard, “The Dark Knight”
A.R. Rahman, “Slumdog Millionaire”
The announcements were made by Sandra Oh and Jason Bateman at the Hotel Sofitel in Los Angeles at 8 a.m.
The 2009 Spirit Awards will be held in Santa Monica on Feb. 21.
The 2009 Spirit Award nominees are:
FEATURE (Award given to the producer)
“Ballast” - Producer: Lance Hammer, Nina Parikh
“Frozen River” -
Producers: Chip Hourihan, Heather Rae
“Rachel Getting Married” - Producers: Jonathan Demme, Neda Armin, Marc Platt
“Wendy and Lucy” - Producer: Larry Fessenden, Neil Kopp,Anish Savjani
“The Wrestler” - Producers: Darren Aronofsky, Scott Franklin
DIRECTOR
Ramin Bahrani, ”Chop Shop”
Jonathan Demme, ”Rachel Getting Married”
Lance Hammer, ”Ballast”
Courtney Hunt, ”Frozen River”
Tom McCarthy, ”The Visitor”
FIRST FEATURE (Award given to the director and producer)
“Afterschool”
Director: Antonio Campos
Producers: Sean Durkin, Josh Mond
“Medicine for Melancholy”
Director: Barry Jenkins
Producer: Justin Barber
“Sangre De Mi Sangre”
Director: Christopher Zalla
Producers: Per Melita, Benjamin Odell
“Sleep Dealer”
Director: Alex Rivera
Producer: Anthony Bregman
“Synecdoche, New York”
Director: Charlie Kaufman
Producers: Anthony Bregman, Spike Jonze, Charlie
Kaufman, Sidney Kimmel
MALE LEAD
Javier Bardem, ”Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
Richard Jenkins, ”The Visitor”
Sean Penn, ”Milk”
Jeremy Renner, ”The Hurt Locker”
Mickey Rourke, ”The Wrestler”
FEMALE LEAD
Summer Bishil, ”Towelhead”
Anne Hathaway, ”Rachel Getting Married”
Melissa Leo, ”Frozen River”
Tarra Riggs, ”Ballast”
Michelle Williams, ”Wendy and Lucy”
SUPPORTING MALE
James Franco, ”Milk”
Anthony Mackie, ”The Hurt Locker”
Charlie McDermott, ”Frozen River”
Jim Myron Ross, ”Ballast”
Haaz Sleiman, ”The Visitor”
SUPPORTING FEMALE
Penélope Cruz, ”Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
Rosemarie DeWitt, ”Rachel Getting Married”
Rosie Perez, “The Take”
Misty Upham, ”Frozen River”
Debra Winger, ”Rachel Getting Married”
SCREENPLAY
Woody Allen - “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck - “Sugar”
Charlie Kaufman - “Synecdoche, New York”
Howard A. Rodman - “Savage Grace”
Christopher Zalla - “Sangre De Mi Sangre”
FIRST SCREENPLAY
Dustin Lance Black, “Milk”
Lance Hammer, “Ballast”
Courtney Hunt, “Frozen River”
Jonathan Levine, “The Wackness”
Jenny Lumet, “Rachel Getting Married”
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Maryse Alberti, “The Wrestler”
Lol Crawley, “Ballast”
James Laxton, “Medicine for Melancholy”
Harris Savides, “Milk”
Michael Simmonds, ”Chop Shop”
JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD (Given to the best feature made for under $500,000; award given to the writer, director, and producer)
“In Search of a Midnight Kiss”
Writer/Director: Alex Holdridge
Producers: Seth Caplan, Scoot McNairy
“Prince of Broadway”
Director: Sean Baker
Writers: Sean Baker, Darren Dean
Producer: Darren Dean
“The Signal”
Writer/Directors: David Bruckner, Dan Bush, Jacob Gentry
Producers: Jacob Gentry, Alexander Motlagh,
“Take Out”
Writer/Director/Producers: Sean Baker, Shih-Ching Tsou
Turn the River” Writer/Director: Chris Eigeman
Producer: Ami Armstrong
DOCUMENTARY (Award given to the director)
“The Betrayal’ - Director: Ellen Kuras & Thavisouk Phrasavath
“Encounters at the End of the World’ - Director: Werner Herzog
“Man on Wire’ - Director: James Marsh
“The Order of Myths’ - Director: Margaret Brown
“Up the Yangtze’ - Director: Yung Chang
FOREIGN FILM
“The Class” (France) – Director: Laurent Cantet
“Gomorra” (Italy) – Director: Matteo Garrone
“Hunger” (UK/Ireland) – Director: Steve McQueen
“Secret of the Grain” (France) – Director: Abdellatif Kechiche
“Silent Light” (Mexico/France/Netherlands/Germany) – Director: Carlos Reygadas
ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD (Given to one film’s director, casting director, and its ensemble cast)
“Synecdoche, New York”
Director: Charlie Kaufman
Casting Director: Jeanne McCarthy
Ensemble Cast: Hope Davis, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Catherine Keener, Samantha Morton, Tom Noonan,Emily Watson, Dianne Wiest, Michelle Williams
IFC/ACURA SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD
Barry Jenkins, director of Medicine for Melancholy
Nina Paley, director of Sita Sings the Blues
Lynn Shelton, director of My Effortless Brilliance
TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD
Margaret Brown, director of The Order of Myths
Sacha Gervasi, director of Anvil! The Story of Anvil
Darius Marder, director of Loot
PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD
Lars Knudsen and Jay Van Hoy, producers of Treeless Mountain and I’ll Come Running
Jason Orans, producer of Goodbye Solo and Year of the Fish
Heather Rae, producer of Frozen River and Ibid
Thematically, the lineup for the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, announced Wednesday, marks a noticeable generational shift.So says fest director Geoff Gilmore, who will preside over the presentation of 118 feature-length films, including 91 world premieres. The pics in this year’s lineup show “an awareness of the world that wasn’t there a dozen years ago. It comes from the Internet, from a realization that America is not cut off from the rest of the world,” Gilmore said.
Sundance will unspool Jan. 15-25 in Park City, Utah.
Entries in the four competition categories, which were announced Wednesday, were selected from among 3,661 submissions (up slightly from 3,624 a year ago). Of these, 2,038 narrative features were considered for the U.S. and world dramatic competitions, and 1,623 domestic and foreign documentaries were submitted.
“There’s quite a bit of romance and melodrama in this year’s festival, a lot of genre, a lot of emotion. But I think it’s a type of escape that’s not necessarily escapist,” Gilmore said. “Over the last couple of years, audiences got tired of films that directly engaged the Iraq War and other heavy subject matter. This year there’s an eclecticism and a breadth of storytelling that will see audiences perhaps open up to things they haven’t seen before. There’s not a single focus.
