87th Academy Awards VFX Shortlist

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced a while back that ten (10) films remain in the running in the Visual Effects category for the 2017 Oscars edition.

The Academy’s Visual Effects Branch Executive Committee determined the shortlist. All members of the Visual Effects Branch will now be invited to view 10-minute excerpts from each of the shortlisted films on Saturday, January 7, 2017.  Following the screenings, the members will vote to nominate five films for final Oscar consideration.  Nominations will be announced on Tuesday, January 24, 2017.

Arrival
The BFG
Captain America: Civil War
Deepwater Horizon
Doctor Strange
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
The Jungle Book
Kubo and the Two Strings
Passengers
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

The 89th Oscars will be held on Sunday, February 26, 2017, at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood, and will be televised live on the ABC Television Network at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.

Arrival
Denis Villeneuve’s Arrival is almost an anti-alien invasion film. It’s subtle and purposeful use of visual effects was orchestrated by vfx supe Louis Morin, who enlisted vendors including Hybride, Oblique FX, Rodeo FX, Framestore, Raynault VFX, Folks FX and Alchemy FX to render everything from odd-shaped spacecraft to even odder-shaped aliens. In this interview with vfxblog, Morin discusses the invisible nature of the effects work and some of the harder shots to pull off.



The BFG
Steven Spielberg's new movie, the 24-foot titular Big Friendly Giant is the creation of Mark Rylance and Weta Digital and its four-time Oscar-winning senior visual effects supervisor Joe Letteri.



Captain America: Civil War



Deepwater Horizon
Pete Berg wanted everything to feel real… period. He knows from past experience what that means in a movie like this. He pushed everything as far as it could go in camera. The sets were as big and authentic as they could be, the special effects were as big and complex as they could be while maintaining safety for all involved but in the end, it’s real actors portraying an insanely dangerous situation so a lot has to be done in post.
What he was after from the visual effects was to absolutely plunge the audience into the chaos of the situation, to provide a visceral experience of just the kind of hell these people had to fight through to in their attempts to try to overt the disaster that would ultimately unfold and save the lives of everyone they could. He kept telling me that he knew ILM could do beautiful work, but that’s not what he wanted. He wanted it to be “dirty and nasty.” Everything from exposures to framing to lens artifacts – He wanted the audiences to be able to feel the heat and taste the smoke.



Doctor Strange
The effect was quite difficult to nail down, as to how far we should go with it, especially when our live-action characters had to be integrated within those scenes. Mark Wilson VFX Supervisor. The Astral Form was one of the hardest effects we’ve had to deal with at Framestore; finding the right balance of a look that was subtle but also beautiful. Alexis Wajsbrot CG Supervisor.



Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
The Harry Potter prequel, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, finds Eddie Redmayne performing a mating ritual in front of a massive computer-generated beast. Using a combination of puppets and CGI, a slew of effects houses were able to craft convincing monsters to populate J.K. Rowling’s imaginative world.



The Jungle Book
Although it’s grouped in with Disney’s recent slate of live-action remakes, The Jungle Book is made up almost entirely of CGI, with young Neel Sethi’s Mowgli serving as the only substantial “live-action” element. The studio has released a new series of photos that showcase the insane amount of work that went into the film’s impressive visual effects, and it might make you do a double-take.



Kubo and the Two Strings
From the opening minutes of Kubo and the Two Strings, directed by Travis Knight, it's clear that team at LAIKA broke new ground for the company with the vast amount of water effects in the film. That's not to say there hasn't been any water on screen in their previous films, but it was treated as a practical effect and not CGI.



Passengers


Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

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89th Academy Awards Foreign-Language Film Shortlist

Yesterday AMPAS announced the shortlist of nine (9) film that advance to the next round of voting in the Foreign-Language Film category.  Eighty-five (85) films had originally been considered in the category.

Foreign Language Film nominations are determined in two phases.  The Phase I committee, consisting of several hundred Los Angeles-based Academy members, screened the original submissions in the category between mid-October and December 12.  The group’s top six choices, augmented by three additional selections voted by the Academy’s Foreign Language Film Award Executive Committee, constitute the shortlist.

In Phase II, the shortlist will be winnowed down to the category’s five nominees by specially invited committees in New York, Los Angeles and London.  They will spend Friday, January 13, through Sunday, January 15, viewing three films each day and then casting their ballots.

There is no need to read the articles by industry journalists as with a bird's eye to the list found what will be highly controversial for the next days.  No, the Academy doesn't have an easy task selecting 9 films in a year with many extraordinary films in the list of 85; but, there are some omissions that are inexplicable like Pedro Almodovar's Julieta, Pablo Larrain's Neruda and let's also include a more controversial film, the winner of Venice Golden Lion, From Afar by Lorenzo Vigas.

Then we have Italy's submission and  Berlin Golden Bear winner, Fire at Sea by Gianfranco Rosi that didn't make it to the shortlist but there is always a chance that will get a Best Documentary nomination.  What puzzles me is the inclusion of Switzerland's submission My Life as a Zuchinni by Claude Barras as was expecting film to get a Best Animation Film nomination and now wonder if film has chances in the more visible animation category.

Every major industry film journalist/critic is talking about the omission of Elle by Paul Verhoeven; me, I understand it as didn't enjoyed film that much.  If film didn't had Isabelle Huppert as the lead, film would have been forgettable as French cinema and when I consider the many films by Huppert that I have seen, she has many more with better outstanding performances. So, it's understandable that film didn't advance in this category.  I'm still hoping Huppert to get a Best Actress nomination.

But the list has some films that I'm glad are honored with a pre-nomination accolade.  Most pleased with Xavier Dolan's film advancing as well as with Asghar Farhadi's latest; with all the European honors film is collecting Denmark's submission seems to deserve the place in the shortlist and not crazy about director but Russia's submission really looks like having great visuals and dramatic story.

Australia: Tanna, Martin Butler and Bentley Dean

Canada: Juste la fin du monde (It's Only the End of the World), Xavier Dolan

Denmark: Under sandet (Land of Mine), Martin Zandvliet

Germany: Toni Erdmann, Maren Ade

Iran: فروشنده Forushande (The Salesman), Asghar Farhadi

Norway: Kongens nei (The King's Choice), Erik Poppe
Russia:  Рай Rai (Paradise), Andrei Konchalovsky

Sweden: En man som heter Ove (A Man Called Ove), Hannes Holm

Switzerland: Ma Vie de Courgette (My Life as a Zucchini), Claude Barras

Considering the 9 films above, my crystal ball tells me the American Academy will do as the European Academy and succumb to Toni Erdman.  Not that I mind as will be great to have a female director winning the category, so hope to be right and AMPAS members will not snub film because of the same reason I wish could win. Sigh.

To check announcement at official site go here.  Nominations for the 2017 Oscars will be announced on Tuesday, January 24, 2017. The 89th Oscars will be held on Sunday, February 26, 2017, at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood, and will be televised live on the ABC Television Network at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. 

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22nd Annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards Winners

Last night film critics group had their awards ceremony and no, wasn't able to watch it live; but here are the winners announced at their official site here.

La La Land is the big winner with eight (8) awards followed by Jackie and Manchester by the Sea with three (3) awards each.

As previously announced, Viola Davis received the first-ever #SeeHer Award presented by the Association of National Advertisers in conjunction with A&E Network and Ryan Reynolds was the recipient of Entertainment Weekly's Entertainer of the Year Award. 

Winners are in (*) BLUE.

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12/1/16

The Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA) has announced the film nominees for the 22^nd Annual Critics’ Choice Awards. “This year’s nominees showcase the best that Hollywood has to offer, spanning a wide array of genres, subject matters, time periods, and more,” said BFCA President Joey Berlin.  “We hope that they will serve as a roadmap for viewers, offering guidance for movie lovers and ticket buyers as we launch this awards season. We are so thrilled to be able to recognize these incomparable artists and look forward to bringing them together for an unforgettable evening!”

La La Land leads all films this year with twelve (12) nominations including Best Picture, Ryan Gosling for Best Actor, Emma Stone for Best Actress, Damien Chazelle for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay, Linus Sandgren for Best Cinematography, David Wasco and Sandy Reynolds-Wasco for Best Production Design, Tom Cross for Best Editing, Mary Zophres for Best Costume Design, Two Best Song Nominations for “Audition (The Fools Who Dream)” and “City of Stars,” and Justin Hurwitz for Best Score.

Arrival and Moonlight impressed with ten (10) nominations each, both in the running for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Score, among others. Manchester by the Sea earned eight (8) nominations, followed by Hacksaw Ridge with seven (7), and Doctor Strange, Fences, Hell or High Water, Jackie, and Lion all with six (6).

Best Picture
Arrival
Fences
Hacksaw Ridge
Hell or High Water
(*) La La Land
Lion
Loving
Manchester by the Sea
Moonlight
Sully

Best Director
(*) Damien Chazelle for La La Land
Mel Gibson for Hacksaw Ridge
Barry Jenkins for Moonlight
Kenneth Lonergan for Manchester by the Sea
David Mackenzie for Hell or High Water
Denis Villeneuve for Arrival
Denzel Washington for Fences

Best Actress
Amy Adams in Arrival
Annette Bening in 20^th Century Women
Isabelle Huppert in Elle
Ruth Negga in Loving
(*) Natalie Portman in Jackie
Emma Stone in La La Land

Best Supporting Actress
(*) Viola Davis in Fences 
Greta Gerwig in 20^th Century Women
Naomie Harris in Moonlight
Nicole Kidman in Lion
Janelle Monáe  in Hidden Figures
Michelle Williams in Manchester by the Sea

Best Actor
(*) Casey Affleck in Manchester by the Sea
Joel Edgerton in Loving
Andrew Garfield in Hacksaw Ridge
Ryan Gosling in La La Land
Tom Hanks in Sully
Denzel Washington in Fences

Best Supporting Actor
(*) Mahershala Ali in Moonlight
Jeff Bridges in Hell or High Water
Ben Foster in Hell or High Water
Lucas Hedges in Manchester by the Sea
Dev Patel in Lion
Michael Shannon in Nocturnal Animals

Best Young Actress/Actor
(*) Lucas Hedges in Manchester by the Sea
Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight
Lewis MacDougall in A Monster Calls
Madina Nalwanga in Queen of Katwe
Sunny Pawar in Lion
Hailee Steinfeld in The Edge of Seventeen

Best Acting Ensemble
20^th Century Women
Fences
Hell or High Water
Hidden Figures
Manchester by the Sea
(*) Moonlight

Best Original Screenplay (tie)
(*) Damien Chazelle for La La Land
Barry Jenkins for Moonlight
Yorgos Lanthimos and Efthimis Filippou for The Lobster
(*) Kenneth Lonergan for Manchester by the Sea
Jeff Nichols for Loving
Taylor Sheridan for Hell or High Water

Best Adapted Screenplay
Luke Davies for Lion
Tom Ford for Nocturnal Animals
(*) Eric Heisserer for Arrival
Todd Komarnicki for Sully
Allison Schroeder and Theodore Melfi for Hidden Figures
August Wilson for Fences

Best Cinematography
Stéphane Fontaine for Jackie
James Laxton for Moonlight
Seamus McGarvey for Nocturnal Animals
(*) Linus Sandgren for La La Land
Bradford Young for Arrival

Best Production Design
Arrival – Patrice Vermette, Paul Hotte/André Valade
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them – Stuart Craig/James Hambidge, Anna Pinnock
Jackie – Jean Rabasse, Véronique Melery
(*) La La Land – David Wasco, Sandy Reynolds-Wasco
Live by Night – Jess Gonchor, Nancy Haigh

Best Editing
(*) Tom Cross for La La Land
John Gilbert for Hacksaw Ridge
Blu Murray for Sully
Nat Sanders and Joi McMillon for Moonlight
Joe Walker for Arrival

Best Costume Design
Colleen Atwood for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Consolata Boyle for Florence Foster Jenkins
(*) Madeline Fontaine for Jackie
Joanna Johnston for Allied
Eimer Ni Mhaoldomhnaigh for Love & Friendship
Mary Zophres for La La Land

Best Hair & Makeup
Doctor Strange
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Hacksaw Ridge
(*) Jackie
Star Trek Beyond

Best Visual Effects
A Monster Calls
Arrival
Doctor Strange
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
(*) The Jungle Book

Best Foreign Language Film
(*) Elle
The Handmaiden
Julieta
Neruda
The Salesman
Toni Erdmann

To check the few feature film categories missing above as well as all TV categories go official press release here.

To check a few categories missing in list go to official site here.

The winners will be revealed live at the star-studded Critics’ Choice Awards gala, which will be broadcast from the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica on A&E on Sunday, December 11 at 8PM ET/ 5PM PT. The awards broadcast will immediately follow the “Critics’ Choice Red Carpet Live” on A&E. As previously announced, actor and comedian T.J. Miller will return as the show’s host.

Nominees by Picture

10 CLOVERFIELD LANE (1)
Best Sci-Fi/Horror Movie

20^TH CENTURY WOMEN (3)
Best Actress – Annette Bening
Best Supporting Actress – Greta Gerwig
Best Acting Ensemble

A MONSTER CALLS (2)
Best Young Actor/Actress – Lewis MacDougall
Best Visual Effects

ALLIED (1)
Best Costume Design – Joanna Johnston

ARRIVAL (10)
Best Picture
Best Actress – Amy Adams
Best Director – Denis Villeneuve
Best Adapted Screenplay – Eric Heisserer
Best Cinematography – Bradford Young
Best Production Design – Patrice Vermette, Paul Hotte/André Valade
Best Editing – Joe Walker
Best Visual Effects
Best Sci-Fi/Horror Movie
Best Score – Jóhann Jóhannsson

BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE (1)
Best Actress In An Action Movie – Gal Gadot

CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR (3)
Best Action Movie
Best Actor In An Action Movie – Chris Evans
Best Actress In An Action Movie – Scarlett Johansson

CAPTAIN FANTASTIC (1)
Best Actor In A Comedy – Viggo Mortensen

CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE (2)
Best Comedy
Best Actor In A Comedy – Dwayne Johnson

DEADPOOL (4)
Best Action Movie
Best Actor In An Action Movie – Ryan Reynolds
Best Comedy
Best Actor In A Comedy – Ryan Reynolds

DOCTOR STRANGE (6)
Best Hair & Makeup
Best Visual Effects
Best Action Movie
Best Actor In An Action Movie – Benedict Cumberbatch
Best Actress In An Action Movie – Tilda Swinton
Best Sci-Fi/Horror Movie

DON’T BREATHE (1)
Best Sci-Fi/Horror Movie

DON’T THINK TWICE (1)
Best Comedy

ELLE (2)
Best Actress – Isabelle Huppert
Best Foreign Language Film

FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM (4)
Best Production Design – Stuart Craig/James Hambidge, Anna Pinnock
Best Costume Design – Colleen Atwood
Best Hair & Makeup
Best Visual Effects

FENCES (6)
Best Picture
Best Actor – Denzel Washington
Best Supporting Actress – Viola Davis
Best Acting Ensemble
Best Director – Denzel Washington
Best Adapted Screenplay – August Wilson

FINDING DORY (1)
Best Animated Feature

FLORENCE FOSTER JENKINS (3)
Best Costume Design – Consolata Boyle
Best Actor In A Comedy – Hugh Grant
Best Actress In A Comedy – Meryl Streep

GHOSTBUSTERS (1)
Best Actress In A Comedy – Kate McKinnon

HACKSAW RIDGE (7)
Best Picture
Best Actor – Andrew Garfield
Best Director – Mel Gibson
Best Editing – John Gilbert
Best Hair & Makeup
Best Action Movie
Best Actor In An Action Movie – Andrew Garfield

HAIL, CAESAR! (1)
Best Comedy

HELL OR HIGH WATER (6)
Best Picture
Best Supporting Actor – Jeff Bridges
Best Supporting Actor – Ben Foster
Best Acting Ensemble
Best Director – David Mackenzie
Best Original Screenplay – Taylor Sheridan

HELLO, MY NAME IS DORIS (1)
Best Actress In A Comedy – Sally Field

HIDDEN FIGURES (3)
Best Supporting Actress – Janelle Monáe
Best Acting Ensemble
Best Adapted Screenplay – Allison Schroeder/Theodore Melfi

JACKIE (6)
Best Actress – Natalie Portman
Best Cinematography – Stéphane Fontaine
Best Production Design – Jean Rabasse, Véronique Melery
Best Costume Design – Madeline Fontaine
Best Hair & Makeup
Best Score – Micachu

JASON BOURNE (2)
Best Action Movie
Best Actor In An Action Movie – Matt Damon

JULIETA (1)
Best Foreign Language Film

KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS (1)
Best Animated Feature

LA LA LAND (12)
Best Picture
Best Actor – Ryan Gosling
Best Actress – Emma Stone
Best Director – Damien Chazelle
Best Original Screenplay – Damien Chazelle
Best Cinematography – Linus Sandgren
Best Production Design – David Wasco, Sandy Reynolds-Wasco
Best Editing – Tom Cross
Best Costume Design – Mary Zophres
Best Song – Audition (The Fools Who Dream)
Best Song – City of Stars
Best Score – Justin Hurwitz

LION (6)
Best Picture
Best Supporting Actor – Dev Patel
Best Supporting Actress – Nicole Kidman
Best Young Actor/Actress – Sunny Pawar
Best Adapted Screenplay – Luke Davies
Best Score – Dustin O’Halloran, Hauschka

LIVE BY NIGHT (1)
Best Production Design – Jess Gonchor, Nancy Haigh

LOVE & FRIENDSHIP (2)
Best Costume Design – Eimer Ni Mhaoldomhnaigh
Best Actress In A Comedy – Kate Beckinsale

LOVING (4)
Best Picture
Best Actor – Joel Edgerton
Best Actress – Ruth Negga
Best Original Screenplay – Jeff Nichols

MANCHESTER BY THE SEA (8)
Best Picture
Best Actor – Casey Affleck
Best Supporting Actor – Lucas Hedges
Best Supporting Actress – Michelle Williams
Best Young Actor/Actress – Lucas Hedges
Best Acting Ensemble
Best Director – Kenneth Lonergan
Best Original Screenplay – Kenneth Lonergan

MOANA (2)
Best Animated Feature
Best Song – How Far I’ll Go

MOONLIGHT (10)
Best Picture
Best Supporting Actor – Mahershala Ali
Best Supporting Actress – Naomie Harris
Best Young Actor/Actress – Alex R. Hibbert
Best Acting Ensemble
Best Director – Barry Jenkins
Best Original Screenplay – Barry Jenkins
Best Cinematography – James Laxton
Best Editing – Nat Sanders/Joi McMillon
Best Score – Nicholas Britell

NERUDA (1)
Best Foreign Language Film

NOCTURNAL ANIMALS (3)
Best Supporting Actor – Michael Shannon
Best Adapted Screenplay – Tom Ford
Best Cinematography – Seamus McGarvey

QUEEN OF KATWE (1)
Best Young Actor/Actress – Madina Nalwanga

RULES DON’T APPLY (1)
Best Song – The Rules Don’t Apply

SING STREET (1)
Best Song – Drive It Like You Stole It

STAR TREK BEYOND (2)
Best Hair & Makeup
Best Sci-Fi/Horror Movie

SUICIDE SQUAD (1)
Best Actress In An Action Movie – Margot Robbie

SULLY (4)
Best Picture
Best Actor – Tom Hanks
Best Adapted Screenplay – Todd Komarnicki
Best Editing – Blu Murray

THE EDGE OF SEVENTEEN (3)
Best Young Actor/Actress – Hailee Steinfeld
Best Comedy
Best Actress In A Comedy – Hailee Steinfeld

THE HANDMAIDEN (1)
Best Foreign Language Film
THE JUNGLE BOOK (1)
Best Visual Effects

THE LOBSTER (1)
Best Original Screenplay – Yorgos Lanthimos/Efthimis Filippou

THE NICE GUYS (2)
Best Comedy
Best Actor In A Comedy – Ryan Gosling

THE RED TURTLE (1)
Best Animated Feature

THE SALESMAN (1)
Best Foreign Language Film

THE WITCH (1)
Best Sci-Fi/Horror Movie

TONI ERDMANN (1)
Best Foreign Language Film

TROLLS (2)
Best Animated Feature
Best Song – Can’t Stop the Feeling

ZOOTOPIA (1)
Best Animated Feature

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29th European Film Awards Winners

Very long and highly tiring awards ceremony but finally is over. Sigh. To be fair there were some very funny moments but speeches were too-long/too-much.

I'm not surprised Toni Erdmann swept the awards but in all fairness was wondering if European Academia will follow Cannes or film critics and seems went with film critics. Sigh.  Not that I mind as win is a milestone, is the first film by a female director to win the top award.  Bravo!

By the way is quite interesting to notice that is the second year in a row that a Swedish comedy wins Best Comedy and is kind of motivating me to check the films to see if they're my kind of comedy or not (I like mostly very black, dry, dead-pan comedy).

To check award winners at official site go here.

European Film:  Toni Erdmann, Maren Ade, Germany and Austria

European Comedy: En man som heter Ove (A Man Called Ove), Hannes Holm, Sweden and Norway
European Discovery - Prix FIPRESCI: Hymyilevä mies (The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki), Juho Kuosmanen, Finland, Germany and Sweden
European Animated Film:  Ma Vie de Courgette (My Life as a Zucchini), Claude Barras, Switzerland and France
European Documentary: Fuocoammare (Fire at Sea), Gianfranco Rosi, Italy and France

European Director:  Maren Ade for Toni Erdmann

European Actress: Sandra Hüller in Toni Erdmann, Maren Ade
European Actor: Peter Simonischek in Toni Erdmann, Maren Ade

European Screenwriter: Maren Ade for Toni Erdman, Maren Ade

European Short Film: 9 Days - From My Window in Aleppo, Issa Touma, Thomas Vroege and Floor van der Meulen, Netherlands, 12' (documentary) Bristol Short Film Nominee

A few days back the European Film Academy announced the first seven (7) award winners who will be honored tonight.  A special seven-member jury convened in Berlin to decide the winners in mainly tech categories:  cinematography, editing, production design, costume design, hair & make-up, composer and sound design.

The members of the jury were:
Benoît Barouh, production designer, France
Paco Delgado, costume designer, Spain
Martin Gschlacht, cinematographer, Austria
Dean Humphreys, sound designer, UK
Era Lapid, editor, Israel
Waldemar Pokromski, make-up artist, Poland
Giuliano Taviani, composer, Italy

European Cinematographer - Prix Carlo di Palma: Camilla Hjelm Knudsen for Under Sandet (Land of Mine), Martin Zandvliet, Denmark and Germany
European Editor: Anne Østerud and Janus Billeskov Jansen for Kollektivet (The Commune), Thomas Vinterberg, Denmark, Sweden and Netherlands
European Production Designer: Alice Nomington for Suffragette, Sarah Gavron, UK
European Costume Designer: Stefanie Bieker for Under Sandet (Land of Mine), Martin Zandvliet, Denmark and Germany
European Hair & Make-up Artist: Barbara Kreuzer for Under Sandet (Land of Mine), Martin Zandvliet, Denmark and Germany
European Composer: Ilya Demutsky for (M)uchenik (The Student), Kirill Serebrennikov, Russia
European Sound Designer: Radoslaw Ochnio for 11 Minut (11 Minutes), Jerzy Skolimowski, Poland and Ireland

European University Film Award:  I, Daniel Blake, Ken Loach, UK and France

People's Choice Award for Best European Film:  Ciało (Body), Małgorzata Szumowska, Poland Young Audience Award: Jamais Contente (Miss Impossible), Emilie Deleuze, France

European Co-Production Award - Prix Eurimages: Leontine Petit, producer, Netherlands
European Film Academy Lifetime Achievement Award: Jean-Claude Carrière
European Achievement in World Cinema: Pierce Brosnan, actor, Ireland
Honorary Award of the EFA President and Board: Andrzej Wajda, director, Poland R.I.P.

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2016 European University Film Award Winner

Yesterday the European Film Academy announced the winner of their newer award voted by young audiences and somehow was not surprising, due to the impact film has been reporting among the European young generation, with most claiming it reflects their reality.

Yes, the winner is none other than I, Daniel Blake by Ken Loach.



Winner is in (*) BLUE.
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10/8/16
At the Filmfest Hamburg, the five nominated films for the first European University Film Award (EUFA)have been announced. The aim of this new initiative by the European Film Academy (EFA) and Filmfest Hamburg is to involve a younger audience, to spread the “European idea” and to transport the spirit of European cinema to an audience of university students. It shall also support film dissemination, film education and the culture of debating.

Based on the lists of 50 feature films and 15 documentaries from the EFA Selections 2016 a committee consisting of of Feo Aladag (director, Germany), Dagmar Brunow (academic, Linnaeus University, Sweden), Luis Martinez Lopez (journalist, El Mundo, Spain) and Patrick Sobelman (producer, France) has decided on the following nominations.

Bacalaureat (Graduation), Cristian Mungiu, Romania, France and Belgium
Fuocoammare (Fire at Sea), Gianfranco Rosi,Italy and France
Hymyilevä mies (The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki), Juho Kuosmanen, Finland, Germany and Sweden
(*) I, Daniel Blake, Ken Loach, UK and France
Toni Erdmann, Maren Ade, Germany and Austria



The nominated films will be viewed and discussed in 13 universities in 13 countries and each institution will select its favourite film. In early December, one student representative from each university will attend a two-day deliberation meeting to decide on the overall winner. The announcement of the winning film will then take place in the week of the European Film Awards on 10 December in Wroclaw/Poland, European Capital of Culture 2016.

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#Oscars2017 Documentary Features Shortlist

A few weeks ago The Academy announced One hundred forty-five (145) documentary films were submitted for consideration, now announces the shortlist with a surprising fifteen docs -instead of the usual ten- in the shortlist from where five (5) will be honored with a nomination.

As expected Golden Bear winner Fire at Sea made the short list but also the three docs that up-to-today have won film critics awards, OJ: Made in America, 13th and I Am Not Your Negro.  Then also made the shortlist Weiner, which I tried to watch but really was annoying watching the excess of delusional situations, so stopped watching.

These are the fifteen films that will be considered by the Academy's Documentary Branch to select the five nominations that will be announced on Tuesday, January 27, 2017.

Cameraperson, Kristen Johnson, USA
Command and Control, Robert Kenner, USA
The Eagle Huntress, Otto Bell, UK, Mongolia and USA
Fuocoammare (Fire at Sea), Gianfranco Rosi, Italy and France
Gleason, Clay Tweel, USA
I Am Not Your Negro, Raoul Peck, USA. Belgium, Switzerland and France
The Ivory Game, Kief Davidson and Richard Ladkani, Austria
Life, Animated, Roger Ross Williams, USA
O.J.: Made in America, Ezra Edelman, USA
13th, Ava DuVernay, USA
Tower, Keith Maitland, USA
Weiner, Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg,  USA
The Witness, James D. Solomon, USA
Ye Haiyan (Hooligan Sparrow), Nanfu Wang, China and USA
Zero Days, Alex Gibney, USA

Cameraperson by Kristen Johnson
Synopsis: A boxing match in Brooklyn; life in postwar Bosnia and Herzegovina; the daily routine of a Nigerian midwife; an intimate family moment at home: these scenes and others are woven into Cameraperson, a tapestry of footage captured over the twenty-five-year career of documentary cinematographer Kirsten Johnson. Through a series of episodic juxtapositions, Johnson explores the relationships between image makers and their subjects, the tension between the objectivity and intervention of the camera, and the complex interaction of unfiltered reality and crafted narrative. A work that combines documentary, autobiography, and ethical inquiry, Cameraperson is both a moving glimpse into one filmmaker’s personal journey and a thoughtful examination of what it means to train a camera on the world.



Command and Control by Robert Kenner
Synopsis: The message of Robert Kenner's documentary Command and Control is crisp and scary. Atomic weapons are man-made machines. Man-made machines sooner or later break. A very serious accident, or even atomic apocalypse is only a matter of time. Actually a very serious accident did happen in 1980 at a nuclear missile in Arkansas, when the area around, the continent and maybe the whole world was close to a disaster maybe similar in proportions to the one that happened in Chernobyl in Ukraine (than part of the Soviet Union) a few years later. I liked the low-key documentary style of this production. The authors restrained from commenting too much (although there are a few punch lines) and let the facts speak. It is amazing how much filmed material was available if we are taking into account the classified nature of the events that took place. We can also draw some conclusions, this being mostly left to us, viewers. At the end of the day the safety systems in place worked, but the wrong decisions of the human factors did not lack either. What was different from the incident in the Soviet Union besides the very existence and quality of the safety equipment was also the fact that the decisions were made at a relative low level, and eventually the right decisions prevailed. Heroism was there, at least one precious life was lost, and several people remained with physical and psychological traumas, not to speak about the imposed silence about the events. For these people the film is an act of recovery and rehabilitation which seems to be well deserved. One more thought could not escape me when seeing this film - how young the heroes of this story were. The safety of the nuclear devices was put in the hands of very young people in uniform, who were only a few years before just kids. Many of the members of the emergency teams were also very young. Maybe one day a film needs to be made about those kids, or men and women who have been so recently kids to whom we trust not only the manipulation of deadly weapons, but the very existence of the planet and of life on it.



The Eagle Huntress by Otto Bell
Synopsis: Follows Aisholpan, a 13-year-old nomadic Mongolian girl who is fighting to become the first female eagle hunter in twelve generations of her Kazakh family.



Fuocoammare (Fire at Sea) by Gianfranco Rosi
Synopsis: The documentary captures life on the Italian island of Lampedusa, a frontline in the European migrant crisis. Situated some 200km off Italy’s southern coast, Lampedusa has hit world headlines in recent years as the first port of call for hundreds of thousands of African and Middle Eastern migrants hoping to make a new life in Europe. Rosi spent months living on the Mediterranean island, capturing its history, culture and the current everyday reality of its 6,000-strong local population as hundreds of migrants land on its shores on a weekly basis. The resulting documentary focuses on 12-year-old Samuele, a local boy who loves to hunt with his slingshot and spend time on land even though he hails from a culture steeped in the sea.



Gleason by Clay Tweel
Synopsis: At the age of 34, Steve Gleason was diagnosed with ALS. Doctors gave the former NFL defensive back and New Orleans hero two to five years to live. So that is what Steve chose to do - LIVE: with purpose, for his newborn son, for his wife, and to help others with his disease.



I Am Not Your Negro by Raoul Peck
Synopsis: In 1979, James Baldwin wrote a letter to his literary agent describing his next project, Remember This House. The book was to be a revolutionary, personal account of the lives and successive assassinations of three of his close friends—Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. At the time of Baldwin’s death in 1987, he left behind only thirty completed pages of this manuscript. Now, in his incendiary new documentary, master filmmaker Raoul Peck envisions the book James Baldwin never finished. The result is a radical, up-to-the-minute examination of race in America, using Baldwin’s original words and flood of rich archival material. I Am Not Your Negro is a journey into black history that connects the past of the Civil Rights movement to the present of #BlackLivesMatter. It is a film that questions black representation in Hollywood and beyond. And, ultimately, by confronting the deeper connections between the lives and assassination of these three leaders, Baldwin and Peck have produced a work that challenges the very definition of what America stands for.



The Ivory Game by Kief Davidson and Richard Ladkani
Synopsis: The Ivory Game is an undercover feature-documentary, set to expose the dark world of ivory trafficking. The African elephant faces extinction as poachers wreak slaughter in pursuit of the ‘white gold’ of ivory, considered a symbol of luxury and power amongst the new rising Chinese middle-class.



Life, Animated by Roger Ross Williams
Synopsis:  the inspirational story of Owen Suskind, a young man who was unable to speak as a child until he and his family discovered a unique way to communicate by immersing themselves in the world of classic Disney animated films.



O.J.: Made in America by Ezra Edelman
Synopsis: It is the defining cultural tale of modern America - a saga of race, celebrity, media, violence, and the criminal justice system. And two decades after its unforgettable climax, it continues to fascinate, polarize, and even, yes, develop new chapters. Now, the producers of ESPN's award-winning "30 for 30" have made it the subject of their first documentary-event and most ambitious project yet. From Peabody and Emmy-award winning director Ezra Edelman, it's "O.J.: Made in America," a 10-hour multi-part production coming summer of 2016. To most observers, it's a story that began the night Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman were brutally murdered outside her Brentwood apartment. But as "O.J." lays bare, to truly grasp the significance of what happened not just that night, but the epic chronicle to follow, one has to travel back to a much different, much earlier origin point, at not the end, but the beginning of the 20th century, when African-Americans began migrating to California ...



13th by Ava DuVernay
Synopsis: Extraordinary and galvanizing documentary 13th refers to the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which reads “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States.” The progression from that second qualifying clause to the horrors of mass criminalization and the sprawling American prison industry is laid out by DuVernay with bracing lucidity. With a potent mixture of archival footage and testimony from a dazzling array of activists, politicians, historians, and formerly ncarcerated women and men, DuVernay creates a work of grand historical synthesis.



Tower by Keith Maitland
Synopsis: August 1, 1966, was the day our innocence was shattered. A sniper rode the elevator to the top floor of the iconic University of Texas Tower and opened fire, holding the campus hostage for 96 minutes in what was a previously unimaginable event. TOWER combines archival footage with rotoscopic animation of the dramatic day, based entirely on first person testimonies from witnesses, heroes and survivors, in a seamless and suspenseful retelling of the unfolding tragedy. The film highlights the fear, confusion, and visceral realities that changed the lives of those present, and the rest of us, forever - a day when the worst in one man brought out the best in so many others.



Weiner by Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg
Synopsis: Serving seven consecutive terms, Anthony Weiner, good friends with and political allies to the Clintons, was once a highly respected member of Congress from New York City, he seen as a man sticking up for the every day person. That all changed in June, 2011 when he was forced to resign in disgrace after admitting that he did tweet lewd "headless" photos of himself from his public Twitter account to women he met online, and that it was not the work of a hacker or that the photos were of someone else. At the time, his wife Huma Abedin, herself a key aide to Hillary Clinton, was pregnant with their first child, she who decided to stand by her man. Two years later with Abedin still by his side, Weiner tries to resurrect his political career in a run for New York City mayor. He realizes that he has an uphill battle not only because of the known previously tweeted photos, but that there are other lewd photos from that era that may also come to light during the campaign



The Witness by James D. Solomon
Synopsis: Bill Genovese's decade-long journey to unravel the truth about the mythic death and little-known life of his sister, Kitty, who was reportedly stabbed in front of 38 witnesses and became the face of urban apathy. THE WITNESS begins in 2004 when The Times questions its original story: the number of witnesses, what they observed, the number of attacks. None was more affected by the story than Bill. He vowed not to be like the 38, volunteered for Vietnam, and lost both legs. What if Kitty's mythic story is an urban myth? Breaking his family's half-century of silence, Bill seeks to find the truth confronting the witnesses, the killer, their families and his own. THE WITNESS is about bearing witness, loss and forgiveness, and what we owe each other.



Ye Haiyan (Hooligan Sparrow) by Nanfu Wang
Synopsis: The danger is palpable as intrepid young filmmaker Nanfu Wang follows maverick activist Ye Haiyan (a.k.a Hooligan Sparrow) and her band of colleagues to Hainan Province in southern China to protest the case of six elementary school girls who were sexually abused by their principal. Marked as enemies of the state, the activists are under constant government surveillance and face interrogation, harassment, and imprisonment. Sparrow, who gained notoriety with her advocacy work for sex workers’ rights, continues to champion girls’ and women’s rights and arms herself with the power and reach of social media.



Zero Days by Alex Gibney
Synopsis: A black ops cyber-attack launched by the U.S. and Israel on an Iranian nuclear facility unleashed malware with unforeseen consequences. The Stuxnet virus infiltrated its pre-determined target only to spread its infection outward, ultimately exposing systemic vulnerabilities that threatened the very safety of the planet. Delve deep into the burgeoning world of digital warfare in this documentary thriller from Academy Award® winning filmmaker Alex Gibney.

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2016 Los Angeles Film Critics Association

Since early morning the film critics group started to deliberate, vote and announce their winners.  The process went long after the infamous lunch break until the last announcement was made for a special citation.  In between the most pleasant news came when they announced Best Actress winner as with a not-so-usual agreement, East coast and West coast cinema pundits agree on a non-American actress, Isabelle Huppert!

Of course I simply LOVE the news as most of blog loyal readers know, she's one of my most favorite actress, one that makes me watch every single movie she's in (at least try as she is a very-hard-working actress with too-many films per year) and one that deserves ALL the top cinema honors in the world, including infamous Oscar.  As been saying aloud, there is a strong marketing campaign for her Oscar nomination and obviously is working as top critics and east-coast award already succumbed to her.  Now let's hope she gets an Oscar nomination and we can dream she winning the award but let's recall that 2016 films have too-many extraordinary performances by outstanding actresses.

Most impressed with the group honoring one of the most outstanding films from 2016, The Handmaiden, as not only has a terrific story but visuals, production design and cinematography are almost perfection, sigh! Film is a true feast to the eyes but comes with a very-explicit-violent drama surely not for all audiences; but for me, the drama kept me at edge of my seat and made me forgot that already knew the story, which was great!

Many have already started to speculate that this award season race will be between La La Land, Moonlight and Machester by the Sea.  Unless something happens before Oscar nominations announcement in January 2017, I agree but still have hope that another movie becomes a contender, like for example Pablo Larrain's Jackie.

These are the award winners listed at the group official site and also the runner-up for each category.

Best Picture: Moonlight
Runner-up: La La Land

Best Director: Barry Jenkins for Moonlight
Runner-up: Damien Chazelle for La La Land

Best Actress: Isabelle Hupert in Elle and L'Avenir (Things to Come)
Runner-up: Rebecca Hall in Christine

Best Supporting Actress: Lily Gladstone in Certain Women
Runner-up: Michelle Williams in Manchester by the Sea

Best Actor: Adam Driver in Paterson
Runner-up: Casey Affleck in Manchester by the Sea

Best Supporting Actor: Mahershala Ali in Moonlight
Runner-up: Issey Ogata in Silence

Best Screenplay: Efthymis Filippou and Yorgos Lanthimos for The Lobster
Runner-up: Keneth Lonergan for Manchester by the Sea

Best Production Design: Ryu Seong-Hee for The Handmaiden
Runner-up: David Wasco for La La Land

Best Editing: Bret Granato, Maya Mumma and Ben Sozanski for OJ: Made in America
Runner-up: Tom Cross for La La Land

Best Cinematography: James Laxton for Moonlight
Runner-up: Linus Sandgren for La La Land

Best Documentary/Non-Fiction Film: I Am Not Your Negro
Runner-up: OJ: Made in America

Best Animation:  Kimi no na wa (Your Name)
Runner-up:  La Tortue Rouge (The Red Turtle)

New Generation: Trey Edward Shults and Krisha Fairchild for Krisha
Douglas Edwards Independent/Experimental Film/Video: Deborah Stratman for The Illinois Parables
Special Citation:  Turner Classic Movies for Preserving Historic Cinema via Filmstruck

Career Achievement:  Shirley Maclaine

To check winners at official site go here.

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2016 British Independent Film Awards winners

Yesterday BIFA had their awards ceremony and surprise-surprise there was NO live streaming!  They decided to do the red-black-carpet, some winners interviews and perhaps more that I was not interested in watching.  Nevertheless was able to follow winners in twiter feeds from official site plus more that announced live.

The most pleasant news for me is the recognition of Andrea Arnold that won Best Director and her film American Honey got the Best British Independent Film award plus Sasha Lane won Best Actress and Robbie Ryan won Outstanding Achievement in Craft. American Honey was the top award winner and lead with four (4) awards. Most interesting is to have UK's submission to Oscar in the foreign language category, Under the Shadow, following with three (3) awards. Surprisingly, Cannes Palm d'Or winner, I, Daniel Blake collected two (2) awards.

The Special Jury Prize was presented to Clare Binns by Edith Bowman and Mark Herbert. The jury praised her unstinting efforts in bringing independent film to new audiences.

As previously announced Naomie Harris was presented The Variety Award by Danny Boyle in recognition of the global impact she has made in 2016, helping to focus the international film spotlight on the UK. The Richard Harris Award was presented to Alison Steadman by Richard Harris’ granddaughter Ella Harris and Alison’s co-star from Life Is Sweet, Claire Skinner. The award recognizes outstanding contribution to British film by an actor.

Best British Independent Film: American Honey, Andrea Arnold
Best Documentary:  Notes on Blindness, Pete Middleton and James Spinney

Best Director: Andrea Arnold for American Honey
The Douglas Hickox Award for Debut Director:  Babak Anvari for Under the Shadow

Best Screenplay:  Babak Anvari for Under the Shadow
Debut Screenwriter:  Rachel Tunnard for Adult Life Skills

Best Actress: Sasha Lane in American Honey
Best Supporting Actress:  Avin Manshadi in Under the Shadow
Best Actor: Dave Johns in I, Daniel Blake
Best Supporting Actor:  Brett Goldstein in Adult Life Skills
Most Promising  Newcomer: Hayley Squires in I, Daniel Blake

Outstanding Achievement in Craft: Robbie Ryan, cinematographer, American Honey

The Discovery Award:  The Greasy Strangler, Jim Hosking
Best International Independent Film:  Moonlight, Barry Jenkins, USA

Breakthrough Producer: Camille Gatin for The Girl With All the Gifts

Best British Short:  Jacked, Rene Pannevis

To check winners at ther official site go here.

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2016 New York Film Critics Circle Award Winners

Since nine this morning the group started to vote and a few minutes ago finally reached the last category to after too-many hours of voting unveil the winners of this group that many call "harbingers of the Oscar nominations" but unfortunately last year was far very-far away from what happened, as Carol was barely honored by the Academy.

These are the award winners listed at the group official site.

Best Feature Film: La La Land

Best Non-Fiction Film (Documentary): O.J.: Made in America
Best Animated Film:  Zootopia
Best Foreign Language Film: Toni Erdmann

Best Director: Barry Jenkins for Moonlight
Best First Film:  Kelly Fremon Craig for The Edge of Seventeen and Trey Edward Shults for Krisha

Best Actress: Isabelle Huppert in Elle and L'Avenir (The Things to Come)
Best Supporting Actress: Michelle Williams in Manchester by the Sea and Certain Women

Best Actor:  Casey Affleck in Manchester by the Sea
Best Supporting Actor: Mahershala Ali in Moonlight

Best Cinematographer: James Laxton for Moonlight
Best Screenplay: Keneth Lonergan for Manchester by the Sea

Special Award
Thelma Schoonmaker and Julie Dash for Daughters of the Dust (25th Anniversary Restoration)

To check the list at the official site go here.

Seems clear that East Coast industry groups -Gotham and NYFCC- have honored Isabelle Huppert with the Best Actress awards, now we have to wait to see what happens in the West Coast but the wait will not be long as next Sunday, December 4 Los Angeles major film critics group will vote their awards.  If LAFCA also honors Huppert then her chances for an Oscar nomination will highly improve as well as perhaps even get the award.  But we have to remember that film critics and Academy members are not the same and many years have shown to be very different in what they honor.

This year I'm not really interested in many categories, with the exception of Best Actress that hope could be interesting, less conventional and yes, honor Isabelle Huppert!!! (LOL!).

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