Iranian Drama wins the Golden Bear at 61st berlinale

The accomplished Iranian screenwriter and film director Asghar Farhadi’s captivating drama Nader and Simin: A Separation won the Golden Bear for the Best Film at the 61st Berlin Film Festival and was elated to receive his coveted prize at the closing ceremony on Saturday February 19, 2011. This must really be fulfilling for him after winning the Silver Bear for Best Director for his film About Elly in 2009. This is the first time an Iranian film has won the Golden Bear.

Asghar Farhadi
Asghar Farhadi lifting up his Golden Bear at the 61st Berlinale.

The male and female actors of “Nader and Simin, A Separation” were honored each with a Silver Bear for their performance.

A_Separation

The film is about a middle-class couple Nader and Simin married for fifteen years and live with their eleven-year-old daughter Termeh in Tehran. The family belong to the urban upper middle-class and the couple are on the verge of separation. Simin wants to leave the country with her husband and daughter, as she does not want Termeh to grow up under the prevailing conditions. Her desire is not shared by the stubborn Nader. He has concerns for his father, who lives with the family and suffers from Alzheimer’s disease. When Nader decides to stay in Iran, Simin files for a divorce.

Bela Tarr took home the Jury Grand Prix of the Silver Bear for being the runner-up for his film “The Turin Horse”.

The other winners emerged in the following order:

Silver Bear – Best Director
Ulrich Köhler
for Schlafkrankheit (Sleeping Sickness)

Silver Bear – Best Actress
to the actress-ensemble in
Jodaeiye Nader az Simin (Nader And Simin, A Separation)
by Asghar Farhadi

Silver Bear – Best Actor
to the actor-ensemble in
Jodaeiye Nader az Simin (Nader And Simin, A Separation)
by Asghar Farhadi

Silver Bear – Outstanding Artistic Achievement
Wojciech Staron for the camera in
El premio (The Prize)
by Paula Markovitch

ex aequo

Barbara Enriquez for the production design in
El premio (The Prize)
by Paula Markovitch

Silver Bear – Best Script
Joshua Marston and Andamion Murataj for
The Forgiveness Of Blood (The Forgiveness Of Blood)
by Joshua Marston

Alfred Bauer Prize
Awarded in memory of the Festival founder, for a work of particular innovation.

Wer wenn nicht wir (If Not Us, Who)
by Andres Veiel

Click here for more details.

~ By Hope O. Opara

The 2011 BAFTAs, the full report

Leading Actor Colin Firth

Colin Firth won the BAFTA for his performance as King George VI in The King’s Speech. (Pic: BAFTA/ Richard Kendal)

The King’s Speech wins seven BAFTAs including Best Film, Leading Actor for Colin Firth, Supporting Actor for Geoffrey Rush and Supporting Actress for Helena Bonham Carter.

Natalie Portman wins Leading Actress

The Social Network and Inception win three BAFTAs each

Alice in Wonderland takes home two awards

The King’s Speech was named Best Film at tonight’s Orange British Academy Film Awards, held at London’s Royal Opera House. The film also won six other awards: Outstanding British Film, Original Screenplay and Original Music, as well as a trio of performance awards for Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter and Colin Firth, who wins the Leading Actor BAFTA for the second year running.

Natalie Portman was awarded the BAFTA for Leading Actress for her performance as Nina Sayers in Black Swan.

David Fincher won the Director award for The Social Network and Aaron Sorkin took home the BAFTA for Adapted Screenplay. The film also won the Editing award.

Inception won the Production Design, Sound and Special Visual Effects BAFTAs.
Director Chris Morris received the award for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer for his first feature film Four Lions.

Alice in Wonderland won the BAFTAs for Costume Design and Make Up & Hair. Toy Story 3 took home the award for Animated Film. True Grit won for Cinematography. The Film Not in the English Language BAFTA went to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

The Eagleman Stag won the Short Animation award and the Short Film award was presented to Until the River Runs Red.

The Orange Wednesdays Rising Star Award was presented to Tom Hardy, star of Inception and Bronson. This award, the only one voted for by the public, recognises an international actor or actress who has demonstrated exceptional talent and has begun to be recognised as a film star in the making. The award is now in its sixth year and was created in honour of Mary Selway, the highly respected casting director who passed away in 2004.

The highest accolade which the Academy can bestow, the Fellowship, was presented to Christopher Lee. The award for Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema was received by JK Rowling and David Heyman on behalf of The Harry Potter Films.

For further information, please contact:
Jo Fernihough at Freud Communications
T: 020 3003 6386 / johanna.fernihough@freud.com

THE FOLLOWING IS THE COMPLETE REPORT:

2010 NOMINATIONS AND WINNERS
(presented in 2011)

ACADEMY FELLOWSHIP
CHRISTOPHER LEE

OUTSTANDING BRITISH CONTRIBUTION TO CINEMA
THE HARRY POTTER FILMS

BEST FILM
BLACK SWAN Mike Medavoy, Brian Oliver, Scott Franklin
INCEPTION Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan
THE KING’S SPEECH Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, Gareth Unwin
THE SOCIAL NETWORK Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca, Céan Chaffin
TRUE GRIT Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
127 HOURS Danny Boyle, Simon Beaufoy, Christian Colson, John Smithson
ANOTHER YEAR Mike Leigh, Georgina Lowe
FOUR LIONS Chris Morris, Jesse Armstrong, Sam Bain, Mark Herbert, Derrin Schlesinger
THE KING’S SPEECH Tom Hooper, David Seidler, Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, Gareth Unwin
MADE IN DAGENHAM Nigel Cole, William Ivory, Elizabeth Karlsen, Stephen Woolley

OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
THE ARBOR Clio Barnard (Director), Tracy O’Riordan (Producer)
EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP Banksy (Director), Jaimie D’Cruz (Producer)
FOUR LIONS Chris Morris (Director/Writer)
MONSTERS Gareth Edwards (Director/Writer)
SKELETONS Nick Whitfield (Director/Writer)

DIRECTOR
127 HOURS Danny Boyle
BLACK SWAN Darren Aronofsky
INCEPTION Christopher Nolan
THE KING’S SPEECH Tom Hooper
THE SOCIAL NETWORK David Fincher

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
BLACK SWAN Mark Heyman, Andrés Heinz, John McLaughlin
THE FIGHTER Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy, Eric Johnson
INCEPTION Christopher Nolan
THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT Lisa Cholodenko, Stuart Blumberg
THE KING’S SPEECH David Seidler

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
127 HOURS Danny Boyle, Simon Beaufoy
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO Rasmus Heisterberg, Nikolaj Arcel
THE SOCIAL NETWORK Aaron Sorkin
TOY STORY 3 Michael Arndt
TRUE GRIT Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
BIUTIFUL Alejandro González Iñárritu, Jon Kilik, Fernando Bovaira
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO Søren Stærmose, Niels Arden Oplev
I AM LOVE Luca Guadagnino, Francesco Melzi D’Eril, Marco Morabito, Massimiliano Violante
OF GODS AND MEN Xavier Beauvois, Pascal Caucheteux, Etienne Comar
THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES Mariela Besuievsky, Juan José Campanella

ANIMATED FILM
DESPICABLE ME Chris Renaud, Pierre Coffin
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON Chris Sanders, Dean DeBlois
TOY STORY 3 Lee Unkrich

LEADING ACTOR
JAVIER BARDEM Biutiful
JEFF BRIDGES True Grit
JESSE EISENBERG The Social Network
COLIN FIRTH The King’s Speech
JAMES FRANCO 127 Hours

LEADING ACTRESS
ANNETTE BENING The Kids Are All Right
JULIANNE MOORE The Kids Are All Right
NATALIE PORTMAN Black Swan
NOOMI RAPACE The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
HAILEE STEINFELD True Grit

SUPPORTING ACTOR
CHRISTIAN BALE The Fighter
ANDREW GARFIELD The Social Network
PETE POSTLETHWAITE The Town
MARK RUFFALO The Kids Are All Right
GEOFFREY RUSH The King’s Speech

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
AMY ADAMS The Fighter
HELENA BONHAM CARTER The King’s Speech
BARBARA HERSHEY Black Swan
LESLEY MANVILLE Another Year
MIRANDA RICHARDSON Made in Dagenham

ORIGINAL MUSIC
127 HOURS AR Rahman
ALICE IN WONDERLAND Danny Elfman
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON John Powell
INCEPTION Hans Zimmer
THE KING’S SPEECH Alexandre Desplat

CINEMATOGRAPHY
127 HOURS Anthony Dod Mantle, Enrique Chediak
BLACK SWAN Matthew Libatique
INCEPTION Wally Pfister
THE KING’S SPEECH Danny Cohen
TRUE GRIT Roger Deakins

EDITING
127 HOURS Jon Harris
BLACK SWAN Andrew Weisblum
INCEPTION Lee Smith
THE KING’S SPEECH Tariq Anwar
THE SOCIAL NETWORK Angus Wall, Kirk Baxter

PRODUCTION DESIGN
ALICE IN WONDERLAND Robert Stromberg, Karen O’Hara
BLACK SWAN Thérèse DePrez, Tora Peterson
INCEPTION Guy Hendrix Dyas, Larry Dias, Doug Mowat
THE KING’S SPEECH Eve Stewart, Judy Farr
TRUE GRIT Jess Gonchor, Nancy Haigh

COSTUME DESIGN
ALICE IN WONDERLAND Colleen Atwood
BLACK SWAN Amy Westcott
THE KING’S SPEECH Jenny Beavan
MADE IN DAGENHAM Louise Stjernsward
TRUE GRIT Mary Zophres

SOUND
127 HOURS Glenn Freemantle, Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke, Steven C Laneri, Douglas Cameron
BLACK SWAN Ken Ishii, Craig Henighan, Dominick Tavella
INCEPTION Richard King, Lora Hirschberg, Gary A Rizzo, Ed Novick
THE KING’S SPEECH John Midgley, Lee Walpole, Paul Hamblin, Martin Jensen
TRUE GRIT Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff, Peter F Kurland, Douglas Axtell

SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
ALICE IN WONDERLAND Ken Ralston, David Schaub, Sean Phillips, Carey Villegas
BLACK SWAN Dan Schrecker, Henrik Fett, Michael Capton, William ‘Brad’ Kalinoski
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PART 1 Tim Burke, John Richardson, Nicolas Aithadi, Christian Manz
INCEPTION Chris Corbould, Paul Franklin, Andrew Lockley, Peter Bebb
TOY STORY 3 Guido Quaroni, Michael Fong, David Ryu

MAKE UP & HAIR
ALICE IN WONDERLAND Valli O’Reilly, Paul Gooch
BLACK SWAN Judy Chin, Geordie Sheffer
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PART 1 Amanda Knight, Lisa Tomblin, Nick Dudman
THE KING’S SPEECH Frances Hannon
MADE IN DAGENHAM Lizzie Yianni Georgiou

SHORT ANIMATION
THE EAGLEMAN STAG Michael Please
MATTER FISHER David Prosser
THURSDAY Matthias Hoegg

SHORT FILM
CONNECT Samuel Abrahams, Beau Gordon
LIN Piers Thompson, Simon Hessel
RITE Michael Pearce, Ross McKenzie, Paul Welsh
TURNING Karni Arieli, Saul Freed, Alison Sterling, Kat Armour-Brown
UNTIL THE RIVER RUNS RED Paul Wright, Poss Kondeatis

THE ORANGE WEDNESDAYS RISING STAR AWARD (voted for by the public)
GEMMA ARTERTON
ANDREW GARFIELD
TOM HARDY
AARON JOHNSON
EMMA STON

CLICK HERE FOR THE COMPLETE PHOTOGRAPHS OF ALL THE WINNERS

Mick Jagger to Perform Live on the GRAMMY Awards® for the First Time

8 Feb 2011 13:00 Africa/Lagos

Mick Jagger to Perform Live on the GRAMMY Awards® for the First Time

53rd Grammy Awards

GRAMMY Award®-Winning Rock Legend and Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient — Accompanied by GRAMMY® Winner Raphael Saadiq and His Band — Will Perform as Part of the Telecast’s Annual “In Memoriam” Tribute

Music’s Biggest Night® Airs Live Sunday, Feb. 13, 2011, 8 P.M. ET/PT, Only on CBS

PR Newswire

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Feb. 3, 2011

Mick_Jagger4
Mick Jagger

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Feb. 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — GRAMMY Award®-winning rock legend and Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Mick Jagger will perform live on the GRAMMY Awards for the first time. Accompanied by GRAMMY® winner Raphael Saadiq and his band, Jagger will perform as part of the telecast’s annual “In Memoriam” tribute, which pays homage to members of the music community who have passed away in the previous year. Jagger and Saadiq join previously announced performers and nominees Arcade Fire, Eminem, Lady Antebellum, Lady Gaga, Miranda Lambert , Muse, and Katy Perry ; nominees Justin Bieber and Usher, with Jaden Smith ; nominees B.o.B, Bruno Mars , and Janelle Monae ; nominees Drake and Rihanna; and nominee Cee Lo Green , with Gwyneth Paltrow and the Jim Henson Company Puppets. Current three-time GRAMMY nominee Dierks Bentley , nine-time GRAMMY winner and current nominee Norah Jones , singer/actor Selena Gomez , two-time GRAMMY winner and actor LL COOL J, current nominee Nicki Minaj, and current nominee Blake Shelton will appear as presenters. The 53rd Annual GRAMMY Awards (www.grammy.com) will take place live on Sunday, Feb. 13, 2011 , at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles and will be broadcast in high definition and 5.1 surround sound on the CBS Television Network from 8 – 11:30 p.m. (ET/PT). The show also will be supported on radio worldwide via Westwood One, and covered online at GRAMMY.com and CBS.com, and on YouTube at www.youtube.com/thegrammys . Additional performers, presenters and special segments will be announced soon. For GRAMMY coverage, updates and breaking news, please visit The Recording Academy®’s social networks on Twitter and Facebook: www.twitter.com/thegrammys , www.facebook.com/thegrammys .

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110104/LA23911LOGO)

In his first-ever live appearance on the GRAMMY stage, Jagger — accompanied by soul singer Saadiq and his band — will honor one of his longtime idols, recently deceased GRAMMY winner Solomon Burke. Jagger has appeared only once before on the GRAMMY telecast (with the Rolling Stones), via satellite from London during the 28th Annual GRAMMY Awards in 1986, when Eric Clapton presented the Stones with The Recording Academy® Lifetime Achievement Award.

Arcade Fire, Bieber, B.o.B, Lambert, Mars, Monae, Muse, Paltrow, and Smith will also be performing on the GRAMMY telecast for the first time, and all five Album Of The Year nominees are set to perform on Music’s Biggest Night®: Arcade Fire, Eminem, Lady Antebellum, Lady Gaga, and Perry.

The 53rd Annual GRAMMY Awards are produced by John Cossette Productions and AEG Ehrlich Ventures for The Recording Academy. Ken Ehrlich and John Cossette are executive producers, Louis J. Horvitz is director, and David Wild and Ken Ehrlich are the writers.

Established in 1957, The Recording Academy is an organization of musicians, producers, engineers and recording professionals that is dedicated to improving the cultural condition and quality of life for music and its makers. Internationally known for the GRAMMY Awards — the preeminent peer-recognized award for musical excellence and the most credible brand in music — The Recording Academy is responsible for groundbreaking professional development, cultural enrichment, advocacy, education and human services programs. The Academy continues to focus on its mission of recognizing musical excellence, advocating for the well-being of music makers and ensuring music remains an indelible part of our culture. For more information about The Academy, please visit www.grammy.com . For breaking news and exclusive content, join the organization’s social networks as a Twitter follower at www.twitter.com/thegrammys , a Facebook fan at www.facebook.com/thegrammys , and a YouTube channel subscriber at www.youtube.com/thegrammys .

SOURCE The Recording Academy

CONTACT: Barb Dehgan of The Recording Academy, +1-310-392-3777; or Tiffany Smith-Anoa’i, +1-818-655-1587, or Kate Fisher, +1-212-975-3818, both of CBS Television; or Maureen O’Connor of Rogers & Cowan, +1-310-854-8116

Web Site: http://www.grammy.com

African Film Festival of Tarifa Offers Movies Online

Tarifa banner

2 Feb 2011 18:12 Africa/Lagos

African Film Festival of Tarifa Offers Movies Online

TARIFA, February 2, 2011/African Press Organization (APO)/ — FCAT’s 8th edition on 11th-19th June

From Tarifa 2011

3rd African-Spanish film Co-production forum’s submission closed

Submissions of films for official competition close February 25th

Submissions of for 4th PhotoAfrica close March 1st

The African Film Festival of Tarifa (www.fcat.es), has entered into a partnership with AfricanFilms.tv, a video-on-demand internet platform with headquarter in Dakar, Senegal, aiming to help the platform build up its catalogue of African films.

African movies online

Due to cooperation with AfricaFilms.tv film fans will be able to watch movies from the 500 films rich FCAT library on the video-on-demand platform when it launches commercially in June. A legal, commercial downloading platform, available worldwide, guarantees fair revenue to African filmmakers and producers. “AfricaFilms.tv is very transparent and straight forward. It is commercial, but the focus is on the African filmmaker. Right holders get 50% of revenue, have online access to the back office and the cession of rights is non-exclusive” says AfricaFilm.tv CEO, Mr. Enrico Chiesa.

“We hope to provide the platform with 20-30 titles from our library per year” says Mrs. Mane Cisneros, director of FCAT and adds “Securing the rights and all the materials related will take time and effort, but we are convinced this is the right platform for us and for the filmmakers”.

Spanish-African co-productions

In January FCAT closed selection process for the 3rd Africa Produce – forum between African filmmakers and Spanish producers, TV commissioning editors and co-production managers, which goal is to introduce African cinema projects to the Spanish co-production market. For this year forum FCAT received 18 feature-length projects and 12 documentary projects, coming from 14 African countries. The most entries in fiction category came from Nigeria (4) and Cameroon (4), while the most documentary projects came from Burkina Faso (3). For the first time ever Equatorial Guinea and Namibia applied in the forum.

Six projects will be selected by FCAT jury and their directors will be present at the festival to convince Spanish producers. “We aim to continue promoting co-production between Africa and Spain. Two films, from Senegal and Mali, presented in the previous editions are now in development” said Carlos Domínguez, África Produce‘s co-ordinator.

Calls for entries still open

Filmmakers from all over Africa can until February 25th send their films to FCAT’s committee, which is in charge of selecting movies for the competing and non-competing sections of the festival.

At the same time African photographers can send their entries for the 4th PhotoAfrica until March 1st.

More info regarding application process can be found on www.fcat.es

About FCAT

African film festival of Tarifa (FCAT – Festival de Cine Africano de Tarifa) is an independent and competitive film festival and one of the biggest African film festivals in Europe. The FCAT celebrates its eighth edition from 11th to 19th June 2011 in Andalusian town Tarifa – the closest town of continental Europe to the African continent – the two continents are in fact only 14 km apart from one another in this geographical area.

This year FCAT will screen up over hundred African films and it will bring together some of the most distinguished African filmmakers. Its aim is to spread knowledge about African film production by exhibiting a representative wide variety of audiovisual African works every year: from the classics to more innovative and recent films, from documentaries to feature length fiction films, from South Africa to Morocco and from Senegal to Ethiopia. More on www.fcat.es

Contact:

Filip Hruby

International Press Officer

Festival de Cine Africano de Tarifa – FCAT

Móvil: +420/775011550

gabineteprensa2@fcat.es

www.fcat.es

Source: The African Film Festival of Tarifa

Emmy® Winner Alec Baldwin and Robert Osborne to Co-Host TCM Showcase THE ESSENTIALS

Alec Baldwin
Alec Baldwin to Co-Host TCM Showcase THE ESSENTIALS with Robert Osborne. (PRNewsFoto/Turner Classic Movies)

3 Feb 2011 20:00 Africa/Lagos

Emmy® Winner Alec Baldwin Back Again to Co-Host TCM Showcase THE ESSENTIALS With Robert Osborne

PR Newswire

ATLANTA, Feb. 3, 2011

ATLANTA, Feb. 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Two-time Emmy® winner and recent Screen Actors Guild Award® winner Alec Baldwin (30 Rock) will return for his third season as co-host of THE ESSENTIALS on Turner Classic Movies (TCM). In his first two seasons opposite TCM host Robert Osborne , Baldwin displayed a deep admiration for and knowledge of classic films. Baldwin and Osborne have selected 30 “must see” films for the 2011 season of the weekly showcase.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110203/CL42118 )

Airing each Saturday at 8 p.m. (ET) , the 11th season will kick off March 5 with the memorable prison film Cool Hand Luke (1967), which earned star Paul Newman a Best Actor Oscar® nomination and co-star George Kennedy the award for Best Supporting Actor. The film is one of 14 selected by both Osborne and Baldwin for the 2011 season. Other films chosen jointly by the co-hosts are Hannah and Her Sisters (1986 – March 19), Mildred Pierce (1945 – March 26), Ball of Fire (1941 – April 16), Gunga Din (1939 – April 23), Bicycle Thieves (aka The Bicycle Thief) (1948 – May 7), Stage Door (1937 – Aug. 6), The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962 – Aug. 13), A Place in the Sun (1951 – Aug. 20), A Letter to Three Wives (1949 – Aug. 27), Sunset Blvd. (1950 – Sept. 3) and The Bank Dick (1940 – Nov. 12).

The showcase’s April 30 presentation of An American in Paris (1951) will coincide with the 2011 edition of the TCM Classic Film Festival, which will launch April 28 with a gala screening of a carefully restored and remastered version of the Best Picture Oscar winner. And on Christmas Eve, Baldwin and Osborne will host a special presentation of the holiday classic Miracle on 34th Street (1947).

In addition to their joint selections, Baldwin and Osborne individually chose several films for THE ESSENTIALS. Baldwin’s personal selections include The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962 – April 2), Splendor in the Grass (1961 – April 9), East of Eden (1955 – May 21), Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944 – May 28), The Caine Mutiny (1954 – June 11), Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985 – July 23), City Lights (1931 – July 2), Fail-Safe (1964 – July 9) and The Misfits (1961 – July 16).

Osborne’s individual choices for 2011 include Love Me Tonight (1932 – March 12), Cat People (1942 – May 14), Dodsworth (1936 – June 4), Bringing Up Baby (1938 – June 18), Out of the Past (1947 – June 25) and Best Picture Oscar winner All Quiet on the Western Front (1930 – July 30).

“I’m proud to be able to sit down with Robert Osborne again as we present some of the greatest films ever made,” Baldwin said. “It is a true joy for me each year to be able to share my love of movies with the TCM community of fans.”

“Alec and I have had a great time the past two years choosing and discussing great films,” Osborne said. “This year, we have put together an amazing schedule, and we are very excited to present it to movie lovers.”

The following is the complete schedule of the films Baldwin and Osborne will present for the 11th season of THE ESSENTIALS. With the exception of Kiss of the Spider Woman on July 23, all presentations begin at 8 p.m. (ET). (Schedule subject to change.)

March 5 – Cool Hand Luke (1967)

March 12 – Love Me Tonight (1932)

March 19 – Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)

March 26 – Mildred Pierce (1945)

April 2 – The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962)

April 9 – Splendor in the Grass (1961)

April 16 – Ball of Fire (1941)

April 23 – Gunga Din (1939)

April 30 – An American in Paris (1951)

May 7 – Bicycle Thieves (aka The Bicycle Thief ) (1948)

May 14 – Cat People (1942)

May 21 – East of Eden (1955)

May 28 – Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944)

June 4 – Dodsworth (1936)

June 11 – The Caine Mutiny (1954)

June 18 – Bringing Up Baby (1938)

June 25 – Out of the Past (1947)

July 2 – City Lights (1931)

July 9 – Fail-Safe (1964)

July 16 – The Misfits (1961)

July 23 – Cool Hand Luke (1967) and Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985)

July 30 – All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)

Aug. 6 – Stage Door (1937)

Aug. 13 – The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)

Aug. 20 – A Place in the Sun (1951)

Aug. 27 – A Letter to Three Wives (1949)

Sept. 3 – Sunset Blvd. (1950)

Sept. 10 – The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962)

Sept. 17 – Mildred Pierce (1945)

Sept. 24 – Love Me Tonight (1932)

Oct. 1 – Ball of Fire (1941)

Oct. 8 – Gunga Din (1939)

Oct. 15 – Bicycle Thieves (aka The Bicycle Thief ) (1948)

Oct. 22 – An American in Paris (1951)

Oct. 29 – Cat People (1942)

Nov. 5 – East of Eden (1955)

Nov. 12 – The Bank Dick (1940)

Nov. 19 – Splendor in the Grass (1961)

Nov. 26 – Dodsworth (1936)

Dec. 3 – Fail-Safe (1964)

Dec. 10 – The Caine Mutiny (1954)

Dec. 17 – Bringing Up Baby (1938)

Dec. 24 – Miracle on 34th Street (1968)

Dec. 31 – A Letter to Three Wives (1949)

Jan. 7 – City Lights (1931)

Jan. 14 – Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944)

Jan. 21 – Out of the Past (1947)

Jan. 28 – The Misfits (1961)

Prior to co-hosting THE ESSENTIALS, Baldwin appeared on TCM as part of the network’s Guest Programmer series. In 2008, he hosted the TCM special Role Model: Gene Wilder , in which he interviewed the comic actor.

Baldwin is one of Hollywood’s most charismatic and prolific actors. He currently stars with Tina Fey in the hit comedy series 30 Rock, which recently earned him his second Emmy and his fifth consecutive Screen Actors Guild Award. He has also earned three Golden Globes® and a Television Critics Association Award for his performance on the show.

Baldwin’s many film credits include The Departed; The Cooler; The Hunt for Red October, Glengarry Glen Ross and It’s Complicated. He recently completed production on the film AmeriQua and is at work on Men in Black III. On stage, Baldwin won acclaim and a Tony® nomination for his work opposite Jessica Lange in A Streetcar Named Desire, which also garnered him an Emmy nomination for the television adaptation. Baldwin’s production company, El Dorado Pictures, co-produced TNT’s Emmy-nominated miniseries Nuremberg and the feature film State and Main. He also wrote the book A Promise to Ourselves: A Journey through Fatherhood and Divorce.

Past hosts of THE ESSENTIALS included filmmakers Rob Reiner, Peter Bogdanovich and Sydney Pollack. Robert Osborne took over hosting duties in 2006, paired with film critic and author Molly Haskell. He was joined by actress and bestselling author Carrie Fisher in 2007 and actress Rose McGowan in 2008.

About Turner Classic Movies (TCM)

Turner Classic Movies is a Peabody Award-winning network that presents great films, uncut and commercial-free, from the largest film libraries in the world. Currently seen in more than 85 million homes, TCM features the insights of veteran primetime host Robert Osborne and weekend daytime host Ben Mankiewicz, plus interviews with a wide range of special guests. As the foremost authority in classic films, TCM offers critically acclaimed original documentaries and specials, along with regular programming events that include The Essentials, 31 Days of Oscar and Summer Under the Stars. TCM also stages special events and screenings, such as the TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood; produces a wide range of media about classic film, including books and DVDs; and hosts a wealth of materials at its Web site, www.tcm.com. TCM is part of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company.

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, creates and programs branded news, entertainment, animation and young adult media environments on television and other platforms for consumers around the world.

SOURCE Turner Classic Movies
NOTE TO EDITORS: Visit the TCM press site at news.turner.com. Follow TCM on twitter @TCM.

CONTACT: Heather Sautter, Atlanta, +1-404-885-0746, heather.sautter@turner.com; Cassie Bryan, Los Angeles, +1-818-729-7351, cassie.bryan@turner.com; Samantha Graham, New York, +1-212-275-6821, samantha.graham@turner.com

Rentrak Top 10 Movies of 2010

TheBlindSide

Rentrak Top 10 Movies of 2010

The top 10 movies are Rentrak’s Total Screen Measurement Currency Ranking of the Most-Watched On-Demand Titles, the Most-Engaged Network and Cable Programming, Top Selling and Renting DVDs and the Top-Grossing Box Office Movies–


1. The Blind Side
2. Couples Retreat
3. The Twilight Saga
4. Hot Tub Time Machine
5. Grown Ups
6. Date Night
7. It’s Complicated
8. The Book of Eli
9. Shutter Island
10. The Hurt Locker

More details.

3 films from developing countries win 2011 VPRO Tiger Awards

3 films from developing countries win 2011 Tiger Awards

IFFR 2011 LOGO

“Cold Water of the Sea (Agua fría de mar)” by Paz Fábrega from Costa Rica, “Mundane History” by Anocha Suwichakornpong from Thailand and “Alamar” by Mexican director Pedro González-Rubio have won the coveted VPRO Tiger Awards of the 2011 International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR).

cold_water_of_the_sea

The jury praised “Cold Water of the Sea” for successfully “telling the story of a mysterious relationship between a woman and a young girl in a convincing and poetic manner. The film takes the audience on an unusual journey through a nature that interacts with people in a magical way. The superb editing ensures an organic flow of images, whilst the strong directing and disturbing atmosphere create tension.’

“Mundane History”, narrates the wavering relationship between a bitter invalid and his new career. The film offered philosophical and political insight into aspects of Thai society. ‘For us this film appeals to both intelligence and spirituality. We are impressed with the accomplished interplay of abstract ideas and harrowing reality in this film,’ the jury acknowledged.
Anocha Suwichakornpong has already won the Prince Claus Fund Film Grant for her new CineMart project By “The Time It Gets Dark”.

The third winner, “Alamar” is a film that ‘touches deeply without being too sentimental’. This film, about a father and son that go on a journey to the source of the open sea to find their old way of life, is ‘true and honest to its subject and shows both the good fortune and tragedy of being a child with divorced parents,’ said the jury.

15 films competed for the VPRO Tiger Awards. They were either debuts or second films from novice directors. The three winners will each get €15,000.

The jury consisted of director Amat Escalante, actress Jeanne Balibar, director Urszula Antoniak, former director of the Singapore film festival Philip Chea and the Ugandan actor, musician, scriptwriter and activist Okello Kelo Sam.

As well as the Tiger Awards, other prizes were announced. The KNF award, a prize from the Circle of Netherlands Film Journalists, was awarded to a film that is not yet available for distribution in the Netherlands: Norteado from Mexican director Rigoberto Pérezcano. According to the jury this is ‘a film that touched our hearts and minds with its high visual qualities, terrific acting and gripping story about the plight of illegal immigrants that try to get into the United States.’

The FIPRESCI award from international film critics was given this year to Let Each One Go Where He May from Ben Russell, a film that was also nominated for a VPRO Tiger Award. The prize rom the network for promoting Asian film, NETPAC, was given to the Korean film Moscow from Whang Cheol-Mean. (SM)

2011 Sundance Film Festival Announces Jury Prizes In Short Filmmaking

Sundance-Film-Festival-2011

2011 Sundance Film Festival Announces Jury Prizes In Short Filmmaking

Filmmakers from Australia, Poland, Spain, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Canada and the United States Celebrated for their Documentary and Narrative Work

Park City, UT –The 2011 Sundance Film Festival this evening announced the jury prizes in shorts filmmaking and gave honorable mentions based on outstanding achievement and merit. The awards were presented at a ceremony held in Park City, Utah. These award recipients will also be honored at the Festival’s Awards Ceremony hosted by Sundance Alum Tim Blake Nelson on Saturday, January 29.

The 2011 Short Film jurors are Barry Jenkins (director, writer, Medicine for Melancholy); Kim Morgan (Film and Culture writer, Sunset Gun, The Hitlist) and Sara Bernstein (Vice president, HBO Documentary films; supervising producer, Baghdad ER, White Light, Black Rain: The Destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki).

The Jury Prize in Short Filmmaking was awarded to Brick Novax pt 1 and 2 (Director and Screenwriter: Matt Piedmont)— Penniless and now living in a seedy motel with only weeks to live, international super legend Brick Novax records his amazing tales as an astronaut, movie star, corporate CEO, and famous musician to preserve his legacy as the coolest guy in the history of the world.

The Jury Prize in International Short Filmmaking was given to Deeper Than Yesterday Australia (Director and Screenwriter: Ariel Kleiman) – After three months submerged underwater in a submarine, the crew have become savages. Oleg, one of the men onboard, fears that losing perspective may mean losing himself.

In addition, The Shorts Jury awarded Honorable Mentions in Short Filmmaking to:

Choke / Canada (Drector and Screenwriter: Michelle Latimer)— Upon leaving his First Nations reserve, Jimmy encounters the lost souls of the city and is reminded that no matter how far you travel, you cannot escape who you are.

Diarchy / Italy (Director and Screenwriter: Ferdinando Cito Filmomarino) – Giano and Luc are traveling through the woods when a storm breaks, forcing them to take shelter in Luc’s villa. Gradually and insidiously, a competition emerges between them, with terrible consequences.

The External World / Germany, Ireland (Director and Screenwriter: David O’Reilly) – A boy learns to play the piano.

The Legend of Beaver Dam / Canada (Director: Jerome Sable; Screenwriters: Jerome Sable and Eli Batalion) – When a ghost story around the campfire awakens an evil monster, it’s up to nerdy Danny Zigwitz to be the hero and save his fellow campers from a bloody massacre.

Out of Reach / Poland (Director and Screenwriter: Jakub Stozek) – Karolina and Natalia seek refuge from their domineering father and reminiscence about sad childhood without a mother in a basement of their block of flats.

Protoparticles / Spain (Director and Screenwriter: Chema García Ibarra) – The experiment was a success: protomatter exists.

Festival Sponsors
The 2011 Sundance Film Festival sponsors include: Presenting Sponsors—Entertainment Weekly, HP, Acura, Sundance Channel and Chase SapphireSM; Leadership Sponsors—Bing™, Canon, DIRECTV, Honda, Southwest Airlines and YouTube™; Sustaining Sponsors—FilterForGood®, a partnership between Brita® and Nalgene®, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, L’Oréal Paris, Stella Artois®, Timberland, and Trident Vitality™. Sundance Institute recognizes critical support from the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development, and the State of Utah as Festival Host State. The support of these organizations will defray costs associated with the 10-day Festival and the nonprofit Sundance Institute’s year-round programs for independent film and theatre artists. In return, sponsorship of the preeminent Festival provides these organizations with global exposure, a platform for brand impressions and unique access to Festival attendees.

About Sundance Film Festival
Supported by the nonprofit Sundance Institute, the Festival has introduced global audiences to some of the most ground-breaking films of the past two decades, including sex, lies, and videotape, Maria Full of Grace, The Cove, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, An Inconvenient Truth, Precious, Trouble the Water and Napoleon Dynamite and, through its New Frontier initiative, has brought the cinematic works of media artists including Isaac Julian, Doug Aitken, Pierre Huyghe, Jennifer Steinkamp and Matthew Barney. www.sundance.org/festival

Sundance Institute
Sundance Institute is a global nonprofit organization founded by Robert Redford in 1981. Through its artistic development programs for directors, screenwriters, producers, composers and playwrights, the Institute seeks to discover and support independent film and theatre artists from the United States and around the world, and to introduce audiences to their new work. The Institute promotes independent storytelling to inform, inspire, and unite diverse populations around the globe. Internationally recognized for its annual Sundance Film Festival, Sundance Institute has nurtured such projects as Born into Brothels, Trouble the Water, Son of Babylon, Amreeka, An Inconvenient Truth, Spring Awakening, Light in the Piazza and Angels in America. www.sundance.org

Sundance  Film Festival

Two African films compete for Foreign Language Oscar

Two African films, Outside the Law from Algeria and Life Above All from South Africa are among the 9 films that will advance to the next round of voting in the Foreign Language Film category for the 83rd Academy Awards. They were selected from 66 films that qualified in the category.

Hors-la-loi-Movie-Poster

Notably is Rachid Bouchareb’s “Outside the Law,” the French-Algerian film that annoyed French Prime Minister Nicolas Sarkozy’s political party, who wanted the film banned at the last Cannes Film Festival, because “it denigrates France and the French military.”

“Outside the Law”, tells the story of three brothers who fought for Algeria’s independence from France after World War II. After losing their family home in Algeria, three brothers were scattered across the globe. Messaoud joined the French army fighting in Indochina; Abdelkader became a leader of the Algerian independence movement; whilst Said moved to Paris to make his fortune in the shady clubs and boxing halls of Pigalle. Gradually, their interconnecting destinies reunited them in the French capital, where freedom is a battle to be fought and won.

“Life, Above All” an emotional and universal drama about a young girl who fought the fear and shame that have poisoned her community. It was directed by South African filmmaker Oliver Schmitz who adapted the international award winning novel “Chanda’s Secrets” by Allan Stratton.

Life-Plakat_web

Chanda, 16, is a smart and determined South African girl on track to win a scholarship – but she’s suddenly thrust into an impossible situation, forcing her to adopt maturity beyond her years. When we first meet her, she’s making funeral arrangements for her year-old sister, Sara. If people begin to suspect Sara’s death was due to more than a passing flu, Chanda will be faced with shame and stigma, not only for the victim, but also for their entire family.

When Lilian’s (Chanda’s mother) illness becomes impossible to hide, their nosy, eccentric next-door neighbor, Mrs. Tafa, engages a spirit doctor to perform a startling ritual. The spirit doctor determines that a curse is hanging over her and her children. In order to lift it,
Lilian must return to the village from where she was banished decades before, leaving Chanda alone to care for her siblings.

Meanwhile, Chanda’s best friend, Esther, has turned to prostitution in a desperate attempt to survive and reunite her own family. Though the community shuns Esther, Chanda refuses to reject her friend. To the horror of those around her, Chanda opens her house to Esther at her friend’s moment of greatest need. That’s just the beginning of Chanda’s fight against convention.

When Chanda discovers that her mother may have gone away to die in order to spare her children shame, she ignores the cautions of the meddling Mrs. Tafa, and embarks on a fateful journey to bring her mother home. And in doing so, challenges the people around her to reject their prejudices and embrace the truth.

The 9 films, listed in alphabetical order by country, are:

Oscar

Algeria, “Outside the Law”), Rachid Bouchareb, director;
Canada, “Incendies,” Denis Villeneuve, director;
Denmark, “In a Better World,” Susanne Bier, director;
Greece, “Dogtooth,” Yorgos Lanthimos, director;
Japan, “Confessions,” Tetsuya Nakashima, director;
Mexico, “Biutiful,” Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, director;
South Africa, “Life, above All,” Oliver Schmitz, director;
Spain, “Tambien la Lluvia” (“Even the Rain”), Iciar Bollain, director;
Sweden, “Simple Simon,” Andreas Ohman, director.

16th Annual Critics’ Choice Movie Awards

“The Social Network”was chosen as the Best Picture and the director David Fincher won Best Director for the film.

o-16th-annual-critics-choice-awards-announces-nominations

Colin Firth, won the Best Actor award for his role in “The King’s Speech” and Natalie Portman, who won Best Actress for her role in “Black Swan.” Christian Bale got the Best Supporting Actor award and Melissa Leo for Best Supporting Actress both for their outstanding roles in “The Fighter.”

63039975
Click here for the photo gallery of the red carpet at the 16th annual Critics’ Choice Movie Awards at the Hollywood Palladium in L.A. on Jan. 14.

The Best Action Movie was “Inception,”, Best Art Direction and Best Editing went to “The Social Network”, “The Fighter” had Best Acting Ensemble, the Best Original Screenplay award was won by David Seidler for “The King’s Speech”, Best Young Actor/Actress was Hailee Steinfeld for her remarkable role in “True Grit”, “Toy Story 3″ won Best Animated Feature and “Easy A” was the Best Comedy.

Nominees in attendance included: Amy Adams, Ben Affleck, Christian Bale, Annette Bening, Helena Bonham Carter, Robert Duvall, Jesse Eisenberg, Elle Fanning, Colin Firth, Andrew Garfield, Ryan Gosling, Jon Hamm, Nicole Kidman, Mila Kunis, Jennifer Lawrence, Melissa Leo, Julianne Moore, Mandy Moore, Jeremy Renner, Sam Rockwell, Mark Ruffalo, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Aaron Sorkin, Steven Spielberg, Jacki Weaver, Hailee Steinfeld and Michelle Williams.

Presenters at the gala included: Hank Azaria, Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin, Ice Cube, Jesse Eisenberg, Jane Fonda, Jon Hamm, Ed Helms, Rob Huebel, the Kardashians (Khloe, Kim), Jimmy Kimmel, Greg Kinnear, Jennifer Lawrence, Julianne Moore, Joan Rivers, Tim Roth, Paul Scheer, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sarah Silverman, Kevin Spacey, Emma Stone and Sofia Vergara .

Maroon 5 was this year’s house band. In addition to entertaining the audience throughout the awards ceremony, the band gave a special red carpet performance during the live pre-show, and also performed “Stuck in the Middle with You” from the movie “Reservoir Dogs.” Keri Hilson also performed “Son of a Preacher Man” during the Critic’s Choice Music+Film Award tribute to Quentin Tarantino.

Click here for the full news release.