2011 Annie Awards - nominations

The Hollywood branch of the Association Internationale du Film d’Animation (International Animated Film Society, ASIFA-Hollywood has announced the nominations for the 39th Annual Annie Awards.

Leading a large field, Kung Fu Panda 2 picked up 12 nominations including Best Animated Feature.

Puss In Boots and Rango followed with nine nominations each. They were also nominated in the Best Animated Feature category, as were A Cat in Paris, Arrugas (Wrinkles), Arthur Christmas, Cars 2, Chico & Rita, Rio and The Adventures of Tintin.

The Annie Awards have often been controversial in year's past because voting rules were such that companies could sign up their employees to vote en masse. This resulted in Disney/Pixar withdrawing from the Association. This year, they have returned and many categories have expanded lists of nominees to keep everyone happy.

Cahiers du Cinéma's top ten films of 2011 [UPDATED]

The noted French film journal Cahiers du Cinéma has published their top ten list of 2011 films. Cahiers du Cinéma is the highly influential publication whose founders in 1951 included André Bazin and whose writers included the giants of the French New Wave Éric Rohmer, Jacques Rivette, Jean-Luc Godard, Claude Chabrol and François Truffaut.

Nanni Moretti's Habemus Papam (We Have a Pope) came out on top of the list. All of the other films were in a two- or three-way tie.

This top ten list has a strong French emphasis, yet they are still in fact in the minority. Bruno Dumont's Hors Satan (Outside Satan), Un été brûlant (A Burning Hot Summer) by Philippe Garrel and L'Apollonide (Souvenirs de la maison close) (House of Tolerance) by Bertrand Bonello are French-language and French-produced. France was only a partner with Italy's Habemus Papem, and one of four co-producing partners on the English-language Melancholia by Lars von Trier and the Portuguese-language L'Etrange affaire Angélica (The Strange Case of Angelica) by the venerable Manoel de Oliveira.

British Independent Film Awards - winners

Tonight, the 14th annual Moët British Independent Film Awards ceremony took place on Sunday 4 December at Old Billingsgate in London. The event's host was comedian Chris O'Dowd.

Paddy Considine's Tyrannosaur came out on top with three wins. It took Best British Independent Film, the Douglas Hickox Award for Best Debut Director and Best Actress for Olivia Colman. It was one of three films that led with seven nominations.

The other seven-time nominees were Shame and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. They each won a single award. Shame claimed Best Actor for Michael Fassbender, while Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy was given the Best Technical Achievement Award for its production design.

Other than Tyrannosaur, the only other multiple winner of the night was Weekend. It won Most Promising Newcomer (Tom Cullen) and Best Achievement in Production.

2011 European Film Awards - winners

The European Film Academy held their 24th European Film Awards ceremony tonight in Berlin's Tempodrom near Potsdamer Platz. The main winner with three awards was Lars von Trier's Melancholia. It picked up the award for Best Film, edging out The Artist, Le Gamin au Velo (The Kid with a Bike), Le Havre, Hævnen (In a Better World), and The King's Speech. Melancholia also won for Cinematography and Production Design, and had led with eight nominations.

Recent Oscar-winner The King's Speech also won three awards. Colin Firth won another acting award, and it won for Editing (Tariq Anwar) and the People's Choice Award.

Another Oscar-winner Susanne Bier won Best Director for Hævnen (In a Better World), beating her fellow-Dane Lars von Trier. Tilda Swinton won for Actress for her role in We Need to Talk About Kevin.

THR's Awards Season Roundtable Series 2011: full videos [UPDATED]

The trade paper The Hollywood Reporter traditionally gathers together 5-6 respected directors, writers, producers, actresses and actors for roundtable interviews during awards season in the lead-up to the Academy Awards.

Earlier, they had made some clips and excerpts from the interviews available. Now they have begun making the entire hour-long roundtable interviews available. So far, only the directors, actresses and actors interviews have been offered in their complete form. I've provided them on this page below. As the others are made available, I'll update this page and include them below as well.

The Directors' roundtable takes place with Alexander Payne, Mike Mills, Steve McQueen, Jason Reitman, Bennett Miller and Michel Hazanavicius. The Actress' roundtable interviewees are Glenn Close, Charlize Theron, Carey Mulligan, Michelle Williams, Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer. The Actors' roundtable guests are George Clooney, Christopher Plummer, Gary Oldman, Christoph Waltz, Albert Brooks and Nick Nolte. Full videos for the writers' and producers' interviews are not yet online.

2011 IDA Documentary Awards - winners

The International Documentary Association held their 27th annual IDA Documentary Awards at the DGA Theater in Los Angeles, California.

Patricio Guzmán's Nostalgia for the Light picked up the Best Feature Award, edging out Better This World, How to Die in Oregon, The Redemption of General Butt Naked and The Tiniest Place. None of the nominees are on the Academy's shortlist for Best Documentary.

Speaking through a translator, Guzmán said "A country that does not have documentary filmmaking is like a family with no photo album."

How to Die in Oregon and The Tiniest Place (El Lugar Más Pequeño) were the only double nominees, with nods in the Best Feature and IDA Humanitas categories. However, they went away empty-handed with Leonard Retel Helmrich's Stand van de Sterren (Position Among the Stars) capturing the Humanitas prize.

TIFF launches Food, Science and Books on Film series

TIFF LAUNCHES 2012 SUBSCRIPTION SERIES:
FOOD ON FILM, SCIENCE ON FILM AND BOOKS ON FILM
TIFF offers one-stop holiday shopping for all the foodies, bookworms, popular science lovers and film fans on your list

Toronto – TIFF presents three exciting subscription series launching in February 2012 that pair screenings with fascinating conversations. Food on Film, Books on Film, and Science on Film each feature six screenings with guests who use the films as a launch pad for engaging discussions and take questions from the audience. Subscriptions are on sale Monday for TIFF members and are available for non-members to purchase beginning December 8.

Food on Film

For people who love great food and entertainment, TIFF partners with Oliver and Bonacini and Food Network Canada for TIFF Bell Lightbox’s newest subscription series. Chefs, food experts and film lovers come together to enjoy the best of culinary cinema and conversation. For each installment, host Jason Bangerter, Executive Chef of Luma and O&B Canteen restaurants, welcomes guest chefs from Food Network and other experts from the culinary world to examine the intersections of great food and great films. A unique dish will be created and served at Luma before and after each event (additional charge applies) and all Food on Film subscribers will receive a recipe card for each of the dishes.

Producers Guild of America Awards - documentary nominees

Today, the Producers Guild of America (PGA) announced the Documentary Theatrical Motion Picture nominees for the 2012 PGA Awards. The five nominated films are Beats Rhymes & Life: The Travels Of A Tribe Called Quest by Michael Rapaport, Bill Cunningham New York by Richard Press, Project Nim by James Marsh, Senna by Asif Kapadia, and The Union by Cameron Crowe.

The only films from this list that are still being considered for the Academy Awards are Bill Cunningham New York and Project Nim. None of the nominees are nominated for the 2011 International Documentary Association Awards, which will be unveiled tonight.

The remaining PGA Award nominees for film and television will be announced on January 3, 2012.

2011 IPA Satellite Awards - nominations

The International Press Academy today announced their field of nominations for the 16th annual Satellite Awards (formerly the Golden Satellite Awards).

Leading with eight nominations each were Nicolas Winding Refn's  Drive and Steven Spielberg's War Horse. Both were nominated for Best Picture and Best Director. Following with six nominations each were The Artist, The Descendants, The Help and Shame. Each were also nominated for Best Picture, as were Hugo, Midnight in Paris, Moneyball and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.

Many of the categories have up to ten nominees, so that allowed for some interesting choices to make the lists. Films getting a mention include Rampart, Oranges and Sunshine, Mozart's Sister and The Guard. Actors receiving a nomination include Michelle Yeoh (The Lady), Olivia Colman (Tyrannosaur), Brendan Gleeson (The Guard), Woody Harrelson (Rampart) and Andy Serkis (!) (Rise of the Planet of the Apes).

The acclaimed director Peter Bogdanovich will receive the 2011 Auteur Award. Filmmaker and visual effects pioneer Douglas Trumbull will receive the Nikola Tesla Award in Recognition of Visionary Achievement in Filmmaking Technology. Mitzi Gaynor will receive the 2011 Mary Pickford Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Entertainment Industry.

Academy shortlist of 10 animated short films

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced the 10 shortlisted films that are still in contention for the Animated Short Film category. Originally 45 films were submitted and 44 films were qualified.

Two of the films are made through Canada's National Film Board. They are Patrick Doyon's Dimanche/Sunday and Wild Life by Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby.

The remaining nominees are The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat, Matthew O'Callaghan, La Luna, Luminaris, Magic Piano, A Morning Stroll, Paths of Hate, and Specky Four-Eyes.

The final 3-5 nominees will be announced with all nominations on Tuesday, January 24, 2012, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater. The 84th Academy Awards ceremony for outstanding film achievements of 2011 will be presented on Sunday, February 26, 2012, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center.

2012 Sundance Film Festival's out-of-competition films

2012 Sundance Film Festival Announces Films in Spotlight, Park City at Midnight, Next <=> and New Frontier

Park City, UT — Sundance Institute announced today the films selected to screen in the 2012 Sundance Film Festival out-of-competition sections Spotlight, Park City at Midnight, NEXT <=> and New Frontier. The Festival takes place from January 19 through 29 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah. The complete list of films is available at www.sundance.org/festival.

Trevor Groth, Director of Programming for the Sundance Film Festival, said, “In many ways, the extremes of the Festival’s program are most readily apparent in our out-of-competition sections, which showcase the wildest comedies, the most terrifying horror films and uncompromised visions from singular voices springing up from around the country and the world. We hope audiences experiment with their film selections to an equal degree as these filmmakers have experimented with their storytelling.”

Call for submissions: Student Academy Awards

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) have put out a call for submissions for their 39th Student Academy Awards.

The Student Academy Awards is an annual competition for college and university filmmakers. The film must have been made in a teacher-student relationship within the curricular structure of that institution, or within one year of the filmmaker’s date of departure. Winners are selected by the professional filmmaker members of the Academy to receive trophies (but not Oscar statuettes) and cash grants of $5000, $3000 and $2000 for gold, silver and bronze respectively in each of the narrative, animation, documentary and foreign categories.

Students at non-American schools are eligible in the Foreign category if their film school is a member of the CILECT, or Centre International de Liaison des Ecoles de Cinéma et de Télévision (International Association of Film and Television Schools). For Canada, the members are: School of Image Arts, Ryerson University; Université du Québec à Montréal, Module de communications; York University, Department of Film & Video; Sheridan Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning; and INIS-Centre de formation professionelle en Cinema, Television et Medias interactif. However, only one submission is allowed per non-American institution.

Last year's winners in the Foreign category were from Germany, Sweden and Norway.

2011 National Board of Review (NBR) Awards - winners

The National Board of Review revealed their winners today for their 2011 Awards. Martin Scorsese's Hugo led the field, winning both Best Film and Best Director.

The Descendants, however, picked up more awards. It won Best Actor (George Clooney), Supporting Actress (Shailene Woodley), Screenplay (Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash), and was included on the list of Top 10 films of the year.

The Best Foreign Film went to A Separation, while the Best Documentary was Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory. As with Best Film, additional lists were drawn up for those categories but only with five more titles instead of ten.

Traditionally, the National Board of Review was the first of the major awards to be announced in the season leading up to the Oscars. Last year, they crowned The Social Network as did most of the critics' organizations. This year, the New York Film Critics Circle moved their awards date in order to be first out of the gate.

Call for applications: Crazy8s 2012

Crazy8s is getting ready to launch the 13th edition of their filmmaking challenge in Vancouver.

Originally it began in 1999, selected filmmakers were given 8 days, $800 and 800 feet of film to make a short film. Now the process has gone digital, but the idea is pretty much the same.

To apply, you or someone from your team must attend the registration/info session on December 10, 2011. You will then have to submit a 5-minute video pitch of your short film idea. 40 applicants will be chosen to pitch their idea live to a panel of industry professionals, who may then ask questions. 12 filmmakers or teams will be selected to have their story workshopped before the 6 winning teams are selected.

The films are to be made from March 16th – 23rd. The complete films will be screened at a gala event at at the Vogue Theatre on May 31, 2012.

2011 Pomegranate Film Festival, Dec 1-4

The 6th annual Pomegranate Film Festival for Armenian cinema starts tonight in Toronto. The evening begins with Armenia Now, a collection of the short films Through My Lens, I Dream, Le Piano and Revival. This will be followed by a screening of the feature film The Jubilee Visitor.

On Friday, the festival presents a "red carpet soiree" at the Regent Theatre with French film Les neiges du Kilimandjaro (The Snows of Kilimanjaro) and Here with director Braden King in attendance. On Saturday, there will be a gala presentation of Sunrise Over Lake Van with pre- and post-screening cocktails. Co-director Vahan Stepanyan will be in attendance.

The festival will also show the biopic of Jack Kevorkian You Don't Know Jack starring Al Pacino, My Uncle Rafael (director Vahik Pirhamzei in attendance), and The Son of the Olive Merchant (director Mathieu Zeitindjioglou in attendance).

The 6th annual Pomegranate Film Festival continues until Sunday, December 4th at the Hamazkayin Theatre, 50 Hallcrown Place, and at the Regent Theatre, 551 Mt. Pleasant Rd. All films will be screened with English subtitles where necessary.