Craig Roberts Keeps "Submarine" Bouyant

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 100 (of 2011) by Leroy Douresseaux


Submarine (2011)
Running time: 97 minutes (1 hour, 37 minutes)
MPAA – R for language and some sexual content
DIRECTOR: Richard Ayoade
WRITER: Richard Ayoade (based upon the novel by Joe Dunthorne)
PRODUCERS: Mary Burke, Mark Herbert, and Andy Stebbing
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Erik Alexander Wilson (D.o.P.)
EDITORS: Chris Dickens and Nick Fenton
COMPOSER: Andrew Hewitt
SONGS: Alex Turner

COMEDY/DRAMA

Starring: Craig Roberts, Noah Taylor, Paddy Considine, Yasmin Paige, Sally Hawkins, Darren Evans, and Gemma Chan

Submarine is a 2010 coming-of-age comedy/drama film that was released theatrically earlier this year (2011). The film is based upon the 2008 novel of the same title by author Joe Dunthorne and is also the debut directorial effort from British comedian and actor, Richard Ayoade. Actor/director Ben Stiller is one of the film’s executive producers. Submarine follows the story of a teenaged boy who wants to lose his virginity and to save his parents’ marriage.

Set in Swansea, a coastal city in Wales, United Kingdom, Submarine takes place in 1986 and focuses on 15-year-old Oliver Tate (Craig Roberts). Oliver thinks that he is a genius, although he is actually pretentious and socially alienated. He is in love with a classmate, a straight-talking girl named Jordana Bevan (Yasmin Paige), whom he hopes will relieve him of his virginity.

Oliver is also concerned that his parents’ sex life and, therefore, their marriage are failing. His father, Lloyd Tate (Noah Taylor), a marine biologist, is depressed. His mother, Jill (Sally Hawkins), is apparently flirting with Graham (Paddy Considine), the new age guru who just moved in next door and, surprisingly, was once Jill’s boyfriend. Oliver’s intense concern about his parents’ relationship threatens his own relationship with Jordana, who has troubles of her own at home.

When you think of movies about young men losing (or attempting to lose) their virginity, an insipid or coarse teen comedy might come to mind. Submarine isn’t really about sex, although many descriptions of the film focus on Oliver’s quest to get his cherry popped. Nor is Submarine a typical coming-of-age story; as Oliver says at one point: he doesn’t know if he has come-of-age or just gotten older.

Submarine is a character-driven story and is about a precocious teen who suffers from depression and is also a bit too self-absorbed. However, writer/director Richard Ayoade doesn’t study Oliver so much as he presents him, so the movie doesn’t really delve into the character. It’s as if Ayoade wants us to be amazed by Oliver, rather than dissect him, as much as we might want to dissect him (and I wanted to).

What makes Submarine such a good film is Craig Roberts’ performance as Oliver Tate. Whatever the screenplay may lack in depth, Roberts replaces with self-assuredness as a performer. He makes Oliver seem like an unaffected and authentic teen dealing with the mental wonky-ness brought on by puberty. Yasmin Paige also adds a salty sweet taste and sparklingly brightness to this moody comedy as Jordana.

And yes, Submarine is a comedy. Richard Ayoade pokes fun at how self-absorbed people are and at their obsession with self-gratification. Don’t worry. Submarine offers a happy ending that sparkles with airy magic as if it were a Hollywood romantic comedy.

7 of 10
B+

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

2011 British Independent Film Awards Nominations Complete List

Created in 1998, The British Independent Film Awards, by its own description, celebrates merit and achievement in independently funded British filmmaking, honor new film talent, and promote British films and filmmaking to a wider public.

The Moët British Independent Film Awards announce the following nominees for this year’s awards (which well be announced Sunday, December 4th 2011):

BEST BRITISH INDEPENDENT FILM - Sponsored by Moët & Chandon
SENNA
SHAME
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY
TYRANNOSAUR
WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN

BEST DIRECTOR - Sponsored by The Creative Partnership
Ben Wheatley – KILL LIST
Steve McQueen – SHAME
Tomas Alfredson – TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY
Paddy Considine – TYRANNOSAUR
Lynne Ramsay – WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN

THE DOUGLAS HICKOX AWARD [BEST DEBUT DIRECTOR] - Sponsored by 3 Mills Studios
Joe Cornish – ATTACK THE BLOCK
Ralph Fiennes – CORIOLANUS
John Michael McDonagh – THE GUARD
Richard Ayoade – SUBMARINE
Paddy Considine – TYRANNOSAUR

BEST SCREENPLAY - Sponsored by BBC Films
John Michael McDonagh – THE GUARD
Ben Wheatley, Amy Jump – KILL LIST
Abi Morgan, Steve McQueen – SHAME
Richard Ayoade – SUBMARINE
Lynne Ramsay, Rory Kinnear – WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN

BEST ACTRESS - Sponsored by M.A.C
Rebecca Hall – THE AWAKENING
Mia Wasikowska – JANE EYRE
MyAnna Buring – KILL LIST
Olivia Colman – TYRANNOSAUR
Tilda Swinton – WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN

BEST ACTOR
Brendan Gleeson – THE GUARD
Neil Maskell – KILL LIST
Michael Fassbender – SHAME
Gary Oldman – TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY
Peter Mullan – TYRANNOSAUR

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Felicity Jones – ALBATROSS
Vanessa Redgrave – CORIOLANUS
Carey Mulligan – SHAME
Sally Hawkins – SUBMARINE
Kathy Burke – TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Michael Smiley – KILL LIST
Tom Hardy – TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY
Benedict Cumberbatch – TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY
Eddie Marsan – TYRANNOSAUR
Ezra Miller – WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN

MOST PROMISING NEWCOMER - Sponsored by STUDIOCANAL
Jessica Brown Findlay – ALBATROSS
John Boyega – ATTACK THE BLOCK
Craig Roberts – SUBMARINE
Yasmin Paige – SUBMARINE
Tom Cullen – WEEKEND

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN PRODUCTION - Sponsored by Deluxe142
KILL LIST
TYRANNOSAUR
WEEKEND
WILD BILL
YOU INSTEAD

BEST TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT
Chris King, Gregers Sall – Editing – SENNA
Sean Bobbitt – Cinematography – SHAME
Joe Walker – Editing – SHAME
Maria Djurkovic – Production Design – TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY
Seamus McGarvey – Cinematography – WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN

BEST DOCUMENTARY
HELL AND BACK AGAIN
LIFE IN A DAY
PROJECT NIM
SENNA
TT3D: CLOSER TO THE EDGE

BEST BRITISH SHORT
0507
CHALK
LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT
RITE
ROUGH SKIN

BEST FOREIGN INDEPENDENT FILM
ANIMAL KINGDOM
DRIVE
PINA
A SEPARATION
THE SKIN I LIVE IN

THE RAINDANCE AWARD - Sponsored by Exile Media
ACTS OF GODFREY
BLACK POND
HOLLOW
LEAVING BAGHDAD
A THOUSAND KISSES DEEP

THE RICHARD HARRIS AWARD (for outstanding contribution by an actor to British Film) - Sponsored by Working Title
To Be Announced

THE VARIETY AWARD
To Be Announced

THE SPECIAL JURY PRIZE
Announced at the Moët British Independent Film Awards on Sunday 4 December.

Proud supporters and patrons of The Moët British Independent Film Awards include Mike Figgis, Tom Hollander, Adrian Lester, Ken Loach, Ewan McGregor, Helen Mirren, Samantha Morton, Michael Sheen, Trudie Styler, Tilda Swinton, Meera Syal, David Thewlis, Ray Winstone and Michael Winterbottom.

The Moët British Independent Film Awards would like to thank all its supporters, especially: Moët & Chandon, The British Film Institute, 3 Mills Studios, BBC Films, Deluxe142, The Creative Partnership, Exile Media, M.A.C, Raindance, Soho House, Studiocanal, Swarovski, Variety, Working Title and Zander Creative.


About BIFA
Created in 1998, The British Independent Film Awards set out to celebrate merit and achievement in independently funded British filmmaking, to honour new talent, and to promote British filmmaking and British talent to a wider public.

In recognition of Moët & Chandon’s generous contribution as headline sponsor, the 2011 event is referred to as The MOËT British Independent Film Awards.

For further information on BIFA, visit http://www.bifa.org.uk/

Review: "Deliverance" Still Delivers (In Memoriam, Bill McKinney)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 179 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux

Deliverance (1972)
Running time: 109 minutes (1 hour, 49 minutes)
MPAA – R
PRODUCER/DIRECTOR: John Boorman
WRITER: James Dickey (based upon his novel)
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Vilmos Zsigmond (director of photography)
EDITOR: Tom Priestly
Academy Award nominee

DRAMA/ADVENTURE/THRILLER

Starring: Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty, Ronny Cox, Bill McKinney, Hebert “Cowboy” Coward, Billy Redden, and James Dickey

Four suburban friends: Ed Gentry (Jon Voight), Lewis Medlock (Burt Reynolds), Bobby Trippe (Ned Beatty), and Drew Ballinger (Ronny Cox) take a canoeing trip down the Cahulawasse River in Georgia at the behest of Lewis who wants them to see what’s going to be destroyed in the name of progress (The river’s being dammed to produce electricity). What began as a fun adventure, however, turns horrific when redneck locales (alternately referred to as “crackers” or “hillbillies”) descend on the quartet and brutalizes one of the party and threatens to kill the rest. [The most memorable is the “Mountain Man” (Bill McKinney) who demands that Bobby Trippe “squeal like a pig.”] Before long the river trip becomes a race to escape this heart of darkness, and one of them learns that he must kill or be killed if they’re to make it back to civilization.

Director John Boorman’s 1972 film, Deliverance, carries with a bit of infamy due to a particular assault that occurs just before the film’s midpoint. It remains, however, one of the great American films about survival. Based upon the novel by James Dickey, who also wrote the film’s screenplay, Deliverance covers all the classic conflicts: man vs. man, man vs. nature, man vs. himself, and, in the end, even approaches a bit of man vs. society. One could also view the film as a battle of the New Man against the Old Man – American modern versus American primeval.

Regardless of how the viewer approaches conflict, Deliverance is the razor’s edge of storytelling about the struggle to survive and those battles against interior doubts and physical weakness that impede the struggle to survive. The film’s main stars: Voight, Reynolds, Beatty, and Cox personify this struggle in their characters, and through each one we watch the logical outcomes of how different men approach their dilemmas and to what extend they win, lose, or draw. The pivotal performance is Voight’s. Of the four characters, only Ed Gentry is directly connected to each of his three partners, and the others are strangers to one another. So much of this movie’s philosophy and plot line run through him, and Voight carries it well with a subtle, layered performance.

It’s a testament to Boorman’s direction and Dickey’s script that they allowed the actors to largely tell us this story. For all its intensity, Deliverance is free of theatrics, but rich in human drama, which comes when good actors take the plot and setting and construct a great story.

8 of 10
A

NOTES:
1973 Academy Awards: 3 nominations: “Best Picture” (John Boorman), “Best Director” (John Boorman), and “Best Film Editing” (Tom Priestley)

1973 BAFTA Awards: 3 nominations: “Best Cinematography” (Vilmos Zsigmond), “Best Film Editing” (Tom Priestley), and “Best Sound Track” (Jim Atkinson, Walter Goss, and Doug E. Turner)

1973 Golden Globes: 5 nominations: “Best Director - Motion Picture” (John Boorman), “Best Motion Picture – Drama,” “Best Motion Picture Actor – Drama” (Jon Voight), “Best Original Song” (Arthur Smith-music, Steve Mandel-adaptation, and Eric Weissberg-adaptation for the song "Dueling Banjos") and “Best Screenplay” (James Dickey)

2008 National Film Preservation Board: National Film Registry

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National Board of Review Goes with Martin Scorsese's "Hugo"

The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures, which is made up of film enthusiasts, academics, students, and filmmakers, historically launches the movie awards season. The group named the winners for the year 2011 today, Friday, December 2.

Below is a full list of the awards given by the National Board of Review for 2011:

Best Film
Hugo

Best Director
Martin Scorsese, Hugo

Best Actor
George Clooney, The Descendants

Best Actress
Tilda Swinton, We Need to Talk About Kevin

Best Supporting Actor
Christopher Plummer, Beginners

Best Supporting Actress
Shailene Woodley, The Descendants

Best Adapted Screenplay
Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash, The Descendants

Best Original Screenplay
Will Reiser, 50/50

Best Animated Feature
Rango

Best Documentary
Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory

Best Ensemble
The Help

Best Foreign Language Film
A Separation

Breakthrough Performance
Felicity Jones, Like Crazy

Breakthrough Performance
Rooney Mara, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Debut Director
J.C. Chandor, Margin Call

NBR Freedom of Expression
Crime After Crime

NBR Freedom of Expression
Pariah

Special Achievement in Filmmaking
The Harry Potter Franchise - A Distinguished Translation from Book to Film

Spotlight Award
Michael Fassbender (A Dangerous Method, Jane Eyre, Shame, X-Men: First Class)

Top Films
(in alphabetical order)
The Artist
The Descendants
Drive
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
The Ides of March
J. Edgar
The Tree of Life
War Horse

Top 10 Independent Films
(in alphabetical order)
50/50
Another Earth
Beginners
A Better Life
Cedar Rapids
Margin Call
Shame
Take Shelter
We Need To Talk About Kevin
Win Win

Top 5 Documentaries
(in alphabetical order) Born to be Wild, Buck, George Harrison: Living in the Material World, Project Nim, Senna

Top 5 Foreign Language Films
(in alphabetical order) 13 Assassins, Elite Squad: The Enemy Within, Footnote, Le Havre, Point Blank

http://www.nbrmp.org/

2012 Independent Spirit Award Nominations Complete List

2012 FILM INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARD NOMINATIONS

BEST FEATURE (Award given to the Producer, Executive Producers are not listed)
50/50 - Producers: Evan Goldberg, Ben Karlin, Seth Rogen
Beginners - Producers: Miranda de Pencier, Lars Knudsen, Leslie Urdang, Dean Vanech, Jay Van Hoy
Drive - Producers: Michel Litvak, John Palermo, Marc Platt, Gigi Pritzker, Adam Siegel
Take Shelter - Producers: Tyler Davidson, Sophia Lin
The Artist - Producer: Thomas Langmann
The Descendants - Producers: Jim Burke, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor

BEST DIRECTOR
Michel Hazanavicius for The Artist
Mike Mills for Beginners
Jeff Nichols for Take Shelter
Alexander Payne for The Descendants
Nicolas Winding Refn for Drive

BEST SCREENPLAY
Joseph Cedar for Footnote
Michel Hazanavicius for The Artist
Tom McCarthy for Win Win
Mike Mills for Beginners
Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash for The Descendants

BEST FIRST FEATURE (Award given to the director and producer)
Another Earth
Director: Mike Cahill
Producers: Mike Cahill, Hunter Gray, Brit Marling, Nicholas Shumaker

In the Family
Director: Patrick Wang
Producers: Robert Tonino, Andrew van den Houten, Patrick Wang

Margin Call
Director: J.C. Chandor
Producers: Robert Ogden Barnum, Michael Benaroya, Neal Dodson, Joe Jenckes, Corey Moosa, Zachary Quinto

Martha Marcy May Marlene
Director: Sean Durkin
Producers: Antonio Campos, Patrick Cunningham, Chris Maybach, Josh Mond

Natural Selection
Director: Robbie Pickering
Producers: Brion Hambel, Paul Jensen

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Mike Cahill, Brit Marling for Another Earth
J.C. Chandor for Margin Call
Patrick deWitt for Terri
Phil Johnston for Cedar Rapids
Will Reiser for 50/50

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD - Given to the best feature made for under $500,000. Award given to the writer, director, and producer. Executive Producers are not listed

Bellflower
Writer/Director: Evan Glodell
Producers: Evan Glodell, Vincent Grashaw

Circumstance
Writer/Director: Maryam Keshavarz
Producers: Karin Chien, Maryam Keshavarz, Melissa M. Lee

1Hello Lonesome
Writer/Director/Producer: Adam Reid

Pariah
Writer/Director: Dee Rees
Producer: Nekisa Cooper

The Dynamiter
Writer: Brad Inglesby
Director: Matthew Gordon
Producers: Kevin Abrams, Matthew Gordon, Merilee Holt, Art Jones, Mike Jones, Nate Tuck, Amile Wilson

BEST FEMALE LEAD
Lauren Ambrose for Think of Me
Rachael Harris for Natural Selection
Adepero Oduye for Pariah
Elizabeth Olsen for Martha Marcy May Marlene
Michelle Williams for My Week with Marilyn

BEST MALE LEAD
Demián Bichir for A Better Life
Jean Dujardin for The Artist
Ryan Gosling for Drive
Woody Harrelson for Rampart
Michael Shannon for Take Shelter

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Jessica Chastain for Take Shelter
Anjelica Huston for 50/50
Janet McTeer for Albert Nobbs
Harmony Santana for Gun Hill Road
Shailene Woodley for The Descendants

BEST SUPPORTING MALE
Albert Brooks for Drive
John Hawkes for Martha Marcy May Marlene
Christopher Plummer for Beginners
John C. Reilly for Cedar Rapids
Corey Stoll for Midnight in Paris

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Joel Hodge for Bellflower
Benjamin Kasulke for The Off Hours
Darius Khondji for Midnight in Paris
Guillaume Schiffman for The Artist
Jeffrey Waldron for The Dynamiter

BEST DOCUMENTARY (Award given to the director and producer)
An African Election
Director/Producer: Jarreth Merz

Bill Cunningham New York
Director: Richard Press
Producer: Philip Gefter

The Interrupters
Director/Producer: Steve James
Producer: Alex Kotlowitz

The Redemption of General Butt Naked
Director/Producers: Eric Strauss, Daniele Anastasion

We Were Here
Director/Producer: David Weissman

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM (Award given to the director)
A Separation (Iran)
Director: Asghar Farhadi

Melancholia (Denmark/Sweden/France/Germany)
Director: Lars von Trier

Shame (UK)
Director: Steve McQueen

The Kid With a Bike (Belgium/France/Italy)
Directors: Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne

Tyrannosaur (UK)
Director: Paddy Considine

ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD
(Given to one film’s director, casting director, and its ensemble cast)

Margin Call
Director: J.C. Chandor
Casting Director: Tiffany Little Canfield, Bernard Telsey
Ensemble Cast: Penn Badgley, Simon Baker, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Mary McDonnell, Demi Moore, Zachary Quinto, Kevin Spacey, Stanley Tucci

FILMMAKER GRANT NOMINEES:

PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD – The 15th annual Piaget Producers Award honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources demonstrate the creativity, tenacity, and vision required to produce quality, independent films. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Piaget.

Chad Burris for Mosquita y Mari
Sophia Lin for Take Shelter
Josh Mond for Martha Marcy May Marlene

SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD – The 18th annual Someone to Watch Award recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant.

Simon Arthur for Silver Tongues
Mark Jackson for Without
Nicholas Ozeki for Mamitas

TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD – The 17th annual Truer Than Fiction Award is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant.

Heather Courtney for Where Soldiers Come From
Danfung Dennis for Hell and Back Again
Alma Har’el for Bombay Beach

2012 Independent Spirit Award Nominations Announced

2012 FILM INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARD NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED

$115,000 in grants to be awarded to filmmakers

LOS ANGELES (November 29, 2011) – Film Independent, the non-profit arts organization that produces the Spirit Awards and the Los Angeles Film Festival, announced nominations for the 2012 Film Independent Spirit Awards this morning. Anthony Mackie and Kate Beckinsale served as presenters. Nominees for Best Feature include 50/50, Beginners, Drive, Take Shelter and The Artist.

Margin Call was selected to receive the annual Robert Altman Award, which is bestowed upon one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast.

“The Film Independent Spirit Awards recognize the finest artistic achievements across the broad spectrum of independent filmmaking—from emerging talent working on a shoestring budget to established auteurs,” said Film Independent Senior Director Sean Mc Manus. “The 2012 nominees tell their stories in such an authentic way and reflect the inclusive nature of the independent filmmaking community. We are delighted to support them and expand the audience for their work.”

“The Spirit Awards focuses primarily on American independents, so it was an honor to serve alongside an esteemed and dedicated group of indie film colleagues to determine many of the 2012 nominees,” said producer and Chair of the American Narrative Feature Nominating Committee Gail Mutrux. “It was an invigorating process—experiencing first-hand the vast array of storytelling that defines independent film, and discovering many new talents whose films inspired us.”

Winners will be announced at the Film Independent Spirit Awards on Saturday, February 25, 2012. The 27th annual awards ceremony will be held as a daytime luncheon in a tent on the beach in Santa Monica, and the premiere broadcast will air later that evening at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT on IFC. Winners of the Spirit Awards Filmmaker Grants will be highlighted during the awards ceremony and announced at the Film Independent Spirit Awards Nominee Brunch on Saturday, January 14, 2012 at BOA Steakhouse in West Hollywood.

The Spirit Awards Nominating Committees selected nominees from 277 submissions this year and applied the following guidelines in determining the nominations: uniqueness of vision, original and provocative subject matter, economy of means (with particular attention paid to total production cost & individual compensation), and percentage of financing from independent sources. The Spirit Awards Nominating Committee was comprised of the following committees:

The American Narrative Nominating Committee was chaired by producer Gail Mutrux and included: film critic/journalist Robert Abele; writer Dustin Lance Black; producers Stuart Cornfeld, Barry Mendel; actors Dale Dickey, André Royo, Souléymane Sy Savané; cinematographers Paula Huidobro, Stephen Goldblatt; writer/directors Courtney Hunt, Robert D. Siegel; writer/director/producer Malcolm D. Lee; director Floria Sigismondi; casting director Margery Simkin; and writer Dan Waters.

The Documentary Feature Nominating Committee was chaired by CEO Landmark Theatres Ted Mundorff and included: producer Lesley Chilcott; KCET’s Juan Devis; director Laura Gabbert; author/filmmaker Nelson George; filmmaker John Maringouin; San Francisco Film Society’s Director of Programming Rachel Rosen; and Los Angeles Times and NPR’s “Morning Edition” film critic Kenneth Turan.

The International Feature Nominating Committee was chaired by filmmaker Mary Sweeney and included: actors Shohreh Aghdashloo, Demián Bichir; Film Society of Lincoln Center’s Director of Digital Strategy Eugene Hernandez; director Leon Ichaso; writer/director Larry Karaszewski; producer/director Hossein Keshavarz; cinematographer Ellen Kuras; composer Cliff Martinez; and producer Frida Torresblanco.

The Piaget Producers Award Nominating Committee was chaired by producer Brian Udovich and included: producers Anish Savjani, Lynette Howell and Amy Kaufman.

The Someone to Watch Award Nominating Committee was chaired by producer Alison Dickey and included: filmmaker Jay Duplass; Dallas Film Society Artistic Director James Faust; Denver Post film critic Lisa Kennedy; and writer/director Daniel Stamm.

The Truer Than Fiction Award Nominating Committee was chaired by film critic Wesley Morris and included: filmmakers Ava DuVernay, Laura Poitras; filmmaker/cinematographer PJ Raval; and programmer Laura Thielen.

As the first event to exclusively honor independent film, the Film Independent Spirit Awards has made a name for itself as the premier awards show for the independent film community. Artists who have received industry recognition first at the Spirit Awards include Joel & Ethan Coen, Spike Lee, Oliver Stone, Ashley Judd, Robert Rodriguez, David O. Russell, Edward Burns, Aaron Eckhart, Neil LaBute, Darren Aronofsky, Spike Jonze, Charlie Kaufman, Hilary Swank, Marc Forster, Todd Field, Christopher Nolan, Zach Braff, Amy Adams, Lena Dunham and many more.

The Film Independent Spirit Awards are sponsored by Premier Sponsors ELLE, Piaget and Jameson Irish Whiskey. WireImage is the Official Photographer and PR Newswire is the Official Breaking News Service of Film Independent.

For more information on submission guidelines, voting, media and publicist credentials, and the history of the Spirit Awards, please visit SpiritAwards.com.


ABOUT THE FILM INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARDS
Now in its 27th year, the Film Independent Spirit Awards is an annual celebration honoring artist-driven films made with an economy of means by filmmakers who embody independence and originality. The Spirit Awards recognizes the achievements of American independent filmmakers and promotes the finest independent films of the year to a wider audience.

Awards are given in the following categories: Best Feature, Best First Feature, Best First Screenplay, Best Director, Best Screenplay, John Cassavetes Award (given to the best feature made for a budget under $500,000), Best Male Lead, Best Female Lead, Best Supporting Male, Best Supporting Female, Best Cinematography, Best International Film, Best Documentary, and the Robert Altman Award. The Filmmaker Grants include the Piaget Producers Award, Someone to Watch Award, Truer Than Fiction Award and Jameson FIND Your Audience Award.

ABOUT FILM INDEPENDENT
Film Independent is a non-profit arts organization that champions independent film and supports a community of artists who embody diversity, innovation, and uniqueness of vision. Film Independent helps filmmakers make their movies, builds an audience for their projects, and works to diversify the film industry. Film Independent’s Board of Directors, filmmakers, staff, and constituents, is comprised of an inclusive community of individuals across ability, age, ethnicity, gender, race, and sexual orientation. Anyone passionate about film can become a member, whether you are a filmmaker, industry professional, or a film lover.

Film Independent produces the Spirit Awards, the annual celebration honoring artist-driven films and recognizing the finest achievements of American independent filmmakers. Film Independent also produces the Los Angeles Film Festival, showcasing the best of American and international cinema and the Film Independent at LACMA Film Series, a year-round, weekly program that offers unique cinematic experiences for the Los Angeles creative community and the general public.

With over 250 annual screenings and events, Film Independent provides access to a network of like-minded artists who are driving creativity in the film industry. Film Independent’s Artist Development program offers free Labs for selected writers, directors, producers and documentary filmmakers and presents year-round networking opportunities. Project:Involve is Film Independent’s signature program dedicated to fostering the careers of talented filmmakers from communities traditionally underrepresented in the film industry.

For more information or to become a member, visit FilmIndependent.org.

A Negromancer December to Remember

Welcome to Negromancer, the rebirth of my former movie review website as a movie review and movie news blog. I’m Leroy Douresseaux, and I also blog at http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/ and write for the Comic Book Bin (which has smart phones apps and comics).

All images and text appearing on this blog are © copyright and/or trademark their respective owners.