Producer and Director Gianfranco Rosi accepts the 2016 Berlinale Golden Bear for Best Film: Fuocoammare (Fire at Sea). (Photo credit: Richard Hubner – Berlinale 2016)
On Saturday, the 66th Berlinale drew to a splendid close with the award ceremony. The event turned out to be a touching evening not least because of the Golden Bear awarded to Fuocoammare by Gianfranco Rosi. It reflected the political spirit that had been perceptible throughout the festival.
For eleven days the Berlinale demonstrated the creative power and diversity of cinema, as well as welcomed guests and the public at many panel discussions and talks on the seventh art. With 337,000 tickets sold a new attendance record in the 66-year history of the festival was achieved.
The 67th Berlin International Film Festival Berlin will be held from February 9 to 19, 2017. (Berlinale Press Office)
Since 1986 the Berlin International Film Festival has presented the Berlinale Camera to film personalities or institutions to which it feels particularly indebted and wishes to express its thanks.
At the 66th Berlin International Film Festival, three personalities were awarded the Berlinale Camera: producer, cinema operator and film distributor Ben Barenholtz (USA); actor, director, writer and producer Tim Robbins (USA); and cinema operator Marlies Kirchner (Germany).
Ben Barenholtz
Ben Barenholtz, center, a 2016 Berlinale Camera recipient, is flanked by Coen Brothers, Joel, left and Ethan, right. (Photo Credit: Ali Ghandtschi)
Born in Eastern Poland, now part of Ukraine, Ben Barenholtz became one of the most important figures in the American indie film scene. He immigrated to the US in 1947 and began his career as an assistant manager of the RKO Bushwick movie theatre in New York in 1959. From 1966 to 1968, he managed the Village Theater, which became an important venue for the counterculture and anti-Vietnam protests. It also featured many jazz giants of that period, such as Nina Simone and John Coltrane, as well as bands like The Who and Cream. In 1968, he opened the Elgin Cinema, which became a key venue for independent filmmakers and repertory cinema. It provided a home for the early film works by luminaries such as Jack Smith, Andy Warhol, Jonathan Demme, Martin Scorsese, and the revival of the Buster Keaton films. He invented the legendary “midnight movie” format, with the screening of El Topo (D: Alejandro Jodorowsky, 1970), which helped raise underground filmmaking to cult status. In 1972, Barenholtz founded the distribution company Libra Films, which released films such as Just Before Nightfall (D: Claude Chabrol, 1971), Cousin Cousine (D: Jean-Charles Tacchella, 1975) and Eraserhead (D: David Lynch, 1977). In 1984, he joined Circle Releasing as President, distributing such films as 36 Fillette (D: Catherine Breillat, 1988), Tales from Gimli Hospital (D: Guy Maddin, 1988), Thérèse (D: Alain Cavalier, 1986), and Blood Simple (1984), the Coen brothers’ first feature film.
Barenholtz began his involvement in film production with the Coen brothers, serving as executive producer on Raising Arizona (1987), Miller’s Crossing (1990), and Barton Fink (1991), which swept the three top prizes at the Cannes film festival. He went on to produce many successful films, such as Georgia (D: Ulu Grosbard, 1995) and Requiem for a Dream (D: Darren Aronofsky, 2000). In 2008, he was invited to join the Jury for the Best First Feature Award at the 58th Berlin International Film Festival. He made his directorial debut, Music Inn, about the famous music venue, in 2005, which was followed by Wakaliwood: The Documentary (2012), shot entirely in Kampala, Uganda.
Ben Barenholtz was awarded the Berlinale Camera on Friday, February 12, 2016 in the cinema at the Martin-Gropius-Bau, with the Coen brothers in attendance. A Q&A moderated by Michael Barker followed a screening of the work-in-progress documentary Perseverance, which was produced by Polish Television, and deals with Barenholtz’s life.
The Berlinale Camera award to Ben Barenholtz kicked off a new tradition of honouring an outstanding producer with the prestigious award each year as part of the European Film Market.
Tim Robbins
American actor, writer, director and producer Tim Robbins with 2016 Berlinale Camera Award Trophy during Berlinale 2016. (Photo Credit: Richard Hubner)
American Tim Robbins has been a successful working actor, director, writer and producer in Hollywood for almost 40 years. He won both an Oscar and a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his performance in Mystic River (D: Clint Eastwood, 2003), and a Best Actor Award at the 1992 Cannes Film Festival for his role in Robert Altman’s The Player (1992). His additional acting credits include such films as Bull Durham (D: Ron Shelton, 1988), Robert Altman’s Short Cuts (1993), The Shawshank Redemption (D: Frank Darabont, 1994), The Hudsucker Proxy (D: Joel & Ethan Coen, 1994), Isabel Coixet’s The Secret Life of Words (2005) and Fernando León de Aranoa’s A Perfect Day (2015.)
Robbins wrote and directed the 1992 political satire, Bob Roberts, and the 1999 film, Cradle Will Rock, which earned a nomination for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival and won two Gran Angular Awards – Best Film and Best Director – at the Sitges Film Festival (Festival Internacional de Cinema Fantàstic de Catalunya.) The death row drama, Dead Man Walking, won several prizes at the 1996 Berlin International Film Festival, including a Silver Bear for lead actor Sean Penn, and went on to earn four Academy Award nominations, with Susan Sarandon winning for Best Actress in a Leading Role. Robbins attended the Berlinale once again in 2013 as a member of the International Jury.
In addition to his work on film, Robbins is founder of The Actors’ Gang, a theatre ensemble based in Los Angeles where he has served for over 30 years as Artistic Director. The Gang has been touring throughout the US and internationally with productions of William Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, George Orwell’s “1984”, “The Trial of the Catonsville Nine” and “Embedded”.
Additionally, the Actors’ Gang Prison Project works to help California prison inmates rehabilitate themselves through the arts, with acting members of the Gang, including Robbins, working with inmates in several California Prisons. To date more than 500 inmates have participated in The Prison Project, which recently received the endorsement of the California Department of Corrections and the U.S. Justice Department.
In 2014, Robbins was honored with the National Guild for Community Arts Education Leadership Award, recognizing his innovative and socially conscious work as a film and theater artist, his passionate commitment to equity and social justice, as well as his steadfast advocacy and support for arts education. The Guild noted that “The Prison Project at The Actors’ Gang is an inspiring, national model for our field which demonstrates the power of arts participation to unlock human potential and creativity, heal, and transform lives.”
The Berlinale Camera was awarded to Tim Robbins on Saturday, February 13, 2016 in the Kino International cinema, with Catalan director Isabel Coixet giving the honorific speech and German actor Louis Klamroth presenting. The award ceremony was followed by a screening of Dead Man Walking (1995).
Marlies Kirchner
Berlinale Festival Director Dieter Kosslick, left, with 2016 Berlinale Camera Award recipient Marlies Kirchner, center, and Andreas Rost, right. (Photo Credit: Andreas Teich)
Cinema operator Marlies Kirchner has been dedicated to film for more than 40 years. She first worked for distributor Neue Filmkunst at Cannes, before becoming co-owner of the arthouse Theatiner Filmkunst in Munich. She initially ran it together with her husband, Walter Kirchner, before becoming sole operator in 1975. The cinema, in a listed building, opened in 1957 with the Italian comedy Cops and Robbers starring Totò and, over the years, has become a Munich institution and mecca for movie devotees. The cinema has always presented a programme of high-quality films. From films banned in the Nazi era to avant-garde films, and European auteur cinema, usually shown in their original language with subtitles, the repertory offers Munich’s moviegoers a diverse and sophisticated selection of films. The distribution arm, Neue Filmkunst, supplements that with discoveries from film festivals. The film theatre’s contribution to keeping art films alive and Marlies Kirchner’s endeavours in sustaining high quality cinema in the Bavarian state capital have been honoured several times with the city’s prize for cinemas (“Kinoprogrammpreis”), most recently in 2015. The Munich film festival also dedicated its 1999 homage to her.
Marlies Kirchner was awarded the Berlinale Camera on Wednesday, February 17, 2016 at the Berlinale Lunch Club.
The Trophy
The Berlinale Camera has been awarded since 1986. Until 2003, it was donated by Berlin-based jeweller David Goldberg. From 2004 through 2013, Georg Hornemann Objects, a Dusseldorf-based atelier, sponsored the trophy, which goldsmith Hornemann redesigned for the Berlinale in 2008: Modelled on a real camera, the Berlinale Camera now has 128 finely crafted components. Many of these silver and titanium parts, such as the swivel head and tripod, are movable. (Berlinale Press Office)
The public has cast its votes: the 18th Panorama Audience Awards – presented by the Berlinale Panorama section in collaboration with radioeins, Berlin-Brandenburg’s public radio and television station (rbb), go to Junction 48 by Udi Aloni for best fiction film and Who’s Gonna Love Me Now? by Tomer and Barak Heymann for best documentary.
Udi Aloni may be called a loyal friend of the Berlinale – since 2003 he has presented all of his films at the festival. Junction 48 was the sixth production to premiere in the Panorama section. For Tomer Heymann it is the second Panorama Audience Award – his film Paper Dolls won in 2006. This time he shares the award: Who’s Gonna Love Me Now? was co-directed by the brothers Tomer and Barak Heymann.
In both the fiction and documentary categories, the winning films took the lead relatively early on and were able to hold this position until all votes were counted.
The official award ceremony will be held on Sunday, February 21, at 5.00 pm in CinemaxX 7 at Potsdamer Platz. The awards will be presented by Panorama curator Wieland Speck and radioeins programme manager Robert Skuppin. Radioeins film expert Knut Elstermann will host the event. Directly after the ceremony, the Panorama Dokumente winner will be shown. The winning fiction film will be screened at 8.00 pm, also in CinemaxX 7.
The Panorama Audience Award has been given since 1999. Since 2011, not only the best fiction film but also the best documentary film have received awards. During the festival, moviegoers are asked to rate the films shown in Panorama on voting cards after the screenings. In 2016 a total of 30.000 votes were cast and counted.
This year Panorama presented 51 feature-length films from 33 countries, of which 17 screened in the Panorama Dokumente series.
Panorama Audience Award Winner Fiction Film 2016:
Junction 48
Israel / Germany / USA 2016
By Udi Aloni
2nd place Panorama Audience Award Fiction Film 2016 Grüße aus Fukushima (Fukushima, mon Amour)
Germany 2016
By Doris Dörrie
3rd place Panorama Audience Award Fiction Film 2016 Shepherds and Butchers
South Africa / USA / Germany 2016
By Oliver Schmitz
Panorama Audience Award Winner Panorama Dokumente 2016:
Who’s Gonna Love Me Now?
Israel / Great Britain 2016
By Tomer & Barak Heymann
2nd place Panorama Audience Award Panorama Dokumente 2016 Strike A Pose
Netherlands / Belgium 2016
By Reijer Zwaan, Ester Gold
3rd place Panorama Audience Award Panorama Dokumente 2016 WEEKENDS
Republic of Korea (South Korea) 2016
By Lee Dong-ha
Once again, prizes were awarded to filmmakers during Berlinale Talents.
Within the framework of the “Talent Project Market”, the 10,000 Euros VFF Talent Highlight Pitch Award went to the project Tank, which had been presented by producer Max Serdiuk from the Ukraine. Cash prizes endowed with 1,000 Euros each were awarded for the nomination of their projects to the Argentinian producer Cecilia Salim and the Norwegian producer Gary Cranner.
The Robert Bosch Stiftung awarded during Berlinale Talents film prizes to promote international cooperation between German and Arab filmmakers, endowed with a maximum of 70,000 Euros each:
Animation: Four Acts for Syria by directors Waref Abu Quba and Kevork Mourad, Syria / producer Eva Illmer, Germany.
Documentary: Miguel’s War by director and producer Eliane Raheb, Lebanon / producers Lissi Muschol and Margot Haiböck, Germany.
Short Film: Tshweesh by director Feyrouz Serhal, Lebanon / producers Lara Abou Saifan, Lebanon and Stefan Gieren, Germany. (Berlinale Press Office)
On Thursday evening, February 18, the 14th edition of Berlinale Talents came to a successful close with the master class of Oscar-winning director Alex Gibney. During the six-day event, 300 film creatives and over 150 internationally renowned experts turned the HAU Hebbel am Ufer into a hub for networking, intercultural exchange and discussing the latest trends in film.
Under its theme “The Nature of Relations”, Berlinale Talents explored the inner connections of cinematic storytelling and new ways of collaborative working in production and distribution. In over 100 events the Talents met internationally noted authorities from the world of film, among them Meryl Streep, Brigitte Lacombe, Lars Eidinger, Alba Rohrwacher, Alex Gibney, Thomas Vinterberg, Denis Côté, Michael Ballhaus, Roy Andersson, Michel Franco and many others…
This year’s edition was also a tribute to the success of Berlinale Talents, together with the other programme sections of the Berlinale, in discovering, supporting and developing talent in film. 111 alumni participated with 84 films at the Berlin International Film Festival, with many also invited to the summit as experts. With over 50 Talents already having had films at previous Berlinale editions, the participants were also lead to assume a more active role and contributed with their experience in many new formats. “The level of experience was outstanding. Talents, alumni and experts met at eye-level. We are delighted that Berlinale Talents as a leading talent development programme for exchanging ideas and developing film projects was received so enthusiastically” said the heads of Berlinale Talents Christine Tröstrum and Florian Weghorn.
Kickstarter and Berlinale Talents join forces in a network partnership to promote Talents and alumni around the world and help them to bring projects to life. Film professionals with interest in crowdfunding receive exclusive mentorship by the Kickstarter team…
The new co-partner Nespresso has launched the vertical video contest “Nespresso Talents 2016”. The competition is open for entries March 7 through April 10, 2016, on www.nespresso.com/talents. Winners will be announced on May 12, 2016 and receive 6,000 Euros each and a trip to the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. (Berlinale Press Office)
There was no shortage of highlights at the 2016 Berlinale. First up was a glamorous kick-off with the opening film Hail, Caesar! attended by directors Joel and Ethan Coen, along with stars George Clooney, Tilda Swinton, Josh Brolin, Channing Tatum and Alden Ehrenreich. That was followed by the gala premieres of film greats and, not least of all, the award of an Honorary Golden Bear for his life’s work to legendary German cinematographer Michael Ballhaus.
There were standing ovations for jury president Meryl Streep who – with jurors Lars Eidinger, Nick James, Brigitte Lacombe, Clive Owen, Alba Rohrwacher and Małgorzata Szumowska – will award the Berlinale’s main prizes.
Star guests on this year’s red carpet included Pernilla August, Susanne Bier, Daniel Brühl, Daniel Burman, Nick Cannon, Don Cheadle, Isabel Coixet, John Cusack, Gérard Depardieu, Doris Dörrie, Kirsten Dunst, Trine Dyrholm, Colin Firth, Greta Gerwig, Alex Gibney, Brendan Gleeson, Tom Hiddleston, Isabelle Huppert, Julia Jentsch, Nick Jonas, Hugh Laurie, Denis Lavant, Jude Law, Spike Lee, Laura Linney, Dominik Moll, Julianne Moore, Cynthia Nixon, Guy Pearce, Michael Peña, Tim Robbins, Gianfranco Rosi, James Schamus, Michael Shannon, Alexander Skarsgård, André Téchiné, Emma Thompson, Thomas Vinterberg, Wayne Wang and many more.
This year, the Berlinale could look proudly on a host of activities aimed at refugees. In cooperation with the BBZ Beratungs- und Betreuungszentrum für junge Flüchtlinge und Migranten (support centre for young refugees and migrants), 18 refugees had the opportunity to visit and observe various areas behind the scenes in the festival offices. With the participation of 953 people, the “sponsored cinema visit” project organised with Berlin’s non-profit refugee aid organisations was also a success. And for the first time in Berlinale history, the festival specifically urged visitors to make a donation, with 25,000 euros collected so far.
And the Berlinale once again lived up to its reputation as the largest audience festivals around. As of yesterday evening (Thursday, Feb 18), visitors to the Berlinale had bought 310,000 tickets.
Sunday, February 21, 2016 is Berlinale Publikumstag, another special treat for the public. Many of the festival films from various sections will be screened again at Berlinale venues.
The third year of the Berlinale Open House and Berlinale Lounge Nights at the Audi Berlinale Lounge drew crowds as well. About 7,200 visitors attended the 30 events.
The European Film Market was another success of the 66th Berlin International Film Festival. There was a notable increase over last year in the number of participants – in both the market and the individual initiatives – for the international trade fair at the Berlinale, which was held at the Martin Gropius Bau and the new Gropius Park, along with the Marriott Hotel. Exhibitors and buyers enjoyed great interest, a lively exchange and plenty of deal-making. There was also an extremely good response to the new platforms “Drama Series Days”, “EFM Startups”, “EFM Asia” and the “EFM Producers Hub”. Altogether, this year’sEFM marked a good start to the year, providing strong momentum for the industry.
With the Award Ceremony at 7 pm on Saturday, Feb 20, the 66th Berlin International Film Festival draws to a spectacular close. The winners of the Golden and Silver Bears and the Audi Short Film Award, as well as the Best First Feature Award will be announced at the festive gala. Directly after the ceremony there will be a screening of a winning film.
Anke Engelke will host the event, which will be broadcast live by ZDF/3sat at 7 pm. The Award Ceremony will also be available via live stream at www.berlinale.de. (Berlinale Press Office)
After getting off to a brilliant start with the opening film Hail, Caesar!– with directors Joel & Ethan Coen as well as actors George Clooney, Tilda Swinton, Josh Brolin, Channing Tatum and Alden Ehrenreich in attendance – the spectacular list of stars continues: Pernilla August, Susanne Bier, Daniel Brühl, Daniel Burman, Isabel Coixet, Doris Dörrie, Kirsten Dunst, Colin Firth, Greta Gerwig, Brendan Gleeson, Isabelle Huppert, Julia Jentsch, Denis Lavant, Jude Law, Spike Lee, Laura Linney, Julianne Moore, Cynthia Nixon, Guy Pearce, Michael Peña, Tim Robbins, Gianfranco Rosi, James Schamus, Michael Shannon, Alexander Skarsgård, André Téchiné, Emma Thompson, Wayne Wang, and many more, have all put in appearances during the first half of this year’s Berlinale.There were standing ovations for Jury President Meryl Streep who – with her co-jurors Lars Eidinger, Nick James, Brigitte Lacombe, Clive Owen, Alba Rohrwacher and Małgorzata Szumowska – will award the Berlinale’s main prizes on February 20.
And so far the turnout of visitors at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival has been tremendous. At half time, almost 250,000 tickets have been sold.
Berlin International Film Festival Director Dieter Kosslick
“Once more the Berlinale is proving to be a huge crowd-puller. We are very pleased that thousands of people from Berlin and around the globe have again joined us to take a cinematic voyage of discovery,” says Festival Director Dieter Kosslick.
The Berlinale’s European Film Market (EFM) is also heading for success in 2016. This international platform for trading in film rights and audio-visual content has again registered a rising number of visitors and exhibitors. (Berlinale Press Office)
In an exclusive from Variety, The Weinstein Company opted out of this year’s European Film Market citing production delays in its upcoming Hands of Stone, starring Robert DeNiro, Ellen Barkin, Edgar Ramirez, Ruben Blades and John Turturro. Click here for the full story.
Last night the 31st edition of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) drew to a close at the historic Arlington Theater in Santa Barbara. Festival Director Roger Durling welcomed and expressed his gratitude to the festival’s Board of Directors and to everyone who came out and supported the 200+ films and all the filmmakers from around the world. And, without missing a beat, Durling demonstrated his appreciation for the 700+ volunteers who provide additional support to his staff during the eleven day cinema celebration saying, “We couldn’t do it without the support of our volunteers…I salute you.”
(Photo Credit: William Conlin, YDL Digital Film)
The closing night film, Marguerite, started with a subtitles glitch. After a restart and a technical adjustment the film ran in its entirety and proved to be a crowd pleaser.
Next weekend several popular festival films are screened for the public free of charge at the scenic Riviera Theatre as part of the festival’s 3rd Weekend. Admission to the 3rd Weekend is on a first come first served basis. Here is a listing of films showing:
CLICK THE MOVIE TITLE FOR FILM INFO
Fri Feb 19 – 5:00 PM – Talion – Winner of the Nueva Vision Award for Spanish/Latin American Cinema
Fri Feb 19 – 7:30 PM – Mammal – Winner of the Panavision Independent Spirit Award
Fri Feb 19 – 9:30 PM – Award Winning Shorts (Graffiti, Lebanon Wins the World Cup, The Orchestra)
Sat Feb 20 – 11:00 AM – Vita Activa: The Spirit of Hannah Arendt – Winner of the Best Documentary Award
Sat Feb 20 – 2:00 PM – Viva – Winner of the ADL Stand-up Award
Sat Feb 20 – 5:00 PM – Ville-Marie – Winner of the Best International Film Award
Sat Feb 20 – 7:30 PM – The Culpable – Winner of the Audience Choice Award
Sat Feb 20 – 9:30 PM – Crossing Bhutan
In addition, the festival is actively engaged throughout the year with its weekly Showcase Series and additional screenings with Q & A’s through Cinema Society and the SBIFF Wave Festivals. One of the tenants to the Santa Barbara International Film Festival is giving back to the community and showcasing the art of film through it’s various outreach programming including its 10-10-10 Student Filmmaking and Screenwriting Competitions, Mike’s Field Trip to the Movies, National Film Studies Program, AppleBox Family Films, and its educational seminars.
Patrons of the AppleBox Family Films at the Arlington Theater, on February 6th, 2016. (Photo credit: Larry Gleeson)
Keep in mind, it’s only 364 days until the 2017 Santa Barbara International Film Festival’s 32nd edition. Until then….I’ll see you at the movies!
(Source: Santa Barbara International Film Festival)
This morning, February 13th, 2016, the Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF), announced the 31st edition’s award winners at their annual Awards Breakfast. Following is the list of award winners:
BRUCE CORWIN AWARD – BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM GRAFFITI
Directed by Lluís Quílez
BRUCE CORWIN AWARD – BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM THE ORCHESTRA
Directed by Mikey Hill
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILM AWARD LEBANON WINS THE WORLD CUP
Directed by Tony El Khoury and Anthony Lappé
NUEVA VISION AWARD FOR SPANISH/LATIN AMERICAN CINEMA TALIÓN
Directed by Martín Tuta
BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM AWARD VITA ACTIVA: THE SPIRIT OF HANNAH ARENDT
Directed by Ada Ushpiz
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM AWARD VILLE-MARIE
Directed by Guy Édoin
PANAVISION SPIRIT AWARD FOR INDEPENDENT CINEMA MAMMAL
Directed by Rebecca Daly
SOCIAL JUSTICE AWARD FOR DOCUMENTARY FILM 10 BILLION: WHAT’S ON YOUR PLATE?
Directed by Valentin Thurn
THE ADL STAND UP AWARD
SPONSORED BY SANTA BARBARA/TRI-COUNTIES ADL VIVA
Directed by Paddy Breathnach
THE AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARD
SPONSORED BY THE SANTA BARBARA INDEPENDENT THE CULPABLE
Directed by Gerd Schneider
BRUCE CORWIN AWARD – BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM GRAFFITI
Directed by Lluís Quílez
BRUCE CORWIN AWARD – BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM THE ORCHESTRA
Directed by Mikey Hill
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILM AWARD LEBANON WINS THE WORLD CUP
Directed by Tony El Khoury and Anthony Lappé
NUEVA VISION AWARD FOR SPANISH/LATIN AMERICAN CINEMA TALIÓN
Directed by Martín Tuta
BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM AWARD VITA ACTIVA: THE SPIRIT OF HANNAH ARENDT
Directed by Ada Ushpiz
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM AWARD VILLE-MARIE
Directed by Guy Édoin
PANAVISION SPIRIT AWARD FOR INDEPENDENT CINEMA MAMMAL
Directed by Rebecca Daly
SOCIAL JUSTICE AWARD FOR DOCUMENTARY FILM 10 BILLION: WHAT’S ON YOUR PLATE?
Directed by Valentin Thurn
THE ADL STAND UP AWARD
SPONSORED BY SANTA BARBARA/TRI-COUNTIES ADL VIVA
Directed by Paddy Breathnach
THE AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARD
SPONSORED BY THE SANTA BARBARA INDEPENDENT THE CULPABLE
Directed by Gerd Schneider
Actress Rooney Mara, joined a notable group of honorees last night at the historic Arlington Theater, including last year’s recipients Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones as she accepted the Santa Barbara International Film Festival’s (SBIFF) prestigious Cinema Vanguard Award.
The event was moderated by Joe McGovern from Entertainment Weekly. McGovern engaged with Mara gently drawing out the diminutive actress. Throughout the conversation, clips were intermittently shown from Mara’s body of work including the Side Effects , Her and The Social Network, a biographical drama of Mark Zuckerberg and the genesis of Facebook.
Santa Barbara International Film Festival Executive Director Roger Durling (Photo Credit: The Independent)
Festival Director Roger Durling praised Mara by saying,
“From her scene-stealing turn in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo to her outstanding performance in Carol, Rooney has repeatedly showcased her talents as one of the most gifted actors of her generation. I truly admire the enigmatic and complex nature of her performances. She’s an adept, beguiling actor, and we are proud to present her with this year’s Cinema Vanguard Award.”
Rooney’s Carol Director, Todd Haynes presented the award with Aussie Cate Blanchette providing a rousing tribute recorded earlier from her home Down Under.
Past recipients of the award include Amy Adams, Martin Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio, Nicole Kidman, Ryan Gossling and Stanley Tucci. The award was created to recognize “actors who have forged their own path – taking artistic risks while making a significant and unique contribution to film.”
Festival Director Dieter Kosslick, left, and the awardee Michael Ballhaus in the Berlinale Palast. (Photo Credit: Ali Ghandtschi © Berlinale 2016)
