“La La Land” has been voted best film of 2016 by the St. Louis Film Critics Association.
A musical set in Los Angeles, the film was directed by Damien Chazelle, who took top honors in that category..
Actor Casey Affleck in a scene from Manchester by the Sea. (Photo ccourtesy of Roadside Attractions and Amazon Studios)
The group chose Casey Affleck as best actor for “Manchester by the Sea,” and Isabelle Huppert as best actress for “Elle,” a French drama which was voted best foreign film.
Mahershala Ali was named best supporting actor for “Moonlight,” and Viola Davis took supporting-actress honors for “Fences.”
SLFCA members work for print, broadcast and online outlets.
For a complete list of this year’s winners and nominees: stlfilmcritics.org.
Casey Affleck and Michelle Williams will be honored with SBIFF’s Cinema Vanguard Award on Sunday, February 5, 2017 at the 32nd Festival. The two actors will be celebrated for their remarkable roles in Kenneth Lonergan’s deeply poignant Manchester by the Sea and will be feted with a tribute at the Arlington Theatre. This announcement comes on the heels of their respective Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild nominations for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress.
The Cinema Vanguard Award was created in recognition of actors who have forged their own path – taking artistic risks and making a significant and unique contribution to film. Previous honorees include Rooney Mara, Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones, Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio, Amy Adams, Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Bejo, Nicole Kidman,Christoph Waltz, Vera Farmiga, Stanley Tucci, Peter Sarsgaard, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Ryan Gosling.
Santa Barbara International Film Festival’s Executive Director, Roger Durling. (Photo credit: The SB Independent)
SBIFF’s Executive Director Roger Durling commented, “Throughout their respective careers, Casey and Michelle have impressed audiences with distinct, personal roles and we are excited to bring them together to honor their sublime performances in Manchester by the Sea.”
The Cinema Vanguard Award honoring Casey Affleck and Michelle Williams will be held at the histroric Santa Barbara Arlington Theatre, Sunday February 5, 2017 at 8:00 PM. The event will be moderated by Pete Hammond.
Palm Springs, CA (November 11, 2016) – The 28th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) will present Casey Affleck with the Desert Palm Achievement Award, Actor at its annual Film Awards Gala for his performance in Manchester By the Sea. Each year the festival selects an actor and actress to receive this award. The Film Awards Gala, hosted by Mary Hart, will be held Monday, January 2 at the Palm Springs Convention Center. The Festival runs January 2-16.
“Casey Affleck delivers his finest performance in Manchester By the Sea, playing a Boston janitor living a lonely and isolated existence,” said Festival Chairman Harold Matzner. “He has earned rave reviews from critics and is sure to garner awards attention. It is our honor to present the Desert Palm Achievement Award, Actor, to Casey Affleck.”
Past actor recipients of the Desert Palm Achievement Award include Jeff Bridges, Bradley Cooper, Johnny Depp, Daniel Day-Lewis, Colin Firth, Matthew McConaughey, Sean Penn, Brad Pitt and Eddie Redmayne. In the years they were honored, Bridges, Day-Lewis, McConaughey, Penn and Redmayne went on to win the Academy Award® for Best Actor, while Cooper, Firth and Pitt received Oscar® nominations.
Affleck stars in Manchester by the Sea, the latest film from award-winning writer and director Kenneth Lonergan, about the life of a solitary Boston janitor who is haunted by his past when he returns to his hometown to take care of his teenage nephew. The story of the Chandlers, a working-class family living in a Massachusetts fishing village for generations, Manchester by the Sea is a deeply poignant, exploration of the power of familial love, community, sacrifice and hope. The film also stars Michelle Williams, Kyle Chandler, Lucas Hedges, Gretchen Mol and C.J. Wilson.
Casey Affleck was nominated for an Academy Award®, a Golden Globe Award® and a Screen Actors Guild Award for his performance in the character drama The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. His film credits include Gone Baby Gone, Gerry, Good Will Hunting, To Die For, Interstellar,Out of the Furnace, Ain’t Them Bodies Saints, Steven Soderbergh’s Oceans trilogy, Triple 9, and The Finest Hours.
About The Palm Springs International Film Festival
The Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) is one of the largest film festivals in North America, welcoming 135,000 attendees last year for its lineup of new and celebrated international features and documentaries. The Festival is also known for its annual Film Awards Gala, an upscale black-tie event attended by 2,500, honoring the best achievements of the filmic year by a celebrated list of talents who, in recent years, have included Ben Affleck, Javier Bardem, Cate Blanchett, Sandra Bullock, Bradley Cooper, George Clooney, Daniel Day-Lewis, Leonardo DiCaprio, Clint Eastwood, Tom Hanks, Matthew McConaughey, Julianne Moore, Brad Pitt, Eddie Redmayne, Julia Roberts, David O. Russell, Meryl Streep, and Reese Witherspoon.
For more information, call 760-322-2930 or 800-898-7256 or visit www.psfilmfest.org.
La La Land with Ryan Gossling and Emma Stone is already a favorite to win the 2017 Oscar for Best Picture. (Photo courtesy of SND)
LOS ANGELES, Sept 25 ― What were the films and who were the actors who stood out at the latest film festivals? In the wake of the Venice, Toronto and Telluride festivals, here is an update on the movies and players potentially in the running for the 2017 Oscars.
In the period from September to December, the pace of superhero epic and action blockbuster releases slows down to make way for potential Oscar-winning works. This year is no exception with studios and distributors preparing to launch the movies they feel stand the best chance in the 89th Academy Awards at a time when they will still be fresh in the minds of the 2017 jury. What are the movies that will benefit from this Hollywood marketing strategy?
Top favourite ‘La La Land’
Having won the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto Film Festival, La La Land is now a serious contender for the 2017 Oscar for Best Picture. The Canadian accolade should not be overlooked. In fact it is a more than reliable indicator for the likely winner of a much-coveted gold statuette, having been awarded to such previous Oscar winners as Twelve Years a Slave, The King’s Speech, Slumdog Millionaire and American Beauty.
But it would be unwise to bet on the musical comedy which features Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling without evaluating the chances of some of the other movies that have come to light in the latest festivals: notably Manchester by the Sea, which is buoyed by a remarkable performance by Casey Affleck, Jeff Nichols’ Loving, Denis Villeneuve’s Arrival, Nocturnal Animals by Tom Ford, which won the Silver Lion at the 73rd Venice Mostra, and the biopic of Jackie Kennedy, Jackie, which could harvest a second Oscar for Natalie Portman.
However, competition for Best Actress in a Leading Role looks set to be fierce this year. Having garnered an award in Venice, Emma Stone has every chance of gaining a nomination. Ruth Negga (Loving), Amy Adams (Arrival), Viola Davis (Fences) and Taraji P. Henson (Hidden Figures) are other likely contenders, as is French actress Isabelle Huppert for her much-noted performance in Paul Verhoeven’s Elle. As for Best Actor in a Leading Role, Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea), Joel Edgerton (Loving), Jake Gyllenhaal (Nocturnal Animals), Denzel Washington (Fences), Dev Patel (Lion) and Tom Hanks (Sully) could all be in the running.
A more diverse Oscars?
Several films that stand to be selected could also turn the page on the controversy surrounding the 2016 Oscars which was judged to be too “white.” Even if The Birth of a Nation does not currently look to be a competitor, the film which tells the story of a slave revolt may nonetheless be nominated. Other films that look likely to garner nominations include Moonlight, which premiered at the Telluride Film Festival. The story of an African-American growing up in a Miami neighbourhood has already been hailed as major work of independent cinema.
Hidden Figures which casts Octavia Spencer and Taraji P. Henson as mathematicians who, in spite of being overshadowed by their male colleagues, contributed to the success of the Apollo space program, and Denzel Washington’s Fences, which features Viola Davis, have also been tipped for Oscar nominations.
However, we will still have to wait close to five months to see which way the jury votes in the 2017 Academy Awards which will be held on February 26 in Los Angeles. The nominations for the Oscars will be announced on January 24. ― AFP-Relaxnews
janitor living a lonely and isolated existence,” said Festival Chairman Harold Matzner. “He has earned rave reviews from critics and is sure to garner awards attention. It is our honor to present the Desert Palm Achievement Award, Actor, to Casey Affleck.”
