Winners of Commissioning Grant, Episodic Storytelling Grant and Lab Fellowship Revealed
Park City, Utah — At a reception during the 2017 Sundance Film Festival today, the beneficiaries of $60,000 in grants from Sundance Institute and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation were revealed. Doron Weber, the Vice President of Programs at the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, announced the winners: Michael Almereyda’s Marjorie Prime won the Feature Film Prize; Adam Benic’s Levittown (Sundance Institute | Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Episodic Storytelling Grant); Darcy Brislin and Dyana Winkler’s Bell (Sundance Institute | Sloan Lab Fellowship); and Jamie Dawson and Howard Gertler’s Untitled Smallpox Eradication Project (Sundance Institute | Sloan Commissioning Grant).
The reception was preceded by an all-female panel on women in science and their onscreen portrayals (or lack thereof), with discussion of half a dozen films about women in science that were supported and championed by Sloan, including the hit film Hidden Figures. These activities are part of the Sundance Institute Science-In-Film Initiative, which is made possible by a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
Keri Putnam, Executive Director of Sundance Institute (Photo via Sundance.org)
“Support for these artists and their projects is more timely than ever,” said Keri Putnam, Executive Director of Sundance Institute, “Telling nuanced, human stories about science and technology is the most effective way to drive understanding of the forces that play such a major role in shaping our world today.”
“We are thrilled to partner with Sundance for the 14th year in a row and award the 2017 Sloan Feature Film Prize at Sundance to Michael Almereyda’s Marjorie
Doron Weber, Vice President at the Sloan Foundation (Photo via Sloan.org)
Prime,” said Doron Weber, Vice President at the Sloan Foundation. “With cool intelligence, wit and poignancy — allied to a deft directorial hand and a stellar cast — Almereyda explores the emotional landscape of artificial intelligence and dramatizes the emerging impact of intelligent machines on our most intimate human relationships. Sloan is also delighted to award three new screenwriting grants at Sundance focusing on scientists and inventors who helped shape the modern world as part of our “non-profit movie studio for science ” and a national development pipeline which has resulted in 20 feature films to date.”
Marjorie Prime: Winner of Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize
Marjorie Prime has been awarded the 2017 Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize and will receive a $20,000 cash award from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. The Prize is selected by a jury of film and science professionals and presented to outstanding feature films focusing on science or technology as a theme, or depicting a scientist, engineer or mathematician as a major character.
Marjorie Prime / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Michael Almereyda) — In the near future—a time of artificial intelligence—86-year-old Marjorie has a handsome new companion who looks like her deceased husband and is programmed to feed the story of her life back to her. What would we remember, and what would we forget, if given the chance? Cast: Jon Hamm, Geena Davis, Lois Smith, Tim Robbins.
The jury presented the award to the film for its “imaginative and nuanced depiction of the evolving relationship between humans and technology, and its moving dramatization of how intelligent machines can challenge our notions of identity, memory and mortality”
As previously announced, this year’s Alfred P. Sloan jury members are: Heather Berlin, Tracy Drain, Nell Greenfieldboyce, Nicole Perlman and Jennifer Phang.
Previous Alfred P. Sloan Prize Winners include: Ciro Guerra, Embrace of the Serpent (2015); Mike Cahill, I Origins (2014); Andrew Bujalski, Computer Chess (2013); Jake Schreier and Christopher Ford, Robot & Frank (2012); Musa Syeed, Valley of Saints (2012); Mike Cahill and Brit Marling, Another Earth (2011); Diane Bell, Obselidia (2010); Max Mayer, Adam (2009); Alex Rivera, Sleep Dealer (2008); Shi-Zheng Chen, Dark Matter (2007); Andrucha Waddington and Elena Soarez, House of Sand (2006); Werner Herzog, Grizzly Man (2005); Shane Carruth, Primer (2004) and Marc Decena, Dopamine (2003). Several past winners have also been awarded Jury Awards at the Festival, including the Grand Jury Prize for Primer, the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award for Sleep Dealer and the Excellence in Cinematography Award for Obselidia.
To support the development of screenplays with science or technology, Sundance Institute and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation provide three different opportunities for screenwriters through a Commissioning Grant, a Lab Fellowship and an Episodic Storytelling Grant. All provide a cash award to support further development of a screenplay and to retain science advisors, along with overall creative and strategic feedback throughout development.
Sundance Institute / Sloan Commissioning Grant
Jamie Dawson and Howard Gertler will receive a $12,500 cash award from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Previous winner’s include Alex Rivera’s La Vida Robot and Robert Edwards’s American Prometheus.
Untitled Smallpox Eradication Project (U.S.A.) / Jamie Dawson (Writer) and Howard Gertler (Producer)
In 1965, the World Health Organization orders a massive operation to eradicate the deadly smallpox virus from the human population. A ragtag band of very different personalities — from ashram hippies to tenacious scientists to tactical bureaucrats — clash and collaborate as they fight to pull off the impossible.
Jamie Dawson is a New York native and graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts Film Program. He has sold or optioned work to companies such as BCDF Pictures, Manage-ment/Dan Halsted, Formation Entertainment, and Permut Presentations. Projects in development include: The Rabbit Garden, his Black List script about controversial author Jerzy Kosinski (Being There) with producer David Permut and director Janusz Kaminski; and Swan Song, a television series based on the award-winning, cult classic novel by Robert McCammon (Boy’s Life).
Oscar-nominated producer Howard Gertler’s credits include David France’s How to Survive a Plague, which premiered in competition at Sundance 2012 and was released by IFC Films/Sundance Selects; in addition to the Academy Award nomination, the film collected New York Film Critics’ Circle, Peabody, IFP Gotham, IDA and GLAAD Media Awards. He’s both an IFP/Gotham and Film Independent Spirit Award winner, the latter of which he won for producing John Cameron Mitchell’s Shortbus, which premiered in the official selection in Cannes and was released worldwide. His upcoming films include John Cameron Mitchell’s adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s How to Talk to Girls at Parties, produced with See-Saw Films, Film4, Ingenious and Screen Yorkshire, to be released by A24 and Studiocanal UK in 2017.
Sundance Institute / Sloan Lab Fellowship
Darcy Brislin and Dyana Winkler will receive a $15,000 cash award from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Previous winners include Logan Kibbens’s Operator, Michael Almereyda’s Experimenter, and Rob Meyer’s A Birder’s Guide to Everything.
Bell (U.S.A.) / Darcy Brislin (Co-Writer) and Dyana Winkler (Co-Writer)
At a pivotal point in history, hearing society began a golden age of communication with the advent of the telephone, while deaf society plummeted into a dark age with the eradication of sign language and spread of eugenics. At the helm of both trajectories stands a single man—Alexander Graham Bell. This project was the recipient of the 2016 Sundance Sloan Commissioning Grant.
A Boston native, Darcy Brislin studied Art History and French at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. She received an MFA in screenwriting and directing from EICAR, the International Film School of Paris, where she met co-writer Dyana Winkler. Currently based in Los Angeles, Brislin has written screenplays with Sundance award-winning director Ondi Timoner and has a feature film in development entitled Crown Chasers, with Maria Bello attached to produce.
Dyana Winkler is a writer, director, producer based in Brooklyn. Her most recent film, a feature-length documentary entitled United Skates, is currently in post production and has received awards from the Sundance Institute, New York State Council For the Arts, Fledgling Foundation, Film Independent, Chicken & Egg, IFP, and many more. Winkler met her writing partner, Darcy Brislin, in Paris, France, while completing their MFAs in screenwriting and directing, and discovered their shared passion for casting new light on historical figures. They went on to write their first screenplay Turing, and have teamed up for a second time with Bell, which was the recipient of the 2016 Sundance Sloan Commissioning Grant.
Sundance Institute / Sloan Episodic Storytelling Grant: Levittown
Adam Benic will receive a $12,500 cash award from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.
Levittown (U.S.A.) / Adam Benic (Writer, Creator)
A one-hour drama series about visionary WWII veteran, Lieutenant William Levitt, who on his 40th birthday broke ground on the largest private construction project in American history. Alongside his attorney father and architect brother, Will fights against an antiquated industry to fill the massive postwar housing need, thus building the world’s first mass-produced suburb, Levittown, Long Island.
Adam Benic is a Writers’ Assistant on TNT’s Animal Kingdom, and formerly a Showrunner’s Assistant on Hulu’s Shut Eye, CBS’s Extant, and a graduate of AFI’s MFA Screenwriting program. Adam hails from Long Island, New York where he grew up in a Levitt home.
The Sundance Film Festival®
The Sundance Film Festival has introduced global audiences to some of the most groundbreaking films of the past three decades, including Boyhood, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Fruitvale Station, Whiplash, Brooklyn, Twenty Feet from Stardom, Life Itself, The Cove, The End of the Tour, Blackfish, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, Super Size Me, Dope, Little Miss Sunshine, sex, lies, and videotape, Reservoir Dogs, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, An Inconvenient Truth, Precious and Napoleon Dynamite. The Festival is a program of the non-profit Sundance Institute®. 2017 Festival sponsors to date include: Presenting Sponsors – Acura, SundanceTV, Chase Sapphire®, and Canada Goose; Leadership Sponsors – Adobe, AT&T, DIRECTV, Omnicom, Stella Artois® and YouTube; Sustaining Sponsors – American Airlines, Canon U.S.A., Inc., Creators League Studio, Daydream, Francis Ford Coppola Winery, GEICO, The Hollywood Reporter, IMDb, Jaunt, Kickstarter, Oculus and the University of Utah Health. 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 helps offset the Festival’s costs and sustain the Institute’s year-round programs for independent artists. Look for the Official Sponsor seal at their venues at the Festival. sundance.org/festival
Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
The New York based Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, founded in 1934, makes grants in science, technology, and economic performance. Sloan’s program in Public Understanding of Science and Technology, directed by Doron Weber, supports books, radio, film, television, theater and new media to reach a wide, non-specialized audience.
Sloan’s Film Program encourages filmmakers to create more realistic and compelling stories about scientists, science and technology and to challenge existing stereotypes about scientists and engineers in the popular imagination. Over the past 15 years, Sloan has partnered with some of the top film schools in the country—including AFI, Carnegie Mellon, Columbia, NYU, UCLA and USC—and established annual awards in screenwriting and film production, along with an annual best-of-the-best Student Grand Jury Prize administered by the Tribeca Film Institute. The Foundation also supports screenplay development programs with the Sundance Institute, Tribeca Film Institute, the San Francisco Film Society, the Black List, and Film Independent’s Producing Lab and Fast Track program and has helped develop such film projects as Morten Tyldum’s The Imitation Game, Mathew Brown’s The Man Who Knew Infinity, Michael Almereyda’s Experimenter, Rob Meyer’s A Birder’s Guide to Everything, Musa Syeed’s Valley of Saints, and Andrew Bujalski’s Computer Chess.
The Foundation also has an active theater program and commissions about twenty science plays each year from the Ensemble Studio Theater and Manhattan Theatre Club, as well as supporting select productions across the country. Recent grants have supported Nick Payne’s Incognito, Frank Basloe’s Please Continue, Deborah Zoe Laufer’s Informed Consent, Lucas Hnath’s Isaac’s Eye, and Anna Ziegler’s Photograph 51, recently on London’s West End.
The Foundation’s book program includes early stage support for Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race, now a major motion picture that was awarded the San Francisco Film Society Sloan Science in Cinema Prize in 2016.
(Source: Press release courtesy of Sundance Media Relations)
HOLLYWOOD, Calif./PRNewswire/—Academy Award nominated actress, Angela Bassett, will be honored with the “Reel Icon” award by the American Black Film Institute, at their annual “New, Next, Now Legend” Oscar Week gala for her iconic roles and career achievement as one of cinemas all-time favorite actors, in a poll conducted by American Black Film Institute.
The event will be held at the fabulous Prestons-over-Hollywood at the Hollywood Loews Hotel, on Friday, February 24, and once again brings together actors, producers, writer/directors and top executives, as they celebrate and highlight the years’ accomplishments amid the backdrop of Hollywood’s most glamorous weekend.
ABFI’s theme for the evening “New, Next, Now, Legend” reflects its mission to preserve the cinematic legacy of African American films and films of the global Black experience, while nurturing its current crop of emerging talented writers, directors and artists who give voice to the continued enhancement of the Black experience on film.
“We are excited to bring the excitement and camaraderie of our previous Oscar festivities among industry professionals to Prestons-over-Hollywood, where we can pay well-deserved tribute to an iconic and well respected artist such as Angela Bassett, while fortifying partnerships, old and new, which is always the order of the day at the ABFI gala,” said American Black Film Institute Executive Director Gordon Kenney.
The ultra-chic venue which boasts a glass-enclosed wall-to-wall view of the iconic Hollywood sign and the Hollywood Hills, says it’s delighted to host Hollywood’s elite, in such an exclusive and elegant space, where the venues festivities at this time of year are normally reserved strictly for the Academy and its events. With the theme, “New, Next, Now, Legend,” other artists receiving awards include rising star of Survivor’s Remorse and Independence Day 2, Jessie T. Usher, HBO breakout star Issa Rae, creator and executive Producer of HBO’s hit “Insecure,” Golden Globe nominated director Barry Jenkins, Moonlight’s Naomie Harris, and emerging screen talent Janelle Monae, whose turns in both “Hidden Figures” and “Moonlight” have been garnering critical praise, as a rising screen talent worth watching.
The American Black Film Institute is a non-profit cinematic arts foundation, whose goal is to preserve and promote the legacy of diverse stories of people of color on film, while enhancing their financial viability and broadening their success. With Academy Awards weekend as the backdrop, and a new crop of stars on the rise, the word is out that the 2017 ABFI gala promises to be among the events not to be missed.
And so we put goldfish in the pool.Wins Grand Jury Prize
Park City, Utah — Winners of the 2017 Sundance Film Festival jury prizes in short filmmaking were announced today by Sundance Institute at a ceremony in Park City, Utah. The Short Film Grand Jury Prize, awarded to one film in the program of 68 shorts selected from 8,985 submissions, went toAnd so we put goldfish in the pool., written and directed by Makoto Nagahisa. Full video of the ceremony is at youtube.com/sff. The Short Film program is presented by YouTube.
This year’s Short Film jurors are Shirley Kurata, David Lowery and Patton Oswalt.
Short Film awards winners in previous years include Thunder Road by Jim Cummings, World of Tomorrow by Don Hertzfeldt, SMILF by Frankie Shaw, Of God and Dogs by Abounaddara Collective, Gregory Go Boom by Janicza Bravo, The Whistle by Grzegorz Zariczny, Whiplash by Damien Chazelle, FISHING WITHOUT NETS by Cutter Hodierne, The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom by Lucy Walker and The Arm by Brie Larson, Sarah Ramos and Jessie Ennis.
The short film program at the Festival is the centerpiece of Sundance Institute’s year-round efforts to support short filmmaking. Select Festival short films are presented as a traveling program at over 50 theaters in the U.S. and Canada each year, and short films and filmmakers take part in regional Master Classes geared towards supporting emerging shorts-makers in several cities. Sundance Institute’s Documentary Film Program, supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and in partnership with The Guardian and The New York Times’ Op-Docs, provides grants to makers of documentary shorts around the world, including new filmmakers in Cuba featured in a Special Event program at this year’s Festival.
2017 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Jury Awards:
The Short Film Grand Jury Prize was awarded to:And so we put goldfish in the pool. / Japan (Director and screenwriter: Makoto Nagahisa) — One summer day, 400 goldfish were found in the swimming pool of a secondary school. This is a story about the four 15-year-old girls who put them there.
The Short Film Jury Award: U.S. Fiction was presented to: Lucia, Before and After / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Anu Valia) — After traveling 200 miles, a young woman waits out Texas’s state-mandated 24-hour waiting period before her abortion can proceed.
The Short Film Jury Award: International Fiction was presented to: And The Whole Sky Fit In The Dead Cow’s Eye / Chile, U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Francisca Alegría) — Emeteria is visited by the ghost of her patrón, Teodoro. She believes he has come to take her to the afterlife—but he has more devastating news.
The Short Film Jury Award: Non-fiction was presented to: Alone / U.S.A. (Director: Garrett Bradley) — This investigation into the layers of mass incarceration and its shaping of the modern black American family is seen through the eyes of a single mother in New Orleans, Louisiana.
The Short Film Jury Award: Animation was presented to: Broken – The Women’s Prison at Hoheneck / Germany (Directors: Volker Schlecht, Alexander Lahl, Screenwriters: Alexander Lahl, Max Mönch) — This animated documentary about Hoheneck, the main women’s prison in former East Germany, is based on original interviews with former inmates. It’s a film about political imprisonment, forced labor and enormous profits on both sides of the Iron Curtain.
A Special Jury Award for Cinematography was presented to: Dadyaa — The Woodpeckers of Rotha / Nepal, France (Directors and screenwriters: Pooja Gurung, Bibhusan Basnet, Cinematographer: Chintan Rajbhandari)— Atimaley and Devi’s village is haunted by memories. When a dear friend leaves the village without saying goodbye, the old couple faces a dilemma: keep living with the memories or leave the village for good?
A Short Film Special Jury Award for Editing was presented to: Laps / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Charlotte Wells, editor Blair McClendon) — On a routine morning, a woman on a crowded New York City subway is sexually assaulted in plain sight.
The Sundance Film Festival®
The Sundance Film Festival has introduced global audiences to some of the most groundbreaking films of the past three decades, including Boyhood, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Fruitvale Station, Whiplash, Brooklyn, Twenty Feet from Stardom, Life Itself, The Cove, The End of the Tour, Blackfish, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, Super Size Me, Dope, Little Miss Sunshine, sex, lies, and videotape, Reservoir Dogs, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, An Inconvenient Truth, Precious and Napoleon Dynamite. The Festival is a program of the non-profit Sundance Institute®. 2017 Festival sponsors include: Presenting Sponsors – Acura, SundanceTV, Chase Sapphire®, and Canada Goose; Leadership Sponsors – Adobe, AT&T, DIRECTV, Omnicom, Stella Artois® and YouTube; Sustaining Sponsors – American Airlines, Canon U.S.A., Inc., Creators League Studio, Daydream, Francis Ford Coppola Winery, GEICO, The Hollywood Reporter, IMDb, Jaunt, Kickstarter, Oculus and the University of Utah Health. 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 helps offset the Festival’s costs and sustain the Institute’s year-round programs for independent artists. Look for the Official Sponsor seal at their venues at the Festival. sundance.org/festival
Sundance Institute
Founded in 1981 by Robert Redford, Sundance Institute is a nonprofit organization that provides and preserves the space for artists in film, theatre, and new media to create and thrive. The Institute’s signature Labs, granting, and mentorship programs, dedicated to developing new work, take place throughout the year in the U.S. and internationally. The Sundance Film Festival and other public programs connect audiences to artists in igniting new ideas, discovering original voices, and building a community dedicated to independent storytelling. Sundance Institute has supported such projects as Beasts of the Southern Wild, Fruitvale Station, Sin Nombre, The Invisible War, The Square, Dirty Wars, Spring Awakening, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder and Fun Home.
La La Land continues its strong showing on the awards circuit with a whopping 14 Oscar nominations tying the all-time nominations record 0f 14 set by All About Eve (1950) and tied first by Titanic (1997).
Meryl Streep receives a record-breaking 2oth Oscar nmination for her role in Florence Foster Jenkins (Photo via imdb)
Legendary Hollywood actress, Meryl Streep, received a record-breaking 20th Oscar nomination for her role as a deluded singer in Florence Foster Jenkins. Ms. Streep breaks her own record of 19 nominations.
O.J.: Made in America, a Documentary Feature nominee, is the longest film ever nominated for an Academy Award with a run time of 7 hours and 47 minutes.
La La Land is the first musical with original music and story to receive a Best Picture nomination since All That Jazz (1979) and the second since Anchors Aweigh (1945).
Denzel Washington is the seventh individual to receive Acting and Best Picture nominations for the same film, joining Warren Beatty, Kevin Costner, Clint Eastwood, Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio and Bradley Cooper.
With his Best Picture nomination for Manchester by the Sea, Matt Damon becomes only the third individual to be nominated in the Acting, Writing and Best Picture categories. The others are Warren Beatty and George Clooney.
With their Best Picture nominations for Moonlight, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner become the first individual producers to have nominations in the Best Picture category in four consecutive years.
In the acting categories, seven individuals are first-time nominees (Andrew Garfield, Mahershala Ali, Lucas Hedges, Dev Patel, Isabelle Huppert, Ruth Negga and Naomie Harris). Six of the nominees are previous acting winners (Denzel Washington, Jeff Bridges,Natalie Portman, Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman and Octavia Spencer).
The 89th Academy Awards will be announced in the Dolby Theatre at the Hollywood & Highland Center, Sunday, February 26, 2017. Jimmy Kimmel is scheduled to host and the program will air on ABC at 7PM EST. Without further ado,
The Nominees are:
Actor in a Leading Role
Nominees
Casey Affleck
Manchester by the Sea
Andrew Garfield
Hacksaw Ridge
Ryan Gosling
La La Land
Viggo Mortensen
Captain Fantastic
Denzel Washington
Fences
Actor in a Supporting Role
Nominees
Mahershala Ali
Moonlight
Jeff Bridges
Hell or High Water
Lucas Hedges
Manchester by the Sea
Dev Patel
Lion
Michael Shannon
Nocturnal Animals
Actress in a Leading Role
Nominees
Isabelle Huppert
Elle
Ruth Negga
Loving
Natalie Portman
Jackie
Emma Stone
La La Land
Meryl Streep
Florence Foster Jenkins
Actress in a Supporting Role
Nominees
Viola Davis
Fences
Naomie Harris
Moonlight
Nicole Kidman
Lion
Octavia Spencer
Hidden Figures
Michelle Williams
Manchester by the Sea
Animated Feature Film
Nominees
Kubo and the Two Strings
Travis Knight and Arianne Sutner
Moana
John Musker, Ron Clements and Osnat Shurer
My Life as a Zucchini
Claude Barras and Max Karli
The Red Turtle
Michael Dudok de Wit and Toshio Suzuki
Zootopia
Byron Howard, Rich Moore and Clark Spencer
Cinematography
Nominees
Arrival
Bradford Young
La La Land
Linus Sandgren
Lion
Greig Fraser
Moonlight
James Laxton
Silence
Rodrigo Prieto
Costume Design
Nominees
Allied
Joanna Johnston
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Colleen Atwood
Florence Foster Jenkins
Consolata Boyle
Jackie
Madeline Fontaine
La La Land
Mary Zophres
Directing
Nominees
Arrival
Denis Villeneuve
Hacksaw Ridge
Mel Gibson
La La Land
Damien Chazelle
Manchester by the Sea
Kenneth Lonergan
Moonlight
Barry Jenkins
Documentary (Feature)
Nominees
Fire at Sea
Gianfranco Rosi and Donatella Palermo
I Am Not Your Negro
Raoul Peck, Rémi Grellety and Hébert Peck
Life, Animated
Roger Ross Williams and Julie Goldman
O.J.: Made in America
Ezra Edelman and Caroline Waterlow
13th
Ava DuVernay, Spencer Averick and Howard Barish
Documentary (Short Subject)
Nominees
Extremis
Dan Krauss
4.1 Miles
Daphne Matziaraki
Joe’s Violin
Kahane Cooperman and Raphaela Neihausen
Watani: My Homeland
Marcel Mettelsiefen and Stephen Ellis
The White Helmets
Orlando von Einsiedel and Joanna Natasegara
Film Editing
Nominees
Arrival
Joe Walker
Hacksaw Ridge
John Gilbert
Hell or High Water
Jake Roberts
La La Land
Tom Cross
Moonlight
Nat Sanders and Joi McMillon
Foreign Language Film
Nominees
Land of Mine
Denmark
A Man Called Ove
Sweden
The Salesman
Iran
Tanna
Australia
Toni Erdmann
Germany
Makeup and Hairstyling
Nominees
A Man Called Ove
Eva von Bahr and Love Larson
Star Trek Beyond
Joel Harlow and Richard Alonzo
Suicide Squad
Alessandro Bertolazzi, Giorgio Gregorini and Christopher Nelson
Music (Original Score)
Nominees
Jackie
Mica Levi
La La Land
Justin Hurwitz
Lion
Dustin O’Halloran and Hauschka
Moonlight
Nicholas Britell
Passengers
Thomas Newman
Music (Original Song)
Nominees
Audition (The Fools Who Dream)
from La La Land; Music by Justin Hurwitz; Lyric by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul
Can’t Stop The Feeling
from Trolls; Music and Lyric by Justin Timberlake, Max Martin and Karl Johan Schuster
City of Stars
from La La Land; Music by Justin Hurwitz; Lyric by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul
The Empty Chair
from Jim: The James Foley Story; Music and Lyric by J. Ralph and Sting
How Far I’ll Go
from Moana; Music and Lyric by Lin-Manuel Miranda
Best Picture
Nominees
Arrival
Shawn Levy, Dan Levine, Aaron Ryder and David Linde, Producers
Fences
Scott Rudin, Denzel Washington and Todd Black, Producers
Hacksaw Ridge
Bill Mechanic and David Permut, Producers
Hell or High Water
Carla Hacken and Julie Yorn, Producers
Hidden Figures
Donna Gigliotti, Peter Chernin, Jenno Topping, Pharrell Williams and Theodore Melfi, Producers
La La Land
Fred Berger, Jordan Horowitz and Marc Platt, Producers
Lion
Emile Sherman, Iain Canning and Angie Fielder, Producers
Manchester by the Sea
Matt Damon, Kimberly Steward, Chris Moore, Lauren Beck and Kevin J. Walsh, Producers
Moonlight
Adele Romanski, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner, Producers
Production Design
Nominees
Arrival
Production Design: Patrice Vermette; Set Decoration: Paul Hotte
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Production Design: Stuart Craig; Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock
Hail, Caesar!
Production Design: Jess Gonchor; Set Decoration: Nancy Haigh
La La Land
Production Design: David Wasco; Set Decoration: Sandy Reynolds-Wasco
Passengers
Production Design: Guy Hendrix Dyas; Set Decoration: Gene Serdena
Short Film (Animated)
Nominees
Blind Vaysha
Theodore Ushev
Borrowed Time
Andrew Coats and Lou Hamou-Lhadj
Pear Cider and Cigarettes
Robert Valley and Cara Speller
Pearl
Patrick Osborne
Piper
Alan Barillaro and Marc Sondheimer
Short Film (Live Action)
Nominees
Ennemis Intérieurs
Sélim Azzazi
La Femme et le TGV
Timo von Gunten and Giacun Caduff
Silent Nights
Aske Bang and Kim Magnusson
Sing
Kristof Deák and Anna Udvardy
Timecode
Juanjo Giménez
Sound Editing
Nominees
Arrival
Sylvain Bellemare
Deepwater Horizon
Wylie Stateman and Renée Tondelli
Hacksaw Ridge
Robert Mackenzie and Andy Wright
La La Land
Ai-Ling Lee and Mildred Iatrou Morgan
Sully
Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman
Sound Mixing
Nominees
Arrival
Bernard Gariépy Strobl and Claude La Haye
Hacksaw Ridge
Kevin O’Connell, Andy Wright, Robert Mackenzie and Peter Grace
La La Land
Andy Nelson, Ai-Ling Lee and Steve A. Morrow
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
David Parker, Christopher Scarabosio and Stuart Wilson
13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi
Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, Jeffrey J. Haboush and Mac Ruth
Visual Effects
Nominees
Deepwater Horizon
Craig Hammack, Jason Snell, Jason Billington and Burt Dalton
Doctor Strange
Stephane Ceretti, Richard Bluff, Vincent Cirelli and Paul Corbould
The Jungle Book
Robert Legato, Adam Valdez, Andrew R. Jones and Dan Lemmon
Kubo and the Two Strings
Steve Emerson, Oliver Jones, Brian McLean and Brad Schiff
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
John Knoll, Mohen Leo, Hal Hickel and Neil Corbould
Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
Nominees
Arrival
Screenplay by Eric Heisserer
Fences
Screenplay by August Wilson
Hidden Figures
Screenplay by Allison Schroeder and Theodore Melfi
Lion
Screenplay by Luke Davies
Moonlight
Screenplay by Barry Jenkins; Story by Tarell Alvin McCraney
Writing (Original Screenplay)
Nominees
Hell or High Water
Written by Taylor Sheridan
La La Land
Written by Damien Chazelle
The Lobster
Written by Yorgos Lanthimos, Efthimis Filippou
Manchester by the Sea
Written by Kenneth Lonergan
20th Century Women
Written by Mike Mills
Thank you to Oscars Producers Jennifer Todd and Mike DeLuca!
Pictured left to right, Oscars Producers Jennifer Todd and Mike DeLuca. (Photo courtesy of Oscars.org)
“EFM Horizon presented by Audi”: Virtual Reality, Computer Games, Startups, New Technologies and Innovations at the European Film Market
The film industry of the future, with the newest technological developments, trends that provide a glimpse of things to come and evolving business models, is the focus of a total of five innovative events united under the newly created label “EFM Horizon” and made possible with the support of Audi. The platform, which encompasses the formats “Propellor | Speednic”, “EFM Startups”, “VR NOW Con Business Mixer”, “Game & Cinema” and “The Next Level of Cinema”, simultaneously aims to offer EFM trade visitors opportunities for networking with members of adjacent sectors of the audio-visual industry, such as tech, virtual reality and games.
“Game & Cinema”
Friday, February 10, 2017, 7:30pm to 9:30pm
MGB Kino (Niederkirchnerstr. 7, 10963 Berlin)
The local multiplayer event “Game & Cinema” combines cinema and computer games in a shared gaming experience that plays out on the big screen. The event format is produced by Booster Space and was presented for the first time at the International Games Week in Berlin. Trade guests from the film market can experience the world of gaming together with an audience of gaming fans within the cinema context and discover potential new uses for cinemas in the process.
“EFM Startups”
Monday, February 13, 10am to 12:30pm
Berliner Freiheit (Berliner Freiheit 2, 10785 Berlin)
The successful “EFM Startups” initiative, which brings the film industry together with thought leaders and mavericks from the tech scene, is continuing under the umbrella of “EFM Horizon presented by Audi”. Ten select startups from Germany, The Netherlands, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Spain will present new technologies for production, distribution and marketing to EFM trade visitors. Pre-arranged one-on-one meetings with potential partners are intended to serve to pave the way for possible co-operations. “EFM PopUp Offices” in the atrium of the Martin-Gropius-Bau will be made available for use by the attending startups.
“EFM Startups” is made possible with the support of Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg.
The participants at “EFM Startups” 2017:
AIVA (Luxembourg)
CtrlMovie (Switzerland)
DIVE (Spain)
Illusion-Walk (Germany)
Mobisol Group (Germany)
Native Studios Creace (Germany)
PICL (The Netherlands)
SPHERIE by SpiceVR (Germany)
Viorama (Germany)
Virtelio by realab (Luxembourg)
“VR NOW Con Business Mixer”
Monday, February 13, 4pm to 7pm
Berliner Freiheit (Berliner Freiheit 2, 10785 Berlin)
Everyone is talking about virtual reality – and the film industry is no exception. At the same time, there is a lot of uncertainty about how these new technologies of VR, AR, MR, and 360° can be used in the film business, which technologies make sense, what costs they bring with them, etc. In talks, presentations and discussions, the “VR NOW Con Business Mixer” – a conference and networking event – addresses the most current impulses and trends in the sector and brings virtual reality pioneers and experts together with members of the film industry. At the same time, participants also have the opportunity to test diverse VR technologies.
The event is organized in co-operation with Virtual Reality e.V. Berlin-Brandenburg and made possible with the support of Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg.
“The Next Level of Cinema”
Tuesday, February 14, 11am to 1pm
Audi Berlinale Lounge (Marlene-Dietrich-Platz 1, 10785 Berlin)
Leading companies and creatives provide interested distributors, sales agents, producers, exhibitors and cinema operators with insight into the challenges facing the film industry of the future. Special emphasis is placed here on the topics of digitization and innovation. After taking a look at brief case studies, there will be opportunities for discussion with and among participants.
Included among the guests expected to attend are representatives from Audi, IBM (Watson), Dolby (Atmos) and filmmakers such as David O’Reilly and Thomas Wallner.
“Propellor | Speednic”
Tuesday, February 14, 2:30pm to 4:30pm
Rooftop Café (Potsdamer Platz 1, 10785 Berlin)
The question of the film industry of the future and how the branch can best work to actively shape its own development by employing forward-thinking concepts and innovations is at the centre of the first “Propellor | Speednic”, a closed networking and workshop event in Berlin. 24 select participants – twelve of them from the film industry and twelve from the technology sector – will discuss how we can develop and implement new sales, distribution and marketing models together as well as how we can learn from success stories from other branches.
The incubator programme “Propellor Film Tech Hub” is a joint initiative of EFM, the International Film Festival Rotterda
m (IFFR), the international documentary film festival CPH:DOX and the Berlin-based i
nnovation studio Cinemathon.
Further information on the events as well as details regarding possibilities for attending “EFM Horizon presented by Audi” can be found at the „EFM Horizon” website.
Moonlight, Manchester by the Sea and Love & Friendship win two awards each, as Isabelle Huppert claims two top honours.
By Rich Cline
The UK’s leading critics spread the love among a range of films at the 37th Critics’ Circle Film Awards on Sunday night at The May Fair Hotel in London. Hosted by actor-filmmakers Alice Lowe and Steve Oram, the star-studded black-tie ceremony saw Damien Chazelle’s musical La La Land crowned Film of the Year, with top prizes going to films from Ireland, France, Hungary, Germany, Italy, Australia and the USA.
In a surprise move, Director of the Year was won by Hungarian filmmaker Laszlo Nemes for his Oscar-winning drama Son of Saul. Screenwriter went to Kenneth Lonergan for Manchester by the Sea, which also won Actor of the Year for Casey Affleck. Moonlight was presented with both supporting acting categories, for Naomie Harris and Mahershala Ali, who tied with Love & Friendship’s Tom Bennett. Bennett’s costar Kate Beckinsale was on hand to claim the British/Irish Actress prize, while Andrew Garfield won British/Irish Actor for his performances in both Hacksaw Ridge and Silence.
Iconic French actress Isabelle Huppert also took home two awards. She was presented the prestigious Dilys Powell Award for Excellence in Film before going on to win in the Actress of the Year category for her performance in Mia Hansen-Love’s Things to Come.
Maren Ade’s acclaimed Toni Erdmann added to its global accolades as it was named Foreign-Language Film of the Year, while Gianfranco Rosi’s Fire at Sea took the Documentary honours. And Ken Loach’s I, Daniel Blake won The Attenborough Award for British/Irish Film of the Year.
Other winners included A Monster Calls‘ 14-year-old star Lewis MacDougall, named Young British/Irish Performer of the Year, and writer-director Babak Anvari, who won The Philip French Award for Breakthrough British/Irish Filmmaker for his feature debut Under the Shadow. Cinematographer Sturla Brandth Grovlen claimed the Technical Achievement Award for his bravura work on the one-take German thriller Victoria.
For the fifth year running, The May Fair Hotel hosted the event, with winners Beckinsale, Harris, Loach, Bennett, MacDougall and Anvari among an array of stars on the red carpet. Guests at the ceremony included George MacKay, Emma Greenwell, Morfydd Clark, Mica Levi, Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, Sennia Nanua, Ben Cohen, Kristina Rihanoff and filmmakers John Carney, Otto Bell and Mia Hansen-Love.
The Critics’ Circle Film Awards are sponsored by The May Fair Hotel and Suqqu, along with Millbank Casting & Management, Cooper Searle Personal Management, Audi, Remy Martin, Sacred, Voss, 31 Dover and Cameo Productions.
The full list of winners for the 37th London Critics’ Circle Film Awards:
FILM OF THE YEAR La La Land
FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR Toni Erdmann
DOCUMENTARY OF THE YEAR Fire at Sea
BRITISH/IRISH FILM OF THE YEAR I, Daniel Blake
ACTOR OF THE YEAR presented by Millbank and Cooper Searle Casey Affleck – Manchester by the Sea
ACTRESS OF THE YEAR presented by Suqqu Isabelle Huppert – Things to Come
SUPPORTING ACTOR OF THE YEAR (tie) Mahershala Ali – Moonlight
Tom Bennett – Love & Friendship
SUPPORTING ACTRESS OF THE YEAR presented by Cameo Naomie Harris – Moonlight
DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR László Nemes – Son of Saul
SCREENWRITER OF THE YEAR Kenneth Lonergan – Manchester by the Sea
BRITISH/IRISH ACTOR Andrew Garfield – Hacksaw Ridge, Silence
BRITISH/IRISH ACTRESS Kate Beckinsale – Love & Friendship
YOUNG BRITISH/IRISH PERFORMER presented by The May Fair Hotel Lewis MacDougall – A Monster Calls
BREAKTHROUGH BRITISH/IRISH FILMMAKER Babak Anvari – Under the Shadow
BRITISH/IRISH SHORT FILM Sweet Maddie Stone – Brady Hood
TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT Victoria – Sturla Brandth Grovlen, cinematography
DILYS POWELL AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN FILM Isabelle Huppert
(Source: criticscircle.org)
*Featured photo, left to right; Kate Beckinsale, Isabelle Huppert and Naomie Harris (Photo credit: Dave Bennett/Getty)
Film and TV distributor FilmRise today announced it has acquired exclusive worldwide rights to SUPERGIRL. The film will screen at Slamdance 2017 today, Tuesday, January 24th. Directed by Jessie Auritt, “Supergirl” explores the extraordinary life of Naomi Kutin, an Orthodox Jewish pre-teen, who at the age of nine broke world records in powerlifting and became an international phenomenon. As she fights to hold on to her title, Kutin is navigating the perils of adolescence – from religious obligations to cyber-bullying and health issues, which could jeopardize her future in powerlifting. Can she still be “Supergirl” if she can no longer break world records? With a passionate family supporting her each step of the way, Naomi must learn to accept herself and discover she is as strong inside as she is outside.
The coming-of-age documentary made its world premiere at the Hamptons International Film Festival, followed by screenings at the Cucalorus Film Festival, DOC NYC and Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival. In addition to Slamdance 2017, the film will also screen at the Palm Beach Jewish Film, and the Big Sky Documentary Festival.
“Supergirl” will make its broadcast debut on the upcoming season of PBS’s Independent Lens.
Jessie Auritt, Director of the coming-of-age documentary, SuperGirl. (Photo via twitter)
“We’re so excited to begin our partnership with FilmRise after a successful initial festival run,” said Jessie Auritt, the film’s director.
Noted Danny Fisher, CEO of FilmRise: “We are thrilled to help bring this unique coming-of-age story to a wider audience. Jessie Auritt has found a truly original subject in Naomi Kutin and has brought a distinct directorial vision to the project.”
Lois Vossen, Executive Producer of PBS Independent Lens (Photo via pbs.org)
“This feisty film brings together issues of female empowerment, religious beliefs and one very strong family’s commitment to each other and to greater tolerance,” said Lois Vossen, Executive Producer of Independent Lens. “We applaud Jessie for making such an entertaining film that shows how, despite our differences, we’re all more alike than we might think. We look forward to bringing the film to INDEPENDENT LENS on PBS.”
The deal was negotiated by Fisher and FilmRise’s VP of Acquisitions Max Einhorn with Daniel Hyman and Abby Davis of Preferred Content.
ABOUT FILMRISE
FilmRise is a film and TV distribution company founded by veteran producer/financiers Danny Fisher, Jack Fisher and Alan Klingenstein. With over 15,000 titles in a wide range of genres, the company’s film acquisitions and releases include HBO’s multiple Emmy®-winning “Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief”; “Janis: Little Girl Blue,” produced by Oscar®-winner Alex Gibney; the acclaimed true crime documentary “The Witness”; and most recently, the controversial drama “White Girl.” Television titles include hit series such as Showtime’s Emmy®-winning “Years of Living Dangerously,” the longest running true crime show on television “Forensic Files,” and iconic Robert Stack hosted series “Unsolved Mysteries.” FilmRise’s recent acquisitions are two-time Academy Award®-nominee Julie Delpy’s “Lolo”; “Five Nights in Maine,” starring Oscar®-winner Dianne Wiest, David Oyelowo, and Oscar®-nominee Rosie Perez; the buzzed-about horror-comedy “The Greasy Strangler”; the box office hit “Harry & Snowman”; and “Now More Than Ever: The History of Chicago” in partnership with CNN Films. For more information, go to: http://www.FilmRise.com
Shortly after the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was incorporated in 1927, a dinner was held in the Crystal Ballroom of the Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles to discuss the goals of the new organization. One of those goals was devising a method to honor outstanding achievements, thus encouraging higher levels of quality in all facets of motion picture production.
At one of the many meetings in the following weeks, MGM art director Cedric Gibbons sketched the figure of a knight gripping a sword, standing in front of a reel of film. The five spokes of the reel stood for the original five branches of the Academy – actors, directors, producers, technicians and writers – and the sword symbolized protection for the welfare and advancement of the industry. The design was immediately adopted by the Board of Directors and graced the cover of the November 1927 issue of the Academy magazine.
In early 1928, Gibbons chose Los Angeles sculptor George Stanley to realize his design in three dimensions. Together they discussed the design concept – no live models or sketches were used – and Stanley worked up several versions from which Gibbons selected one. In the finished design, the figure of the knight was streamlined and the film reel moved beneath its feet. The now iconic statuette was born.
Since the initial awards banquet on May 16, 1929, in the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel’s Blossom Room, over 3,000 statuettes have been presented. Each January, additional new golden statuettes are hand-cast in bronze by New York-based Polich Tallix Fine Art Foundry before receiving its 24-karat gold finish by Epner Technology, a renowned high-tech specification electroplating company in Brooklyn.
The statuette stands 131/2 inches tall and weighs a robust 81/2 pounds. The design of the statuette has never changed from its original conception, but the size of the base varied until the present standard was adopted in 1945. Officially named the Academy Award® of Merit, the statuette is better known by its nickname, Oscar, the origins of which aren’t clear.
A popular story has been that Academy librarian and eventual executive director Margaret Herrick thought it resembled her Uncle Oscar and said so, and that the Academy staff began referring to it as Oscar. In any case, by the sixth Awards presentation in 1934, Hollywood columnist Sidney Skolsky used the name in his column in reference to Katharine Hepburn’s first Best Actress win. The Academy itself didn’t use the nickname officially until 1939.
The 15 statuettes presented at the initial ceremonies were gold-plated solid bronze. Within a few years, the bronze was abandoned in favor of Britannia metal, a pewter-like alloy, which made it easier to give the statuettes their smooth finish. Because of the metals shortage during World War II, Oscars® were made of painted plaster for three years. Following the war, all of the awarded plaster figures were exchanged for gold-plated metal ones.
Achievements in up to 24 regular categories will be honored on February 26, 2017, at the 89th Oscars® presentation at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®. However, the Academy won’t know how many statuettes it will actually hand out until the envelopes are opened on Oscar Night®.
Although the number of categories will be known prior to the ceremony, the possibility of ties and of multiple recipients sharing the prize in some categories makes the exact number of Oscar statuettes to be presented unpredictable. As in previous years, any surplus awards will be housed in the Academy’s vault until next year’s event.
Except in years when the Academy created a publicity event out of the delivery of the Oscars to Los Angeles, they normally were sent overland by common carrier. However, in 2000, only a few weeks before the presentation date, that year’s shipment of Oscars was stolen from the overland carrier’s loading dock. They were recovered a week later, but not before some nerve-wracking days had passed. Since then, the Academy has kept an additional ceremony’s-worth of statuettes on hand.
The Oscar statuette is the most recognized award in the world. Its success as a symbol of achievement in filmmaking would doubtless amaze those who attended that dinner more than 80 years ago, as well as its designer, Cedric Gibbons.
It stands today, as it has since 1929, without peer, on the mantels of the greatest filmmakers in history.
THE HORIZON AWARD SUPPORTS EMERGING FEMALE FILMMAKERS WORLD-WIDE
The Horizon Award co-founders, Elwes, Howell, and Vachon, have partnered with new and returning sponsors: The Adrienne Shelly Foundation, Sundance Institute, Women In Film (WIF) Los Angeles, The Black List, CreativeFuture, The Creative Mind Group, ScreenEngine, MPRM, Twitter, MPAA, WME, and ShivHans Pictures for the 3rd Annual Awards in Park City.
PARK CITY, UTAH (January 23, 2017) – The Horizon Award co-founders (Cassian Elwes, Lynette Howell Taylor, and Christine Vachon) proudly announced the winners of the 3rd Annual Horizon Awards on last night, January 22, 2017, at the WME Lounge in Park City, Utah during the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. The six directors who judged the final 53 films to select the 2 winners were: Catherine Hardwicke (Thirteen, Twilight), Kimberly Pierce (Boys Don’t Cry, Carrie), Jamie Babbit (But I’m a Cheerleader, Addicted to Fresno), Karyn Kusama (Jennifer’s Body, Æon Flux), Tina Mabry (Mississippi Damned, Queen Sugar), and Vicky Jensen (Shrek, Shark Tale). Brittany “B Monét” Fennell and Andy Villanueva were the two (2) female directors, who submitted their self-directed short film (two minutes or less) through the website (www.horizonaward.org), and were awarded their cash prize during this event. As part of their award, The Horizon Award made it possible for both Ms. Fennell & Ms. Villanueva to experience an all-expense paid mentorship to the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, in addition to a cash prize.
Pictured above: top left to right, Christine Vachon (Co-Founder), Lynette Howell Taylor (Co-Founder), Cassian Elwes (Co-Founder), and Shivani Rawat; bottom left to right, Brittany “B Monet” Fennell (Award Winner), Sharon Lawrence (Actress), Dee Rees (Director), Andy Villanueva (Award Winner), Carey Mulligan (Actress), and Jack Black (Actor). (Photo credit: Dan Campbell/Horizon Award))
Among the presenters were Jack Black (The Polka King, Kung Fu Panda), Carey Mulligan (Mudbound, Suffragette), Sharon Lawrence (NYPD Blue, Shameless), and Dee Rees (Director of Mudbound, Pariah).
We were also delighted to announce that CEO, Shivani Rawat and ShivHans Pictures generously donated $25,000 to the Horizon Award winners for continuing education and sponsorship on film projects. ShivHans Pictures was one of the producers of The Polka King that premiered at Sundance with directors: Maya Forbes and Wallace Wolodarsky with cast: Jack Black, Jason Schwarzman, Jenny Slate, and others.
“Being a woman in a largely male-dominated field presents challenges, one of which is balancing the serious gender and diversity gap within the filmmaking community. As a young, Indian-American female producer myself this is a personal challenge, which is why ShivHans Pictures is proud to support this year’s women filmmakers as a patron of the Horizon Award.” —Shivani Rawat
The 3rd Annual Horizon Award partnered with new and returning sponsors: The Adrienne Shelly Foundation, Sundance Institute, Women In Film (WIF) Los Angeles, The Black List, CreativeFuture, The Creative Mind Group, ScreenEngine, MPRM, Twitter, MPAA, WME, and ShivHans Pictures.
The Horizon Award Co-Founders have been in Park City to represent each of their films at the Sundance Film Festival. Christine Vachon, David Hinojosa, and Killer Films are with their four films: Beatriz at Dinner, Lemon, Mercy, and Where is Kyra. Cassian Elwes and Elevated is with Mudbound, directed by Dee Rees and starring Carey Mulligan, Jason Mitchell, Jason Clarke, and Garrett Hedlund. Following an amazing 2016 Sundance Film Festival with her film, Captain Fantastic, Lynette Howell Taylor is currently working on the HBO mini-series, American Lion, with Sean Penn as well as with Brie Larson on her directorial debut, Unicorn Store. Lynette has snuck away from post-production to support The Horizon Award at Sundance 2017.
ABOUT THE HORIZON AWARD RECIPIENTS:
Brittany “B Monét” Fennell is a graduate of Spelman College. She studied writing and directing at New York University and was granted the Graduate Film Department Fellowship. She associate produced a short film “Strings Attached” that premiered at Cannes Court Metrage. Recently, shot a feature length documentary called Little Sallie Walker with Stephanie Person, the first African-American professional skateboarder. She also worked at Beyoncé’s production company Parkwood Entertainment. Last year she completed a short documentary #RiseUpOctober with Dr. Cornel West, about the #BlackLivesMatter movement. Currently, she is developing her short film “Q.U.E.E.N.” into a feature and working on a short film for the Bureau of Creative Works that will be featured on VHX in 2017. This year she was named a directing fellow for Film Independent’s fellowship Project Involve.
Andy Villanueva is a Mexican immigrant, multi-disciplinary artist and co-founder of Project Slut. She has been fighting for young women’s rights since she was 15. She is currently double majoring at York University and studying Human Rights & Equity Studies & Cinema.
ABOUT THE HORIZON AWARD FOUNDERS, SPONSORS, & GRANTS:
Founded by acclaimed independent film producers Cassian Elwes (Dallas Buyers Club), Lynette Howell Taylor (Captain Fantastic), and Christine Vachon (Carol), The Horizon Award make it possible for two young women to experience an all-expense paid mentorship to the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, in addition to a cash prize. Elwes, Howell, and Vachon have partnered with new and returning sponsors: The Adrienne Shelly Foundation, Sundance Institute, Women In Film (WIF) Los Angeles, The Black List, CreativeFuture, The Creative Mind Group, ScreenEngine, MPRM, Twitter, MPAA, WME, and ShivHans Pictures in this effort.
The Horizon Award is an annual competitive accolade, with a cash prize, established to support emerging female directors and address the significant disparity between the numbers of female-to-male directors, a hot topic that is the subject of an ACLU inquiry into management and labor hiring practices in Hollywood. The American film and television industry is in need of significant change to better represent the diversity of this country. At a time when women make up 50.8% of the U.S. population, just 7.5% of the 100 top-grossing films from 2015 were made by female directors. One of the most glaring statistics: approximately 50% of people in film school are women, 25% of films in competition at Sundance Film Festival are directed by women, yet only 2% of the top-grossing films in 2014 were directed by women. The Horizon Award wants to be part of the change.
The Horizon Award team is incredibly grateful for the continued support of The Adrienne Shelly Foundation. This year, the Adrienne Shelly Foundation is returning with a $5,000 Film Grant to be awarded in partnership with The Horizon Award at The Sundance Film Festival in January 2017. Named in honor of actress/filmmaker, Adrienne Shelly, the grant supports women filmmakers to move forward in their careers. Commenting on the grant, Founder and Executive Director, Andy Ostry said: “Our grants support women filmmakers. Yet just 6% of the 250 top grossing films last year were directed by women. That’s a shameful statistic, which is why our mission is so critical.”
*Featured photo: left to right, Cassian Elwes (Horizon Award Co-Founder, Carey Mulligan (Actress), and Andy Villanueva (Award Winner).(Photo credit: Dan Campbell/Horizon Award)
(Source: Melanie Márquez, Senior Publicist at M4PR )
Twelve New International Novels Ripe for Screen Adaptation
On February 14, film producers attending “Books at Berlinale” will have the chance to discover twelve new literary works that lend themselves perfectly for adaptation to the screen. The selected novels will be presented at a pitching session in the framework of the Berlinale Co-Production Market. At a get-together following the session, the invited producers will be able to join in conversation with respected, internationally active literary agents and representatives of publishing houses who hold the film rights to the works in question. There they can establish and cultivate contacts in the international book world or perhaps even begin to negotiate right away to option the film rights to one or more of the selected books.
The twelve literary works that make up the selection at this year’s edition of “Books at Berlinale” come from publishers and agencies from Belgium, Brazil, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. More than 130 works from over 30 countries were submitted for consideration in the program.
In addition to the brand-new novels of best-selling authors Martin Suter (Switzerland) and Herman Koch of the Netherlands, whose international hit “Het Dinner” (“The Dinner”) is represented this year in the Berlinale Competition in a screen adaptation starring Richard Gere, and a new work from multiple prize-winning Kurdish author Bachtyar Ali, the selection presents a broad spectrum of themes and genres with a high potential for adaptation to the screen.
The selected novels deal with urgent contemporary questions such as the potential consequences of genetic manipulation, with dystopian scenarios arising after the extinction of bees, but also with child heroes who grow into crusaders against evil along with a group of mascots in one particularly comedic instance. Beyond that, they relate epic historical sagas based on real persons and events: German POWs in American camps at the end of the Second World War; the opalescent life story of banker Hugo Simon, companion of Thomas Mann and many other artists, who was forced to flee from Berlin with his family into exile in Brazil; and the daughter of James Joyce, who, engaged to Samuel Beckett, moved through Paris of the 1920s as a dancer in search of her destiny.
“Books at Berlinale” has been organized annually by the Berlinale in co-operation with the Frankfurt Book Fair since 2006.
“With ‘Books at Berlinale’, we have been able, together with the Frankfurt Book Fair, to create an event with a large network, which promotes co-operation in the area of literary adaptations, which themselves represent an important part of the film production world,” according to Berlinale Director Dieter Kosslick.
Film producers who are active in the area of literary adaptations (or would like to be) as well as publishers and literary agents can register to participate in the event until February 8 at books@berlinale.de.
“Books at Berlinale” takes place in the Berlin House of Representatives in the framework of the Berlinale Co-Production Market. Primary partners of the Berlinale Co-Production Market are MDM – Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung and Creative Europe – MEDIA, a programme of the European Union. The Berlinale Co-Production Market is a part of the European Film Market (EFM).
The following works have been selected for “Books at Berlinale” 2017:
(in alphabetical order by company presenting the film)
rights to SUPERGIRL. The film will screen at Slamdance 2017 today, Tuesday, January 24th. Directed by Jessie Auritt, “Supergirl” explores the extraordinary life of Naomi Kutin, an Orthodox Jewish pre-teen, who at the age of nine broke world records in powerlifting and became an international phenomenon. As she fights to hold on to her title, Kutin is navigating the perils of adolescence – from religious obligations to cyber-bullying and health issues, which could jeopardize her future in powerlifting. Can she still be “Supergirl” if she can no longer break world records? With a passionate family supporting her each step of the way, Naomi must learn to accept herself and discover she is as strong inside as she is outside.
The Horizon Award is an annual competitive accolade, with a cash prize, established to support emerging female directors and address the significant disparity between the numbers of female-to-male directors, a hot topic that is the subject of an ACLU inquiry into management and labor hiring practices in Hollywood. The American film and television industry is in need of significant change to better represent the diversity of this country. At a time when women make up 50.8% of the U.S. population, just 7.5% of the 100 top-grossing films from 2015 were made by female directors. One of the most glaring statistics: approximately 50% of people in film school are women, 25% of films in competition at Sundance Film Festival are directed by women, yet only 2% of the top-grossing films in 2014 were directed by women. The Horizon Award wants to be part of the change.
“With ‘Books at Berlinale’, we have been able, together with the Frankfurt Book Fair, to create an event with a large network, which promotes co-operation in the area of literary adaptations, which themselves represent an important part of the film production world,” according to Berlinale Director Dieter Kosslick.