News: 31st Film Independent Spirit Award Nominees

$75,000 IN GRANTS TO BE AWARDED TO FILMMAKERS!

SPIRIT AWARDS TO BE BROADCAST LIVE EXCLUSIVELY ON IFC, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2016 2:00 pm PT / 5:00 pm ET!

"Carol", "Spotlight", "Beasts of No Nation", "James White", "Songs My Brothers Taught Me", "Tangerine", "Mediterranea" earn multiple nods! 

Film Independent, the nonprofit arts organization that produces the Film Independent Spirit Awards, the LA Film Festival and Film Independent at LACMA, announced on November 24, 2015 the nominations for the 2016 Spirit Awards this morning. Film Independent President Josh Welsh presided over the press conference held at W Hollywood, with actors John Boyega and Elizabeth Olsen presenting the nominations.

"This year's nominees are a testament to the strength, vitality and diversity of independent, artist-driven filmmaking,” said Film Independent President Josh Welsh. “It’s an astonishingly strong group of films and performances this year and we look forward to celebrating them all at the Spirit Awards."

"Spotlight" was selected to receive the Robert Altman Award, which is bestowed upon one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast. The Altman Award was created in 2008 in honor of legendary director Robert Altman who was known for creating extraordinary ensemble casts.

“Spotlight is a remarkable film that excels on every level, but the Nominating Committee thought it was especially deserving of the Robert Altman Award,” said Welsh. “The film is beautifully cast with every member of the ensemble working together to tell the story of the Boston Globe investigating allegations of abuse in the Catholic Church."

The Spirit Awards Nominating Committees selected nominees from 362 submissions this year and applied the following guidelines in determining the nominations: uniqueness of vision, original and provocative subject matter, economy of means (with particular attention paid to total production cost and individual compensation) and percentage of financing from independent sources. The Spirit Awards Nominating Committees are comprised of writers, directors, producers, cinematographers, editors, actors, critics, casting directors, film festival programmers and other working film professionals.

2016 FILM INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARD NOMINATIONS

BEST FEATURE 
(Award given to the Producer. Executive Producers are not awarded.)
         
Anomalisa
Producers: Duke Johnson, Charlie Kaufman, Dino Stamatopoulos, Rosa Tran

Beasts of No Nation
Producers: Daniel Crown, Idris Elba, Cary Joji Fukunaga, Amy Kaufman, Daniela Taplin Lundberg, Riva Marker

Carol
Producers: Elizabeth Karlsen, Christine Vachon, Stephen Woolley 
         
Spotlight
Producers: Blye Pagon Faust, Steve Golin, Nicole Rocklin, Michael Sugar

Tangerine
Producers: Sean Baker, Karrie Cox, Marcus Cox, Darren Dean, Shih-Ching Tsou

BEST FIRST FEATURE
(Award given to the director and producer)

The Diary of a Teenage Girl
Director: Marielle Heller
Producers: Miranda Bailey, Anne Carey, Bert Hamelinck, Madeline Samit

James White
Director: Josh Mond
Producers: Max Born, Antonio Campos, Sean Durkin, Melody Roscher, Eric Schultz

Manos Sucias
Director: Josef Kubota Wladyka
Producers: Elena Greenlee, Márcia Nunes

Mediterranea
Director: Jonas Carpignano
Producers: Jason Michael Berman, Chris Columbus, Jon Coplon, Christoph Daniel, Andrew Kortschak, John Lesher, Ryan Lough, Justin Nappi, Alain Peyrollaz, Gwyn Sannia, Marc Schmidheiny, Victor Shapiro, Ryan Zacarias

Songs My Brothers Taught Me
Director/Producer: Chloé Zhao
Producers: Mollye Asher, Nina Yang Bongiovi, Angela C. Lee, Forest Whitaker

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

Advantageous
Writer/Director/Producer: Jennifer Phang
Writer/Producer: Jacqueline Kim
Producers: Robert Chang, Ken Jeong, Moon Molson, Theresa Navarro

Christmas, Again
Writer/Director/Producer: Charles Poekel
         
Heaven Knows What
Directors: Benny Safdie and Josh Safdie
Writers: Ronald Bronstein, Josh Safdie
Producers: Oscar Boyson, Sebastian Bear McClard

Krisha
Writer/Director/Producer: Trey Edward Shults
Producers: Justin R. Chan, Chase Joliet, Wilson Smith

Out of My Hand
Writer/Director: Takeshi Fukunaga
Writer/Producer: Donari Braxton
Producer: Mike Fox

BEST DIRECTOR

• Sean Baker, Tangerine
• Cary Joji Fukunaga, Beasts of No Nation
• Todd Haynes, Carol
• Duke Johnson & Charlie Kaufman, Anomalisa
• Tom McCarthy, Spotlight
• David Robert Mitchell, It Follows

BEST SCREENPLAY

• Charlie Kaufman, Anomalisa
• Donald Margulies, The End of the Tour
• Tom McCarthy & Josh Singer, Spotlight
• Phyllis Nagy, Carol
• S. Craig Zahler, Bone Tomahawk

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY

• Jesse Andrews, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
• Jonas Carpignano, Mediterranea
• Emma Donoghue, Room
• Marielle Heller, The Diary of a Teenage Girl
• John Magary (Story by Russell Harbaugh and Myna Joseph), The Mend

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

• Cary Joji Fukunaga, Beasts of No Nation
• Michael Gioulakis, It Follows
• Ed Lachman, Carol
• Reed Morano, Meadowland
• Joshua James Richards, Songs My Brothers Taught Me

BEST EDITING

• Ronald Bronstein and Benny Safdie, Heaven Knows What
• Tom McArdle, Spotlight
• Nathan Nugent, Room
• Julio C. Perez IV, It Follows
• Kristan Sprague, Manos Sucias

BEST FEMALE LEAD

• Cate Blanchett, Carol
• Brie Larson, Room
• Rooney Mara, Carol
• Bel Powley, The Diary of a Teenage Girl
• Kitana Kiki Rodriguez, Tangerine

BEST MALE LEAD

• Christopher Abbott, James White
• Abraham Attah, Beasts of No Nation
• Ben Mendelsohn, Mississippi Grind
• Jason Segel, The End of the Tour
• Koudous Seihon, Mediterranea

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE

• Robin Bartlett, H.
• Marin Ireland, Glass Chin
• Jennifer Jason Leigh, Anomalisa
• Cynthia Nixon, James White
• Mya Taylor, Tangerine

BEST SUPPORTING MALE

• Kevin Corrigan, Results
• Paul Dano, Love & Mercy
• Idris Elba, Beasts of No Nation
• Richard Jenkins, Bone Tomahawk
• Michael Shannon, 99 Homes

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

Spotlight
Director: Tom McCarthy
Casting Directors: Kerry Barden and Paul Schnee
Ensemble Cast: Billy Crudup, Paul Guilfoyle, Neal Huff, Brian d'Arcy James, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Mark Ruffalo, Liev Schreiber, Jamey Sheridan, John Slattery, Stanley Tucci

BEST DOCUMENTARY 
(Award given to the director and producer)

(T)ERROR
Directors/Producers: Lyric R. Cabral & David Felix Sutcliffe
Producer: Christopher St. John

Best of Enemies
Directors/Producers: Robert Gordon and Morgan Neville

Heart of a Dog        
Director/Producer: Laurie Anderson
Producer: Dan Janvey

The Look of Silence
Director: Joshua Oppenheimer
Producer: Signe Byrge Sørensen

Meru
Directors/Producers: Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi
Producer: Shannon Ethridge

The Russian Woodpecker
Director/Producer: Chad Gracia
Producers: Ram Devineni, Mike Lerner

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM
(Award given to the director)

Embrace of the Serpent
(Colombia)
Director: Ciro Guerra

Girlhood
(France)
Director: Céline Sciamma

Mustang
(France, Turkey)
Director: Deniz Gamze Ergüven

A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence
(Sweden)
Director: Roy Andersson

Son of Saul
(Hungary)
Director: László Nemes

19th ANNUAL PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD
The 19th annual Producers Award, sponsored by Piaget, honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrate the creativity, tenacity and vision required to produce quality, independent films.  The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Piaget.

• Darren Dean
• Mel Eslyn
• Rebecca Green and Laura D. Smith

22nd ANNUAL KIEHL’S SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD
The 22nd annual Someone to Watch Award, sponsored by Kiehl’s Since 1851, recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition.  The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Kiehl’s Since 1851.

• God Bless the Child, Directors: Robert Machoian & Rodrigo Ojeda-Beck
• King Jack, Director: Felix Thompson
• Songs My Brothers Taught Me, Director: Chloé Zhao

21st TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD
The 21st annual Truer Than Fiction Award is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition.  The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant.

• Among the Believers, Directors: Mohammed Ali Naqvi and Hemal Trivedi
• Incorruptible, Director: Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi
• A Woman Like Me, Directors: Elizabeth Giamatti and Alex Sichel

Winners will be announced at the Spirit Awards on Saturday, February 27, 2016. The awards ceremony will be held as a daytime luncheon in a tent on the beach in Santa Monica, in a new location this year just north of the Santa Monica Pier. The show will broadcast live exclusively on IFC at 2:00 pm PT/ 5:00 pm ET.

Winners of the Spirit Awards Filmmaker Grants will be highlighted during the awards ceremony and announced at the Film Independent Spirit Awards Filmmaker Grants and Nominee Brunch on Saturday, January 9, 2016, at BOA Steakhouse in West Hollywood.

In addition to celebrating the broad spectrum of independent filmmaking, the Spirit Awards is also the primary fundraiser for Film Independent’s year-round programs, which cultivate the careers of emerging filmmakers and promote diversity in the industry. To learn more about table sales, attendance and donations please contact jmurby@filmindependent.org or 310.432.1253.

XXX

Raymond Lo

2014 Spirit Awards Winners

Steve McQueen's "12 Years a Slave" was expected to dominate and it indeed dominated the awards winning Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actress, Best Cinematography and Best Screenplay. Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto won as expected for their roles in "Dallas Buyers Club" while Cate Blanchett and her phenomenal performance as "Blue Jasmine" is just one day away from winning the biggest prize of the year. She won the Spirit for Best Actress.

Here's the complete list of winners:


BEST FEATURE :12 Years a Slave

BEST FIRST FEATURE: Fruitvale Station

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM: Blue Is the Warmest Color (France)

BEST DOCUMENTARY: 20 Feet From Stardom

BEST FEMALE LEAD: Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
BEST MALE LEAD: Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club
BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE: Lupita Nyong'o, 12 Years a Slave
BEST SUPPORTING MALE: Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club

BEST SCREENPLAY: John Ridley, 12 Years a Slave

BEST DIRECTOR: Steve McQueen, 12 Years a Slave

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Sean Bobbit, 12 Years a Slave

BEST EDITING: Nat Sanders, Short Term 12

xxx
Raymond Lo

My 86th Oscars Predictions!

(Here's a reprint of my 86th Oscars article that came out today, February 22, 2014, on The Philippine Star. The online link can be found here: http://www.philstar.com/entertainment/2014/02/23/1293390/its-oscars-time)

In Summary: I am a big fan of "Gravity". Of Cate Blanchett's performance in "Blue Jasmine. Of the Palestine film "Omar". And of the Disney juggernaut "Frozen" and Idina Menzel's "Let It Go"!

The full article:

Leonardo DiCaprio ("The Wolf of Wall Street")

MANILA, Philippines - Movie buffs, rejoice! The games of the winter Olympics are over. It’s time for the Oscars!

The 86th Annual Academy Awards will be telecast live from the Dolby Theater in Hollywood on March 2 (Monday morning, March 3 in Manila), delayed by a week this year to make room for the Olympics.

That delay only added to the excitement and allowed the competing movies and actors an extra week to campaign for the biggest prizes in movies. It should have also allowed many people the opportunity to watch all the nominated movies and have better chances at predicting the winners — or perhaps not. Predicting the winners is always tricky and the Academy always pulls a surprise or two every now and then.

The Philippine STAR offers you this guide to help you in several key categories including the very competitive races for Best Picture and Best Supporting Actress.

Best Director: Alfonso Cuaron (Gravity) versus Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave).

Cuaron directing George Clooney and Sandra Bullock

Of the 10 nominations received by the Warner Bros.’ space opera Gravity, this category is its biggest chance at landing a major win. Alfonso has won every major award this season, including the Directors Guild of America and the BAFTA awards, and he is likely to continue the streak on Oscar night. His major competitor is Brit director Steve who has his share of supporters for his powerful slavery saga 12 Years a Slave that is also a strong contender for the Best Picture prize. Other nominees are Martin Scorsese (The Wolf of Wall Street), Alexander Payne (Nebraska) and David O. Russell (American Hustle).

Winner: Alfonso Cuaron.

Matthew McConaughey ("Dallas Buyers Club")

Best Actor: Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club) versus Leonardo Di Caprio (The Wolf of Wall Street).

In December, when this writer had a roundtable interview with Matthew and fellow actor Woody Harrelson, Woody summed up the case for his good friend: “He’s finally getting the respect he’s always deserved. I think he’s a phenomenal actor and he’s proven how much he can commit to a role and obviously with Ron Woodruff, I think there’s no actor alive who could have played that better.” Matthew has successfully reinvented himself after almost becoming an industry joke. His biggest competitor is Leo who wowed many critics for his manic and uncompromising performance in The Wolf of Wall Street but the megastar will sadly have to wait another year. Other nominees are Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave), Bruce Dern (Nebraska) and Christian Bale (American Hustle).

Winner: Matthew McConaughey.

Best Actress: Cate Blanchett versus the Woody Allen backlash.

Cate has practically swept all the acting awards this season for a performance that this writer considers as the finest performance by any actor since Meryl Streep’s turn in The Iron Lady and she will win on Sunday despite the highly-publicized sex abuse claims of Mia Farrow against Woody Allen who directed Cate in Blue Jasmine. Actresses nominated with Cate are Amy Adams (American Hustle), Sandra Bullock (Gravity), Meryl Streep (August: Osage County) and Judi Dench (Philomena).

Jared Leto ("Dallas Buyers Club")

Best Supporting Actor: Jared Leto versus Oscar surprise.

Jared, the occasional actor, has not made a movie in six years and he triumphantly returns to acting with a compelling turn as Rayon, the AIDS-afflicted transgender in Dallas Buyers Club. Like Cate, Jared virtually swept all the major awards this season in his category and there’s no reason to doubt that he will not continue that streak at the Oscars — unless the Academy would consider pulling a surprise in this category. Other nominees are Bradley Cooper (American Hustle), Barkhad Abdi (Captain Phillips), Jonah Hill (The Wolf of Wall Street) and Michael Fassbender (12 Years a Slave).

Lupita Nyong'o ("12 Years a Slave")

Best Supporting Actress: Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave) versus Jennifer Lawrence (American Hustle).

This is one category where there is no clear frontrunner. Lupita won the Screen Actors Guild and Broadcast Film Critics awards for her heartbreaking role of a suffering slave in 12 Years a Slave, while Jennifer won the BAFTA last week for her equally masterful performance as the feisty housewife of a con artist in David O. Russell’s American Hustle. Jennifer won Best Actress last year for another Russell film, Silver Linings Playbook, and that could work against her. Plus, Lupita has been wowing everyone with her heartfelt acceptance speeches, too! Other nominated actresses are Julia Roberts (August: Osage County), June Squibb (Nebraska) and Sally Hawkins (Blue Jasmine).

Winner: Lupita Nyong’o. And it will be a nice 31st birthday present for her.

Steve McQueen directing Chiwetel Ejiofor
in "12 Years a Slave"

Best Picture: Gravity versus 12 Years a Slave.

This one is still up for grabs. There are strong cases to make why either film should win the biggest prize of the year in movies. Gravity is highly acclaimed for its technical wizardry and moviemaking spectacle while 12 Years a Slave is being passionately hailed for its unrelenting depiction of the evils of slavery in America. The race is so tight that the Producers Guild of America, an accurate predictor of the Oscars, couldn’t decide on which movie was better and declare a rare tie for Best Picture! This is one rare case where a tie could also happen at the Oscars. But we have to predict a winner, right?

Winner: Gravity. Because it is my favorite movie of the year! Period.

Jennifer Lawrence ("American Hustle")

The seven other nominated films for Best Picture are American Hustle, Captain Phillips, Philomena, Dallas Buyers Club, Nebraska, Her and The Wolf of Wall Street.

Other predictions: Frozen, Disney’s biggest hit in years, will win two Oscars (Best Animated Film and Best Original Song) as this writer predicted back in November.

Best Foreign Language Film winner will be The Great Beauty from Italy but if I were voting, Omar, the valiant and heartbreaking film from Palestine, would be my choice. Other films in contention are The Hunt (Denmark), The Broken Circle Breakdown (Belgium) and The Missing Picture from Cambodia.

Tie breakers: Gravity will sweep with seven Oscars or eight if it wins Best Picture. Dallas Buyers Club will win three. 12 Years a Slave will win two.

Comedian Ellen DeGeneres returns as host. Artists slated to perform are Idina Menzel (who will perform Let It Go, the ubiquitous hit from Frozen,) U2, Pharrell, Karen O and Bette Midler. Kim Novak, the iconic star of Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo, will make a rare appearance during the show.

See you at the Oscars.

xxx
Raymond De Asis Lo

BAFTA 2014 Winners!

The BAFTAs are currently being handed out... So far "Gravity" has scooped 4 trophies including Best British Film. Yes, it is British because the producer, David Heyman, is British.

Surprise winners in the supporting actor and actress categories. Barkhad Abdi (Captain Phillips) and Jennifer Lawrence (American Hustle) won over Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club), who was not nominated (oops!) and Lupita N'yongo (12 Years a Slave), who was nominated.

Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave) was named Best Actor! But Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club) was not nominated so it doesn't mean anything to the Oscar race.

Alfonso Cuaron is the year's BEST DIRECTOR. The BAFTAs just validated it. The Oscars will do the final coronation next month!

Italy's "The Great Beauty" was named Best Film not in the English Language. "Metro Manila", the British-made Filipino movie lost. Its incredible run ends tonight. Amazing run! Congratulations!

And "Frozen" won Best Animated Film and Elsa was there (or i was lead to believe) to receive the trophy.

"12 Years A Slave" won Best Picture of the year! But I still want "Gravity" to win!!!

Thankfully there was no backlash as Cate Blanchett was rightfully named the Best Actress winner for Woody Allen's masterful "Blue Jasmine." No surprise. Incredible performance!

Here are some pics from tonight's BAFTAs i filched from Twitter.

Full list of winners:

Best Film - 12 Years a Slave
Best British Film - Gravity

Best Animated Film - Frozen

Best Documentary - The Act of Killing

Best Non-English Language Film - The Great Beauty

British Short Film - Room 8

Best Short Animation - Sleeping with the Fishes

Best Actor - Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years A Slave

Best Actress  - Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
Best Supporting Actor - Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips
Best Supporting Actress - Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle

Best Director - Gravity
Best Adapted Screenplay - Philomena
Best Original Screenplay - American Hustle

Best Cinematography - Gravity

Best Visual Effects - Gravity

Best Sound - Gravity

Best Original Music - Gravity

Best Production Design - The Great Gatsby

Best Costume Design - The Great Gatsby

Best Make-Up & Hair - American Hustle
Best Editing - Rush

Rising Star - Will Poulter, We're the Millers

Outstanding British Debut - Kieran Evans for Kelly and Victor

Outstanding Contribution to British Cinema - Peter Greenaway

Alfonso Cuaron, David Heyman

Barkhad Abdi, Emma Thompson

Elsa and her BAFTA trophy

XXX
Raymond Lo

More Stories From "The Monuments Men"

My coverage of "The Monuments Men" came out today, February 9, 2014, on The Philippine Star. The online edition can be found through this link: http://www.philstar.com/entertainment/2014/02/10/1288483/fun-encounter-monuments-men.

The Cast of The Monuments Men

In my story, i reported the fun one hour I had with the stars of the movie. I focused on how Matt Damon was picked on by George Clooney and Cate Blanchett.

There were many other things that we talked about during the press conference. George lengthily addressed the questions by a couple of journalists from Israel about the stolen artworks that belonged to many prominent Jewish families during the war. He also discussed some scenes in the movie that depicted the harrowing atrocities the NAZIs committed. There was a German journalist who asked the cast how they find Germany which prompted George to relate how embarrassed he was during the casting of the German parts because all they offered were NAZI parts. One actor tried to rationalize the action of his character but George cut him off saying, "No, he is really bad!"

Follow the link above to read my story. I would like to share a collage of pictures i took from the junket, too.

XXX
Raymond Lo

Festival Diary: SBIFF 2014

SBIFF or Santa Barbara International Film Festival (http://sbiff.org/) kicked off yesterday and will run until February 9th. It is the 29th edition of the festival. Yay! I am driving tomorrow morning to the seaside town and spend the next two days traveling the world again with the filmmakers as my guide.

Oscar frontrunner Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine) will be feted tomorrow night and I hope I can make it. Filipino festival favorite "Transit" (dir. Hannah Espia) will be screened during the festival along with Singapore's acclaimed film "Ilo Ilo" (dir. Anthony Chen). Fun times ahead.

Below are the movies that i have penciled and hope to catch during my two day trip.

29th SBIFF Screen Grab.

Saturday:

Eastern Boys (8:30 AM)
Mount Joy (10:20 AM)
Sam (1:00 PM)
Cold Eyes (4:40 PM)
Night Has Settled (7:00 PM)
The Gambler (10:10 PM)

Sunday:

Barefoot (11:00 AM)

Clownwise (1:20 PM)

Late Spring (4:00 PM)

Warren (7:00 PM)

Don't ask me anything about the movies as I haven't seen the program yet. I hope they are all good! I am particularly looking forward to watching "Barefoot" - it stars Evan Rachel Wood who, i think, is a remarkably underrated actress!

XXX
Raymond Lo


My Selfies With "The Monuments Men"

Clockwise: Matt Damon, Cate Blanchett,
Bill Murray, John Goodman

"The Monuments Men" will open next Friday, February 7, in the US and on Feb. 12th in the Philippines but before that here's a collection of selfies i took with the stars during the junket held in Beverly Hills recently.

My coverage story will come out soon in The Philippine Star (www.philstar.com) and there's a review embargo so i cannot tell you much about the movie or what i thought of it until after its premiere in Berlin.

I don't normally take selfies with the stars i interview (we need to maintain certain professional decorum, you know) but that day, with the permission of the organizers, this writer and many of us harangued the stars for selfies. They all obliged although, as you will notice, i am not quite adept at taking selfies yet. I hope to learn and take better selfies next time.

XXX
Raymond Lo