The National Association of Latino Independent Producers (Nalip) is ramping up for its 14th Annual Conference this weekend and to my great gusto, the discourse promises to be more specific, relevant and fresh than last year on how to empower Latino independent storytellers. Judging by the practical and forward-thinking panel discussions, Nalip’s YouTube channel premiering a curated selection of upcoming films, and the hip, savvy talent invited to represent, Nalip is setting the tone for discovery and healthy debate. Chief among the themes will be a contextualized creative response to the much-propagated Latino trillion dollar purchasing power statistic, and how to strategically seize territorial claim to the wild wild west expansion of online distribution platforms.
Among the established and rising American Latino actors and filmmakers on tap are Richard Montoya, Cristina Ibarra, Aurora Guerrero, Gina Rodriguez, Danny Trejo, Jeremy Ray Valdez, and Jesse Garcia. The keynote speech on Friday will be given by none other than Richard Peña, one of the most influential film curators in the world who headed the prestigious Film Society of Lincoln Center for twenty-five years. It will be an insightful and thoughtful conversation moderated by the sensitive, master documentarian and MacArthur Genius Grant fellow, Natalia Almada. As this year’s Nalip Conference Co-Chair, Almada helped inform the direction of the conference and scored Peña’s participation. When talking about how each year’s conference organically takes shape with the feedback of board members, staff and hosting committee, Beni Matias, Acting Executive Director of Nalip, referenced Natalia’s concern of prominently featuring the voice of the independent filmmaker over the commercial as a guiding pursuit.
Natalia’s involvement with Nalip goes back to 2003 when she became the recipient of the Estela Award, given in recognition to an emerging filmmaker who has ‘arrived’. Her revelatory documentaries include El Velador, El General and Al Otro Lado – all which have been critically acclaimed worldwide and have been featured in museums and screened at film festivals including Sundance and Director’s Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival. I asked her to share a few words about Nalip’s import and she replied over email, “I think that more than anything else the conference is a place where we can really exchange ideas, address shared concerns in our community and collectively fuel to keep going”.
Natalia is part of the sub-cine filmmaking crew who came of age through Nalip like Cristina Ibarra, Alex Rivera and Bernardo Ruiz. In fourteen years the organization has managed to be one of the few consistent Latino forums that has nurtured a family of artists/active organizers. Along with Beni Matias, Maria Agui Carter, who is a filmmaker and the Chair of the Board of Directors, has been actively with Nalip since the beginning. Other members who have continued with the organization since the beginning include Louis Perego Moreno who use to spearhead chapter leadership meetings, Jimmy Mendiola filmmaker and Director of CineFestival in San Antonio, Frank Gonzalez from Disney/ABC, Kim Meyers and Terri Lopez at WGA, Alex Nogales, to name just a few. Nalip has also enjoyed a sustained relationship with Time Warner and HBO who have taken turns at being the presenting partners of the conference since 2000.
Part of the reason I’m so eager to engage with and synthesize this year’s theme is this following text written by Maria Agui Carter to describe the Opening Plenary:
“Forbes magazine has called the Latino Market the “New Media Jackpot.” What is at stake? Why is every network and cable outlet now chasing the Latino market and how are Latino voices participating in this explosion not just as consumers but as creators?
There it is: “But as creators”. Amid all the hoopla over the rising Latino market data that makes corporations and brands salivate at the mouth over how to exploit us as consumers, nobody has thought about reckoning a counter creative force. We should be imagining how to harness, demand and unleash our creative power with that kind of purchasing power. Otherwise, the data simply makes us a target of a branding attack towards the depletion of our capital power and identity.
A programming change for this year and aimed to provide a more significant showcase for upcoming Latino films, Nalip is spotlighting brand new films on their Nalip YouTube channel. They’ve done away with the NALIPsters On View programming where members could openly screen their work during the conference. Those screening rooms tended to be lightly attended since there was little visibility and competition from the panel programming. Instead, this year Nalip will be premiering trailers of upcoming films to build buzz around them. The curated selection of fifteen new documentaries, narrative features and shorts will become available on Thursday, June 6.
Without a doubt, the most anticipated happening of this year’s conference will be the Nalip and Sundance Institute screening of Richard Montoya’s debut feature film, Water & Power at the AMC CityWalk. The impact and influence of this Chicano icon will be evident by the droves of fans, tentacle network of familia and homies, a wide range of community activists, artists, politicians who will be in attendance and who might reflect the young and old blood of the characters he writes. I listed W&P as number one in my top five movies to watch out for in 2013 so I’m thrilled to see it screen this way. Richard Peña will moderate a Q&A with Montoya after the screening. I couldn’t think of a better filmmaker and moderator pairing.
On Saturday at the Awards Gala, Machete Kills star Danny Trejo, the menacing but actually sweet hood actor will be presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Aurora Guerrero, filmmaker of Mosquita y Mari will be honored with the Estela Award that comes with a $7500 grant from McDonalds. And in what will surely be an emotionally inspiring moment, the first ever La Lupe Award will be bestowed to Gina Rodriguez. Her effervescence completely evokes the spitfire tenacity of the late great Lupe Ontiveros. I couldn’t think of a more perfect homage and passing of the torch.
While I found last year’s panel topics all over the place, this year it feels more targeted and practical. Panels like Beyond The Latino Market: Getting Your Film Out To A Wider Audience with Gabriel Reyes, Writing on Latino Cinema (a panel LatinoBuzz, Latin Heat and yours truly will be participating on!), Whatever It Takes: Diy Technology and the Democratization of Content Creation, and Entertainment Industry Writer Development Programs, all feature legit, intrepid filmmakers and industry sharing resources.
On Sunday the Closing Plenary will be Latinos and Media Stereotypes in which Natalia Almada, Richard Montoya, Aurora Guerrero, Yancey Arias will be participating, moderated by Mandalit del Barco of NPR. These are all highly experienced opinionated individuals with distinct tastes so I expect this one to be one of the livelier talks. Overall, this year’s Nalip conference feels like a live one and just about to go off.
Nalip 2013 Spotlight on the Trillion Dollar Latino Market will take place June 7-9 at the Universal Sheraton Hotel.
For a full list of speakers and panels here available at http://conference2013.nalip.org/conference/keynotes-speakers/
**Update** Maria Agui Carter will replace Aurora Guerrero as participant on the Latino Stereotypes panel.
Among the established and rising American Latino actors and filmmakers on tap are Richard Montoya, Cristina Ibarra, Aurora Guerrero, Gina Rodriguez, Danny Trejo, Jeremy Ray Valdez, and Jesse Garcia. The keynote speech on Friday will be given by none other than Richard Peña, one of the most influential film curators in the world who headed the prestigious Film Society of Lincoln Center for twenty-five years. It will be an insightful and thoughtful conversation moderated by the sensitive, master documentarian and MacArthur Genius Grant fellow, Natalia Almada. As this year’s Nalip Conference Co-Chair, Almada helped inform the direction of the conference and scored Peña’s participation. When talking about how each year’s conference organically takes shape with the feedback of board members, staff and hosting committee, Beni Matias, Acting Executive Director of Nalip, referenced Natalia’s concern of prominently featuring the voice of the independent filmmaker over the commercial as a guiding pursuit.
Natalia’s involvement with Nalip goes back to 2003 when she became the recipient of the Estela Award, given in recognition to an emerging filmmaker who has ‘arrived’. Her revelatory documentaries include El Velador, El General and Al Otro Lado – all which have been critically acclaimed worldwide and have been featured in museums and screened at film festivals including Sundance and Director’s Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival. I asked her to share a few words about Nalip’s import and she replied over email, “I think that more than anything else the conference is a place where we can really exchange ideas, address shared concerns in our community and collectively fuel to keep going”.
Natalia is part of the sub-cine filmmaking crew who came of age through Nalip like Cristina Ibarra, Alex Rivera and Bernardo Ruiz. In fourteen years the organization has managed to be one of the few consistent Latino forums that has nurtured a family of artists/active organizers. Along with Beni Matias, Maria Agui Carter, who is a filmmaker and the Chair of the Board of Directors, has been actively with Nalip since the beginning. Other members who have continued with the organization since the beginning include Louis Perego Moreno who use to spearhead chapter leadership meetings, Jimmy Mendiola filmmaker and Director of CineFestival in San Antonio, Frank Gonzalez from Disney/ABC, Kim Meyers and Terri Lopez at WGA, Alex Nogales, to name just a few. Nalip has also enjoyed a sustained relationship with Time Warner and HBO who have taken turns at being the presenting partners of the conference since 2000.
Part of the reason I’m so eager to engage with and synthesize this year’s theme is this following text written by Maria Agui Carter to describe the Opening Plenary:
“Forbes magazine has called the Latino Market the “New Media Jackpot.” What is at stake? Why is every network and cable outlet now chasing the Latino market and how are Latino voices participating in this explosion not just as consumers but as creators?
There it is: “But as creators”. Amid all the hoopla over the rising Latino market data that makes corporations and brands salivate at the mouth over how to exploit us as consumers, nobody has thought about reckoning a counter creative force. We should be imagining how to harness, demand and unleash our creative power with that kind of purchasing power. Otherwise, the data simply makes us a target of a branding attack towards the depletion of our capital power and identity.
A programming change for this year and aimed to provide a more significant showcase for upcoming Latino films, Nalip is spotlighting brand new films on their Nalip YouTube channel. They’ve done away with the NALIPsters On View programming where members could openly screen their work during the conference. Those screening rooms tended to be lightly attended since there was little visibility and competition from the panel programming. Instead, this year Nalip will be premiering trailers of upcoming films to build buzz around them. The curated selection of fifteen new documentaries, narrative features and shorts will become available on Thursday, June 6.
Without a doubt, the most anticipated happening of this year’s conference will be the Nalip and Sundance Institute screening of Richard Montoya’s debut feature film, Water & Power at the AMC CityWalk. The impact and influence of this Chicano icon will be evident by the droves of fans, tentacle network of familia and homies, a wide range of community activists, artists, politicians who will be in attendance and who might reflect the young and old blood of the characters he writes. I listed W&P as number one in my top five movies to watch out for in 2013 so I’m thrilled to see it screen this way. Richard Peña will moderate a Q&A with Montoya after the screening. I couldn’t think of a better filmmaker and moderator pairing.
On Saturday at the Awards Gala, Machete Kills star Danny Trejo, the menacing but actually sweet hood actor will be presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Aurora Guerrero, filmmaker of Mosquita y Mari will be honored with the Estela Award that comes with a $7500 grant from McDonalds. And in what will surely be an emotionally inspiring moment, the first ever La Lupe Award will be bestowed to Gina Rodriguez. Her effervescence completely evokes the spitfire tenacity of the late great Lupe Ontiveros. I couldn’t think of a more perfect homage and passing of the torch.
While I found last year’s panel topics all over the place, this year it feels more targeted and practical. Panels like Beyond The Latino Market: Getting Your Film Out To A Wider Audience with Gabriel Reyes, Writing on Latino Cinema (a panel LatinoBuzz, Latin Heat and yours truly will be participating on!), Whatever It Takes: Diy Technology and the Democratization of Content Creation, and Entertainment Industry Writer Development Programs, all feature legit, intrepid filmmakers and industry sharing resources.
On Sunday the Closing Plenary will be Latinos and Media Stereotypes in which Natalia Almada, Richard Montoya, Aurora Guerrero, Yancey Arias will be participating, moderated by Mandalit del Barco of NPR. These are all highly experienced opinionated individuals with distinct tastes so I expect this one to be one of the livelier talks. Overall, this year’s Nalip conference feels like a live one and just about to go off.
Nalip 2013 Spotlight on the Trillion Dollar Latino Market will take place June 7-9 at the Universal Sheraton Hotel.
For a full list of speakers and panels here available at http://conference2013.nalip.org/conference/keynotes-speakers/
**Update** Maria Agui Carter will replace Aurora Guerrero as participant on the Latino Stereotypes panel.
- 6/5/2013
- by Christine Davila
- Sydney's Buzz
Tune in alert for award-winning director Natalia Almada (Al Otro Lado, Pov 2006; El General, Pov 2010) who returns to Pov with a beautiful and mesmerizing new film. From dusk to dawn, El Velador (The Night Watchman) accompanies Martin, a guard who watches over the extravagant mausoleums of some of Mexico.s most notorious drug lords. In the labyrinth of the cemetery, this film about violence without violence reminds us that, amid the turmoil of a drug war that has claimed more than 50,000 lives, ordinary existence persists and quietly defies the dead. Almada, who is the great-granddaughter of former Mexican President Plutarco Elías Calles, has enlisted a number of prominent Mexican and international writers to write essays...
- 9/19/2012
- by April MacIntyre
- Monsters and Critics
Mexico’s film industry broke records last year. Box office attendance reached an all-time high and due in part to increased public funding, local productions rose to more than 70 feature films. Yet, as is true in all of Latin America, Hollywood blockbusters edged out national films. Less than 10% of ticket sales were from Mexican movies. Still, there is much to be optimistic about. The amount of female filmmakers is on the rise along with increased budget allocations for state film financing. The vast majority of Mexican cinema is government funded (about 80%) and with more money comes greater opportunities for emerging artists to breakthrough. As part of this recent revival in Mexican cinematic production a new generation of directors have emerged, pushing boundaries, challenging stereotypes, and raising the international profile of Mexican films.
Carlos Reygadas
He didn’t start making films until he was in his thirties and remarkably his three feature films Japón, Batalla en el Cielo, and Luz Silenciosa (Silent Light) (Isa:Bac Films) all premiered at Cannes. His films deal with serious topics like love, spirituality, and death. And in the face of criticism, continues to defend his choice of depicting explicit sex scenes in Batalla en el Cielo and animal cruelty in Japón. His most recent feature is the much blogged about Post Tenebras Lux, an official selection at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
Natalia Almada
She makes haunting, poetic, hypnotic and pensive documentaries. Her films have reached top-tier festivals like Sundance, Cannes, New Directors/New Films and have played at MoMA, The Guggenheim Museum and The Whitney Biennial. All Water Has a Perfect Memory, Al Otro Lado, El General, and her most recent film El Velador (The Night Watchman) are infused with her unique perspective. Coming from a bicultural family--she was born in Mexico to a Mexican father and American mother--she is able to highlight contradictions in both worlds using striking imagery and meditative silences.
Nicolás Pereda
Since 2007, he has proven to be a prolific artist, having directed five feature-length films: ¿Dónde están sus historias? (Where Are Their Stories?) (Isa:FIGa Films), Juntos (Together) (Isa:FIGa Films), Perpetuum Mobile (Isa:Ondamax Films), Todo en fin el silencio lo ocupaba (All Things Were Now Overtaken by Silence) (FIGa Films), and Verano de Goliat (Summer of Goliath) (Isa: FIGa FIlms). Pereda uses many of the same actors and characters in his films, including Gabino Rodriguez and Teresa Sanchez, who are not professional actors. He mixes fiction with documentary in fractured narratives that depict the absurdity that occurs in everyday life. Though only in his twenties he has had at least ten retrospectives of his films at cinemas and archives around the world. In 2010 his film Verano de Goliat (Summer of Goliath) was awarded the Orizzonti award for best film at the Venice Film Festival.
Jonás Cuarón
Son of the Academy Award nominated director Alfonso Cuarón, (Children of Men, Y tu mamá también) Jonás Cuarón stepped out of his father’s shadow and burst onto the scene with Año Uña (Year of the Nail).The film takes a year’s worth of photos Cuarón took of spontaneous everyday events, that he later assembled to create a fictional narrative. Using only still photos and the original subjects’ narration of events, the dialogue switches between English and Spanish, and the film between reality and fiction. The film’s opening explains that though the story is fictional, the people and the moments frozen in time by the photographs are very real.
Carlos Reygadas
He didn’t start making films until he was in his thirties and remarkably his three feature films Japón, Batalla en el Cielo, and Luz Silenciosa (Silent Light) (Isa:Bac Films) all premiered at Cannes. His films deal with serious topics like love, spirituality, and death. And in the face of criticism, continues to defend his choice of depicting explicit sex scenes in Batalla en el Cielo and animal cruelty in Japón. His most recent feature is the much blogged about Post Tenebras Lux, an official selection at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
Natalia Almada
She makes haunting, poetic, hypnotic and pensive documentaries. Her films have reached top-tier festivals like Sundance, Cannes, New Directors/New Films and have played at MoMA, The Guggenheim Museum and The Whitney Biennial. All Water Has a Perfect Memory, Al Otro Lado, El General, and her most recent film El Velador (The Night Watchman) are infused with her unique perspective. Coming from a bicultural family--she was born in Mexico to a Mexican father and American mother--she is able to highlight contradictions in both worlds using striking imagery and meditative silences.
Nicolás Pereda
Since 2007, he has proven to be a prolific artist, having directed five feature-length films: ¿Dónde están sus historias? (Where Are Their Stories?) (Isa:FIGa Films), Juntos (Together) (Isa:FIGa Films), Perpetuum Mobile (Isa:Ondamax Films), Todo en fin el silencio lo ocupaba (All Things Were Now Overtaken by Silence) (FIGa Films), and Verano de Goliat (Summer of Goliath) (Isa: FIGa FIlms). Pereda uses many of the same actors and characters in his films, including Gabino Rodriguez and Teresa Sanchez, who are not professional actors. He mixes fiction with documentary in fractured narratives that depict the absurdity that occurs in everyday life. Though only in his twenties he has had at least ten retrospectives of his films at cinemas and archives around the world. In 2010 his film Verano de Goliat (Summer of Goliath) was awarded the Orizzonti award for best film at the Venice Film Festival.
Jonás Cuarón
Son of the Academy Award nominated director Alfonso Cuarón, (Children of Men, Y tu mamá también) Jonás Cuarón stepped out of his father’s shadow and burst onto the scene with Año Uña (Year of the Nail).The film takes a year’s worth of photos Cuarón took of spontaneous everyday events, that he later assembled to create a fictional narrative. Using only still photos and the original subjects’ narration of events, the dialogue switches between English and Spanish, and the film between reality and fiction. The film’s opening explains that though the story is fictional, the people and the moments frozen in time by the photographs are very real.
- 5/9/2012
- by Vanessa Erazo
- Sydney's Buzz
They all say this show changed a little bit, but we guess it was expected for the 25th annual ceremony from Stapless Center, or if you prefer – the Spirit Awards.
Last week we were all occupied with Oscar, but it’s always the right time to take a look at (maybe) less popular ceremony, but still – the good one! We’re going to remind you of this ceremony highlights.
The Spirits, run by the nonprofit Film Independent, threw in some of its typically enjoyable ironic touches.
One of them was definitely David Spade who presented the best foreign award, starting with:
“You may not know this, but my movies play in other countries. They’re huge in Poland. I can’t set foot in Bulgaria.” Thanks for letting us know Spade!
On the other hand, we had a chance to see Ben Stiller, known for studio comedies more than any boutique film,...
Last week we were all occupied with Oscar, but it’s always the right time to take a look at (maybe) less popular ceremony, but still – the good one! We’re going to remind you of this ceremony highlights.
The Spirits, run by the nonprofit Film Independent, threw in some of its typically enjoyable ironic touches.
One of them was definitely David Spade who presented the best foreign award, starting with:
“You may not know this, but my movies play in other countries. They’re huge in Poland. I can’t set foot in Bulgaria.” Thanks for letting us know Spade!
On the other hand, we had a chance to see Ben Stiller, known for studio comedies more than any boutique film,...
- 3/10/2010
- by Fiona
- Filmofilia
Last night the 25th Film Independent Spirit Awards at La Live's panoramic event deck in downtown Los Angeles and talk about predictable as I nailed 12 of the 13 winners in the categories I predicted, with Precious being the night's biggest winner taking home Best Feature, Director, Actress, Supporting Actress and First Screenplay. The only category I missed was Best First Feature, which I predicted Oren Moverman's The Messenger would take home the award, but instead it went to Scott Cooper's Crazy Heart, which also won for Best Actor, awarding Jeff Bridges on his way to an Oscar win this Sunday.
I have listed all the winners below, see you Sunday for the Oscars.
Best Feature Amreeka (500) Days of Summer The Last Station Precious Sin Nombre Best Director Michael Hoffman, The Last Station Lee Daniels, Precious Joel and Ethan Coen, A Serious Man Cary Fukunaga, Sin Nombre James Gray, Two Lovers Best Actor Jeff Bridges,...
I have listed all the winners below, see you Sunday for the Oscars.
Best Feature Amreeka (500) Days of Summer The Last Station Precious Sin Nombre Best Director Michael Hoffman, The Last Station Lee Daniels, Precious Joel and Ethan Coen, A Serious Man Cary Fukunaga, Sin Nombre James Gray, Two Lovers Best Actor Jeff Bridges,...
- 3/6/2010
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
"Precious" took home five major honors at the 2010 Independent Spirit Awards including Gabourey Sidibe's first Best Actress win.
"Precious" won awards for Best Feature, Lee Daniels for Best Director, Geoffrey Fletcher for Best First Screenplay and Sidibe and Mo'Nique took home Best Actress and Best Supporting, respectively.
Best Feature
500 Days of Summer, Producers Jessica Tuchinsky, Mark Waters, Mason Novick, Steven J. Wolfe
Amreeka, Producers Christina Piovesan, Paul Barkin
Precious, Producers Lee Daniels, Sarah Siegel-Magness, Gary Magness
Sin Nombre, Producer Amy Kaufman
The Last Station, Producers Chris Curling, Jens Meurer, Boonie Arnold
Best Director
The Coen Brothers for A Serious Man
Lee Daniels for Precious
Cary Fukunaga for Sin Nombre
James Grey for Two Lovers
Michael Hoffman for The Last Station
Best First Feature
A Single Man
Crazy Heart
Easier With Practice
The Messenger
Paranormal Activity
John Cassavetes Award
Big Fan
Humpday
The New Year Parade
Treeless Mountain
Zero Bridge
Best Screenplay
Alessandro Camon,...
"Precious" won awards for Best Feature, Lee Daniels for Best Director, Geoffrey Fletcher for Best First Screenplay and Sidibe and Mo'Nique took home Best Actress and Best Supporting, respectively.
Best Feature
500 Days of Summer, Producers Jessica Tuchinsky, Mark Waters, Mason Novick, Steven J. Wolfe
Amreeka, Producers Christina Piovesan, Paul Barkin
Precious, Producers Lee Daniels, Sarah Siegel-Magness, Gary Magness
Sin Nombre, Producer Amy Kaufman
The Last Station, Producers Chris Curling, Jens Meurer, Boonie Arnold
Best Director
The Coen Brothers for A Serious Man
Lee Daniels for Precious
Cary Fukunaga for Sin Nombre
James Grey for Two Lovers
Michael Hoffman for The Last Station
Best First Feature
A Single Man
Crazy Heart
Easier With Practice
The Messenger
Paranormal Activity
John Cassavetes Award
Big Fan
Humpday
The New Year Parade
Treeless Mountain
Zero Bridge
Best Screenplay
Alessandro Camon,...
- 3/6/2010
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Zap2It - From Inside the Box
Film Independent's Spirit Awards marked their 25th anniversary this year and shook things up by trading their afternoon beachside luncheon for a nighttime party downtown. The show was hosted by comedian Eddie Izzard and a handful of the actors who attended and presented were Jeremy Renner ("The Hurt Locker"), Maggie Gyllenhaal ("Crazy Heart"), Carey Mulligan ("An Education") and Vera Farmiga ("Up in the Air"). Best Actor winner Jeff Bridges performed a song from his film "Crazy Heart" with Oscar-nominated songwriters T Bone Burnett and Ryan Bingham. The rock band Anvil whose career was chronicled in the independent film "Anvil: The Story of Anvil" also performed live and took home Best Documentary.
The Spirit Awards have supported and rewarded independent films throughout the years and MakingOf is proud to have interviewed many of this year's nominees and winners. I've included the full list of nominated films and talent below along with links to our exclusive interviews.
The Spirit Awards have supported and rewarded independent films throughout the years and MakingOf is proud to have interviewed many of this year's nominees and winners. I've included the full list of nominated films and talent below along with links to our exclusive interviews.
- 3/5/2010
- Makingof.com
"Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire" has come out as one of the nominations leaders at 2010 Independent Spirit Awards. The drama film, which sees Mariah Carey as a social worker, was on Tuesday, December 1 announced to be collecting five nods from the awards honoring independent filmmakers, and thus shared similar number with another drama "The Last Station".
The movie about an abused teen mother nabbed nominations for Best Feature, Best Director, Best Female Lead, Best First Screenplay and Best Supporting Female. It will battle against "Last Station" in the first three categories. For the Best Feature title, it is also up against "500 Days of Summer" "Amreeka" and "Sin Nombre".
"Precious" fails to bring recognition to Carey, but it does land two of its other major cast Gabourey Sidibe and Mo'Nique. Sidibe is listed against Maria Bello, Nisreen Faour, Gwyneth Paltrow and Helen Mirren for Best Female Lead, while...
The movie about an abused teen mother nabbed nominations for Best Feature, Best Director, Best Female Lead, Best First Screenplay and Best Supporting Female. It will battle against "Last Station" in the first three categories. For the Best Feature title, it is also up against "500 Days of Summer" "Amreeka" and "Sin Nombre".
"Precious" fails to bring recognition to Carey, but it does land two of its other major cast Gabourey Sidibe and Mo'Nique. Sidibe is listed against Maria Bello, Nisreen Faour, Gwyneth Paltrow and Helen Mirren for Best Female Lead, while...
- 12/2/2009
- by celebrity-mania.com
- Celebrity Mania
The Independent Spirit Awards announced their nominees earlier today. Listed below is the complete list of this year's nominated films, cast and crew members. MakingOf would like to congratulate the nominees and applaud the diverse roster of talented filmmakers. Please scroll down for links to exclusive interviews we've conducted with some of the nominated directors and writers.
The Independent Spirit Awards eligibility requirements for consideration are that the feature film must be 70 minutes in length and the total cost must be below $20 million. A film also must have screened at a major film festival or had a one-week engagement at a commercial theater.
The awards' ceremony has taken place the past 24 years the Saturday afternoon before the Academy Awards in Santa Monica. The ceremony is moving this year to downtown L.A. and will be held in the evening on Friday, March 5th.
This year's Independent Spirit Awards Nominees:
Best...
The Independent Spirit Awards eligibility requirements for consideration are that the feature film must be 70 minutes in length and the total cost must be below $20 million. A film also must have screened at a major film festival or had a one-week engagement at a commercial theater.
The awards' ceremony has taken place the past 24 years the Saturday afternoon before the Academy Awards in Santa Monica. The ceremony is moving this year to downtown L.A. and will be held in the evening on Friday, March 5th.
This year's Independent Spirit Awards Nominees:
Best...
- 12/2/2009
- Makingof.com
Although the nominees for the Academy Awards won't be announced until sometime next year, a few of the other award ceremonies are already in full swing including the Independent Spirit Awards, which recognize the best films shot for $20 million or less. This year's Spirit Award nominees were announced earlier today, and I think there are definitely some interesting choices. First off, the big one that everyone is picking up on is the fact that Paranormal Activity was nominated for Best First Feature. And why shouldn't it be? The Blair Witch Project won the exact same award back in 2000. Anvil! The Story of Anvil has been redeemed somewhat for the Oscar snub by getting a nod here for Best Documentary, and surprisingly, Jemaine Clement picked up a nomination for Best Supporting Actor in Gentlemen Broncos. Other than that, some of the movies that scored multiple nominations include Precious, (500) Days of Summer,...
- 12/1/2009
- by Sean
- FilmJunk
Actors Taraji P. Henson and Matt Dillon announced the nominees for the 25th Film Independent Spirit Awards on Tuesday morning. Dramatic films "The Last Station" and "Precious" lead the pack with five nods each.
The winners will be announced on Friday, March 5, 2010 in L.A.
2010 Spirit Award Nominations
Best Feature (Award given to the Producer, Executive Producers are not listed)
(500) Days of Summer - Producers: Mason Novick, Jessica Tuchinsky, Mark Waters, Steven J. Wolfe
Amreeka - Producers: Paul Barkin,...
The winners will be announced on Friday, March 5, 2010 in L.A.
2010 Spirit Award Nominations
Best Feature (Award given to the Producer, Executive Producers are not listed)
(500) Days of Summer - Producers: Mason Novick, Jessica Tuchinsky, Mark Waters, Steven J. Wolfe
Amreeka - Producers: Paul Barkin,...
- 12/1/2009
- Extra
Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire and The Last Station led the nominations for the 2010 Independent Spirit Awards with five each.
Both were nominated for best feature along with (500) Days of Summer, Amreeka, and Sin Nombre.
If you’re wondering where indie favorite and Oscar hopeful The Hurt Locker is, the movie was submitted for consideration last year and was no eligible for this year’s list. Though Kathryn Bigelow picked up “Best Feature” for the film at the Gotham Independent Film Awards last night.
As far as I know, Duncan Jones’ Moon is considered a British film and was correctly included in the British Indie Film nominees with several other solid picks (though I didn’t care for Fish Tank).
I was glad to see Anvil! included in the documentaries after it was left off the Oscar short list — though where’s The Cove? — plus love for 500 Days and Adventureland,...
Both were nominated for best feature along with (500) Days of Summer, Amreeka, and Sin Nombre.
If you’re wondering where indie favorite and Oscar hopeful The Hurt Locker is, the movie was submitted for consideration last year and was no eligible for this year’s list. Though Kathryn Bigelow picked up “Best Feature” for the film at the Gotham Independent Film Awards last night.
As far as I know, Duncan Jones’ Moon is considered a British film and was correctly included in the British Indie Film nominees with several other solid picks (though I didn’t care for Fish Tank).
I was glad to see Anvil! included in the documentaries after it was left off the Oscar short list — though where’s The Cove? — plus love for 500 Days and Adventureland,...
- 12/1/2009
- by Jeff Leins
- newsinfilm.com
Film Independent, the non-profit arts organization behind the Spirit Awards and the Los Angeles Film Festival, announced nominations this morning for the 25th Film Independent Spirit Awards.
Nominees for Best Feature include "(500) Days Of Summer," "Amreeka," "Precious," "Sin Nombre," and "The Last Station."
Taraji P. Henson and Matt Dillon also announced finalists for the Acura Someone to Watch Award, the Truer Than Fiction Award, and the Piaget Producers Award.
A Serious Man was selected for the Robert Altman Award, which is given to one film's director, casting director and ensemble cast.
The awards show will be held March 5, two days before the Oscars. The event will be held at the La Live campus downtown.
Visit the Spirit Awards official site right here.
And now, the nominees of the 25th Film Independent Spirit Awards:
Best Feature
"(500) Days Of Summer" - Producers: Mason Novick, Jessica Tuchinsky, Mark Waters, Steven J. Wolfe
"Amreeka" - Producers: Paul Barkin,...
Nominees for Best Feature include "(500) Days Of Summer," "Amreeka," "Precious," "Sin Nombre," and "The Last Station."
Taraji P. Henson and Matt Dillon also announced finalists for the Acura Someone to Watch Award, the Truer Than Fiction Award, and the Piaget Producers Award.
A Serious Man was selected for the Robert Altman Award, which is given to one film's director, casting director and ensemble cast.
The awards show will be held March 5, two days before the Oscars. The event will be held at the La Live campus downtown.
Visit the Spirit Awards official site right here.
And now, the nominees of the 25th Film Independent Spirit Awards:
Best Feature
"(500) Days Of Summer" - Producers: Mason Novick, Jessica Tuchinsky, Mark Waters, Steven J. Wolfe
"Amreeka" - Producers: Paul Barkin,...
- 12/1/2009
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
This morning, Film Independent, the non-profit arts organization that produces the Spirit Awards and the Los Angeles Film Festival, announced the nominees for the 25th Film Independent Spirit Awards. The leading nomination getters where Sony Pictures Classics' The Last Station and Lionsgate's Precious, both of which earned five nominations including Best Feature along with Amreeka, 500 Days of Summer and Sin Nombre. Precious also enjoyed nominations in Best Director (Lee Daniels), Best Actress (Gabourey Sidibe), Best Supporting Actress (Mo'Nique) and Best First Screenplay.
The leading studios where Fox Searchlight and Sony Classics, each of which took home 7 nominations, Searchlight even earning one for the critically loathed Gentlemen Broncos with Jemaine Clement earning a Best Supporting Male nod.
I'm very happy to see Christian McKay for Me and Orson Welles enjoying some love and hope it can translate to an Oscar nomination and I wonder if Samantha Morton's nomination for...
The leading studios where Fox Searchlight and Sony Classics, each of which took home 7 nominations, Searchlight even earning one for the critically loathed Gentlemen Broncos with Jemaine Clement earning a Best Supporting Male nod.
I'm very happy to see Christian McKay for Me and Orson Welles enjoying some love and hope it can translate to an Oscar nomination and I wonder if Samantha Morton's nomination for...
- 12/1/2009
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Precious and The Last Station have the most nods with 5 nominations a piece. So glad to see Jeff Bridges’ nomination for Crazy Heart. Even Paranormal Activity saw a nomination in Best First feature category.
The ceremony will air live and uncut on Friday, March 5, 2010 at 8:00 p.m. Pst/11:00 p.m. Est on IFC from downtown Los Angeles.
The complete list of nominations:
Best Feature (Award given to the Producer)
“(500) Days Of Summer,” Producers: Mason Novick, Jessica Tuchinsky, Mark Waters, Steven J. Wolfe
“Amreeka,” Producers: Paul Barkin, Christina Piovesan
“Precious,” Producers: Lee Daniels, Gary Magness, Sarah Siegel-Magness
“Sin Nombre,” Producer: Amy Kaufman
“The Last Station,” Producers: Bonnie Arnold, Chris Curling, Jens Meuer
Best Director
Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, “A Serious Man”
Lee Daniels, “Precious”
Cary Joji Fukunaga, “Sin Nombre”
James Gray, “Two Lovers”
Michael Hoffman, “The Last Station”
Best First Feature (Award given to the director and producer)
A Single Man...
The ceremony will air live and uncut on Friday, March 5, 2010 at 8:00 p.m. Pst/11:00 p.m. Est on IFC from downtown Los Angeles.
The complete list of nominations:
Best Feature (Award given to the Producer)
“(500) Days Of Summer,” Producers: Mason Novick, Jessica Tuchinsky, Mark Waters, Steven J. Wolfe
“Amreeka,” Producers: Paul Barkin, Christina Piovesan
“Precious,” Producers: Lee Daniels, Gary Magness, Sarah Siegel-Magness
“Sin Nombre,” Producer: Amy Kaufman
“The Last Station,” Producers: Bonnie Arnold, Chris Curling, Jens Meuer
Best Director
Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, “A Serious Man”
Lee Daniels, “Precious”
Cary Joji Fukunaga, “Sin Nombre”
James Gray, “Two Lovers”
Michael Hoffman, “The Last Station”
Best First Feature (Award given to the director and producer)
A Single Man...
- 12/1/2009
- by Michelle
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
In "A Filmmaker's Glamorous Life," online and in our latest print edition, Esther Robinson surveyed a number of filmmakers about the jobs they've taken to support themselves when they are not making films. In this blog series we'll run the unedited responses we received that were then condensed for the piece. Below: Natalia Almada. Filmmaker: How did you support yourself during the production of your last movie/movies? Almada: I was very lucky with El General because I was able to support myself with funding for the film for the most part of the production. It was only in the very beginning that I took an editing job for about six months — editing someone else’s feature doc. Filmmaker: What was good/not good about this kind of...
- 7/29/2009
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
- Take a look at the top documentary films of 2008 and the commonality you'll find between them is that they had their starts at the festival in the mountains of Utah. One thing we can expect are for many of these docs to have a long, prosperous life in 2009 with a good portion of these having been supported and workshopped in the docu labs at Sundance. I'm hoping to at least catch one half of the sixteen offered. The films screening in Documentary Competition are: Art & Copy (Director: Doug Pray; Screenwriter: Timothy J. Sexton)—Rare interviews with the most influential advertising creative minds of our age illustrate the wide-reaching effect advertising and creativity have on modern culture. World Premiere Boy Interrupted (Director: Dana Perry)—An intimate look at the life, mental illness and death of a young man told from the point of view of the filmmaker: his mother. World
- 12/3/2008
- IONCINEMA.com
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