Oscar-winning French actress Juliette Binoche is the new president of the European Film Academy.
The Efa board on Thursday said they voted unanimously to name The English Patient and The Taste of Things star to succeed Polish director Agnieszka Holland (The Green Border) as president.
Binoche’s appointment will be put to a vote by Efa members and, assuming she receives majority support, she will take over as president on May 1, 2024.
The French star will be only the second female head of the Efa, after Holland, who took over the role in 2021, succeeding German director Wim Wenders.
“I am not a person to easily step aside, but I have come to the conclusion that I am a filmmaker first and foremost. And this is what I want to focus on in the years to come,” said Holland. “For me, it is time to step aside now. Knowing that Juliette Binoche...
The Efa board on Thursday said they voted unanimously to name The English Patient and The Taste of Things star to succeed Polish director Agnieszka Holland (The Green Border) as president.
Binoche’s appointment will be put to a vote by Efa members and, assuming she receives majority support, she will take over as president on May 1, 2024.
The French star will be only the second female head of the Efa, after Holland, who took over the role in 2021, succeeding German director Wim Wenders.
“I am not a person to easily step aside, but I have come to the conclusion that I am a filmmaker first and foremost. And this is what I want to focus on in the years to come,” said Holland. “For me, it is time to step aside now. Knowing that Juliette Binoche...
- 3/14/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
He landed at Sundance in the U.S. Dramatic Competition with Ballast in 2008 and would end up winning the Directing Award and Cinematography Award (Lol Crawley) and would end up receiving a lot of recognition via the Gothams and Indie Spirits and then Lance Hammer disappeared from the filmmaking scene … that is until last April when he shot his sophomore feature in London with the great Juliette Binoche. While Queen at Sea could definitely look towards other A list film fests, we’re hoping for a Park City return. Binoche is featured alongside Tom Courtenay, Anna Calder-Marshall and Florence Hunt, and cinematographer Adolpho Veloso is also onboard.…...
- 11/16/2023
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
We were in almost in disbelief when Juliette Binoche casually mentioned back in January of last year that she was in a new work from Lance Hammer. A major news bombshell dropped this morning as we learn that Queen At Sea has indeed moved into production. Alongside Binoche we find players Tom Courtenay, Anna Calder-Marshall and Florence Hunt added to the roster. The Bureau is producing the project and cinematographer Adolpho Veloso is onboard. Production is unfolding in the United Kingdom.
We’ll being paying close attention to this project but we know that is revolves around a woman (Binoche) who moves back to London with her teenage daughter (Hunt) amid concern for her ageing mother (Calder-Marshall).…...
We’ll being paying close attention to this project but we know that is revolves around a woman (Binoche) who moves back to London with her teenage daughter (Hunt) amid concern for her ageing mother (Calder-Marshall).…...
- 4/18/2023
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
Exclusive: Oscar winner Juliette Binoche (The English Patient), Oscar nominee and BAFTA winner Tom Courtenay (Doctor Zhivago), Emmy winner Anna Calder-Marshall (Wuthering Heights) and Bridgerton breakout Florence Hunt are currently filming under-the-radar feature drama Queen At Sea in the UK.
Plot is largely being kept under wraps but we understand Binoche will play a woman who moves back to London with her teenage daughter (Hunt) amid concern for her ageing mother (Calder-Marshall).
The film will mark the second feature for writer-director Lance Hammer who 15 years ago made his debut with well-received Sundance drama Ballast, which won two awards in Park City, and played a host of festivals before winning the filmmaker a Gotham award for breakthrough director and garnering six Indie Sprit nominations.
Hammer, now in his 50s, went quiet after his debut 15 years ago so there will be intrigue around his second feature. Prior to Ballast the filmmaker was...
Plot is largely being kept under wraps but we understand Binoche will play a woman who moves back to London with her teenage daughter (Hunt) amid concern for her ageing mother (Calder-Marshall).
The film will mark the second feature for writer-director Lance Hammer who 15 years ago made his debut with well-received Sundance drama Ballast, which won two awards in Park City, and played a host of festivals before winning the filmmaker a Gotham award for breakthrough director and garnering six Indie Sprit nominations.
Hammer, now in his 50s, went quiet after his debut 15 years ago so there will be intrigue around his second feature. Prior to Ballast the filmmaker was...
- 4/18/2023
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Juliette Binoche spoke about what she described as the challenging process of working with Jean-Luc Godard during a press conference at the San Sebastian film festival.
Binoche — who is at the festival to receive a Donostia award, the festival’s prestigious lifetime achievement gong — was asked to talk about Godard following news of his death earlier this week. In response, she began to discuss the process of auditioning for their sole collaboration, the 1985 film Haily Mary.
“There was a series of casting I did with him that lasted a long time. And then in the last rehearsal, I had to be naked, combing my hair, and saying a poem I learned by heart,” she said. “He didn’t choose me for the role but he created a new role for me.”
Binoche continued to say that Godard was unlike any other directors she had previously encountered while working on the...
Binoche — who is at the festival to receive a Donostia award, the festival’s prestigious lifetime achievement gong — was asked to talk about Godard following news of his death earlier this week. In response, she began to discuss the process of auditioning for their sole collaboration, the 1985 film Haily Mary.
“There was a series of casting I did with him that lasted a long time. And then in the last rehearsal, I had to be naked, combing my hair, and saying a poem I learned by heart,” she said. “He didn’t choose me for the role but he created a new role for me.”
Binoche continued to say that Godard was unlike any other directors she had previously encountered while working on the...
- 9/18/2022
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
We’re learning that Vietnamese-born French filmmaker Tran Anh Hung is well into production on what is his seventh feature film. Entering his fourth decade, shooting on Le Pot-au-feu de Dodin Bouffant (The Pot Au Feu is the international title), Hung has set Juliette Binoche to star. She’ll next be seen in Antonio Campos’ The Staircase (Mini Series) completed Paradise Highway last year and just closed out Le Lycéen. We’re hoping see then moves onto Lance Hammer’s long awaited sophomore project sometime this year. Binoche will be joined by Benoit Magimel – who looks to have replaced Gilles Lellouche in the role.…...
- 4/23/2022
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
For decades, Juliette Binoche has been one of the best actors working in films. And that doesn’t seem to be a descriptor that will be changing anytime soon. In fact, she still continues to adapt and evolve over the years, taking on more and more interesting projects, including a new film from a filmmaker we haven’t heard from in more than a decade, Lance Hammer.
Speaking to Variety, Juliette Binoche talked about the reason why she took on a starring role in her first real TV series, “The Staircase.” And apparently, the reason is that she needs to get a decent paycheck so she can make smaller films.
Continue reading Juliette Binoche To Star In Director Lance Hammer’s First Film Since 2008 at The Playlist.
Speaking to Variety, Juliette Binoche talked about the reason why she took on a starring role in her first real TV series, “The Staircase.” And apparently, the reason is that she needs to get a decent paycheck so she can make smaller films.
Continue reading Juliette Binoche To Star In Director Lance Hammer’s First Film Since 2008 at The Playlist.
- 1/19/2022
- by Charles Barfield
- The Playlist
Soon to be premiering Berlin comp entry Both Sides of the Blade by Claire Denis, Juliette Binoche has been spending more time working in the United States filming a trucker narrative in Paradise Highway for Anna Gutto and Antonio Campos‘ series “The Staircase” in 2021. Now comes word (via a tiny blurb in Variety) that she is set to return to work on Lance Hammer‘s long awaited sophomore feature. We knew that there was a project secretly making the rounds several years back but this is the first mention of the film’s existence.
Hammer was a major break-out filmmaker when Ballast premiered at Sundance and Berlin in 2008 with several year-end mentions and accolades to what would be radio silence for a decade plus (we even logged a formal complaint in our Mia series).…...
Hammer was a major break-out filmmaker when Ballast premiered at Sundance and Berlin in 2008 with several year-end mentions and accolades to what would be radio silence for a decade plus (we even logged a formal complaint in our Mia series).…...
- 1/19/2022
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
Oscar-winning French actor Juliette Binoche has given her sprawling career a second wind with striking performances in Claire Denis’ comedy drama “Let The Sunshine In” and sci-fi “High Life” (opposite Robert Pattinson). Best known by American audiences for her romantic roles in Anthony Minghella’s “The English Patient” and Lasse Hallström’s “Chocolat,” Binoche has worked with some of the most revered filmmakers worldwide, including Abbas Kiarostami (“Copie Conforme”), Leos Carax (“Les amants du Pont-Neuf”), Michael Haneke (“Caché”) and Olivier Assayas (“Clouds of Sils Maria”).
In her latest film, “Between Two Worlds,” Binoche stars as a well-known author from Paris who goes undercover in Northern France for her new book on low-paid workers facing injustices. Hired as a cleaner, she experiences the brutal and precarious work conditions while bonding with other women. The movie, whose cast was primarily made up of non-professionals and locals, was adapted from Florence Aubenas’ bestseller “Le Quai de Ouistreham.
In her latest film, “Between Two Worlds,” Binoche stars as a well-known author from Paris who goes undercover in Northern France for her new book on low-paid workers facing injustices. Hired as a cleaner, she experiences the brutal and precarious work conditions while bonding with other women. The movie, whose cast was primarily made up of non-professionals and locals, was adapted from Florence Aubenas’ bestseller “Le Quai de Ouistreham.
- 1/18/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
In an unexpected trajectory (along the lines of a Lance Hammer or Markus Schleinzer), with close to two decades of production and locations department gigs that include Jean-Marc Vallee’s Demolition, Sophie Barthes’ Cold Souls and Julie Delpy’s Two Days in New York, Jeff Brown should be debuting his feature film debut sometime in 2019. His passion sci-fi/horror project The Beach House is an off the radar offering that found a great trio of indie producers in Sophia Lin, Andrew D. Corkin and Tyler Davidson and recently surfaced at the Ifp’s No Borders program. No details on the players.…...
- 11/20/2018
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
At this year’s Sundance Film Festival, the annual event broke some of its own barriers, doling out each of its four directing awards to female filmmakers. For the first time in the festival’s 34-year history, directing prizes went only to women, spanning all four major categories — narrative and documentary, U.S. and world cinema: Sara Colangelo (“The Kindergarten Teacher”), Alexandria Bombach (“On Her Shoulders”), Sandi Tan (“Shirkers”), and Isold Uggadottir (“And Breathe Normally”). The festival’s juries also awarded Desiree Akhavan’s “The Miseducation of Cameron Post” the Grand Jury Prize, the festival’s highest honor; Sundance’s sole dedicated screenplay honor, the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award, went to Christina Choe for “Nancy.”
In short, it was a big festival for women. But what does winning an award at Sundance actually mean for female filmmakers? How does it impact future projects? Does it guarantee further success in the industry?...
In short, it was a big festival for women. But what does winning an award at Sundance actually mean for female filmmakers? How does it impact future projects? Does it guarantee further success in the industry?...
- 1/29/2018
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
One week a month, Watch This offers movie recommendations inspired by the week’s new releases or premieres. This week: With Sundance in full swing, we’re looking back at some of the best directorial debuts that premiered at the festival.
Ballast (2008)
Success at Sundance is supposed to herald big opportunities and bright futures for directors, not mark the end of careers. But Lance Hammer wasn’t the typical Sundance Best Director winner in 2008: He was in the midst of a successful career as an art director in what he called “the nasty, ugly world of studio films,” working on the likes of Batman Forever, when he wrote, directed, and edited Ballast. Hammer hasn’t made a movie since, and has dropped completely off the public filmmaking radar.
But what a thing he left behind. Ballast is a gorgeously uncompromising, capital-i indie film, a slow, moving examination of ...
Ballast (2008)
Success at Sundance is supposed to herald big opportunities and bright futures for directors, not mark the end of careers. But Lance Hammer wasn’t the typical Sundance Best Director winner in 2008: He was in the midst of a successful career as an art director in what he called “the nasty, ugly world of studio films,” working on the likes of Batman Forever, when he wrote, directed, and edited Ballast. Hammer hasn’t made a movie since, and has dropped completely off the public filmmaking radar.
But what a thing he left behind. Ballast is a gorgeously uncompromising, capital-i indie film, a slow, moving examination of ...
- 1/25/2017
- by Josh Modell
- avclub.com
Tuesday Afternoon Write-through In 2008, Barry Jenkins remembered on one of several trips up to the podium tonight at the 26th Annual Ifp Gotham Awards, held, as usual, at Cipriani Wall Street, he was in this same room as one of the nominees for Best New Director. He lost that year to Ballast‘s Lance Hammer, and, as he went on to note, he hasn’t made a film in the long eight years following. (Neither has Hammer, actually, although I hear that’s changing.) Until Moonlight. His beautiful, amazingly accomplished and much beloved second feature took home four awards tonight, including the […]...
- 11/29/2016
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
No film buff wants to see a promising, or prominent filmmaker pull a disappearing act a la Terrence Malick, (though it seems he isn’t keen to repeat another lapse like the one between Days of Heaven to The Thin Red Line), but whether they’re dealing with unforeseeable professional (endless pre-production woes, writer’s block) or personal issues, sometimes there is a considerable time between projects.
With John Cameron Mitchell, Charlie Kaufman, Rebecca Miller, Patty Jenkins, Kenneth Lonergan and more recently, Barry Jenkins recently moving out of the so called “inactive” period, we decided to compile a list of the top ten American filmmakers who, for the most part, we’ve lost sight of and would like to see get back in the director’s chair again. Most of the filmmakers listed below have gone well over half a decade without a substantial movement in this category. Here is...
With John Cameron Mitchell, Charlie Kaufman, Rebecca Miller, Patty Jenkins, Kenneth Lonergan and more recently, Barry Jenkins recently moving out of the so called “inactive” period, we decided to compile a list of the top ten American filmmakers who, for the most part, we’ve lost sight of and would like to see get back in the director’s chair again. Most of the filmmakers listed below have gone well over half a decade without a substantial movement in this category. Here is...
- 10/26/2015
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
The 2008/2009 festival circuit is particularly ingrained in my mind because of two American movies which, though they came out a year apart and sit on complete opposite ends of the spectrum, have been marked in my mid as the high point in American Cinema of the last 10 years. Lance Hammer's Ballast, a beautiful minimalist realist drama while Asiel Norton's Redland (review) is an avant-garde, dreamlike experience. Both movies deal with survival but they approach the subject in very disparate ways.
Considering how challenging Redland was to watch, it was a welcome surprise to discover that the director was working on a follow-up. It's been over two years since [Continued ...]...
Considering how challenging Redland was to watch, it was a welcome surprise to discover that the director was working on a follow-up. It's been over two years since [Continued ...]...
- 8/17/2015
- QuietEarth.us
Sundance Institute and Skywalker Sound unveiled today the independent directors and composers selected for Sundance Institute Music and Sound Design Lab – Documentary. Set for September 15-23 at Skywalker Ranch in California’s Marin County, it’s the second of two music and sound design labs for 2014. Sundance Institute will host 15 residential labs this year, collectively representing 20 weeks of residency support and mentorship. Below are the artists and projects selected for the music and sound design docu lab:
Related:
Sundance Institute Creates 2014 Episodic Story Lab For TV & Online Writers
Sundance Institute Selects 12 Projects For Screenwriters Lab
Filmmakers
Marc Silver (director) / 3 1/2 Minutes: 3 1⁄2 Minutes dissects the shooting death of 17-year-old Jordan Davis, the aftermath of this tragedy and contradictions within the American criminal justice system.
Mike Day (director) / The Island and the Whales: The pilot whale hunters of the Nordic Faroe Islands believe that hunting is vital to their way of life, but...
Related:
Sundance Institute Creates 2014 Episodic Story Lab For TV & Online Writers
Sundance Institute Selects 12 Projects For Screenwriters Lab
Filmmakers
Marc Silver (director) / 3 1/2 Minutes: 3 1⁄2 Minutes dissects the shooting death of 17-year-old Jordan Davis, the aftermath of this tragedy and contradictions within the American criminal justice system.
Mike Day (director) / The Island and the Whales: The pilot whale hunters of the Nordic Faroe Islands believe that hunting is vital to their way of life, but...
- 8/21/2014
- by The Deadline Team
- Deadline
Take a look at the end credits of any given Sundance preemed title, and you’ll more than likely find the name of Michelle Satter in the “special thanks” portion. Just how all encompassing is the Sundance Institute support in helping spread filmmaker’s wings? With a whopping fifteen yearly labs, it goes without saying, that there are many folks that got a leg up thanks to Satter and co.
Fittingly and not surprisingly, the month of September is when the festival portion (programming) gets into high gear, and it’s also when the 2014 Sundance Institute Music & Sound Design Labs (Sundance Institute and Skywalker Sound) help out with the docu branch. Now in its second year, lucky folks Marc Silver, Mike Day, Anna Sandilands and Ewan McNicol, Bill Ross and Turner Ross (see pic of duo above) are being paired with some audibly cool folk.
Here is the press release...
Fittingly and not surprisingly, the month of September is when the festival portion (programming) gets into high gear, and it’s also when the 2014 Sundance Institute Music & Sound Design Labs (Sundance Institute and Skywalker Sound) help out with the docu branch. Now in its second year, lucky folks Marc Silver, Mike Day, Anna Sandilands and Ewan McNicol, Bill Ross and Turner Ross (see pic of duo above) are being paired with some audibly cool folk.
Here is the press release...
- 8/20/2014
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Have you ever wondered what are the films that inspire the next generation of visionary filmmakers? As part of our monthly Ioncinephile profile (read here), we ask the filmmaker the incredibly arduous task of identifying their top ten list of favorite films. Tim Sutton (Pavilion), provided us with his all time top ten film list (dated: March 2013).
Ballast – Lance Hammer (2008)
“A film of strung-together moments that make up a whole becomes not only mesmerizing, but truly sublime. I saw Ballast and decided not to give up on making a feature. The fact that people in the industry refer to this film as a cautionary tale rather than as a masterpiece is sad to me.”
Beau Travail – Claire Denis (1999)
“Simply, Clair Denis and Agnes Godard are one of the sweetest director/cinematographer teams in cinema, and this is their masterpiece – effortless in its rhythm and sun-baked imagery, with an ending that makes you think for days.
Ballast – Lance Hammer (2008)
“A film of strung-together moments that make up a whole becomes not only mesmerizing, but truly sublime. I saw Ballast and decided not to give up on making a feature. The fact that people in the industry refer to this film as a cautionary tale rather than as a masterpiece is sad to me.”
Beau Travail – Claire Denis (1999)
“Simply, Clair Denis and Agnes Godard are one of the sweetest director/cinematographer teams in cinema, and this is their masterpiece – effortless in its rhythm and sun-baked imagery, with an ending that makes you think for days.
- 3/10/2013
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Filmmaker has written about Pavilion before, whether to praise its beautiful website or to highlight an interesting merchandising strategy that director Tim Sutton discussed at last year’s Ifp Narrative Labs. But what of the film itself – a meditative, ethereal blend of documentary and narrative, united around the theme of youth in transition. Indeed, Pavilion, which premieres tonight in SXSW’s Emerging Visions section, should speak for itself. The film almost feels like a National Geographic or Planet Earth-style glimpse into the secret lives of teenagers; into those quiet, unseen moments so difficult to capture – or for many of us – to even to remember. For fans of Matthew Porterfield, Lance Hammer, or Gus Van Sant’s Elephant; for filmmakers and film enthusiasts interested in where the line between fiction and reality, memory and imagination, blurs, seek out Pavilion.
Filmmaker: In your director’s statement you discuss your inspiration for...
Filmmaker: In your director’s statement you discuss your inspiration for...
- 3/5/2012
- by Dan Schoenbrun
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
The Sundance Film Festival held a party for its alumni filmmakers at the Figueroa Hotel in downtown Los Angeles on Sunday. Locals blended with others in town for the Los Angeles Film Festival, which moved to the downtown area last year. From left, "Right at Your Door" director Chris Gorak (Sundance '06), Sundance director of programming Trevor Groth, "We Live in Public" director Ondi Timoner (Sundance '09), and "Ballast" director Lance Hammer (Sundance '08).
- 6/20/2011
- Indiewire
It’s another jam-packed week of DVD and Blu-ray releases, here’s the rundown of what’s available to buy from today, April 25th 2011.
Street Wars (DVD/Blu-ray)
Steven Seagal (Under Siege, Machete) stars as Elijah Kane, the head of a crack undercover police unit ridding the Seattle streets of its deadly criminals. Kane and his team are in a race against the clock to bring to justice the coldblooded gang who is behind the lethal drug that is raising the body count of young people in city. To make matters worse, Kane’s unit is ordered to protect a filmmaker who’s set on exposing the city’s most dangerous city slums at any cost… Even if it means risking the lives of Kane’s hard-knock team. Review.
Woochi: The Demon Slayer (DVD/Blu-ray)
When a dark lord obtains the secret to unimaginable power, an elite army of shape-shifting...
Street Wars (DVD/Blu-ray)
Steven Seagal (Under Siege, Machete) stars as Elijah Kane, the head of a crack undercover police unit ridding the Seattle streets of its deadly criminals. Kane and his team are in a race against the clock to bring to justice the coldblooded gang who is behind the lethal drug that is raising the body count of young people in city. To make matters worse, Kane’s unit is ordered to protect a filmmaker who’s set on exposing the city’s most dangerous city slums at any cost… Even if it means risking the lives of Kane’s hard-knock team. Review.
Woochi: The Demon Slayer (DVD/Blu-ray)
When a dark lord obtains the secret to unimaginable power, an elite army of shape-shifting...
- 4/25/2011
- by Phil
- Nerdly
Factory 25, the uber cool Brooklyn NY label responsible for making sure that Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo and You Wont Miss Me get some love from the movie-going public have picked up one of my favorite films from the 2010 campaign in the Cannes Director's Fortnight selected Two Gates of Sleep. Alistair Banks Griffin's debut film easily puts him in a category apart of budding U.S filmmakers to watch out for (I'd include Lance Hammer, Antonio Campos, Jeff Nichols and more recently Sean Durkin) in that pack of remarkable first time efforts. Tgos will receive a one week release this Friday (April 1st) at the Re-Run Theater. I imagine other markets including Los Angeles (where the film was previously shown in AFI Fest) will follow and for sure we'll get some whacked out DVD release for the film -- I think of Factory 25 as a mix between Criterion and the...
- 3/30/2011
- IONCINEMA.com
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Don’t be fooled into thinking that the three years it has taken for Lance Hammer’s Sundance darling Ballast to hit our screens is any indication of its quality. This airy, quiet meditation on the struggle of three people to transcend abject poverty and unexpected loss will likely play as too dialled-down for many tastes, but persevering with it will reveal a rare, peculiar mystical quality, as well as an unexpectedly rather involving family drama.
Not really at all a typical tale of loss, this is a grim, moody look at the discontent mustered by a man, Lawrence (Michael J. Smith Jr.), trying to cope with the recent suicide of his identical twin, Darius. Following a botched suicide attempt of his own, he reconnects with Darius’ estranged partner, Marlee (Tarra Riggs), and her son, Lawrence’s nephew, James (JimMyron Ross), as the three of them...
Don’t be fooled into thinking that the three years it has taken for Lance Hammer’s Sundance darling Ballast to hit our screens is any indication of its quality. This airy, quiet meditation on the struggle of three people to transcend abject poverty and unexpected loss will likely play as too dialled-down for many tastes, but persevering with it will reveal a rare, peculiar mystical quality, as well as an unexpectedly rather involving family drama.
Not really at all a typical tale of loss, this is a grim, moody look at the discontent mustered by a man, Lawrence (Michael J. Smith Jr.), trying to cope with the recent suicide of his identical twin, Darius. Following a botched suicide attempt of his own, he reconnects with Darius’ estranged partner, Marlee (Tarra Riggs), and her son, Lawrence’s nephew, James (JimMyron Ross), as the three of them...
- 3/20/2011
- by Shaun Munro
- Obsessed with Film
The promising debut of Lance Hammer, a writer-director from California, Ballast centres on a group of black people in a desolate corner of the flat, depressed Mississippi delta. One of two twins, co-owners of a self-service store, has taken his life just before the film begins, while the other has made a botched attempt at suicide. The deceased's troubled 12-year-old son has been forbidden to see his father, he uses his uncle's gun to rob him and subsequently gets involved with local drug dealers, much to the distress of his mother. The opening half hour is electrifying, the ending interestingly open-ended, and the memorably low-key images are the work of the British cinematographer Lol Crawley, whose first feature this is. This film was completed in 2008 and Crawley then did a good job on a little-seen British movie, Duane Hopkins's miserabilist rural drama Better Things.
DramaPhilip French
guardian.co.uk...
DramaPhilip French
guardian.co.uk...
- 3/20/2011
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
Submarine (15)
(Richard Ayoade, 2010, UK/Us) Craig Roberts, Yasmin Paige, Noah Taylor. 97 mins
Ayoade evidently did his homework before stepping behind the camera, swotting up on everything from the French New Wave to The Graduate to Wes Anderson, but the result is a fresh and distinctly British-flavoured coming-of-ager, full of provincial frustrations and recognisable types. The story takes few risks – an intelligent Welsh schoolkid's quest for self-definition and sexual adventure – but Submarine works hard to earn our affections with a mix of sincerity, energy and impeccable comic timing.
You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger (12A)
(Woody Allen, 2010, UK/Us) Anthony Hopkins, Naomi Watts, Gemma Jones. 98 mins
The ever-scrappier Allen observes life's frivolities with a bemused but cheerless eye in a London comedy whose great cast compensates for the fatalistic outlook.
Route Irish (15)
(Ken Loach, 2010, UK/Fra/Ita/Bel/Spa) Mark Womack, Andrea Lowe, John Bishop. 109 mins
Loach considers the physical...
(Richard Ayoade, 2010, UK/Us) Craig Roberts, Yasmin Paige, Noah Taylor. 97 mins
Ayoade evidently did his homework before stepping behind the camera, swotting up on everything from the French New Wave to The Graduate to Wes Anderson, but the result is a fresh and distinctly British-flavoured coming-of-ager, full of provincial frustrations and recognisable types. The story takes few risks – an intelligent Welsh schoolkid's quest for self-definition and sexual adventure – but Submarine works hard to earn our affections with a mix of sincerity, energy and impeccable comic timing.
You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger (12A)
(Woody Allen, 2010, UK/Us) Anthony Hopkins, Naomi Watts, Gemma Jones. 98 mins
The ever-scrappier Allen observes life's frivolities with a bemused but cheerless eye in a London comedy whose great cast compensates for the fatalistic outlook.
Route Irish (15)
(Ken Loach, 2010, UK/Fra/Ita/Bel/Spa) Mark Womack, Andrea Lowe, John Bishop. 109 mins
Loach considers the physical...
- 3/19/2011
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
A tough low-budget drama from the Us that tackles difficult and complex themes with intelligence, writes Peter Bradshaw
This lugubrious Us indie from writer-director Lance Hammer was filmed on the sparest of budgets on digital video; and with the most naturalistic of performances. This might be called "mumblecore", but is entirely without the comedy this suggests. On the contrary, it is fiercely sober, even tragic. Micheal J Smith plays Lawrence, who unsuccessfully attempts suicide after the death of his brother, who had been living with him in a bungalow; the neighbouring one is occupied by the dead man's estranged wife and son. The death precipitates a new relationship between Lawrence and this angry and conflicted woman and her troubled child. A difficult, subdued film, but intelligent and with more intricacy and subtlety than at first appears.
Rating: 3/5
DramaPeter Bradshaw
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content...
This lugubrious Us indie from writer-director Lance Hammer was filmed on the sparest of budgets on digital video; and with the most naturalistic of performances. This might be called "mumblecore", but is entirely without the comedy this suggests. On the contrary, it is fiercely sober, even tragic. Micheal J Smith plays Lawrence, who unsuccessfully attempts suicide after the death of his brother, who had been living with him in a bungalow; the neighbouring one is occupied by the dead man's estranged wife and son. The death precipitates a new relationship between Lawrence and this angry and conflicted woman and her troubled child. A difficult, subdued film, but intelligent and with more intricacy and subtlety than at first appears.
Rating: 3/5
DramaPeter Bradshaw
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content...
- 3/18/2011
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Ballast ***
Stars: Michael J. Smith, Tarra Riggs, JimMyron Ross | Written and Directed by Lance Hammer
Set in the bleak expanse of a Mississippi delta township, Ballast follows three individuals thrown together following the death of a family member.
Single mother Marlee (Tarra Riggs) is struggling to keep her head above water, working long hours at a dead-end job in order to keep her 12-year-old son James (JimMyron Ross) in school. James has other ideas and, largely left to his own devices, he turns to delinquency, eventually falling in with the wrong crowd who know an easy target when they see one. When Marlee’s ex-husband’s kill himself, they’re reunited with his twin-brother Lawrence (Michael J. Smith), who spends most of his time in nearly mute depression, but conflict arises when old wounds are reopened and unresolved issues rise to the surface.
Director Lance Hammer, in his debut, has...
Stars: Michael J. Smith, Tarra Riggs, JimMyron Ross | Written and Directed by Lance Hammer
Set in the bleak expanse of a Mississippi delta township, Ballast follows three individuals thrown together following the death of a family member.
Single mother Marlee (Tarra Riggs) is struggling to keep her head above water, working long hours at a dead-end job in order to keep her 12-year-old son James (JimMyron Ross) in school. James has other ideas and, largely left to his own devices, he turns to delinquency, eventually falling in with the wrong crowd who know an easy target when they see one. When Marlee’s ex-husband’s kill himself, they’re reunited with his twin-brother Lawrence (Michael J. Smith), who spends most of his time in nearly mute depression, but conflict arises when old wounds are reopened and unresolved issues rise to the surface.
Director Lance Hammer, in his debut, has...
- 3/17/2011
- by Jez Sands
- Nerdly
Last year saw a big push for family crime dramas with the release of Animal Kingdom (review) and Down Terrace and though I don’t expect we’ll see another year with two films at that particular level of excellence, I expect that The Lord’s Ride (La Bm du seigneur) may be a good contender for the part.
Written and directed by Jean-Charles Hue, this little French title focuses on Yeniche, a traveller community where respect for the elders and religious fervour go together with law breaking. Fred is both feared and respected by his people until one day, when stealing a car, he is visited by an angel. The event changes his life completely but going straight in a community that respects lawbreaking is tougher than he could have imagined and could mean his death.
I was immediately in love with this trailer which feels so much like a documentary.
Written and directed by Jean-Charles Hue, this little French title focuses on Yeniche, a traveller community where respect for the elders and religious fervour go together with law breaking. Fred is both feared and respected by his people until one day, when stealing a car, he is visited by an angel. The event changes his life completely but going straight in a community that respects lawbreaking is tougher than he could have imagined and could mean his death.
I was immediately in love with this trailer which feels so much like a documentary.
- 1/25/2011
- QuietEarth.us
With no clear favorite in the category, I would have guessed that the screenwriting-turned helmers Glenn Ficarra and John Requa ballsy comedy might have a slight advantage, but the film's troubled path to distribution certainly didn't help. Instead director Kevin Asch (Holy Rollers) beats out a pair of fellow filmmakers who premiered their film at Sundance, and Lena Dunham (SXSW). Asch was influenced by my favorite cinema when he filmed Holy Rollers. He mentions in his interview with us, "I always planned the style to be a mix of cinema verite and Italian neo-realism. Film aesthetics are incredibly important to me and something I take very seriously starting in development. I made a comprehensive look book early on, that has served as the creative blueprint for about two years leading up to pre-production." Winner: Kevin Asch for Holy Rollers (First Independent Pictures) Other Noms: John Wells for The Company Men...
- 11/30/2010
- IONCINEMA.com
A stray Chabrol, the next Juno and more Toni Servillo brilliance are among this year's hidden gems on the festival circuit. Hunt them down now before they're buried for ever
Home festivaling is one of the few perks of losing mobility through a back injury. What better way to cover 300+ screen events across the UK for Empire Online's Festivals & Seasons page than letting them come to you? Much festival fare falls squarely into the three-star category. But, every now and then, a disc arrives in the post containing a gem that leaves you wondering how the distributors missed it. So here's a personal selection of the festival favourites that have either failed to secure a UK release in 2009 or are not currently on the schedule for next year.
10) Let's Dance (dir. Noémie Lvovsky, France)
Festivals are invariably stuffed with quirky ensemble pieces, with Laís Bodanzky's superbly choreographed The Ballroom...
Home festivaling is one of the few perks of losing mobility through a back injury. What better way to cover 300+ screen events across the UK for Empire Online's Festivals & Seasons page than letting them come to you? Much festival fare falls squarely into the three-star category. But, every now and then, a disc arrives in the post containing a gem that leaves you wondering how the distributors missed it. So here's a personal selection of the festival favourites that have either failed to secure a UK release in 2009 or are not currently on the schedule for next year.
10) Let's Dance (dir. Noémie Lvovsky, France)
Festivals are invariably stuffed with quirky ensemble pieces, with Laís Bodanzky's superbly choreographed The Ballroom...
- 12/21/2009
- by David Parkinson
- The Guardian - Film News
Quietly and unexpectedly, Matt Damon has become the premier Hollywood actor of the past decade. He's lent his minutely constructed, surprisingly athletic performances to the films of directors Steven Soderbergh, Gus Van Sant, Paul Greengrass, Martin Scorsese and Clint Eastwood, a roster that's not coincidentally produced some of the most vital and successful films of the past ten years.
His remarkable career isn't simply a matter of a good agent. It's all in the manner in which he so carefully adapts his particular skills to the roles.
Damon's commitment is displayed on his body, which he relentlessly crafts to the specifications of each character -- he's almost the anti-movie star in his physical malleability. Take a look at how he changes from "The Bourne Identity" in 2002 to the Farrelly Brothers' "Stuck On You," a year later. In the former, he carved himself down to muscle and bone, a tightly packed...
His remarkable career isn't simply a matter of a good agent. It's all in the manner in which he so carefully adapts his particular skills to the roles.
Damon's commitment is displayed on his body, which he relentlessly crafts to the specifications of each character -- he's almost the anti-movie star in his physical malleability. Take a look at how he changes from "The Bourne Identity" in 2002 to the Farrelly Brothers' "Stuck On You," a year later. In the former, he carved himself down to muscle and bone, a tightly packed...
- 12/3/2009
- by R. Emmet Sweeney
- ifc.com
One of the most critically acclaimed films of 2008, Lance Hammer’s “Ballast” comes to DVD this week, courtesy of Kino. “Superficially, Ballast is a distinctly American work, but Hammer infuses it with a European sensibility that separates it from the rest of the pack,” writes Michael Tully at Hammer to Nail in his survey of the week’s DVD releases. Watch the DVD trailer for “Ballast” on YouTube. Another of the finest …...
- 11/11/2009
- Indiewire
There's little point in attempting to figure why Lance Hammer's "Ballast," the best American film of 2008, was whisked in and out of so few theaters so quickly, in contrast even to minimalist imports and special-interest video docs in the same span, and despite universal critical hosannas. Good films get tossed by the wayside all the time, particularly in the contemporary state of distribution, but the good news is that movies never truly disappear anymore, they just tumble into the digital slipstream and become universally available.
Hammer's uneasy, seething, oblique sojourn to the wintry Mississippi midlands is surely the best American "art film" about African-American life since Julie Dash's "Daughters of the Dust," except it might also be the only such film in 25 years. But "Ballast" is also a piece of work that stands outside social context -- it's as specific as a scar and as approachable as a blues growl.
Hammer's uneasy, seething, oblique sojourn to the wintry Mississippi midlands is surely the best American "art film" about African-American life since Julie Dash's "Daughters of the Dust," except it might also be the only such film in 25 years. But "Ballast" is also a piece of work that stands outside social context -- it's as specific as a scar and as approachable as a blues growl.
- 11/10/2009
- by Michael Atkinson
- ifc.com
Kelly Reichardt's "Wendy & Lucy" may be -- in competition only with Lance Hammer's "Ballast" -- the best film of 2008, and both movies have been so underseen by the public that they could be said to have not been released at all. (Or, at least, not publicized at all.) Critics saw them, though, and none that I know of have walked away unamazed by the simple but torrential forces of intimate storytelling told with a correctly situated camera and a respect for real people. "Ballast" is the more visually stealthy of the two, but Reichardt's film is almost a structuralist triumph: how to make the most emotionally wrenching indie of the new era with as little narrative as possible. Based, like Reichardt's "Old Joy," on a short story by Jon Raymond, "Wendy" is as simple as a real catastrophe: a young homeless woman loses her dog. And the film's...
- 5/5/2009
- by Michael Atkinson
- ifc.com
Last year's award-winning success of Azazel Jacob's Momma's Man at the IndieLisboa Film Festival solidified Lisbon's status as a rewarding new festival avenue for emerging American independent film. This year they seem to be building upon that relationship, with a program that reads like a who's who of current U.S. indies, including Lance Hammer's Ballast, Barry Jenkin's Medicine For Melancholy, Sean Baker's Prince of Broadway, Josh Safdie's The Pleasure of Being Robbed, and Kelly Reichardt's Wendy and Lucy. It's surprising to find so many strong American indies in a European festival; it'd even be surprising to find so many in an American one (as a quick comparison, the San Francisco Film Festival showed only two of the five works above,...
- 5/2/2009
- by Jason Sanders
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Fox Searchlight's "The Wrestler" was named best feature at the 2009 Film Independent's Spirit Awards. It also scored trophies for actor Mickey Rourke and cinematograper Maryse Alberti.
"The thing I love about the Spirit Awards is every film here is a passion piece; we all bled to get to this room," director-producer Darren Aronofksy said as he accepted the award with fellow producer Scott Franklin at the free-wheeling ceremony held Saturday in a tent on the beach in Santa Monica.
"I realized while doing special effects on a space movie that I really loved working with actors more than anything else," Aronofsky said about his decision to make a movie about a washed-up wrestler trying to reclaim his life.
In the weekend's first showdown between Rourke and "Milk's" Sean Penn, it was Rourke who triumphed as best male lead.
In a raucous acceptance speech, in which he freely lobbed...
"The thing I love about the Spirit Awards is every film here is a passion piece; we all bled to get to this room," director-producer Darren Aronofksy said as he accepted the award with fellow producer Scott Franklin at the free-wheeling ceremony held Saturday in a tent on the beach in Santa Monica.
"I realized while doing special effects on a space movie that I really loved working with actors more than anything else," Aronofsky said about his decision to make a movie about a washed-up wrestler trying to reclaim his life.
In the weekend's first showdown between Rourke and "Milk's" Sean Penn, it was Rourke who triumphed as best male lead.
In a raucous acceptance speech, in which he freely lobbed...
- 2/21/2009
- by By Gregg Kilday
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Leading up to the Oscars on Feb. 22, we will be highlighting the nominated films that have appeared in the magazine or on the Website in the last year. Scott Macaulay interviewed Frozen River writer-director Courtney Hunt for our Summer '08 issue. The film's lead, Melissa Leo, was also interviewed in a sidebar to the piece by Jason Guerrasio. Frozen River is nominated for Best Actress (Melissa Leo) and Best Screenplay (Courtney Hunt). At Sundance this past year, two films in the Dramatic Competition especially stood out: Lance Hammer’s Ballast and Courtney Hunt’s Frozen River. It’s easy to mention the films in the same breath, because both are examples of regional American independent cinema attuned to the economic realities of life in...
- 2/18/2009
- by Jason Guerrasio
- Filmmaker Magazine_Web Exclusives
Mary Sweeney, a longtime collaborator of David Lynch, will serve as the moderator for Film Independent's ninth annual Directors Close-Up: Conversations on the Art of Filmmaking, formerly known as the Director Series, which will be held Feb. 4-March 11 at The Landmark Theatre in West Los Angeles.
"The Directors Close-Up series is a rare opportunity for both filmmakers and film lovers to learn about filmmaking first-hand from some of our most prominent independent directors and their collaborators," Dawn Hudson, executive director of Film Independent.
Series panelists will include Elliot Davis (cinematographer, "Twilight"), Rodrigo Garcia ("In Treatment"), Lance Hammer ("Ballast"), Catherine Hardwicke ("Twilight"), Courtney Hunt ("Frozen River"), Jonathan Levine ("The Wackness"), Nancy Richardson (editor, "Twilight") and Howard Rodman (screenwriter, "Savage Grace").
This year's panels will cover the following topics:
Feb. 4: Music and Sound Design; Feb. 11: The Director's Vision and the Creative Team; Feb. 18: The Independent Spirit: A Director's Roundtable; Feb.
"The Directors Close-Up series is a rare opportunity for both filmmakers and film lovers to learn about filmmaking first-hand from some of our most prominent independent directors and their collaborators," Dawn Hudson, executive director of Film Independent.
Series panelists will include Elliot Davis (cinematographer, "Twilight"), Rodrigo Garcia ("In Treatment"), Lance Hammer ("Ballast"), Catherine Hardwicke ("Twilight"), Courtney Hunt ("Frozen River"), Jonathan Levine ("The Wackness"), Nancy Richardson (editor, "Twilight") and Howard Rodman (screenwriter, "Savage Grace").
This year's panels will cover the following topics:
Feb. 4: Music and Sound Design; Feb. 11: The Director's Vision and the Creative Team; Feb. 18: The Independent Spirit: A Director's Roundtable; Feb.
- 1/26/2009
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
As Gloucester noted in King Lear, "We have seen the best of our time: machinations, hollowness, treachery, and all ruinous disorders, follow us disquietly to our graves." Accordingly, the best of the films I've viewed in 2008 often dealt with the vilest aspects of humanity and how a few brave souls strived to comprehend and possibly survive these man-made obstacles to a happy existence.
1. Ballast
Lance Hammer's feature debut is a brilliant trek into the Mississippi Delta, where three impoverished souls -- both financially and spiritually -- are able to rebuild their lives when reluctantly thrown together by a suicide.
read more...
1. Ballast
Lance Hammer's feature debut is a brilliant trek into the Mississippi Delta, where three impoverished souls -- both financially and spiritually -- are able to rebuild their lives when reluctantly thrown together by a suicide.
read more...
- 1/4/2009
- by Brandon Judell
- www.culturecatch.com
- #5. Two films that made their mark on indieland in 08’are Ballast and Frozen River. I didn’t care much for the later, but on the short list of impressive directorial debuts this year, Lance Hammer’s drama reminded me how a narrative and the secrets that it holds can be dispelled like the effects of one of those cough drops. What I enjoyed most about the slow-burning pic is how the past and the future shared some common ground in the progression of the storyline. Kudos go to the believable cast, the choice in location, the hand-held aesthetics and a bleak blue steel coloring. ...
- 1/2/2009
- IONCINEMA.com
Okay, so here we are. This article will basically amount to my capstone piece for the end of 2008 as I will now hand out what amounts to the first ever RopeofSilicon Awards. My hope for future RopeofSilicon Awards is that I can figure out some kind of nominating and voting system so you, the users, can award each of these categories by nominating films throughout the year, running mini For Your Consideration campaigns in the comment section and so forth. Unfortunately, such an endeavor is outside of my capacity at the moment so you will have to deal with my opinion on each category for now, but as always I want to hear your opinion on who you would award in the comments below. After all, my opinion is just the start of things in order to get you thinking and talking, it certainly isn't the end-all/be-all of opinions.
- 12/30/2008
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Top 10 Movies of 2008 Trying to figure out my personal list of favorite, top ten, exceptional, "best" movies of 2008 was not an easy task. 2008 was an odd year for film. So many have gone on record saying it was a down year, but I don't entirely agree with that. While 2008 didn't have very many "great" films it had A Lot of good films. Of course, this is where making a top ten list gets difficult. So often you have one clear cut favorite and anywhere from 10-15 movies behind it that you simply need to figure out where they fall in the grand scheme of things. This year, my top five films are almost interchangeable and the bottom five and my Honorable Mentions could all compete for the final five spots, this just so happens to be where they all fell when I typed this list up. This year I saw...
- 12/29/2008
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
JimMyron Ross as James and Micheal J. Smith Sr. as Lawrence in Ballast
Photo: Alluvial Film Company Ballast is a film without a flaw and this is in large part due to the fact debut feature writer/director Lance Hammer doesn't allow for one. Hammer, serving as his own editor, has cut together one of the leanest films I have ever seen and he leaves very little fat as I can't imagine a single moment of screen time is wasted. This is a film without a score and if something is seen on screen it exists either to move the story along or evoke some level of emotion or understanding to the viewer. This may seem like an obvious decision on the part of the director, but you tell me the last time you saw a movie with as tight as this without any fluff to be mentioned. Set in a Mississippi Delta township,...
Photo: Alluvial Film Company Ballast is a film without a flaw and this is in large part due to the fact debut feature writer/director Lance Hammer doesn't allow for one. Hammer, serving as his own editor, has cut together one of the leanest films I have ever seen and he leaves very little fat as I can't imagine a single moment of screen time is wasted. This is a film without a score and if something is seen on screen it exists either to move the story along or evoke some level of emotion or understanding to the viewer. This may seem like an obvious decision on the part of the director, but you tell me the last time you saw a movie with as tight as this without any fluff to be mentioned. Set in a Mississippi Delta township,...
- 12/21/2008
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Well, last time it was St. Louis, San Diego, San Francisco and Southeastern Critics weighing in and today I have four more critic award lists to preview for you as critics from Houston, Toronto, Phoenix and Dallas-Fort Worth have all released their winners and for the most part it's a Slumdog Millionaire day with it taking two of the four Best Picture slots while Benjamin Button scores one and the folks in Toronto toss up a surprise win for Mongrel's Wendy and Lucy. Sean Penn (Milk) continues to clean up the Best Actor nods while Toronto was the odd duck again awarding Mickey Rourke for The Wrestler. The Best Actress category saw a pair of wins for Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married) while Michelle Williams (Wendy and Lucy) and Meryl Streep (Doubt) also took home honors. Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight) was named Best Supporting Actor on all four lists...
- 12/17/2008
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Chicago – The Chicago Film Critics Association announced its choices for the best of 2008 on Monday morning. The biggest blockbuster of the year, “The Dark Knight,” and the sleeper hit of the season, “Slumdog Millionaire,” tied for the most nominations and will compete for best picture of the year from Chicago film critics.
The Chicago Film Critics Association
“The Dark Knight”, the massively successful continuation of the Batman franchise, and “Slumdog Millionaire”, the magical tale of a young man forced to prove he didn’t cheat on a game show, scored six nods a piece, including Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Picture.
Four films nearly matched the big two this year for the Cfca with “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”, “Doubt”, “Milk”, and “Wall-e” all landing five nods. Jonathan Demme’s “Rachel Getting Married” scored four nominations and the Swedish vampire film “Let the Right One In” came away with three.
The Chicago Film Critics Association
“The Dark Knight”, the massively successful continuation of the Batman franchise, and “Slumdog Millionaire”, the magical tale of a young man forced to prove he didn’t cheat on a game show, scored six nods a piece, including Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Picture.
Four films nearly matched the big two this year for the Cfca with “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”, “Doubt”, “Milk”, and “Wall-e” all landing five nods. Jonathan Demme’s “Rachel Getting Married” scored four nominations and the Swedish vampire film “Let the Right One In” came away with three.
- 12/15/2008
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Penelope Cruz dazzled on the red carpet at the Gotham Awards in New York on Tuesday night, and walked away with an award for her role in Woody Allen movie Vicky Cristina Barcelona.
Cruz joined a star-studded guest list including Ethan Hawke, Gus Van Sant, Patricia Clarkson, Marisa Tomei and Amy Adams at the celebration of independent cinema.
Vicky Cristina Barcelona, which starred Cruz, Scarlett Johansson, and Javier Bardem, shared the Best Ensemble Performance prize with Synecdoche, New York, which has a cast-list including Philip Seymour Hoffman and Catherine Keener.
The Spanish actress was also one of four movie icons honoured at the bash, picking up a tribute prize, alongside other honorees Van Sant, Melvin Van Peebles and HBO boss Sheila Nevins
Elsewhere, the Best Feature prize went to Frozen River, and its star Melissa Leo won the Breakthrough Actor award.
Lance Hammer won Breakthrough Director for Ballast, and Trouble The Water won Best Documentary.
Cruz joined a star-studded guest list including Ethan Hawke, Gus Van Sant, Patricia Clarkson, Marisa Tomei and Amy Adams at the celebration of independent cinema.
Vicky Cristina Barcelona, which starred Cruz, Scarlett Johansson, and Javier Bardem, shared the Best Ensemble Performance prize with Synecdoche, New York, which has a cast-list including Philip Seymour Hoffman and Catherine Keener.
The Spanish actress was also one of four movie icons honoured at the bash, picking up a tribute prize, alongside other honorees Van Sant, Melvin Van Peebles and HBO boss Sheila Nevins
Elsewhere, the Best Feature prize went to Frozen River, and its star Melissa Leo won the Breakthrough Actor award.
Lance Hammer won Breakthrough Director for Ballast, and Trouble The Water won Best Documentary.
- 12/3/2008
- WENN
- Ballast might have lead the total number of nominations, but it is Frozen River who picked up a pair, including Gotham Awards’ top prize. Really? If I were a betting man I’d have guessed right in two categories (Breakthrough Director and Actor), guessed half right in one (Best Ensemble) and would have terribly been wrong but pleasantly surprised with the Best Documentary going to Trouble the Water, and finally I’d would have been wrong on guessing Best Feature, and as you can guess, I’m perplexed on how Courtney Hunt’s border crossing drama faired a better chance in a category that was loaded in quality features. Best FEATUREBallast - Lance Hammer, director; Lance Hammer, Nina Parikh, producers (Alluvial Film Company)Frozen River - Courtney Hunt, director; Heather Rae, Chip Hourihan, producers (Sony Pictures Classics)Synecdoche, New York - Charlie Kaufman, director; Anthony Bregman, Charlie Kaufman, Spike Jonze,
- 12/3/2008
- IONCINEMA.com
"Frozen River" has come out victorious at the 18th Annual Gotham Independent Film Awards. On December 2 at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City, the Sony Pictures Classics dramatic thriller has been awarded with two kudos from the awards presented to independent films and those who make them.
The Courtney Hunt-directed drama about a New York mother getting into the world of illegal immigrant smuggling has been recognized as Best Feature, beating out "Ballast", "Synecdoche, New York", "The Visitor" and "The Wrestler". Accepting the coveted award, Hunt said, "I did not see this one coming, I did not see this coming." Apart from the Best Picture prize, the movie also helped its star Melissa Leo to earn the Breakthrough Actor kudo.
Other winners included "Synecdoche, New York" and "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" which were tied for the title of Best Ensemble Performance. In the meantime, the awards for Breakthrough Director...
The Courtney Hunt-directed drama about a New York mother getting into the world of illegal immigrant smuggling has been recognized as Best Feature, beating out "Ballast", "Synecdoche, New York", "The Visitor" and "The Wrestler". Accepting the coveted award, Hunt said, "I did not see this one coming, I did not see this coming." Apart from the Best Picture prize, the movie also helped its star Melissa Leo to earn the Breakthrough Actor kudo.
Other winners included "Synecdoche, New York" and "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" which were tied for the title of Best Ensemble Performance. In the meantime, the awards for Breakthrough Director...
- 12/3/2008
- by AceShowbiz.com
- Aceshowbiz
I am kicking myself for forgetting to add Melissa Leo to my Oscar predictions last week, but rest assured the correction will be made this Thursday when a fresh batch of predictions are released. This is not to say Leo is my pick to win it all, but it I am saying her name is officially in the ring and as of right now I fully expect her to receive a nomination even if it looks like someone such as Kristin Scott Thomas may be the one to get edged out. I say all of this because the winners of the Gotham Awards were announced tonight and while they don't mean a whole lot it does look like it could become the start of bigger things from Frozen River and its star. Frozen River took home Best Feature and Leo ended up winner the Breakthrough Actor Award. Other winners include...
- 12/3/2008
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Family drama "Rachel Getting Married", border-smuggling saga "Frozen River" and struggling mother tale "Ballast" have shown their domination on the run for the 2009 Spirit Awards. Upon the announcement of the awards' nominees on Tuesday, December 2, it has been revealed that those three films have collected six counts each.
From all of the nominations "Rachel", "Frozen" and "Ballast" received, the three will have to go head-to-head for best feature title along with "Wendy and Lucy" and "The Wrestler". Their directors, Jonathan Demme, Courtney Hunt and Lance Hammer, will also compete for the best director prize which also lists Ramin Bahrani of "Chop Shop" and Tom McCarthy of "The Visitor" as the competitors.
On the performer categories, it is uncovered that Javier Bardem of "Vicky Cristina Barcelona", Sean Penn of "Milk" and Mickey Rourke of "The Wrestler" are among the contenders for best male lead. Additionally, Anne Hathaway and Michelle Williams have...
From all of the nominations "Rachel", "Frozen" and "Ballast" received, the three will have to go head-to-head for best feature title along with "Wendy and Lucy" and "The Wrestler". Their directors, Jonathan Demme, Courtney Hunt and Lance Hammer, will also compete for the best director prize which also lists Ramin Bahrani of "Chop Shop" and Tom McCarthy of "The Visitor" as the competitors.
On the performer categories, it is uncovered that Javier Bardem of "Vicky Cristina Barcelona", Sean Penn of "Milk" and Mickey Rourke of "The Wrestler" are among the contenders for best male lead. Additionally, Anne Hathaway and Michelle Williams have...
- 12/3/2008
- by AceShowbiz.com
- Aceshowbiz
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