AWARD SEASON NEWS

The 37th annual Film Independent Spirit Awards have been announced and "Zola", Janicza Bravo's dark comedy about a stripper's trip to Florida that takes a very ugly turn, leads the field with seven noms including Best Feature. The other films vying for the top prize include "The Novice" a twisted thriller of an obsessive college freshman joining her university's rowing team, that received five nominations; "The Lost Daughter", actress, Maggie Gyllenhaal's directorial debut with an adaptation of Elena Ferrante’s novel, scored four nominations; "A Chiara" an Italian-language family drama and the latest from Mike Mills, "C’mon C’mon" which stars Joaquin Phoenix as a radio journalist traveling the country and his relationship with his young nephew. In order to be eligible for a Spirit Award, films must be under the specific budget of $22.5 million. The 2021 Spirit Awards are planned to return to an in-person event on March 6th at the beach in Santa Monica and broadcast live on IFC.

Here is the complete list of the nominations of the 2021 Film Independent Spirit Awards:

Best Feature:

"A Chiara"
"C’mon C’mon"
"The Lost Daughter"
"The Novice"
"Zola"

Best Director:

Janicza Bravo, "Zola"
Maggie Gyllenhaal, "The Lost Daughter"
Lauren Hadaway, "The Novice"
Mike Mills, "C’mon C’mon"
Ninja Thyberg, "Pleasure"

Best Screenplay:

Nikole Beckwith, "Together Together"
Janicza Bravo and Jeremy O. Harris, "Zola"
Maggie Gyllenhaal, "The Lost Daughter"
Mike Mills, "C’mon C’mon"
Todd Stephens, "Swan Song"

Best Female Lead:

Isabelle Fuhrman, "The Novice"
Brittany S. Hall, "Test Pattern"
Patti Harrison, "Together Together"
Taylour Paige, "Zola"
Kali Reis, "Catch the Fair One"

Best Male Lead:

Clifton Collins Jr., "Jockey"
Frankie Faison, "Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain"
Michael Greyeyes, "Wild Indian"
Udo Kier, "Swan Song"
Simon Rex, "Red Rocket"

Best Supporting Female:

Jessie Buckley, "The Lost Daughter"
Amy Forsyth, "The Novice"
Ruth Negga, "Passing"
Revika Reustle, "Pleasure"
Suzanna Son, "Red Rocket"

Best Supporting Male:

Colman Domingo, "Zola"
Meeko Gattuso, "Queen of Glory"
Troy Kotsur, "CODA"
Will Patton, "Sweet Thing"
Chaske Spencer, "Wild Indian"

Best International Film:

"Compartment No. 6" (Finland/Russia)
"Drive My Car" (Japan)
"Parallel Mothers" (Spain)
"Pebbles" (India)
"Petite Maman" (France)
"Prayers for the Stolen" (Mexico)

Best Documentary:

"Ascension"
"Flee"
"In The Same Breath"
"Procession"
"Summer of Soul"

Best Cinematography:

Ante Cheng and Matthew Chuang, "Blue Bayou"
Lol Crawley, "The Humans"
Tim Curtin, "A Chiara"
Edu Grau, "Passing"
Ari Wegner, "Zola"

Best Editing:

Affonso Gonçalves,"A Chiara"
Ali Greer, "The Nowhere Inn"
Lauren Hadaway and Nathan Nugent, "The Novice"
Joi McMillon, "Zola"
Enrico Natale, "The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain"

Best First Feature:

"7 Days"
"Holler"
"Queen of Glory"
"Test Pattern"
"Wild Indian"

Best First Screenplay:

Lyle Mitchell Corbine, Jr., "Wild Indian"
Matt Fifer, Story by Sheldon D. Brown, “Cicada"
Shatara Michelle Ford, "Test Pattern"
Fran Kranz, "Mass"
Michael Sarnoski, Story by Vanessa Block and Michael Sarnoski, "Pig"

John Cassavetes Award (awarded to the best feature made for under $500,000):

"Cryptozoo"
"Jockey"
"Shiva Baby"
"Sweet Thing"
"This is Not a War Story"

The Someone to Watch Award (recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition):

Alex Camilleri, "Luzzu"
Gillian Wallace Horvat, "I Blame Society"
Michael Sarnoski, "Pig"

The Truer Than Fiction Award (awarded to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition):

Angelo Madsen Minax, "North By Current"
Jessica Beshir, "Faya Dayi"
Debbie Lum, "Try Harder!"

Robert Altman Award (awarded to one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast) "Mass"

Jasmila Žbanić’s "Quo Vadis, Aida?" was the big winner at the 34th annual European Film Awards, receiving the Best European Film as well as Best European Director and Best European Actress for lead, Jasna Đuričić. This drama, which was nominated for a Best International Feature Oscar at last year's Academy Awards, tells the story of a brave woman’s fight to save her family during the Bosnian War genocide in Srebrenica. Anthony Hopkins won Best European Actor for his brilliant performance in "The Father" along with the film's screenwriters, Florian Zeller and Christopher Hampton For Best European Screenwriter, all winning Oscars for their work earlier this year. And "Flee", the animated documentary from Danish filmmaker, Jonas Poher Rasmussen, took both Best European Animated Feature Film and Best European Documentary. This film about a man originally from Afghanistan who shares his hidden past about the arduous journey of fleeing his country could potentially repeat this feat at this year's Oscars as it is shortlisted in both categories as well as Best International Feature.

Here is the list of winners from the 2021 European Film Awards:

Best European Film: "Quo Vadis, Aida?"
Best European Director: Jasmila Žbanić, "Quo Vadis, Aida?"
Best European Screenwriter: Florian Zeller & Christopher Hampton, "The Father"
Best European Actress: Jasna Đuričić, "Quo Vadis, Aida?"
Best European Actor: Anthony Hopkins, "The Father"
Best European Comedy: "Ninjababy"
Best European Documentary: "Flee"
Best European Animated Feature Film: "Flee"
Best European Cinematography: Crystel Fournier, "Great Freedom"
Best European Editing: Mukharam Kabulova, "Unclenching The Fists"
Best European Production Design: Marton Agh, "Natural Light"
Best European Original Score: Nils Petter Molvaer and Peter Brotz-Mann, "Great Freedom"
Best European Sound: Gisle Tveito and Gustaf Berger, "The Innocents"
Best European Visual Effects: Peter Hjorth and Fredrik Nord, "Lamb"
Best European Costume Design: Michael O’Connor, "Ammonite"
Best European Make-Up & Hair: Flore Masson, Olivier Alfonso and Antoine Mancini, "Titane"
Best European Discovery (Prix Fipresci): Emerald Fennell, "Promising Young Woman"

And the scandal-plagued Hollywood Foreign Press Association have announced their nominations for the 2022 Golden Globe Awards. This secretive group of international critics had run in to trouble earlier in the year due to a long history of corruption in the group and their lack of diversity amongst their ranks. They tried to repair the damage with a series of reforms including admitting new members and hiring a new chief diversity officer. But despite their efforts, the HFPA have continued to struggle with their event. NBC is apparently declining to air the award show along with agents and publicists still planning on having their clients boycott the Globes. I guess we will have to see how this will shake out as the Golden Globes will be announcing their winners on January 9th in some capacity.

Here is the complete list of the 2022 Golden Globe nominations in film:

Best Motion Picture (Drama):

"Belfast"
"CODA"
"Dune"
"King Richard"
"The Power of the Dog"

Best Picture (Musical or Comedy):

"Cyrano"
"Don’t Look Up"
"Licorice Pizza"
"Tick, Tick … Boom!"
“West Side Story"

Best Director (Motion Picture):

Kenneth Branagh, "Belfast"
Jane Campion, "The Power of the Dog"
Maggie Gyllenhaal, "The Lost Daughter"
Steven Spielberg, "West Side Story"
Denis Villeneuve, "Dune"

Best Screenplay (Motion Picture):

Paul Thomas Anderson, "Licorice Pizza"
Kenneth Branagh, "Belfast"
Jane Campion, "The Power of the Dog"
Adam McKay, "Don’t Look Up"
Aaron Sorkin, "Being the Ricardos"

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture (Drama)

Jessica Chastain, "The Eyes of Tammy Faye"
Olivia Colman, "The Lost Daughter"
Nicole Kidman, "Being the Ricardos"
Lady Gaga, "House of Gucci"
Kristen Stewart, "Spencer"

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy):

Marion Cotillard, "Annette"
Alana Haim, "Licorice Pizza"
Jennifer Lawrence, "Don’t Look Up"
Emma Stone, "Cruella"
Rachel Zegler, "West Side Story"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture (Drama):

Mahershala Ali, "Swan Song"
Javier Bardem, "Being the Ricardos"
Benedict Cumberbatch, "The Power of the Dog"
Will Smith, "King Richard"
Denzel Washington, "The Tragedy of Macbeth"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy):

Leonardo DiCaprio, "Don’t Look Up"
Peter Dinklage, "Cyrano"
Andrew Garfield, "Tick, Tick … Boom!"
Cooper Hoffman, "Licorice Pizza"
Anthony Ramos, "In the Heights"

Best Supporting Actor (Motion Picture):

Ben Affleck, "he Tender Bar"
Jamie Dornan, "Belfast"
Ciarán Hinds, "Belfast"
Troy Kotsur, "CODA"
Kodi Smit-McPhee, "The Power of the Dog"

Best Supporting Actress (Motion Picture):

Caitríona Balfe, "“Belfast"
Ariana DeBose. "West Side Story"
Kirsten Dunst, "The Power of the Dog"
Aunjanue Ellis, King Richard"
Ruth Negga, "Passing"

Best Picture (Foreign Language):

“Compartment No. 6” (Finland/Russia/Germany)
“Drive My Car” (Japan)
“The Hand of God” (Italy)
"A Hero" (France/Iran)
"Parallel Mothers" (Spain)

Best Motion Picture (Animated):

"Encanto"
"Flee"
"Luca"
"My Sunny Maad"
"Raya and the Last Dragon"

Best Original Score (Motion Picture):

Alexandre Desplat, "The French Dispatch"
Germaine Franco, "Encanto"
Jonny Greenwood, "The Power of The Dog"
Alberto Iglesias, "Parallel Mothers"
Hans Zimmer, "Dune"

Best Original Song (Motion Picture):

"Be Alive" from “King Richard” -  Beyoncé Knowles-Carter and Dixson
"Dos Orugitas" from "Encanto"  - Lin-Manuel Miranda
"Down to Joy" from "Belfast"  - Van Morrison
"Here I Am (Singing My Way Home)" from "Respect"  - Jamie Hartman, Jennifer Hudson and Carole King
"No Time to Die" from "No Time to Die"  - Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell