FilmFestivals.com

The first ever Pixie Awards were were announced last week at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. Joe Nussbaum's George Lucas in Love (from Mediatrip.com) won the award for Best Pixure and Best Director. The film made internet history earlier in the year when it was the first online film to outsell a full-length feature on Amazon.com, and it is a parody of Shakespeare in Love. Dave Jones won the award for Best Animated movie for Teetering (from TheBitScreen.com), and the documentary award went to Jason Thompson's Fruits and Nuts (from Eveo.com film). Atomfilms founder and CEO, Mika Salmi received the Mack Sennett Award for Pioneering Motion Pixure Arts and Technologies.

Mexico's Oscars

At this year's 42nd Ariel's, Mexico's version of the Oscars, Herod's Law (La Ley De Herodes), a political satire directed by Luis Estrada, won 10 awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Damian Alcazar) and Best Supporting Actor and Actress (Pedro Armendariz and Isela Vega). The film criticizes Mexico's former ruling party.

Connecticut Critics Awards

Tovah Feldshuh, Frank Ferrante, Hartford Stage and Bridgeport's Downtown Cabaret Theater headed the list of awardees at the 10th annual Connecticut Critics Circle Awards for achievement in Connecticut theater during the 1999-2000 season. Feldshuh won the actress in a play award for "Tallulah Tonight!" at Hartford's TheaterWorks, a production being considered for a move to Off Broadway. Ferrante was named best actor in a play for "Groucho" at the Westport Country Playhouse. Hartford Stage and the Downtown Cabaret Theater received five awards apiece. The HS won for production of a play, "Camino Real"; direction of a play, Michael Wilson for both "Camino Real" and "Enchanted April"; sound design, John Gromada, for both productions; and two more for "April": lighting design, Rui Rita, and costume design, Jess Goldstein.

Film Festival of India

95 features and 85 Short films competed at this year's 47th annual event with the top prize awarded to Vanaprastham, directed by Shaji Karun. The film was a 1999 Cannes official entry in the Certain Regard section. Karun will receive the Gold Medal and a citation from President of India with a prize of IRS.50,000.00. Mohan Lal, who stars in (and also co-produced) the film, was named Best Actor. Since Cannes, the film has screened at more than 50 International Film Festivals.

The Bollywood Awards

Indian Film stars were honored in the Millennium Dome this weekend, in the first ever International Indian Film Awards. The film Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (I've Given My Heart Love) won Best Picture, and its star Aishwarya Rai won Best Actress. Sajay Dutt won the Best Actor award for his performance in Vaastav. The ceremony was hosted by India's Miss World 1999 Yukta Mookhey. Oscar-winner Angelina Jolie (Girl, Interrupted) made a special appearance to present an award much to the crowd's delight.

BAFTA Moves to a time to Compete With Oscars

In a move to make sure that the Oscar ceremony will not steal the world's attention next year, BAFTA has moved its award ceremony to exactly one month before the Academy Awards ceremony. The BAFTA (the British Academy of Film and Television) awards are essentially the UK equivalent of the American Oscars and generally take place a few weeks after. This year, American Beauty was named the top film at both.

Chicago Announces Underground Fest

Seven projects have been selected from over 100 submission in an effort to foster the underground of contemporary media. Established in 1998, the Film Fund aids underground and independent filmmakers who wish to forgo the mainstream of independent film to pursue more avant-garde work. Each winner selected has received a cash award of between $500 and $2000 to go toward the completion of his or her project. The Chicago Underground Film Fund 2000 Recipients are: Vivek Bald, Dietmar Post, Kerry Laitala and Isabel Reichert, Shawn Durr, Rodney Ascher, Sam Green, and Martha Colburn.

Blockbuster to Award Indies

The giant corporation Blockbuster video rental will award $100,000 and a distribution deal at this year's Blockbuster Movie Awards to an indie director. The prize is part of a new contest, called the Independent Filmmaker Award contest. Submissions will be accepted 1 July - 31 December and will be judged by movie professionals.

Hollywood Film Festival

The 4th Annual Hollywood Film Festival has announced that actor Richard Dreyfuss will receive its Lifetime Achievement Award. Dreyfuss has appeared as an actor in American Graffiti, Jaws, Close Enconters of the Third Kind, Stakeout and others. He will be seen next in The Crew, starrin Burt Reynolds and Jennifer Tilly. In addition, director Richard Donner (Lethal Weapon, Superman, Omen) will be honored with the Hollywood Outstanding Achievement in Directing Award. The honors will be presented during the Hollwood Film Awards Gala Ceremony 7 August 2000 at the Beverly Hilton.

European Film Awards 2000

The search is on for candidates for the European Film Awards. The Berlin-based European Film Academy has asked several organizations (among them FIPRESCI, the International Federation of Film Critics) to propose films, which were finished after 1 July 1999, which might be considered as best European Films of the Year. FIPRESCI has already submitted some nominations, which include Trolosa from Swedish director Liv Ullman, Dancer in the Dark from Danish director Lars von Trier, Love's Labour's Lost from Kenneth Branagh, among others. A commission called by the Academy will compile from all proposals a list of around 20 to 25 films for final voting. The ceremony will take place on 2 December 2000 at the Theatre de l'Odeon in Paris.

What's "Whassup" in French?

Proving that Cannes cares about more than just feature films, the seaside city hosted the International Advertising Festival this weekend, where the American commerical for Budweiser beer won the Grand Clio, the top prize for TV advertising. The commercial, produced by the advertising firm DDO Worldwide of Chicago, features actors using the popular phrase "Whassup." The United States won 11 prizes, the UK won seven, and France won three. The jury awarded less prizes than in past years, and expressed dismay at this year's decline in quality of advertisements.

Chicago Underground Fest

Hollywood Film Fest Awards

Hamptons Film Festival Announces New Cash Prize

Organizers of the 8th Annual Hamptons International Film Festival have announced the inaugural Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Award, which has a cash prize of $25,000. It will be given to a feature fiction film that explores science, mathematics, and technology themes with originality, insight, and potential for commercial distribution. Examples are Pi, Gattica, and Apollo 13.
The year 2000 also brings new guidelines to the coveted Golden Starfish Competition, which awards juried prizes honoring promising American filmmakers in Fiction, Documentary, and Short Film categories. The Golden Starfish Award given to the director or the Best American Independent dramatic feature film is the largest (cash valued) film festival prize in the U.S and is valued at $165,000.

German Film Awards

Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar has been on a whirlwind tour for his movie, All About My Mother, ever since the film screened at Cannes in 1999. This week, Almodovar was awarded the Best Foreign Film Prize at the German Film Awards, where The Unapproachable from Oskar Roehler was named Best Film and Hannelore Elsner, who starred in the production, was named Best Actress. Although Wim Wenders's Million Dollar Hotel lost the prize for Best Film, Wenders did take home the Best Documentary award, for Buena Vista Social Club. The prizes were decided by a jury, which included filmmaker Michael Verhoeven and actress Jutta Hoffman. The ceremony was held at the Berlin Opera House, with more than 1,000 guests in attendance.

George Washington Wins at Newport 2000

The 3rd Annual Newport International Film Festival named George Washington the Best Dramatic Film. Directed by 24-year old wunderkind David Gordon Green (who also won the prize for Best Director), it tells story of a group of children in a depressed North Carolina town who unite to cover up a tragic mistake. The cast won Best Actor for their ensemble performance. The award for Best Documentary went to Fighter, directed by Amir Bar-Lev. It follows two World War II Czech emigrants who travel through Europe to retrace their journey to freedom.

June FIPRESCI Winners

The latest FIPRESCI (the International Federation of Film Critics) prizes were presented at the Troia Film Festival, 1-10 June to Návrat Idiota (Return of the Idiot) by Czech director Sasa Gedeon. The Federation praised its "fresh and actual vision of the classical subject" and for its sparing but strong cinematographical language. Another FIPRESCI prize was awarded at the Annecy Festival 5-10 June, to Media from Czech director Pavel Koutsky. At the Sochi Film Festival 7-17 June, the FIPRESCI Prize went to Pelon Maantiede (Geography Of Fear) by Finnish director Auli.

European Film Awards 2000

Cabourg Festival of Romantic Films

At the Cabourg Festival of Romantic Films, held in June, Sophie Marceau was named the Most Romantic Actress and the film Fidelite, in which she stars opposite Guillaume Canet, was named Most Romantic Film.

MTV Movie Awards

The Matrix was named Best Film at the MTV Music Awards and the film's star, Keanu Reeves, was named Best Actor. Cruel Intentions won prizes for Best Kiss (between Selma Blair and Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Best Female Performance (Gellar). The two actresses kissed briefly when they picked up their prizes onstage. Austin Power: The Spy Who Shagged Me won Best Villain (Mike Myers) and Best on-screen duo (Myers and Verne Troyer). Haley Joel Osment won Best Breakthrough Male Performance and Julia Stiles was honored in the female category. Director Spike Jonze was awarded Best New Filmmaker. The show aims to be a hipper version of the Oscars, and awards are decided upon by MTV audiences either online, via telephone or Blockbuster Video store locations. The ceremony was held at the Sony Pictures lot in Culver City, CA and the show will be broadcast on MTV beginning 8 June in the US and 10 June in Europe.

Maui Film Festival Silversword Award

Tim Burton received the Maui Film Festival's Silversword Award for ``imagination and creativity in filmmaking.'' He was in Hawaii scouting locations for the shooting of his planned remake of Planet of the Apes,

Daytime Emmy Awards

The Daytime Emmy Award for best game show went to ABC's hit "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire." The host Regis Philbin, who was nominated as host in both the game show and talk show categories (for "Live! With Regis and Kathie Lee"), left without a win. 11-time winner Bob Barker ("The Price is Right") and newcomer Tom Bergeron ("Hollywood Squares") tied in the game show category, but only Bergeron was in attendance. He said, "I thought I was coming here just for dinner." Rosie O'Donnell beat Regis (not to mention Kathie Lee) by taking the talk show award for the fourth year in a row. So far, Regis has received nine nominations without a win -- but he is far from breaking Susan Lucci's losing streak of 18 nominations.

UCLA's Annual Screenwriting Showcase

UCLA's Graduate School of Film and Television has picked five winners in this year's seventh Annual Screenwriting Showcase competition. Passages from each script will be staged 12 June at the Geffen Playhouse during the graduate school's week-long Festival 2000. The winners are "Electrical Currency," by Christopher Bradley; "Life in Samsonite Blue," Felicia D. Henderson; "Grande Dame," Kellen Hertz; "Rewind," Kelly Kennemer; and "Crossfire," Martin Shapiro. Ellwyn Kauffman received an honorable mention for "First Under Heaven;" they were chosen by a panel of judges composed of industry executives from writing agencies and production companies.

Atlanta Film & Video Festival Awards

Frank Novak's Good Housekeeping, which was acquired in May by Shooting Gallery after its International Critics' Week screening at Cannes, won the Grand Jury Prize at the 24th Atlanta Film & Video Festival. Other winners at the Festival, which wrapped up this weekend, include Kevin McKiernan's Good Kurds, Bad Kurds (Best Documentary), Philip Bartell's Crush (Best Narrative), Aiayana Elliott's The Ballad of Rambling Jack (Audience Award), Fran Krause's Mister Smile (Best Animated) and Jeff Walker's My Big Heart (Best Experimental).

UCLA/Chicano Film and TV Film

Friday, 19 May 2000
The 8th Annual UCLA Chicano/Latino Film and TV Festival presented this year's achievement award to David Valdes. The festival was organized to celebrate and promote Chicano/Latino student films. A screening of student work followed the reception for the honored guest. Valdes is a UCLA alumni who has received four Academy Award nominations including best picture for the recent film, The Green Mile, starring Tom Hanks. Other motion picture credits include, Turbulence, A Perfect World, The Stars Fell Henrietta, The Rookie, and Like Father Like Son.

World Music Awards

Across the Cote D'Azur from Cannes, Monte Carlo hosted some of the biggest celebrities this past week for the 12th Annual World Music Awards held in Monte Carlo. Australian supermodel Elle McPherson and Mark McGrath of group Sugar Ray hosted the ceremony in the tiny principality. The Prince of Pop Michael Jackson and pop diva Mariah Carey were awarded Best Male and Female artists of the millennium. The Backstreet Boys quintet won four awards, while Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and Savage Garden, took home one each. Proceeds from ticket sales benefited the construction of a second Princess Grace Hospital. (Last year's proceeds helped to build the first Princess Grace Hospital in the Republic of Cameroon.

Webby Awards

More than 2,800 dot-commers plus comedian Sandra Bernhard were in attendance at the third annual Webby Awards in San Francisco. The ceremony was modeled after the Academy Awards, with prizes doled out to the top sites in 27 different categories. Unlike the long-winded Oscars, Webby winners were limited to just five words in their acceptance speeches, hence the thankyous "We love you, Google users." Best news site went to MSNC.com, best humor site went to The Onion, best Weird Web site went to Stile Project. Webby winners are picked by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences.

Academy Grants for Film Scholars

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences announced last week the creation of a new grant, which awards $25,000 each to two film scholars. Applicants must propose a new project that in some way encompasses an aspect of the art of filmmaking and will be awarded in a ceremony this December. The winners, Academy Film Scholars, will be required to present their findings in a lecture within one year of receiving the grant. Applications for this year's awards are due 15 September. More information is available at the website

"Student Oscars"

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced last week the five nominees in the Foreign Film Category for the Student Academy Awards. Two of this year's nominees are from Germany, while the others hail from Slovakia, Denmark, and the Czech Republic. The winner will be flown to Los Angeles for an awards ceremony 11 June in Beverly Hills and a week of "industry-related" social events.

Awards in India

In London, India Gets its own "Oscars"
Although the Indian film industry produces more films each year than any country in the world (more than 900 in 1999), the country has never had a national film awards show. This is set to change on 24 June, when India will host its first annual version of the Academy Awards, in London's new Millenium Dome. The ceremony will be hosted by the current Miss World, Yukta Mookhey, and the organizers plan for it to occur in a different country each year.

Polish Awards

Pan Tadeusz Steals the Show at Polish Awards
Krzysztof Krauze's film The Debt may have won best film and best actor (Robert Gonera) at the Polish Film Awards, but it was Andrzej Wajda's film Pan Tadeusz that stole the show. Pan Tadeusz racked up seven awards including Best Actress, Best Set Design, Best Music, and Best Cinematography, among others. Director Andrzej Wajda was also given an award for achievement in film.

BAFTA

BAFTA
The British Academy has announced their nominations for the year 2000 awards, with American Beauty once again a strong contender accumulating 14 nominations.
The winners are:
Best Film: American Beauty
David Lean Award to Best Director:
Pedro Almodovar - All About My Mother
Best Foreign Film:
All About My Mother
Best Original Screenplay:
American Beauty (Alan Ball)

Golden Raspberry Awards

Hollywood's biggest losers were "honored" Saturday at the Golden Raspberry awards, also known as the "Razzies" or the "anti-Oscars." Wild Wild West was the undisputed trophy hog, snagging Worst Picture, Worst Song, and Worst Screen Couple (for its stars, Kevin Kline and Will Smith). Screaming sensation Heather Donahue from The Blair Witch Project was named Worst Actress, while the Worst Actor trophy went to Adam Sandler for Big Daddy. The trophies, valued at $4.27 are a mangled film reel topped with a gold-plated raspberry.
In honor of the ceremony's 20th anniversary, this year featured some special awards. The Century's Worst Actor award went to Sylvester Stallone, and the Century's Worst Actress title went to Madonna. Showgirls was named the Worst Picture of the 1990s.

Independent Spirit Awards

Election, the black comedy about high-school politics won Best Feature (made for more than $500,000) and Best Screenplay at this year's Independent Spirit Awards.The homegrown sensation The Blair Witch Project won the other Best Feature award (for films made for under $500,000). Other Spirit award winners included Hilary Swank for Best Actress and Chloe Sevigny as Best Supporting Actress, both from Boys Don't Cry. The awards, now in its 15th year, was founded by the Independent Spirit Project West, a nonprofit organization that helps nurture independent filmmakers. The awards were created to support films made on smaller budgets than those from major studios.

Writers Guild of America

The Writers Guild of America nominations included 10 first-timers among the 13 nominated. The Original Screenplay award went to Alan Ball for American Beauty and the Adapted Screenplay award went to Alexander Payne (also director) and Jim Taylor for Election; based on the novel by Tom Perrotta.

Directors Guild of America Awards

Directors Guild of America awarded director Sam Mendes the highest honor - Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film - at the 52nd Annual DGA Awards held on 11 March. It was his first DGA award. In accepting the accolade for his cutting satire, American Beauty, Mendes shared the spotlight of professional respect and praise with Steven Spielberg who was presented the DGA Lifetime Achievement Award by Francis Ford Coppola, himself a feature winner for Godfather, Part II in 1974. The other four nominees were Spike Jonze's Being John Malkovich, M. Night Shyamalan's The Sixth Sense, Frank Darabont's The Green Mile and Michael Mann's The Insider.

Screen Actors Guild Awards

Screen Actors Guild Awards
The sixth annual event held on 12 March at the Los Angeles Shrine Exposition Center gave a landslide victory to American Beauty: Outstanding Performance by a Male and Female Actor in a Leading Role: Kevin Spacey and Annette Bening. The Supporting Actor was Michael Caine in The Cider House Rules and Supporting Actress Anjelina Jolie in Girl, Interrrupted. The awards show included a presentation of a Lifetime Achievement Award to Sidney Poitier.

Prix Henri Jeanson

With Le gout des autres attaining a successful score on the French box office charts, Agnès Jaoui and Jean-Pierre Bacri won the Prix Henri Jeanson given by the SACD (Société des auteurs et compositeurs dramatiques), which awards a film dialogue/screenplay.

Prix Michel Simon

The Prix Michel Simon was awarded to Sylvie Testud (Karnaval) and Martial di Fonzo Bo (Peau Neuve) at the close of the festival Acteurs à l'ecran, each receiving 10,000 Francs.

Cesar Awards

The 25th Cesar Awards, the French Oscars, was presided by Alain Delon and the winners were announced on 19 February. Vénus Beauté Institut (Venus Beauty Salon) by Tonie Marshall received 7 nominations and took four of the coveted prizes, including Best Film, Director and Screenplay. La fille sur le pont (The Girl on the Bridge) by Patrice Leconte and Jeanne d'Arc (The Messenger: Joan of Arc) by Luc Besson both received 8 nominations, yet only walked away with the less prestigious prizes. The Girl on the Bridge won Best Actor for Daniel Autueil, while Joan of Arc won Best Sound and Costumes. Karen Viard once again won Best Actress for her role in Haut les coeurs!. All About My Mother also continued to accumulate 1999 awards winning Best Foreign Film. Finally, Eric Valli's Caravan won Best Cinematography and Music, and Voyages by Emmanuel Finkiel Best First Film and Editing.

Prix Melies

The 53rd annual Prix Melies, the honor given to the best French film of the year by the French Union of Film Critics, was awarded to La Maladie de Sachs (Sachs' Disease) on Monday February 7 in Paris.
For the third year running, the Prix Emile Couzinet and the Prix Ed Wood were awarded in Paris to the previous year's worst domestic and foreign releases. The full report on these French awards.

Trophée des Trophées du Film Français

The 7th Trophée des Trophées du Film Français went to Astérix et Obélix contre César by Claude Zidi, which was seen by 9 million spectators. These awards are meant to honor French films and TV series that made box office success. Second prize went to Jeanne d'Arc by Luc Besson with 3 million moviegoers and third to Les Enfants du marais with 2.1 million. In the foreign film category, it was Tarzan leading the pack with 7.3 million just over the 7.2 million for The Phantom Menace.

Gielgud Awards

The Shakespeare Guild in London awarded the prestigious Gielgud Award to Kenneth Branagh, the youngest person to win the prize at 39. The prize draws its named from British classical actor Sir John Gielgud.

Goya Awards

The Spanish Goya Awards took place on January 29 in Barcelona. Pedro Almodovar's All About My Mother received a record 14 Goya nominations and won seven, notably Best Film and Director. Organized by the Spanish Film Academy, the Goya awards get their name from the 18th century Spanish painter and were inaugurated 1987.

Golden Globe Awards

The 57th annual Golden Globe Awards, broadcast live on NBC on January 23, 2000, once again featured a long list of awards for both motion pictures and made for television films. Considered a barometer for the Oscars, it was American Beauty by Sam Mendes, a dark comedy about an eccentric American family, that was the grand winner with three awards.
the winners

The Broadcast Film Critics Association

The Broadcast Film Critics Association, which bills itself as the nation's largest film critics' group, held its awards ceremony on January 24 in Los Angeles. Best Film and Director went to American Beauty by British Sam Mendes. Russell Crowe won Best Actor for The Insider and Hilary Swank Best Actress honors for Boys Don't Cry. Also Spike Jonze got Best First-film Director for Being John Malkovich, All About My Mother Best Foreign film and Buena Vista Social Club Best Feature Documentary. Furthermore, Steven Spielberg was named top moviemaker of the 1990s, while two of his films - Schindler's List (1993) and Saving Private Ryan (1998) - took top billing on the decade's best list.

National Society of Film Critics

National Society of Film Critics cast their votes in New York and the winners are: Best Picture was a tie between Being John Malkovich and Topsy-Turvy, Best Actor went to Russel Crowe (The Insider) and Best Actress to Reese Witherspoon (Election). Best Foreign Film went to Autumn Tale by Eric Rhomer.

American Comedy Awards

American Comedy Awards Scheduled for 6 February in Los Angeles, this 14th edition is to present Steve Martin (Bowfinger) with a career achievement award. Up for the best comic actress are Annette Bening (American Beauty), Janeane Garofalo (Mystery Men), Drew Barrymore (Never Been Kissed), Reese Witherspoon (Election). And comic actor, Jim Carrey (Man on the Moon), Robert De Niro (Analyze This), Kevin Spacey (American Beauty), and Mike Myers (Austin Powers:The Spy Who Shagged Me).

People's Choice Award

Based on a Gallup Poll of 5,000 Americans, the 26th edition, which aired on January 8, voted The Sixth Sense as most favorite film in 1999 and Bruce Willis top actor. Julia Roberts was voted best actress. Adam Sandler won best comedy star and Big Daddy best comedy film. Special for this edition, the added Internet vote chose "Providence" favorite new TV drama series and "Stark Raving Mad" best new comedy series.

American Cinema Editors (ACE)

The ACE awarded the Eddie Award to James Cameron, whose film Titanic won 11 Oscars in 1998. The 50th award ceremony is to take place on February 27 in Beverly Hills. Past winners include Francis Ford Coppola, Clint Eastwood, Roger Corman, Steven Spielberg... Nominees for best Dramatic Feature are American Beauty, The Insider, The Matrix, The Sixth Sense, The Talented Mr. Ripley. For best Comedy Feature, Analyze This, Being John Malkovich, Election, Man on the Moon, Run Lola Run. The ACE is comprised of more than 400 film and TV editors.

Prix Simone Genevois

Founded in 1988, this Prix named after the French silent picture star ( La merveilleuse vie de Jeanne d'Arc - 1929) honors the best literary work on cinema, as well as the best university written work on film. Presided by director Claude Sautet, the 12 other jury members included directors Bertrand Tavernier and Alexandre Astruc. The award ceremony was held on 12 January in Paris. The prize went to Frédéric Raphael for " Deux ans avec Kubrick " ("Eyes Wide Open"). Raphael wrote the screenplay for Eyes Wide Shut.

The Prix Delluc

The honors went to Georgian director Otar Iosseliani's film Adieu plancher des vaches. The prize to the best first film went to Voyages by Emmanuel Finkiel. The jury was headed by Cannes soon-to-be president Gilles Jacob and was composed of film critics and personalities. The annual Prix Delluc held in December was created in 1937 and drew its name from one of France's first film critics, Louis Delluc.

more awards