AFI FEST 2012 presented by Audi
ANNOUNCES AUDIENCE AND JURY AWARD-WINNING FILMS
Encore Screenings of Selected Award-Winning Films at the Chinese 6 Theatres Today
LOS ANGELES, CA, November 8, 2012 – AFI FEST 2012 presented by Audi announced today the features and short films that are the recipients of this year’s Audience and Jury Awards. Select award-winning films will screen again today at the Chinese 6 Theatres. Admission is available to AFI FEST 2012 pass holders and the general public via the Rush Line, which begins forming one hour before each film’s scheduled screening start time. For screening times visit AFI.com/AFIFEST.
“It has been an incredible year in film and we’re grateful for having had the opportunity to showcase so many wonderful films,” said Jacqueline Lyanga, Director of AFI FEST. “Our desire is to have these films reach an even wider audience after these eight festival days, and that our jury and audience awards contribute to building an audience for these films.”
“We are so pleased to see how the juries and audience reacted to these incredible films and filmmakers,” said Lane Kneedler, Associate Director of Programming of AFI FEST. “The juries’ recognition was spread out over many films, and results of our audience award winners were incredibly close this year.”
GRAND JURY AWARDS, LIVE ACTION AND ANIMATED SHORT
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognizes AFI FEST Grand Jury Award winners in the Live Action and Animated Shorts categories as qualifiers for the annual Academy Awards® Short Film category.
Live Action Short: INTRODUCING: BOBBY. by Roger Hayn “for crafting an honest vision of America by making an insightful portrayal of a single man.”
Animated Short: OH WILLY… by Emma De Swaef and Marc Roels “for melding a dynamic narrative with innovative animation style that leads the viewer to pure wonderment.”
GRAND JURY AWARD, NEW AUTEURS
EAT SLEEP DIE for director Gabriela Pichler’s “sensitive portrait of a young woman fighting to keep her job and her dignity in the globalized economy, driven by an energetic performance from Nermina Lukac, is an extraordinary work accessible to many audiences.”
AUDIENCE AWARDS
World Cinema: A ROYAL AFFAIR. DIR Nikolaj Arcel. Denmark/Sweden/Czech Republic/Germany.
New Auteurs: A HIJACKING. DIR Tobias Lindholm. Denmark.
Young Americans: ONLY THE YOUNG. DIR Jason Tippet, Elizabeth Mims. USA.
Breakthrough: NAIROBI HALF LIFE. DIR David Tosh Gitonga. Kenya/Germany.
The complete list of award-winners, including special awards, is attached at the end of this press release.
FESTIVAL OVERVIEW
The AFI FEST 2012 program included 140 films (84 features, 56 shorts) from 3,400 submissions across 28 countries, with France (23), UK (13) and Germany (12) topping the international selections. The breakdown by section is Galas and Tribute (6), Special Screenings (8), Young Americans (11), New Auteurs (9), World Cinema (31), Midnight (4), Breakthrough (6), Guest Artistic Director (5), Secret Screening (1) and Shorts (56), and includes 12 official Foreign Language Film Oscar® submissions.
The Opening Night Gala was the World Premiere of Sacha Gervasi’s HITCHCOCK. The Closing Night Gala is the Official World Premiere of Steven Spielberg’s LINCOLN, which screens tonight at the historic Grauman’s Chinese Theatre with Spielberg and the full cast expected to be in attendance, among many others. The Secret Screening was the newest James Bond film, SKYFALL.
Among the many highlights of the festival were throngs of fans waiting on Hollywood Boulevard to catch a glimpse of Kristen Stewart before the Gala premiere of ON THE ROAD; rapturous applause from a full house at SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK, which was introduced by Bradley Cooper, John Ortiz and director David O. Russell; an engaged audience listening to Ewan McGregor speak about THE IMPOSSIBLE; proud dad Ken Burns introducing THE CENTRAL PARK FIVE with his co-directors including (his daughter) Sarah Burns and David McMahon; a standing ovation for Xavier Dolan’s LAURENCE ANYWAYS, which was attended by Cannes Best Actress winner Suzanne Clément; Léos Carax reuniting with his HOLY MOTORS’ leading lady Eva Mendes on the red carpet; and the sale of KON-TIKI, which is Norway’s official Foreign Language Film Oscar® submission, to The Weinstein Company.
Over 60 international filmmakers traveled from around the world to attend the festival, including master filmmaker Kim Ki-duk with PIETA; Mexico’s official Foreign Language Film Oscar® submission AFTER LUCIA’s Michel Franco and star Tessa Ia; Romania’s official Foreign Language Film Oscar® submission BEYOND THE HILLS’ Cristian Mungiu; SOMETHING IN THE AIR’s Olivier Assayas; and Tobias Lindholm who has two films at the festival (A HIJACKING and THE HUNT).
Other notable artists in front of and behind the camera who came out and supported their independent and studio films included Marion Cotillard and Jacques Audiard with RUST AND BONE; AFI Life Achievement Award recipient Dustin Hoffman making his directorial debut with QUARTET; Nick Offerman with SOMEBODY UP THERE LIKES ME; Jane Adams who co-wrote and stars in Joe Swanberg’s ALL THE LIGHT IN THE SKY; Diego Luna who introduced the Midnight movie COME OUT AND PLAY and reunited with his THE MOTORCYCLES DIARY director, Walter Salles, at ON THE ROAD; and Elle Fanning and Christina Hendricks who joined Sally Potter at GINGER & ROSA.
For the fourth consecutive year, AFI FEST continued its unprecedented offer of free tickets to all screenings. Tickets for today’s screenings are available in-person at the AFI FEST AT&T Box Office at the Hollywood & Highland Center
The American Film Institute is a 501(c)(3) non-profit educational and cultural organization and passes are tax-deductible to the full extent of the law.
Audi is the festival’s presenting sponsor. Additional sponsors include American Airlines, the official airline of AFI; AT&T; the Coca-Cola Company; Creative America; Hewlett-Packard (HP); Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel; Levi’s; Stella Artois; New Amsterdam Vodka; American Film Market (AFM); and the Chinese Theatre, among many others.
Film stills are available for press use only and can be downloaded at: flickr.com/photos/afifestpublicity/collections.
About the American Film Institute
AFI is America’s promise to preserve the history of the motion picture, to honor the artists and their work and to educate the next generation of storytellers. AFI provides leadership in film, television and digital media and is dedicated to initiatives that engage the past, the present and the future of the moving image arts.
AFI preserves the legacy of America’s film heritage for future generations through the AFI Archive, comprised of rare footage from across the history of the moving image and the AFI Catalog of Feature Films, an authoritative record of American films from 1893 to the present.
AFI honors the artists and their work through a variety of annual programs and special events, including the AFI Life Achievement Award and AFI Awards. Celebrating its 41st year in 2013, the AFI Life Achievement Award has remained the highest honor for a career in film while AFI Awards, the Institute’s almanac for the 21st century, honors the most outstanding motion pictures and television programs of the year. AFI’s 100 Years…100 Movies television events and movie reference lists have introduced and reintroduced classic American movies to millions of film lovers. And as the largest nonprofit exhibitor in the United States, AFI offers film enthusiasts a variety of events throughout the year, including AFI Fest presented by Audi, the Institute’s annual year-end celebration of artistic excellence in cinema; AFI Silverdocs, the largest documentary festival in the U.S.; and year-round programming at the AFI Silver Theatre in the Washington, DC area.
AFI educates the next generation of storytellers at its AFI Conservatory, which has been consistently recognized as one of the world’s top film schools, boasting alumni including Darren Aronofsky, Patty Jenkins, Janusz KamiÅ„ski, Heidi Levitt, Matthew Libatique, David Lynch, Terrence Malick, Wally Pfister, Robert Richardson, Ed Zwick and so many more. AFI Conservatory offers a two-year Master of Fine Arts degree in six filmmaking disciplines: Cinematography, Directing, Editing, Producing, Production Design and Screenwriting. Aspiring artists learn from the masters in a collaborative, hands-on production environment with an emphasis on storytelling.
For more information about AFI, visit AFI.com or connect with AFI at facebook.com/AmericanFilmInstitute, twitter.com/AmericanFilm and youtube.com/AFI.
About AFI FEST presented by Audi
The American Film Institute’s annual celebration of artistic excellence, AFI FEST presented by Audi brings the audience and the entertainment community together to explore the year in global cinema through the new works of film masters, moving image icons and breakthrough talents, and it is the only film festival of its stature that is free to the public. AFI FEST mixes nightly red carpet galas of Hollywood films with new auteur works from around the world, ensuring that an extraordinary array of foreign filmmaker voices is heard. Launching awards season each year, AFI FEST offers a crucial avenue of exposure to the entertainment community, while providing audiences with the very best of global cinema, right in the center of the movie-making capital of the world.
Celebrating its 26th year as a program of the American Film Institute, the festival has paid tribute to numerous influential filmmakers and artists over the years, including Pedro Almodóvar and David Lynch as Guest Artistic Directors, and has screened scores of films that have produced Oscar® nominations and wins including, most recently, THE ARTIST and A SEPARATION.
AFI FEST 2012 presented by Audi took place from November 1 through 8 in the heart of Hollywood. AFI FEST is the only FIAPF-accredited film festival in the United States, and The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognizes AFI FEST as a qualifying festival for the Short Films category for the annual Academy Awards®.
Additional information about AFI FEST is available at AFI.com/AFIFEST. Connect with AFI FEST at facebook.com/AFIFEST, twitter.com/AFIFEST and youtube.com/AFIFEST.
About Audi
Audi of America, Inc. and its U.S. dealers offer a full line of German-engineered luxury vehicles. AUDI AG is among the most successful luxury automotive brands globally. Audi was a top-performing luxury brand in Europe during 2011, and broke all-time company sales records in the U.S. Through 2016, AUDI AG will invest about $17 billion on new products and technologies. Visit audiusa.com or audiusanews.com for more information regarding Audi vehicle and business issues.
About AFM
The business of independent motion picture production and distribution reaches its peak every year at the American Film Market, October 31-November 7, 2012. The global film industry converges in Santa Monica for eight days of deal-making on films in every stage of development and production, as well as screenings, conferences, networking and parties.
With 8,000 industry leaders from more than 70 countries, 700 screenings and the industry’s largest Conference Series, AFM is the pivotal destination for independent filmmakers, directors, financiers, industry executives, producers, talent, writers, the international media and all those who provide services to the motion picture industry. The AFM is produced by the Independent Film & Television Alliance® (IFTA). Visit AmericanFilmMarket.com and IFTA-online.org for more information.
ATTACHMENT – COMPLETE LIST OF AWARD WINNERS
GRAND JURY AWARD, NEW AUTEURS
The jury is comprised exclusively of film writers: Dana Harris (Indiewire), David Hudson (Fandor), Gregg Kilday (The Hollywood Reporter) and Bérénice Reynaud (Senses of Cinema).
Grand Jury Award: EAT SLEEP DIE for director Gabriela Pichler’s “sensitive portrait of a young woman fighting to keep her job and her dignity in the globalized economy, driven by an energetic performance from Nermina Lukac, is an extraordinary work accessible to many audiences.”
Special Mention for Performance: SIMON KILLER’s (DIR Antonio Campos) Mati Diop for “her contribution to SIMON KILLER as both an actress and screenwriter.”
Special Mention: HERE AND THERE by Antonio Mendez Esparza for “its honest depiction of lives that are otherwise often invisible in our society.”
GRAND JURY AWARDS, LIVE ACTION AND ANIMATED SHORT
This year’s Shorts jury consisted of Claudette Godfrey (Short Film Programmer for the South by Southwest Film Conference); Mike Plante (Sundance Film Festival Programmer, publisher of Cinemad and filmmaker); Ry Russo-Young (NOBODY WALKS); Ryan Silbert (Academy Award®-winning filmmaker, Live Action Short, GOD OF LOVE); and Jenny Slate (actress, best-selling author, and voice, co-writer and co-creator of MARCEL THE SHELL WITH SHOES ON, winner of Best Animated Short at AFI FEST 2010).
Grand Jury Award, Live Action Short: INTRODUCING: BOBBY. by Roger Hayn “for crafting an honest vision of America by making an insightful portrayal of a single man.”
Grand Jury Award, Animated Short: OH WILLY… by Emma De Swaef and Marc Roels “for melding a dynamic narrative with innovative animation style that leads the viewer to pure wonderment.”
Special Jury Award for Animation: BELLY by Julia Pott “for its personal touch to technique and playful storytelling that is a welcome addition to the pantheon of animation.”
Special Jury Award for Documentary Filmmaking: WHATEVEREST by Kristoffer Borgli “for constructing a film that contextualizes the digital generation and reflects on what happens when we turn the camera onto ourselves.”
Honorable Mention for Performance: NARCOCORRIDO (DIR Ryan Prows) for Raul Castillo’s “penetrating lead performance that conveys a sense of loss that leaves a lasting mark on the audience.”
Honorable Mention for Promising Vision: DOGS ARE SAID TO SEE THINGS by Guto Parente “for pulling together social criticism with a pool party and actually making something fresh and smart.”
AUDIENCE AWARDS
Audience Award, World Cinema: A ROYAL AFFAIR. DIR Nikolaj Arcel. Denmark/Sweden/Czech Republic/Germany.
Audience Award, New Auteurs: A HIJACKING. DIR Tobias Lindholm. Denmark.
Audience Award, Young Americans: ONLY THE YOUNG. DIR Jason Tippet, Elizabeth Mims. USA.
Audience Award, Breakthrough: NAIROBI HALF LIFE. DIR David Tosh Gitonga. Kenya/Germany. Award accompanied by a $5,000 cash prize.
