February 22, 2012

ICS SUES HOLLYWOOD FOR A SEPARATION

Soaring over this year's Oscar favorites, Asghar Farhadi's masterful Iranian drama A Separation earned top honors at the 9th International Cinephile Society Awards, winning best picture of 2011. The intense story of two families torn apart by marital and legal woes also nabbed prizes for Farhadi's multi-layered original screenplay, the naturalistic acting ensemble, and best film not in the English language. In addition, two members of its remarkable cast – Peyman Moaadi and Shahab Hosseini – were chosen as runners-up in the individual acting categories.

Top kudos, however, went to best actor Tom Cullen as a heartfelt lover in Weekend; supporting actor Brad Pitt as a dysfunctional 1950s father in The Tree of Life; and two gutsy ladies from little-seen ICS favorite Margaret, Anna Paquin for best actress and J. Smith-Cameron in supporting.

Grace balanced nature as The Tree of Life matched A Separation's tally with four wins of its own, including director Terrence Malick, supporting actor Pitt, cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, and half the film editors in Texas.

In a surprising turnaround, tough competition left the innovative Portuguese saga Mysteries of Lisbon with nine nominations but only one win. This stunning Raoul Ruiz production managed a tie with Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy for adapted screenplay, while sweeping runner-up prizes in non-English language film, cinematography and original score.

Previously released nominations may be found here.



PICTURE
01. A Separation
02. The Tree of Life
03. Mysteries of Lisbon
04. Certified Copy
05. Weekend
06. Margaret
07. Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
08. Drive
09. Meek's Cutoff
10. Hugo
11. Melancholia

DIRECTOR
Terrence Malick – The Tree of Life
runner-up: Asghar Farhadi – A Separation

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
01. A Separation
02. Mysteries of Lisbon
03. Certified Copy
04. Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
05. The Skin I Live In
06. Poetry
07. House of Pleasures
08. Le Havre
09. Le Quattro Volte
10. Of Gods and Men

ACTOR
Tom Cullen – Weekend
runner-up: Peyman Moaadi – A Separation

ACTRESS
Anna Paquin – Margaret
runner-up: Juliette Binoche – Certified Copy

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Brad Pitt – The Tree of Life
runner-up: Shahab Hosseini – A Separation

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
J. Smith-Cameron – Margaret
runner-up: Jessica Chastain – Take Shelter

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
A Separation – Asghar Farhadi
runner-up: Weekend – Andrew Haigh

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Mysteries of Lisbon – Carlos Saboga & Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy – Bridget O'Connor, Peter Straughan
runner-up: The Skin I Live In – Agustín Almodóvar, Pedro Almodóvar

CINEMATOGRAPHY
The Tree of Life – Emmanuel Lubezki
runner-up: Mysteries of Lisbon – André Szankowski

EDITING
The Tree of Life – Hank Corwin, Jay Rabinowitz, Daniel Rezende, Billy Weber, Mark Yoshikawa
runner-up: Drive – Matthew Newman

PRODUCTION DESIGN
The Mill and the Cross – Marcel Slawinski, Katarzyna Sobanska-Strzalkowska
runner-up: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy – Maria Djurkovic

ORIGINAL SCORE
Drive – Cliff Martinez
runners-up: Mysteries of Lisbon – Jorge Arriagada & Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy – Alberto Iglesias

ENSEMBLE
A Separation
runner-up: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

ANIMATED FILM
Rango
runner-up: Winnie the Pooh

DOCUMENTARY
The Autobiography of Nicolae Ceausescu
runner-up: Nostalgia for the Light

BEST PICTURE NOT RELEASED IN 2011
• Alps
• Century of Birthing
• Declaration of War
• The Deep Blue Sea
• Elena
• Faust
• The Kid with a Bike
• Once Upon a Time in Anatolia
• This Is Not a Film
• The Turin Horse