Toronto Festival Winners - Lebonese, French, Iranian, and a USA Doc

 

The Toronto International Film Festival is not competitive, which means it has no jury. It gives only two awards, both chosen by the festival attendees. The sought-after award is the Cadillac People's Choice Award.
 
The Cadillac People's Choice Award for a feature film went to Where Do We go Now? It is listed as a comedy/drama. The movie was written, directed, and also co-stars Nadine Nabaki, who is Lebanese. Her first movie Caramel was well received at the 2007 Toronto IFF.
 
The original title is French, Et maintenant, on va où? For my Middle Eastern friends, the Arabic title is, Ou Halla La Weyn?
The story line is, "A group of Lebanese women try to ease religious tensions between Christians and Muslims in their village."

The budget for this multi-lingual movie (Arabic, Russian, English) was approximately $6 million. It does not have a U.S. distributor at the moment, but is distributed in Europe by Pathe, and has opened in France and Finland. It is scheduled to open in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria next week, opening in Kuwait and the UAE November 10.

The runners-up for the Cadillac People's Choice Award were:  A Separation, a drama, and Starbuck, a comedy. A Separation is an Iranian movie, filmed in Iran, written, directed and produced by Asghar Farhadi (About Elly, 2009), and the language is Persian.
 
The budget was $300,000, and it grossed aprox. $5 million in France in July. It won a number of awards at this year's Berlin International Film Festival including the top jury prize, Golden Bear, and a Silver Bear for the acting ensemble.
 
Starbuck is a Canadian production, filmed entirely in Quebec, and the language is French, directed by Ken Scott, co-written by Scott and Martin Petit. It has nothing to do with the chain of coffee houses.
 
The title refers to the pseudonym of the main character, David, because he was an avid sperm donor in his youth. Now, at 42, he discovers he is the father of 533 children, 142 of whom have filed a class action lawsuit to determine the identity of their biological father, known only as Starbuck.
 
The Cadillac People's Choice Award for Best Documentary Feature went to The Island President, directing and cinematography by Jon Shenk, who shared the Independent Spirit Award in 2003 with Megan Milan for the documentary, Lost Boys of Sudan. It is a USA production and the language is English. Look for it on PBS (Independent Lens or P.O.V.).
 
This is a documentary about Mohamed "Anni" Nasheed, real-life president of the Maldives, a low-lying Pacific island nation, and his fight to save the islands as they face the crisis of being flooded because of Global Warming. The Republic of Maldives is located in the Indian Ocean toward the southwest of India and Sri Lanka.
 
For more pictures and information about these films, I refer you to Roger Ebert's Suntimes Blog. Please click the title of this post to go there.                           Toronto IFF Web Site

Toronto Audience Award is PRECIOUS

PRECIOUS, the movie that won the top prize plus the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival, was awarded the Cadillac Audience Award at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) yesterday.

Other than recognizing some films, such as Canadian ones, this is the only major award the festival bestows as it is a non-competitive festival. This award is not only sponsored by Cadillac, it is considered the Cadillac of audience awards. Last year's winner was SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE. Other notable winners include, AMERICAN BEAUTY and CHARIOTS OF FIRE.

Based on the novel 'Push' by a former Harlem educator who writes under the name of Sapphire, the movie was originally titled PUSH and won at Sundance under that name. However, it arrived at Toronto with a new name, PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL PUSH BY SAPPHIRE.

PRECIOUS was accepted at Toronto IFF with not much else than the strength of the novel and the wins at Sundance going for it, except it had some heavy hitters behind it. Among them is Lionsgate, the production / distribution company based in Vancouver, Canada, plus executive producers Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry. Both Perry and Winfrey attended the Festival as chief cheerleaders.

PRECIOUS also has some other heavyweight names involved. It is directed by Lee Daniels, who produced MONSTERS BALL and directed SHADOWBOXER, with a screenplay adapted by Geoffrey Fletcher. It stars Mariah Carey and Mo'Nique in supporting roles, the latter winning the Sundance Special Jury Award for her portrayal of the abusive mother.

Both the comedienne Mo'Nique and singer Carey play against type. Carey is said to have worn no makeup in the movie. Mary J. Blige contributed a song to the soundtrack, and author Sapphire has a minor part.

The lead character is played by an unknown actress from Harlem, Gabourey "Gabby" Sidibe, who plays Clareece "Precious" Jones, a 16-year-old Harlem girl, an overweight illiterate teen who is pregnant with her second child. Both pregnancies are the result of Precious having been raped by her father.

Precious is also repeatedly beaten by her mother. When she is invited to enroll in an alternative school she gains hope that her life can head in a new direction, but the road is not altogether the yellow brick road to Oz for which she has wished.

The movies LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE and JUNO were each named "the little movie that could go all the way" after their wins at Sundance, and they did. PUSH, now called PRECIOUS, has been similarly annointed. With this important win at Toronto, it now is at the front of all the movies chugging uphill in quest of an Academy Award®.

The 47th New York Film Festival opens this Friday night, 25th, and PRECIOUS: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire is this year's Centerpiece Film, one of the most prestigious spots in the Festival's lineup. The current questions are, "Will PRECIOUS gain more distance from the pack at the New York Film Festival?" and "With the new expanded 10-nominee format for Best Picture, will PRECIOUS make the list?"

I can't guess the NYFF prospect, but I can hazard a guess that the answer to the last question is, "Yes." The movie's tagline is: "Life is hard. Life is short. Life is painful. Life is rich. Life is....Precious." With a tagline like that, Oprah and the others, can it possibly miss?

Telluride Wraps, Toronto Opens

Abbie Cornish in the period drama BRIGHT STAR, directed by Jane Campion

One of America's most prestigious film festivals wrapped Labor Day in Colorado. That was, of course, the Telluride Festival (TFF). This year was the 36th and it did not disappoint. Telluride, like the New York Film Festival, is a non-competitive festival. No special awards are given. People go to enjoy restful and beautiful Telluride, to see, appreciate, and to talk, film.

As Oscar® looms, with Telluride under the belt, and Venice closing Saturday (12th), here are some of the films many have tapped as possibly being Oscar bound. First and foremost from Telluride is Jason Reitman's UP IN THE AIR. George Clooney's much-praised performance is considered by many to be a timely theme about an American culture hurting for connection and basic humanity. It now heads to Toronto with a Special Premiere.

Clooney stars in a second much talked about movie this year, THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS, and both will screen at Toronto. He squired Miss Elisabetta Canalis in Venice and Telluride and, most likely, will do it again in Toronto.

Another high-profile movie, THE ROAD, which had screened to a good reception at the Venice International Film Festival, screened Sunday night at Telluride with an opening ovation. The fact that Viggo Mortensen stars, received a special fest tribute, and was on hand for questioning, helped to brighten this adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's bleak, Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. John Hillcoat directs and the movie will also receive a Special Premiere at Toronto.

Werner Herzog's BAD LIEUTENANT: PORT OF CALL NEW ORLEANS, reportedly pleased Telluride fest goers. Herzog, along with star Nicolas Cage, will now take their film North to Port of Call Toronto. Herzog will have another movie this year at Hollywood North, MY SON, MY SON, WHAT HAVE YE DONE? A USA - German co-production.

Other notable movies at Telluride will now go to test their metal at Toronto. Among them, Jane Campion's BRIGHT STAR, Jacques Audiard's A PROPHET, and Michael Haneke's THE WHITE RIBBON (Das Weisse Band) winner at Cannes this year.

The Toronto International Film Festival Group (TIFFG) is a charitable, not-for-profit, cultural organization, which is often dubbed Hollywood North, and ranks with Cannes, Sundance, Berlin and Venice as one of the world's most influential film festivals. I is considered the kick-off of the film awards season, which culminates with the Academy Awards® 7 March 2010.

The lineup of directors, producers, actors, and others for the 34th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), when compared to other film festivals this summer, is huge - - over 500 expected. The Festival opens this Thursday, the 10th and closes on the 19th.

Like many festivals this year, TIFF has expanded its Outdoor programs and free screenings. There are not just free films but also free concerts at the Live at Yonge and Dundas Square.

The winner of the Cadillac People's Choice Award will be announced on the afternoon of 19 September. The presentation that evening on the closing night of the festival is free. Last year, the People's Choice went to Danny Boyle's multiple Academy Award®-winning SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE. It was then that I felt almost certain that the movie had "The It" to win the Academy Award, having also followed its reception at Telluride.

Opening Night - Live satellite feed from the Roy Thomson Hall red carpet for the Opening Night Gala Presentation of CREATION. TIFF YDS Spotlight: Opening Night concert by DJ Champion, hosted by Canadian soprano Measha Brueggergosman.

Closing Night - TIFF Live In Concert Film Series: world premiere of COPYRIGHT CRIMINALS. The Festival Wrap Party, presented in association with Future Projections and hosted by Chuck D, featuring the infectious improvised audiovisual "mashups" of Eclectic Method. With special guest Clyde Stubblefield, plus the presentation of the Cadillac People's Choice Award.

Full Screening List For Toronto

Tribeca Festival Wraps with Cadillac Audience Award

The Cadillac Award: The Audience Choice for Best Feature Film at the Tribeca Film Festival (23 April - 4 May), New York City, was announced 4 May, and the winner is the documentary feature, WAR CHILD. It won over nine others, including PRAY THE DEVIL BACK TO HELL, which won the juried award for the best documentary feature.

First-time director C. Karim Chrobog received a cash prize of $25,000, the art award "Peripheral Drift Illusion" by Ryan McGinness, and a one-of-a-kind trophy to commemorate his achievement for WAR CHILD.

The true story in the doc: Emmanuel Jal raps his "Warchild," and tells his story of being conscripted as a soldier into the Sudanese People's Liberation Army when he was only eight years old. Now, as a veteran of a 20-year civil war between the Muslim North and Christian South, he has become, at 28, a rising hip-hop star.

Jal had declined other offers to film his story, but Chrobog offered him something else, "We want to use the story so you can give back and build a school." Last fall, Jal and Chrobog launched a foundation, Gua Africa, which is raising money to build two schools, one in southern Sudan and another outside of Nairobi, Kenya.

The top ten in the running for the award were:

1. Pray the Devil Back to Hell - won Best Documentary Feature.
2. War Child
3. Gotta Dance
4. Playing For Change: Peace Through Music
5. Man on Wire
6. Run For Your Life
7. Under Our Skin
8. Kicking It
9. The Wackness
10. Fighter

To view a still from WAR CHILD, read about other awards at Tribeca and other festivals, plus links, click the link for My Film Festivals Page on the right sidebar.

LINKS RELEVANT: Jal's MySpace / Read more about the film