Independent Spirit Awards - Winners 2008

February 23rd 2008

Best Feature: "Juno"
Best Male Lead: Philip Seymour Hoffman for "The Savages"
Best Female Lead: Ellen Page for "Juno"
Best Director: Julian Schnabel for "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"

Best Cinematographer: Janusz Kaminski for "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"
Best Screenplay: Tamara Jenkins for "The Savages"
Best Supporting Male: Chiwetel Ejiofor for "Talk To Me"
Best Supporting Female: Cate Blanchett for "I'm Not There"

Best First Feature: "The Lookout" by Scott Frank
Best First Screenplay: "Diablo Cody" for Juno
Best Documentary: "Crazy Love" by Dan Klores
Best Foreign Film: "Once" (Ireland) by John Carney

John Cassavetes Award: "August Evening" by Chris Eska
Robert Altman Award: "I'm Not There" by Todd Haynes
Acura Someone to Watch Award: Ramin Bahrani, Director of "Chop Shop"
Piaget Producers Award: Neil Kopp, Producer of "Paranoid Park" and "Old Joy"
IFC Truer than Fiction Award: Laura Dunn, Director of "The Unforeseen"

Producers Award Nominating Committee: Scott Macaulay (Chair), Gina Kwon, Anne Walker-McBay, Lianne Halfon, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte

Truer Than Fiction Award Nominating Committee: John Vanco (Chair), Cara Mertes, A.J. Schnack, Dennis Lim, Laura Poitras

IFC/Acura Someone to Watch Award Nominating Committee: Scott Foundas (Chair), Effie T. Brown, Lisa Kennedy, Bryan Poyser, Maud Nadler

About: Founded in 1984, the Independent Spirit Awards were originally known as the FINDIE Awards ("Friends of Independents") and presented winners with acrylic glass pyramids containing suspended shoestrings representing the paltry budgets of independent films. In 1986, the event was renamed the Independent Spirit Awards in honor of the talented and tenacious souls who drive creativity in the film industry. The Independent Spirit Awards are presented by Film Independent, a non-profit organization dedicated to independent film and independent filmmakers. In 2007 the ceremony was slightly changed to Film Independent's Spirit Awards. Since 2006, winners have received a trophy depicting a bird sitting atop of a pole with the shoestrings from the previous design wrapped around the pole.

The awards show is held inside a tent on the beach in Santa Monica, California, usually on the day before the Academy Awards (since 1999; originally the Saturday before). Since 1994, the show has been broadcast on the Independent Film Channel.

Official website

58th Berlin Film Festival - Berlinale Awards 2008

Berlin, February 7–17, 2008

Golden Bear: The Elite Squad / Tropa de Elite, directed by José Padilha
Silver Bear - The Jury Grand Prix: Standard Operating Procedure, directed by Errol Morris
Silver Bear - Best Director: Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood

Silver Bear - Best Actor: Reza Najie for Song of Sparrows
Silver Bear - Best Actress: Sally Hawkins in Happy-Go-Lucky
Silver Bear - Best Screenplay: Wang Xiaoshuai for Zuo You / In Love We Trust
Silver Bear - Artistic Contribution: Jonny Greenwood for the score from There Will Be Blood
Alfred Bauer Prize: Lake Tahoe, directed by Fernando Eimbcke
Honorary Golden Bear: Francesco Rosi
Berlinale Camera: Karlheinz Böhm (aka Karl Boehm) and Otto Sander
Best First Feature Award: Asyl — Park and Love Hotel, directed by Kumasaka Izuru



Short Film Award

Golden Bear: O zi buna de plaja by Bogdan Mustata
Silver Bear: Udedh bun by Siddharth Sinha
Prix UIP: Frankie by Darren Thornton
DAAD Short Film Prize: B teme by Olga Popova
Special Mentions: Superfície by Rui Xavier and RGB XYZ by David OReilly



FIPRESCI Prizes

Competition: Lake Tahoe by Fernando Eimbcke
Panorama: Rusalka / Mermaid by Anna Melikian
Forum: Shahida - Brides of Allah / Brides of Allah by Natalie Assouline



Prizes of the Ecumenical Jury

Competition: Il y a longtemps que je t’aime… / I’ve Loved You So Long… by Philippe Claudel
Special Mention: Zuo You / In Love We Trust by Wang Xiaoshuai
Panorama: Boy A by John Crowley
Forum: Corridor #8 by Boris Despodov
Prize of the Guild of German Art House Cinemas: Restless by Amos Kollek



C.I.C.A.E Prizes

Panorama: Revanche by Götz Spielmann
Forum: United Red Army by Wakamatsu Koji
"Label Europa Cinemas": Revanche by Götz Spielmann
Manfred Salzgeber Prize: Megane / Glasses by Naoko Ogigami
Special Mention: Improvvisamente l’inverno scorso / Suddenly, Last Winter by Gustav Hofer, Luca Ragazzi



Teddy Awards

Best Feature Film: The Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela by Olaf de Fleur
Jury Prize: Be Like Others by Tanaz Eshaghian
Best Documentary Film: Football Under Cover by David Assmann and Ayat Najafi
Best Short Film: Tá by FelipeSholl
Dialogue en perspective: Drifter by Sebastian Heidinger
Special Mention: Lostage / Star-Crossed by Bettina Eberhard
Caligari Film Prize: Tirador / Slingshot by Brillante Ma. Mendoza
NETPAC Prize: United Red Army by Wakamatsu Koji
Special Mention: Paruthiveeran by Ameer Sulthan
Peace Film Award: Buda Az Sharm Foru Rikht / Buddha collapsed out of shame by Hana Makhmalbaf
Amnesty International Film Prize: Sleep Dealer by Alex Rivera
Special Mention: Be Like Others by Tanaz Eshaghian
Femina Film Prize: Maria Gruber for set design, Revanche by Götz Spielmann
Special Mention: Isabelle Baumgartner for costume design, Teenage Angst by Thomas Stuber



Readers Juries and Audience Awards

Panorama Audience Award: Lemon Tree by Eran Riklis
2nd place: Darling! The Pieter-Dirk Uys Story by Julian Shaw
3rd place: Erika Rabau — Puck of Berlin by Samson Vicent
The "Berliner Morgenpost" Readers’ Jury: Il y a longtemps que je t’aime… / I’ve Loved You So Long… by Philippe Claudel
The ELSE Siegessäule Reader’s Choice Award: Be Like Others by Tanaz Eshagian
The "Tagesspiegel" Readers’ Jury: God Man Dog by Singing Chen
Volkswagen Audience Award: Conrad Oleak
Berlin Today Award: Maheen Zia for Match Factor



Prizes of the Generation Kplus Children’s Jury

Crystal Bear for Best Feature Film: Buddha Collapsed Out Of Shame by Hana Makmalbaf
Special Mention: The Ten Lives of Titanic the Cat by Grethe Bøe
Crystal Bear for Best Short Film: Nana by Warwick Thornton:
Special Mention: New Boy by Steph Green



Prizes of the Generation 14plus Youth Jury

Crystal Bear for Best Feature Film: The Black Balloon by Elissa Down
Special Mention: Sita Sings the Blues by Nina Paley
Crystal Bear for Best Short Film: Café com Leite by Daniel Ribeiro
Special Mention: Take 3 by Roseanne Liang
Generation Kplus International Jury’s Deutsche Kinderhilfswerk Grand Prix for Best Feature Film: GO WEST! A Lucky Luke Adventure by Olivier Jean-Marie
Special Mention: Mutum by Sandra Kogut
Deutsches Kinderhilfswerk Special Prize: My Uncle Loved the Colour Yellow by Mats Olof Olsson
Special Mention: POST! by Christian Asmussen and Matthias Bruhn



Golden Bear Jury: Greek-born director Costa-Gavras (president), Taiwanese actress Shu Qi, US film editor Walter Murch, Russian TV and film producer Alexander Rodniansky, German production designer Uli Hanisch, and German actress Diane Kruger. At the last minute, Danish director Susanne Bier and French actress Sandrine Bonnaire had to cancel their participation at the festival.

Best First Feature Jury: Ben Barenholtz, Dominique Cabrera, Jasmila Zbanic

International Short Film Jury: Marc Barbé, Ada Solomon, Laura Tonke

Ecumenical Jury: Julia Helmke (jury president), Alina Birzache, Douglas P. Fahleson, Wolfgang Hussmann, Milan Šimacek, Magali Van Reeth

FIPRESCI Jury: Par Haddal (jury president), Jurica Pavicic, Barbara Hollender (Competition); Göran Bjelkendal, Hassouna Mansouri, Thomas Abeltshauser (Panorama); Elfriede Schmitt, Pablo Utin, Gulnara Abikejeva (Forum)

Guild of German Art House Cinemas Jury: Adrian Kutter, Hans-Werner Renneke, Rudolf Huber

C.I.C.A.E. Jury: Steffen Heinke, Francois Aymé, Tibor Biro (Panorama), Thorsten Kleinschmidt, Marta Krutel, Nikos Grigoriadis (Forum)

Label Europa Cinemas: Robert Kenny, Barbara Suhren, Marko Röhr, Wolfgang Steininger

Manfred Salzgeber Prize Jury: Bee Thiam, Mirsad Purivatra, Susanne Pfeffer

Teddy Awards Jury: Maria Cyber, Marcin Pietras, Yair Hochner, Vicci Ho, Meninapurtri Wismurti, Basil Tsiokos, Melissa Pritchard, Chirilov Mihai-Cristian

Caligari Film Prize Jury: Andreas Heidenreich, Dagmar Kamlah, Julia Teichmann

NETPAC Jury: Aditya Assarat, Garin Nugroho and Meenakshi Shedde

Dialogue in Perspective Jury: Suzanne Berjot, Hélène Courtel, Marie Klein, Ariane Kujawski, Markus Müller, Haddad Mehdi, Julian Radlmaier

Amnesty International Film Prize Jury: Heike Makatsch, Selina Nelte, Oliver Stoltz

Peace Film Prize Jury: Harriet Eder, Christoph Heubner, Oliver Passek, Wilma Pradetto, Monica Ch. Puginier, Michael Schorr, Christoph Wermke, Marianne Wündrich-Brosien, Christian Ziewer

Femina Film Prize Jury: Adriana Altara, Bettina Böhler, Ann Kristin Reyels

About: The Berlin International Film Festival, also called the Berlinale, is one of the world's leading film festivals held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951, the festival has been celebrated annually in February since 1978. With 230,000 tickets sold and over 430,000 admissions it is considered the largest publicly-attended film festival worldwide. Up to 400 films are shown in several sections representing an international array of the cinematic world. Around twenty films competing for the awards called the Golden and Silver Bears. Since 2001 the director of the festival has been Dieter Kosslick.

Official website

58th Berlinale Film Festival - Opening Night

With the world premiere of the Rolling Stones concert film, Shine a Light by Oscar-winner Martin Scorsese, the 58th Berlin International Film Festival will open tomorrow, February 7, 2008. Director Martin Scorsese, and Stones Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Ron Wood are all coming to Berlin to attend this big event.

Berlinale Director Dieter Kosslick will open the Festival together with Minister of State and Commissioner for Cultural and Media Affairs Bernd Neumann, Governing Mayor of Berlin Klaus Wowereit and Jury President Costa-Gavras. The event will be broadcast live on television by ZDF/3sat. Television presenter Katrin Bauerfeind will host the evening. Music for the gala will be provided by the German pop-rock band “Wir sind Helden”.

Other celebrities expected to attend the event include:
Mario Adorf, Fatih Akin, Natalia Avelon, Michael Ballhaus, Ben Becker, Meret Becker, Wolfgang Becker, Senta Berger, Moritz Bleibtreu, Daniel Brühl, Christopher Buchholz, Detlev Buck, Mareike Carrière, Brian De Palma, August Diehl, Angelica Domröse, Doris Dörrie, Hannelore Elsner, Luigi Falorni, Heino Ferch, Veronica Ferres, Martina Gedeck, Corinna Harfouch, Goldie Hawn, Hannah Herzsprung, Nina Hoss, Sandra Hüller, Julia Hummer, Hermine Huntgeburth, Julia Jentsch, Vanessa Jopp, Sibel Kekilli, Wolfgang Kohlhaase, Chris Kraus, Thomas Kretschmann, Marco Kreuzpaintner, Alexandra Maria Lara, Heike Makatsch, Jeanine Meerapfel, Barnaby Metschurat, Helke Misselwitz, Dieter Moor, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Anna Maria Mühe, Christian Petzold, Franka Potente, Oskar Roehler, Otto Sander, Katrin Saß, Maria Schrader, Jessica Schwarz, Esther Schweins, Steven Soderbergh, Jasmin Tabatabai, Margarethe von Trotta, Tom Tykwer, Nadja Uhl, Christian Ulmen, Idil Üner, Jürgen Vogel, Sönke Wortmann, Neil Young and Hanns Zischler.

A number of prominent German politicians have also announced they will attend. This includes Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs and Vice-Chancellor Frank-Walter Steinmeier, President of the Bundestag Dr. Norbert Lammert, President of the Berlin House of Representatives Walter Momper and former Federal Minister of Defence Volker Rühe.

Sundance Film Festival - Awards 2008

Park City, UT

The Grand Jury Prize: Documentary: "TROUBLE THE WATER" by Tia Lessin and Carl Deal
The Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic: "FROZEN RIVER" by Courtney Hunt
The World Cinema Jury Prize: Documentary: "MAN ON WIRE" (United Kingdom) by James Marsh
The World Cinema Jury Prize: Dramatic: "KING OF PING PONG" / PING PONGKINGEN (Sweden)
The Audience Award: Documentary: "FIELDS OF FUEL" by Josh Tickell
The Audience Award: Dramatic: "THE WACKNESS" by Jonathan Levine
The World Cinema Audience Award: Documentary: "MAN ON WIRE" (United Kingdom) by James Marsh
The World Cinema Audience Award: Dramatic: "CAPTAIN ABU RAED" (Jordan) by Amin Matalqa

The Directing Award: Documentary: Nanette Burstein for "AMERICAN TEEN"
The Directing Award: Dramatic: Lance Hammer for "BALLAST"
The World Cinema Directing Award: Documentary: Nino Kirtadze "DURAKOVO: VILLAGE OF FOOLS" / DURAKOVO: LE VILLAGE DES FOUS (France)
The World Cinema Directing Award: Dramatic: Anna Melikyan for "MERMAID" / RUSALKA (Russia)

The Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award for outstanding achievement in writing: Alex Rivera and David Riker for "SLEEP DEALER"
The World Cinema Screenwriting Award: Samuel Benchetrit for "I ALWAYS WANTED TO BE A GANGSTER" / J'AI TOUJOURS RÊVÉ D'ÊTRE UN GANGSTER (France)
The Documentary Editing Award: Joe Bini for "ROMAN POLANSKI: WANTED AND DESIRED"
The World Cinema Documentary Editing Award: Irena Dol for "THE ART STAR AND THE SUDANESE TWINS" (New Zealand)
The Excellence in Cinematography Award: Documentary: Phillip Hunt and Steven Sebring for "PATTI SMITH: DREAM OF LIFE"
The Excellence in Cinematography Award: Dramatic: Lol Crawley for "BALLAST"
The World Cinema Cinematography Award: Documentary: al Massad for "RECYCLE" (Jordan)
The World Cinema Cinematography Award: Dramatic: Askild Vik Edvardsen for "KING OF PING PONG" / PING PONGKINGEN (Sweden)

A World Cinema Special Jury Prize: Dramatic: Ernesto Contreras for "BLUE EYELIDS" / PÁRPADOS AZULES (Mexico)
A Special Jury Prize: Documentary: Lisa F. Jackson for "GREATEST SILENCE: RAPE IN THE CONGO"
A Special Jury Prize: Dramatic, The Spirit of Independence: Chusy Haney-Jardine for "ANYWHERE, USA"
A Special Jury Prize: Dramatic, Work by an Ensemble Cast: cast of "CHOKE"

The 2008 Jury Prize in Short Filmmaking: "MY OLYMPIC SUMMER" by Daniel Robin and "SIKUMI" (On the Ice) by Andrew Okpeaha MacLean
International Jury Prize in International Short Filmmaking: "SOFT" by Simon Ellis

Juries: Dramatic Competition: Marcia Gay Harden, Mary Harron, Diego Luna, Sandra Oh and Quentin Tarantino; Documentary Competition: Michelle Byrd, Heidi Ewing, Eugene Jarecki, Steven Okazaki and Annie Sundberg; World Dramatic Competition: Shunji Iwai (Japan), Lucrecia Martel (Argentina) and Jan Schütte (Germany); World Documentary Competition: Amir Bar-Lev (US), Leena Pasanen (Finland/Denmark) and Ilda Santiago (Brazil); American and International Shorts: Jon Bloom, Melonie Diaz and Jason Reitman; and The Alfred P. Sloan Prize: Alan Alda, Michael Polish, Evan Schwartz, Benedict Schwegler and John Underkoffler.

About: Sundance Film Festival is the premier showcase for U.S. and international independent film. Held each January in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden, and Sundance, Utah, the Festival is a core program of Sundance Institute, a nonprofit cultural organization founded by Robert Redford in 1981. Presenting dramatic and documentary feature-length films in nine distinct categories and approximately 80 short films each year, the Sundance Film Festival has introduced American audiences to some of the most innovative films of the past two decades.

Official website

Short film: Between You and Me

Title: Between You and Me (2005)
Director: Patryk Rebisz
Writer: Patryk Rebisz
Cast: Oscar Cornejo, Alexandra Lerman, Rasko Ristic
Country: USA
Runtime: 5 min



The film captured an international audience and prestigious awards in its innovative approach to still photography. The technique utilized the burst mode-a photo camera's ability to record a rapid succession of images-in telling a chance encounter. A young woman, snapping photographs in a big city, is attacked and loses her camera. The assault sparks the attention of a young man whose attempts to save her are in vain. In the end, her lost camera becomes his only clue to finding her.