Showing posts with label le week-end. Show all posts
Showing posts with label le week-end. Show all posts

9 December 2013

Metro Manila Wins Big At The 2013 Moët British Independent Film Awards

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 British talent turned out this evening for the 16th Moët British Independent Film Awards. The winners were announced at the star-studded ceremony, held at Old Billingsgate which was hosted by BIFA Winning actor James Nesbitt.

For the first time, the lucky winners took home the brand new iconic award designed by Fredrikson Stallard and created by Swarovski.

Best British Independent Film was won by METRO MANILA with the film’s director Sean Ellis picking up Best Director. Lindsay Duncan won Best Actress for LE WEEK-END and James McAvoy won Best Actor for FILTH. Imogen Poots collected her BIFA for Best Supporting Actress for THE LOOK OF LOVE and Ben Mendelsohn took home Best Supporting Actor for STARRED UP.

METRO MANILA won the most awards on the night, picking up three trophies for Best Achievement in Production and as previously mentioned Best Director award and Best British Independent Film.

Joint Directors, The Moët British Independent Film Awards Johanna von Fischer & Tessa Collinson said: "This year our independent jury had an extremely tough job, they were asked to choose from an impressive pool of talent and creativity in a year where the diversity of storytelling is more extreme than ever. Thanks to an independent film industry which encompasses so many different cultures, personalities, visions and voices, Britain is producing a new generation of fearless artists both behind and in front of the camera who represent that richness of our diverse British society. With so many of the films exploring themes about being less judgmental and more forgiving, this perhaps reflects a movement within British independent filmmaking that brings much hope for the future.

As previously announced, Julie Walters was awarded the coveted Richard Harris Award for outstanding contribution by an actor to British film, and Paul Greengrass the Variety Award, which recognises an actor, director, writer or producer who has helped to shine the international spotlight on the UK. The Special Jury Prize went to Sixteen Films &Friends (AKA Team Loach), in recognition of their contribution, bringing the work of Ken Loach to life.

Ben Roberts, Director of the BFI Film Fund said: 'this has been a standout year for British film and the BIFAs has once again kicked off the awards season in style, putting the wild creativity and bold storytelling of the UK's independent sector centre stage. Congratulations to all the winners and to the BIFAs for doing such a great job of spotlighting so many brilliant filmmakers.'

Elsa Corbineau, Marketing Director Moët &Chandon commented: “As a long term supporter of British film, Moët & Chandon is delighted to share in the celebrations of tonight's very well deserved winners. To toast the successes of 2013, guests joined us in creating a seven - foot champagne fountain to salute a year of amazing achievements.'

The Raindance Award was won by THE MACHINE. Elliot Grove, Founder of BIFA and the Raindance Film Festival added: “The breadth, scope and quality of this year's nominated films shows that British independent films and talent are not only the talk of the town but the talk of audiences everywhere.

The Moët British Independent Film Awards are proud to announce the following winners for 2013 (highlighted below in red):

BEST BRITISH INDEPENDENT FILM
Sponsored by Moët &Chandon

Metro Manila
Philomena
The Selfish Giant
Starred Up
Le Week-end

BEST DIRECTOR
Sponsored by All City & Intermission

Jon S Baird – Filth
Clio Barnard – The Selfish Giant
Sean Ellis – Metro Manila
Jonathan Glazer – Under the Skin
David Mackenzie – Starred Up

THE DOUGLAS HICKOX AWARD [BEST DEBUT DIRECTOR]
Sponsored by 3 Mills Studios

Charlie Cattrall – Titus
Tina Gharavi – I Am Nasrine
Jeremy Lovering – In Fear
Omid Nooshin – Last Passenger
Paul Wright – For Those in Peril

BEST SCREENPLAY
Jonathan Asser – Starred Up
Clio Barnard – The Selfish Giant
Steven Knight – Locke
Hanif Kureishi – Le Week-end
Jeff Pope, Steve Coogan – Philomena

BEST ACTRESS
Sponsored by M.A.C Cosmetics

Judi Dench – Philomena
Lindsay Duncan – Le Week-end
Scarlett Johansson – Under the Skin
Felicity Jones – The Invisible Woman
Saoirse Ronan – How I Live Now

BEST ACTOR
Sponsored by BBC Films

Jim Broadbent – Le Week-end
Steve Coogan – Philomena
Tom Hardy – Locke
Jack O'Connell – Starred Up
James McAvoy – Filth

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Siobhan Finneran – The Selfish Giant
Shirley Henderson – Filth
Imogen Poots – The Look Of Love
Kristin Scott Thomas – The Invisible Woman
Mia Wasikowska – The Double

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Sponsored by Sanderson & St Martins Lane
John Arcilla – Metro Manila
Rupert Friend – Starred Up
Jeff Goldblum – Le Week-end
Eddie Marsan – Filth
Ben Mendelsohn – Starred Up


MOST PROMISING NEWCOMER
Sponsored by Studiocanal

Harley Bird – How I Live Now
Conner Chapman / Shaun Thomas – The Selfish Giant
Caity Lotz – The Machine
Jake Macapagal – Metro Manila
Chloe Pirrie – Shell

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN PRODUCTION
Sponsored by Company3

A Field in England
Filth
Metro Manila
The Selfish Giant
Starred Up

BEST TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT
Sponsored by LightBrigade Media

Shaheen Baig – Casting – Starred Up
Johnnie Burn – Sound Design – Under the Skin
Amy Hubbard – Casting – The Selfish Giant
Mica Levi – Music – Under the Skin
Justine Wright – Editing – Locke

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Pussy Riot - A Punk Prayer
The Great Hip Hop Hoax
The Moo Man
The Spirit of '45
The Stone Roses: Made of Stone

BEST BRITISH SHORT
Supported by BFI NET.WORK

L'Assenza
Dr Easy
Dylan's Room
Jonah
Z1

BEST INTERNATIONAL INDEPENDENT FILM
Blue is the Warmest Colour
Blue Jasmine
Frances Ha
The Great Beauty
Wadjda

THE RAINDANCE AWARD
Sponsored by Wentworth Media and Arts

Everyone’s Going to Die
The Machine
The Patrol
Sleeping Dogs
Titus

THE RICHARD HARRIS AWARD (for outstanding contribution by an actor to British Film)
Julie Walters

THE VARIETY AWARD
Paul Greengrass

THE SPECIAL JURY PRIZE 
Sixteen Films & Friends (AKA Team Loach)

Sixteen Films & Friends (AKA Team Loach)

11 October 2013

Le Week End Review

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Certificate:
15 (UK)
Release:
11th of October 2013
Distributor:
Curzon Film World
Director:
Roger Michell
Stars:
Lindsay Duncan, Jim Broadbent, Jeff Goldblum


Jim Broadbent and Lindsay Duncan starring in a classy drama about the ever-changing relationship of two married sixty-somethings sounds like a must-see with more than a little allusion of Richard Linklater's Before... series. Whilst the lead performances are quite excellent, what exactly director Roger Michell has to say is never quite clear.

Le Week-End follows Nick (Broadbent) and Meg (Duncan) - a long-married British couple who travel to Paris for a weekend break. However, this is not plain sailing as the couple's relationship problems come to the forefront.

Nick and Meg are not likeable protagonists - which is by no means a bad thing, it simply results in a lack of compassion and engagement towards the pair. Both characters key attribute is their overwhelming sympathy for themselves - Meg feels unfulfilled (and has no issue about letting it be known) and Nick is a man plagued by demons of self-doubt and fear of abandonment. Both Broadbent and Duncan ensure that Le Week-Ending is watchable and strip back the veneer of faux-sentimentality that we traditionally see in the romantic drama. However, it is Michell's depiction of the couple's relationship that proved truly troubling to this reviewer.

Perhaps as a younger viewer, Le Week-End is alienating in that the complexities of a twenty-five year plus-marriage are not something that tends to be thought about a lot. Apologies for using that old cliché, but is love not supposed to be a universal language - regardless of what age or stage it is at? Le Week-End as a representation of how relationships can yo-yo is a fine one, but an extreme one: Nick and Meg can go from the height of intense love to threatening each other with divorce in the space of one short scene. It is this extreme change in dynamic that means it is never easy to grasp what exactly Michell is trying to say - other than people and relationships change and are not simple.

This results in a watch that is not particularly compelling to the average viewer. Yes there will be occasions where we can all relate to the impromptu moments of fun, blood-minded arguments, self-doubt, and unhappiness - although in this high volume it feels somewhat erratic and ultimately draining. The introduction of Jeff Goldblum's character Morgan - Nick's old university pal - perks things up through a spirited performance that only he is capable of. However like Goldblum's character, it is hard not to think that Le Week-End is slightly full of itself and smug about its own complexities.

Fortunately, cinematography from Nathalie Durand, captures the blustery Autumn of Paris and fits the tone of Michell's bittersweet feature, often resulting in a picturesque watch.

It is the stellar performances from Broadbent and Lindsay Duncan that dominate bitterly complex, and often alienating Le Week-End which may prove more of a hit with older audiences.

★★½

Andrew McArthur