SAMSON AND DELILAH AND THE FADING LIGHT WIN CRITICS' AWARDS AT THE JAMESON DUBLIN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL.
A panel representing The Dublin Film Critics Circle has named Samson and Delilah, a singular Australian drama, as the best film at the eighth Jameson Dublin International Film Festival. The DFCC also identified The Fading Light, an extraordinary new film from Ivan Kavanagh, as the best Irish film and awarded the best performance prize to Patrick O’Donnell, for his perfectly pitched turn as a special needs adult in the same film.
Donald Clarke (The Irish Times), John Maguire (Sunday Business Post), Paul Lynch (Sunday Tribune), Dave O’Mahony (Access Cinema, The Event Guide), Paul Whitington (The Irish Independent) and DFCC president Tara Brady (Hot Press) joined their fellow DFCC members at the Irish Film Institute to announce the prizes on the evening of Saturday 27th February.
The panel also greatly enjoyed Dogtooth, Giorgos Lanthimos' discombobulating domestic satire, and awarded Lanthimos the prize for best director. The best documentary prize went to Ken Wardrop’s moving His and Hers, a wonderful study of the Irish Mammy.
Samson and Delilah, an Australian film that details the relationship between a teenage substance abuser and his Aboriginal girlfriend, is due to open in April. The Fading Light, a coruscating Bergmanesque tragedy, will be in Irish cinemas this month.
The DFCC were also pleased to announce Ms. Kate McCullough, the remarkable young cinematographer, as the first recipient of the Michael Dwyer Discovery award, named for the panel’s late friend and colleague.
The winners are as follows:
BEST MALE PERFORMANCE –
Patrick O’Donnell – The Fading Light
BEST FEMALE PERFORMANCE –
Tilda Swinton – I Am Love
BEST DOCUMENTARY
His and Hers – dir. Ken Wardrop
BEST IRISH FILM
The Fading Light – dir. Ivan Kavanagh
BEST DIRECTOR
Giorgos Lanthimos - Dogtooth
SPECIAL JURY PRIZE
Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans – dir. Werner Herzog
From the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival Programme, 2010 -
Join the Dublin Film Critics Circle as they ponder JDIFF 2010 and name their final selections for Best Film, Best Director, Best Irish Film, Best Documentary and Best Performances from the festival programme. This year, a jury that includes John Maguire (Sunday Business Post), Paul Lynch (Sunday Tribune), George Byrne (Evening Herald), Donald Clarke (Irish Times), Paul Whitington (Irish Independent), Declan Burke (Today FM) and DFCC president Tara Brady (Hot Press) will, additionally, announce the recipient of the inaugural Michael Dwyer Discovery Award, named for our late friend and colleague.
DFCC members Mike Sheridan and Taragh Loughrey Grant will be on hand to introduce the final deliberations of the 2010 jury at the IFI mezzanine from 7.30pm, Saturday 27th February.
This year our awards will use a still from Robert J. Flaherty's Man of Aran (1934). The image is scaled down to resemble a still lifted directly from a 35mm reel and presented in a frame.
In the run-up to this year's deliberations for the 2009 DFCC Maverick Award, here's a reminder of last year's deserving recepient and those fabulous Brian Hackett cufflinks...
LET THE RIGHT ONE IN AND THE SECRET OF KELLS WIN CRITICS' AWARDS AT THE JAMESON DUBLIN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL.
A panel representing The DublinFilm Critics Circle has named Tomas Alfredson's Let the Right One In, a singular Swedish horror movie, as the best film at the seventh Jameson Dublin International Film Festival. The DFCC also identified The Secret of Kells, a lavish animation from the Kilkenny-based Cartoon Saloon, as the best Irish film and awarded the best performance prize to Tom Hardy for his turn as British convict Charles Bronson in Nicolas Winding Refn's bizarre, gripping Bronson.
John Maguire (Sunday Business Post), George Byrne (Evening Herald), Donald Clarke (The Irish Times), Paul Lynch (Sunday Tribune) and DFCC president Tara Brady (Hot Press) joined Dave Fanning at the Irish Film Institute to announce the prizes on the afternoon of Friday 20th February. The discussion, one of many side events presented by the festival, will be broadcast on RTÉ 2FM on Monday evening.
The panel also greatly enjoyed Il Divo, Paulo Sorentino's surreal study of Italian Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti, and awarded Sorentino the prize for best director. The best documentary prize went to Sacha Gervasi's hilarious and moving Anvil! The True Story of Anvil, which relates the brief rise and lengthy decline of a good-natured Canadian heavy metal band.
Let the Right One In, which details the relationship between a shy boy and the sad vampire child who lives nearby, is due to open in April. The Secret of Kells, a colourful fable focussing on the creation of The Book of Kells, will be in Irish cinemas from March 6th.
The full nominations and winners are as follows:
BEST PERFORMANCE Tom Hardy - Bronson (Winner) Toni Servillo - Il Divo Clint Eastwood - Gran Torino Meryl Streep - Doubt
BEST DOCUMENTARY Anvil! The Story of Anvil (Winner) Religilous Chris & Don: A Love Story American Teen Encounters at the End of the World
BEST IRISH FILM The Secret of Kells (Winner) Five Minutes of Heaven The Yellow Bittern: The Life and Times of Liam Clancy The Daisy Chain
BEST DIRECTOR Paolo Sorrentino - Il Divo (Winner) Laurent Cantet - The Class Werner Herzog - Encounters at the End of the World Tomas Alfredson - Let The Right One In
BEST FILM Let the Right One In (Winner) Il Divo In the Loop The Class