Le Nombre D'Or - International Widescreen Festival
11-15 September 1998
Roddy Doyle won the Best Screenplay award last week at the 1998 International Widescreen Festival Le Nombre d'Or Awards in Amsterdam. The award is for the RTE production, 'Hell for Leather', an intimate two-character drama.
The Golden Rembrandt Award Goes to the Mafia documentary 'A Girl Against the Mafia' the France 3/Odissea production. The documentary was produced by Marco Amenta for the French channel FR3 and was inspired by the diaries of Rita Atria, a heroic 17 year old girl who was murdered for rebelling against the Sicilian mafia.
The Silver Rembrandt prize went to the British company Green Umbrella for their co-production with the BBC Natural hisotry Unit of 'The Temple Troop', a riveting and entertaining wildlife documentary about a troop of macaque monkeys who inhabit the forests around a ruined city in Sri Lanka.
Other prizes went to such leading figures as the Canadian director Atom Ehoyan, for his direction of an episode 'Sarabande' of the music programme 'Yo Yo Ma: Inspired by Bach'.
MIPCOM '98
RTE plays host this year for the Irish stand at this year's MIPCOM in Cannes (October 5 - 9). Other Irish companies attending are Network Ireland Television, Emdee Productions and Like It Love It. Network Ireland have a new catalogue for the market, including Frameworks 2, Tylack and Rooney, What A Picture, Hard Man, Hindesight, To the Mountain, Premiere 2, Happy Birthday to Me (full details are available on the Network website - www.network-irl-tv.com).
VENICE INTERNATIONAL
This years Venice International Film Festival ended on a down note with festival curator Felice Laudadio announcing he would not be applying for reappointment next year and the winning film, Gianni Amelio's 'The Way We Laugh', was badly received by the critics and buyers. Many had expected Emir Kusturica's 'Black Cat, White Cat' which was sold to October Films for the US. The prize winners were:
- Golden Lion for Best Film - 'The Way We Laughed' (Gianni Amelio)
- Silver Lion for Best Direction - 'Black Cat, White Cat' (Emir Kusturica)
- Special Grand Jury Prize - 'Last Stop Paradise' (Lucian Pintilie)
- Coppa Volpi for Best Actor - Sean Penn (Hurlyburly)
- Coppa Volpi for Best Actress - Catherine Deneuve (Place Vendome)
- Osella d'Oro for Best Original Screenplay - Eric Rohmer (An Autumn Tale)
- Osella d'Oro for Best Photography - Luca Bigazzi (Shoot the Moon, The Way We Laughed)
- Osella d'Oro for Original Film Music - Gerardo Gandini (Clouds)
- Golden Medal of the Italian Senate - Silence (Moshen Makhmalbaf)
- Marcello Mastroianni award for young promising actor or actress Niccolo Senni (Shooting The Moon)
- FIPRESCI - Best Film - 'The Powder Keg' (Goran Paskaljevic)
- FIPRESCI - Best First or Second Feature - 'Train De Vie' (Radu Mihaileanu)
- International Critics' Week Prize - 'Orphans' (Peter Mullan)
- Perriot Award - Peter Mullan (Orphans)
- Lifetime Achievement Award - Warren Beatty
LONDON FILM FESTIVAL
This years London Film Festival will run from November 5 - 19 and there are to be major changes in all areas of the festival except the two key strands. The opening film is the international premiere of Mark Herman's 'Little Voice' and the closing night film is the British premiere of Bulworth with Warren Beatty in attendance. The new line-up has been channelled into two main strands: Cinema Europe which will include 'The Idiots', 'Torrento', 'The Dumb Arm Of The Law', 'Life is Beautiful', 'Class Trip' and 'Buttoners'; and World Cinema which will include 'Via Satellite', 'Raindance' and 'Smoke Signals'. Also new this year is the Experimental strand for challenging work such as 'Blue Summer' and 'Seul Contre Tous'. Overall the line-up has been cut by about 40 films to 150 and the event is three days shorter. There will also be a nation wide tour of festival films and a FIPRESCI prize.
CELTIC FILM FESTIVAL
Next years Celtic Film Festival will take place in Portree, Skye from 24-27 March
Michael McMahon, Deirdre Hopkins24/9/98
