Bill Cunningham New York

Directors Guild Award Documentary Nominees Announced; includes PROJECT NIM, THE INTERRUPTERS, and Martin Scorsese’s George Harrison Doc

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: January 12th, 2012 at 1:07 pm

On the heels of announcing their nominees for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for 2011, the Directors Guild of America have announced their nominations for Best Documentary Director.  The nominees are Joe Berlinger & Bruce Sinofsky for Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory, Steve James for The Interrupters, James Marsh for Project Nim, Richard Press for Bill Cunningham New York, and Martin Scorsese for George Harrison: Living in the Material World.  Scorsese also picked up DGA nomination this year for Hugo, which brings his total number of nominations to ten.  He previously won for The Departed.

While I’m rooting for Project Nim, this is a fine collection of nominees.  It’s much better than the Academy’s short list, which only includes Project Nim, Paradise Lost 3, and Bill Cunningham New York.  The winner of the DGA’s 2011 Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary will be announced January 28th.

Producers Guild of America Announces Best Documentary Nominees

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: December 2nd, 2011 at 9:43 am

The Producers Guild of America has announced their nominees for Best Documentary of 2011. When it comes to feature film, the PGA and the Oscars almost always coincide, but the Academy overlooked some critically acclaimed film when it came to making their 15-film shortlist.  Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest and Senna didn’t make the Academy’s shortlist, but the PGA has shown a little more sense and nominated these films for Best Documenatry.  They’ve also shown love to Bill Cunningham New York, Project Nim, and The Union. Right now I’m rooting for Project Nim, but keep in mind that the only other film I’ve seen on this list is Senna (which is also awards-worthy).

Hit the jump for the full press release.  Television series nominations for the 2012 Producers Guild Awards will be announced December 7, 2011.  All other nominations for the 2012 Producers Guild Award categories will be announced January 3, 2012, along with the individual producers.  The winners will be announced on January 21, 2012.

Independent Spirit Awards Nominations Announced; DRIVE, 50/50, and THE ARTIST Up for Top Prize

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: November 29th, 2011 at 9:15 am

The nominations for the 27th Annual Independent Spirit Awards were announced this morning with The Artist and Take Shelter each nabbing five nominations. In addition to The Artist and Take Shelter, Drive, 50/50, The Descendants, and Beginners will duke it out for the top prize. Absent from the Best Feature list is Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris, though the film was recognized in Best Supporting Male (Corey Stoll) and Best Cinematography. Also of note, Elizabeth Olsen and John Hawkes landed nominations for Best Actress and Best Supporting Male for Martha Marcy May Marlene, and Ryan Gosling and Woody Harrelson were both singled out in Best Actor for Drive and Rampart respectively.

Hit the jump to check out the full list of nominations. Recognizing the best in independent film, the awards will be handed out on February 25th, the day before the Oscars.

15 Documentaries Advance for the 84th Annual Academy Awards

by Dave Trumbore    Posted: November 18th, 2011 at 2:49 pm

Now that the Oscars officially have a host and a producer, we can get down to focusing on the films that will compete for the awards. Out of a pool of 124 qualified documentary pictures vying for contention, 15 have advanced through the voting process. This list will be further whittled down by the Documentary Branch Screening Committee to a selection of five nominees. Some of the 15 films include:  Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory, about the continuing legal battles of the West Memphis Three (3); Project Nim, a study of Nim, the chimpanzee who was raised as a human child to allow researchers to discern the differences between men and beasts; and Buck, the story of Buck Brannaman, the real life Horse Whisperer. Notably absent from the list: the extremely well-received Formula-1 racing doc Senna. Hit the jump to see the rest.

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