Announced January 7, 2013 at the Railway Club

ZERO DARK THIRTY PICKS UP FOUR VFCC AWARDS; BEYOND THE BLACK RAINBOW AND REBELLE LEAD CANADIAN WINNERS

VANCOUVER, B.C. – Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty has won Best Film at the 13^th Annual Vancouver Film Critics Circle Awards, held at the Railway Club in Vancouver on Monday night. Bigelow’s controversial account of the hunt for Osama bin Laden also earned Best Director, Best Actress (Jessica Chastain) and Best Screenplay (Mark Boal).

The remainder of the acting awards in the international category went to the cast of Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master. The story of a lost soul falling in with a charismatic manipulator scored Best Actor (Joaquin Phoenix), Best Supporting Actor (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and Best Supporting Actress (Amy Adams). Leos Carax’s Holy Motors was named Best Foreign Language Film, while Malik Bendjelloul’s Searching For Sugar Man was selected as Best Documentary.

The locally-shot Beyond The Black Rainbow won three awards in the Canadian section, a feat equalled by Quebec’s Rebelle (released internationally as War Witch). Black Rainbow, a mind-bending journey into a distorted reality, earned accolades for Best British Columbia Film, Best Director of a Canadian Film (Vancouver-based Panos Cosmatos) and Best Actor in a Canadian Film (Michael Rogers).

Meanwhile, Kim Nguyen’s soulful drama concerning a teenager turned unwilling guerrilla soldier won Best Canadian Film, Best Actress in a Canadian Film (Rachel Mwanza) and Best Supporting Actor in a Canadian Film (Serge Kanyinda). Best Supporting Actress in a Canadian film went to Sarah Gadon for Cosmopolis, while Nisha Pahuja’s The World Before Her won Best Canadian Documentary.

The evening also featured numerous tributes to the late Ian Caddell, the VFCC’s cofounder who passed away in November after a lengthy battle with cancer. The recently rechristened Ian Caddell Award for Achievement was presented to Alan Franey, the longtime Festival Director of the Vancouver International Film Festival for his ongoing contributions to the British Columbia film industry.

The Vancouver Film Critics Circle is composed of Vancouver-based film writers and critics from print, radio, online and television.

A complete list of winners follows.

INTERNATIONAL AWARDS

BEST FILM

Zero Dark Thirty

BEST ACTOR

Joaquin Phoenix, The Master

BEST ACTRESS

Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Amy Adams, The Master

BEST DIRECTOR

Kathryn Bigelow, Zero Dark Thirty

BEST SCREENPLAY

Mark Boal, Zero Dark Thirty

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

Holy Motors

BEST DOCUMENTARY

Searching for Sugar Man

CANADIAN AWARDS

BEST CANADIAN FILM

Rebelle (a.k.a. War Witch)

BEST ACTOR IN A CANADIAN FILM

Michael Rogers, Beyond the Black Rainbow

BEST ACTRESS IN A CANADIAN FILM

Rachel Mwanza, Rebelle

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A CANADIAN FILM

Serge Kanyinda, Rebelle

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A CANADIAN FILM

Sarah Gadon, Cosmopolis

BEST DIRECTOR OF A CANADIAN FILM

Panos Cosmatos, Beyond the Black Rainbow

BEST CANADIAN DOCUMENTARY

The World Before Her

BEST BRITISH COLUMBIA FILM

Beyond the Black Rainbow

IAN CADDELL AWARD FOR ACHIEVEMENT

Alan Franey, Vancouver International Film Festival

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For further information, please contact Curtis Woloschuk at ascotrock@gmail.com

http://www.vancouverfilmcritics.com

For Immediate Release

LINCOLN LEADS VFCC INTERNATIONAL NOMINATIONS LIST WITH FIVE NODS

Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln leads all films in the Vancouver Film Critics Circle’s International category with five nominations.

A portrayal of the political maneuvering that culminated in the Thirteenth Amendment, Lincoln is joined in the Best Film category by Zero Dark Thirty, Kathryn Bigelow’s account of the hunt for Osama bin Laden,and The Master,Paul Thomas Anderson’s story of a lost soul falling in with a charismatic manipulator. Spielberg and Bigelow also face each other in the Best Director category, where they’re joined by Life of Pi’s Ang Lee.

Daniel Day-Lewis is nominated once again for Best Actor. A previous VFCC winner for his supporting performance in The Gangs of New York and lead turn in There Will Be Blood, Lincoln’s Day-Lewis will square off with The Master’s Joaquin Phoenix and The Sessions’ John Hawkes. Meanwhile, the Best Actress category will feature Jessica Chastain for Zero Dark Thirty, Marion Cotillard for Rust and Bone and Jennifer Lawrence for Silver Linings Playbook.

The nominees for Best Documentary are Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry, How to Survive a Plague and Searching for Sugar Man. Nominated for Best Foreign Language Film are Amour, Holy Motors and The Intouchables.

A full list of nominees in the International category follows.

BEST FILM
Lincoln
The Master
Zero Dark Thirty

BEST ACTOR
Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
John Hawkes, The Sessions
Joaquin Phoenix, The Master

BEST ACTRESS
Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty
Marion Cotillard, Rust and Bone
Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master
Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln
Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams, The Master
Anne Hathaway, Les Misérables
Helen Hunt, The Sessions

BEST DIRECTOR
Kathryn Bigelow, Zero Dark Thirty
Ang Lee, Life of Pi
Steven Spielberg, Lincoln

BEST SCREENPLAY
Mark Boal, Zero Dark Thirty
Tony Kushner, Lincoln
Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Amour
Holy Motors
The Intouchables

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry
How to Survive a Plague
Searching for Sugar Man

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CANADIAN NOMINEES INCLUDE TWO-TIME WINNER DAVID CRONENBERG, SARAH POLLEY AND VANCOUVER-BASED FILMMAKER PANOS COSMATOS

Having secured five nominations, David Cronenberg’s Cosmopolis will compete with Kim Nguyen’s Rebelle and Sarah Polley’s Stories We Tell for Best Canadian Film. A previous winner of Best Director for Eastern Promises and A Dangerous Method, Cronenberg will compete with Polley and Vancouver’s Panos Cosmatos of Beyond the Black Rainbow for the award this year.

Cosmopolis’ Robert Pattinson faces competition from Beyond the Black Rainbow’s Michael Rogers and Laurence Anyways’ Melvil Poupaud for Best Actor. Laurence Anyways’ Suzanne Clément is similarly nominated for Best Actress, a category in which she’s joined by Liverpool’s Stéphanie Lapointe and Rebelle’s Rachel Mwanza.

For the first time, the Vancouver Film Critics Circle will present an award for Best Canadian Documentary. The nominees are Peter Mettler’s The End of Time, Polley’s Stories We Tell and Nisha Pahuja’s The World Before Her.

Joining Cosmatos’ Beyond the Black Rainbow in the running for Best British Columbia Film are Jesse James Miller’s Becoming Redwood, Mark Sawers’ Camera Shy and Katrin Bowen’s Random Acts of Romance.

A full list of nominees in the Canadian category follows.

BEST CANADIAN FILM
Cosmopolis
Rebelle
Stories We Tell

BEST ACTOR IN A CANADIAN FILM
Robert Pattinson, Cosmopolis
Melvil Poupaud, Laurence Anyways
Michael Rogers, Beyond the Black Rainbow

BEST ACTRESS IN A CANADIAN FILM
Suzanne Clément, Laurence Anyways
Stéphanie Lapointe, Liverpool
Rachel Mwanza, Rebelle

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A CANADIAN FILM
Jay Baruchel, Goon
Serge Kanyinda, Rebelle
Liev Schreiber, Goon

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A CANADIAN FILM
Sarah Gadon, Cosmopolis
Samantha Morton, Cosmopolis
Alison Pill, Goon

BEST DIRECTOR OF A CANADIAN FILM
Panos Cosmatos, Beyond the Black Rainbow
David Cronenberg, Cosmopolis
Sarah Polley, Stories We Tell

BEST CANADIAN DOCUMENTARY
The End of Time
Stories We Tell
The World Before Her

BEST BRITISH COLUMBIA FILM
Becoming Redwood
Beyond the Black Rainbow
Camera Shy
Random Acts of Romance
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VANCOUVER INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL’S ALAN FRANEY WINS THE IAN CADDELL AWARD FOR ACHIEVEMENT

The Vancouver Film Critics Circle have announced that Alan Franey, the longtime Festival Director of the Vancouver International Film Festival, is the winner of the 2013 Ian Caddell Award for Achievement. Presented to a British Columbian who has made a significant contribution to the province’s film industry, this award is named in honour of the VFCC’s cofounder who passed away in November.

With the Vancouver International Film Festival since its inception in 1982, Franey was appointed Festival Director in 1988. During his 25 years in this post, Franey has overseen VIFF’s evolution into one of the top five film festivals in North America. Amongst the festival’s most popular programming strands is Canadian Images, one of the world’s largest annual showcases of Canadian film.

Franey will be presented with his award at the VFCC’s 13^th annual awards ceremony, to be held at the Railway Club in Vancouver on Monday, January 7.

The Vancouver Film Critics Circle includes critics from print, radio, online and television.

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For further information, please contact Curtis Woloschuk at curtis@cinecidal.com

http://www.vancouverfilmcritics.com

We had our AGM tonight and decided to add a new category to our awards slate: Best Canadian Documentary. We’ll also be giving out our first annual Critics’ Sweetheart Cup to someone in the industry who’s made our jobs easier and more pleasant during the year.

The dates around our awards have changed. They’re now:

Voting Deadline – Nominations
Noon, December 23, 2012 (Sunday)

Announcement of Nominations and Ian Caddell Award for Achievement Winner
December 27, 2012 (Thursday)

Live Final Vote – Awards
Noon, January 5, 2013

VFCC Awards Presentation
January 7, 2013 (Monday) at The Railway Club

From Mark-Leiren Young in The Vancouver Sun:

http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/movie-guide/Journalist+Caddell+eloquent+voice+film/7513397/story.html

And from Glen Schaefer in The Province:

http://blogs.theprovince.com/2012/11/07/miss-you-already-ian-caddell/

And finally, The Georgia Straight:

http://www.straight.com/article-828196/vancouver/georgia-straight-film-writer-ian-caddell-leaves-legacy