'Fire at Sea' Migrant Documentary Wins Berlinale 2016 Golden Bear

Feb 21, 2016

Source: FirstShowing

As another film festival comes to an end, it's time to celebrate and commemorate with the announcement of the awards. The 66th Berlin Film Festival just ended (my own recap is coming soon), and the winners were announced at the Closing Ceremony, including the winner of the covetedGolden Bear for Best Film. That top prize was given to a film called Fire at Sea, a documentary from filmmaker Gianfranco Rosi about migrants crossing the Mediterranean and the refugee crisis affecting Europe and the Middle East. A very political choice, considering how important the issue is right now, but not unexpected. French filmmaker Mia Hansen-Løve won a Silver Bear for Best Director for the film Things to Come. See all winners below.

Here are the top awards at the 66th Berlin Film Festival. For the full list including shorts visit Berlinale.de.

Golden Bear for Best Film
Fire at Sea (Fuocoammare), directed by Gianfranco Rosi

Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize
Death in Sarajevo (Mort à Sarajevo), directed by Danis Tanovic

Silver Bear Alfred Bauer Prize for a feature film that opens new perspectives
A Lullaby to the Sorrowful Mystery (the 8 hour-long film), directed by Lav Diaz

Silver Bear for Best Director
Mia Hansen-Løve for directing Things to Come (L'avenir)

Silver Bear for Best Actress
Trine Dyrholm in The Commune (Kollektivet), directed by Thomas Vinterberg

Silver Bear for Best Actor
Majd Mastour in Hedi (Inhebbek Hedi), directed by Mohamed Ben Attia

Silver Bear for Best Script
Tomasz Wasilewski for writing United States of Love (Zjednoczone stany miłości)

Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution
Mark Lee Ping-Bing for the cinematography in Crosscurrent, directed by Yang Chao

Best First Feature Award endowed with €50,000, funded by GWFF
Hedi (Inhebbek Hedi), directed by Mohamed Ben Attia

READERS' JURIES AND AUDIENCE AWARDS:

Panorama Audience Award for a Fiction Film
Junction 48, directed by Udi Aloni

Panorama Audience Award for a Documentary Film
Who's Gonna Love Me Now?, directed by Barak Heymann & Tomer Heymann

Teddy Audience Award
Paris 05:59, directed by Jacques Martineau & Olivier Ducastel

Berliner Morgenpost Readers' Jury Award
Fire at Sea (Fuocoammare), directed by Gianfranco Rosi

Tagesspiegel Readers' Jury Award
We Are Never Alone, directed by Petr Vaclav

Männer Magazin Readers' Jury Award
Don't Call Me Son, directed by Anna Muylaert

That puts a final cap on the 66th Berlin Film Festival, wrapping up 10 days of cinema in Germany, as well as our own coverage here on FirstShowing. Berlinale is another prominent film festival taking place early every year, showcasing fantastic films from all over the world. The 2016 international jury included: Meryl Streep (President), Lars Eidinger, Nick James, Brigitte Lacombe, Clive Owen, Alba Rohrwacher and Małgorzata Szumowska. I unfortunately missed Fire at Sea, but was lucky to catch Things to Come,Being 17 and 24 Weeks, as well as plenty other films, but I think those three were the best of the festival this year. Overall an interesting set of Berlinale winners for 2016. Watch out for these films and others playing at festivals soon.

The 5th Wave

16-year-old Cassie Sullivan tries to survive in a world devastated by the waves of an alien invasion that has already decimated the population and knocked mankind back to the Stone Age.

Directing: 

• J Blakeson

Writing: 

• Susannah Grant
 
• Rick Yancey

Stars: 

• Chloë Grace Moretz
 
• Nick Robinson
 
• Alex Roe
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'The Revenant' & 'Brooklyn' Best Film Winners at 2016 BAFTA Awards

Last night, the United Kingdom had their big night for Hollywood at the 69th BAFTA Awards, honoring the best in film from last year (2015). These awards don't really have a major influence on the Oscars, but it's always interesting to see who our friends across the pond decide to hand out awards to. The selection of winners this year is quite diverse, with all of the best films from last year winning at least once in different categories. The Big Short won for Best Screenplay, Brooklyn won for Best British Film, The Hateful Eight won for Best Soundtrack, Inside Out won for Best Animation,Mad Max: Fury Road won for Best Hair & Make-Up, and The Revenant won for Best Film, just to start. Read on for the full list of 2016 winners below.

Here's the winners of the 69th BAFTA Awards given out last night in the UK (winners in bold):

Best Film:
The Revenant
Spotlight
Bridge of Spies
The Big Short
Carol

Outstanding British Film:
Brooklyn
The Danish Girl
Ex Machina
Amy
45 Years
The Lobster

Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer:
Naji Abu Nowar, Rupert Lloyd - Theeb
Sean Mcallister, Elhum Shakerifar - A Syrian Love Story
Debbie Tucker Green - Second Coming
Stephen Fingleton - The Survivalist
Alex Garland - Ex Machina

Director:
Alejandro G. Iñárritu - The Revenant
Adam McKay - The Big Short
Steven Spielberg - Bridge of Spies
Ridley Scott - The Martian
Todd Haynes - Carol

Leading Actor
Leonardo DiCaprio - The Revenant
Eddie Redmayne - The Danish Girl
Michael Fassbender - Steve Jobs
Matt Damon - The Martian
Bryan Cranston - Trumbo

Leading Actress
Brie Larson - Room
Maggie Smith - The Lady in the Van
Alicia Vikander - The Danish Girl
Cate Blanchett - Carol
Saoirse Ronan - Brooklyn

Supporting Actor:
Mark Rylance - Bridge of Spies
Idris Elba - Beasts of No Nation
Christian Bale - The Big Short
Mark Ruffalo - Spotlight
Benicio Del Toro - Sicario

Supporting Actress:
Kate Winslet - Steve Jobs
Jennifer Jason Leigh - The Hateful Eight
Alicia Vikander - Ex Machina
Julie Walters - Brooklyn
Rooney Mara - Carol

Original Screenplay:
Spotlight - Tom McCarthy, Josh Singer
Inside Out - Josh Cooley, Pete Docter, Meg Lefauve
The Hateful Eight - Quentin Tarantino
Ex Machina - Alex Garland
Bridge of Spies - Matthew Charman, Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

Adapted Screenplay:
The Big Short - Adam McKay, Charles Randolph
Brooklyn - Nick Hornby
Carol - Phyllis Nagy
Room - Emma Donoghue
Steve Jobs - Aaron Sorkin

Animated Film:
Inside Out
Shaun the Sheep Movie
Minions

Documentary:
Amy
Listen To Me Marlon
He Named Me Malala
Sherpa
Cartel Land

Film Not in the English Language:
Wild Tales - Damián Szifron
The Assassin - Hou Hsiao-Hsien
Force Majeure - Ruben Östlund
Timbuktu - Abderrahmane Sissako
Theeb - Naji Abu Nowar

Original Music:
The Hateful Eight - Ennio Morricone
Bridge of Spies - Thomas Newman
Star Wars: The Force Awakens - John Williams
Sicario - Jóhann Jóhannsson
The Revenant - Ryuichi Sakamoto, Alva Noto

Cinematography:
The Revenant - Emmanuel Lubezki
Mad Max: Fury Road - John Seale
Sicario - Roger Deakins
Carol - Ed Lachman
Bridge of Spies - Janusz Kaminski

Editing:
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Big Short
Bridge of Spies
The Revenant
The Martian

Production Design:
Mad Max: Fury Road
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
The Martian
Carol
Bridge of Spies

Costume Design:
Mad Max: Fury Road
Brooklyn
The Danish Girl
Cinderella
Carol

Sound:
The Revenant
Mad Max: Fury Road
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Bridge of Spies
The Martian

Special Visual Effects:
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Ant-Man
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
Ex Machina

Make-Up and Hair:
Mad Max: Fury Road
Brooklyn
The Revenant
The Danish Girl
Carol

Short Animation:
Edmond
Manoman
Prologue

British Short Film:
Operator
Elephant
Mining Poems or Odes
Samuel-613
Over

EE Rising Star Award:
John Boyega
Taron Egerton
Dakota Johnson
Brie Larson
Bel Powley

Congratulations to all of this year's winners and nominees. I'm always quite satisfied with the films that end up taking home awards at the BAFTAs, as they seem to be a bit better about picking the best stuff. I still prefer the documentary Sherpa over everything else, and I'm glad it was nominated. I'm surprised to see Alejandro G. Iñárritu winning Best Director, again, but everyone seems to love The Revenant so much that it went on to win for Best Film anyway. I'm very happy that Brooklyn also won a big prize for Best British Film, and it's great to see John Boyega chosen as the Rising Star (one of the awards selected by the general public). Overall this seems like a good variety of winners among an excellent set of nominees. Thoughts?

Gods of Egypt

Gods of Egypt is an upcoming American fantasy film featuring ancient Egyptian deities. The film is directed by Alex Proyas and features an ensemble cast starring Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Brenton Thwaites, Chadwick Boseman, Elodie Yung, Courtney Eaton, Rufus Sewell, Gerard Butler, and Geoffrey Rush. Butler plays the god of darkness Set who takes over the Egyptian empire, and Thwaites plays the mortal hero Bek who partners with the god Horus, played by Coster-Waldau, to save the world and rescue his love.^[3]

Filming took place in Australia under the studio Summit Entertainment. While the film's production budget was $140 million, the parent companyLionsgate's financial exposure was less than $10 million due to tax incentives and pre-sales. The Australian government provided a tax credit for 46% of the film's budget. When Lionsgate began promoting the film in November 2015, it received backlash for its predominantly white cast playing Egyptian characters. In response, Lionsgate and director Alex Proyas apologized for the lack of casting diversity.

Lionsgate plans to release Gods of Egypt in theaters in the United States on February 26, 2016 and in the United Kingdom on April 8, 2016. The film will be released in 2D, RealD 3D, and IMAX 3D. Box office tracking estimates for the film to gross $15 million on its opening weekend in the United States.

Directing: 

• Alex Proyas

Writing: 

• Alex Proyas
 
• Matt Sazama
 
• Burk Sharpless

Stars: 

• Gerard Butler
 
• Nikolaj Coster-Waldau
 
• Brenton Thwaites

The Witch

New England in the 1630s: William and Katherine lead a devout Christian life with five children, homesteading on the edge of an impassable wilderness. When their newborn son vanishes and crops fail, the family turns on one another. Beyond their worst fears, a supernatural evil lurks in the nearby wood

Directing: 

• Robert Eggers

Writing: 

• Robert Eggers

Stars: 

• Anya Taylor-Joy
 
• Ralph Ineson
 
• Kate Dickie

Deadpool

Based upon Marvel Comics’ most unconventional anti-hero, DEADPOOL tells the origin story of former Special Forces operative turned mercenary Wade Wilson, who after being subjected to a rogue experiment that leaves him with accelerated healing powers, adopts the alter ego Deadpool. Armed with his new abilities and a dark, twisted sense of humor, Deadpool hunts down the man who nearly destroyed his life.

Directing: 

• Tim Miller

Writing: 

• Rhett Reese
 
• Paul Wernick
 
• Jay Oliva

Stars: 

• Ryan Reynolds
 
• Gina Carano
 
• Morena Baccarin

Play This: Crazy 8-Bit Online Video Game 'Leo's Red Carpet Rampage'

Wait, wait, wait! Someone made an 8-bit video game about Leonardo DiCaprio's pursuit of Oscar glory?! Get out of town. This is totally awesome! The video game was made by The Line Animation at Electric Theatre Collective, and involves controlling various Academy Awards contenders on a race down the red carpet to nab that glorious golden statuette before anyone else does. It was obviously inspired specifically by the well-known fact that Leonardo DiCaprio has been nominated five times for an acting Academy Award, but has yet to win one. Until the Oscar ceremony comes around in a few weeks - this is definitely worth playing. Watch a game trailer and click below to visit the site to play Leo's Red Carpet Rampage. Have fun.

'John Wick 2' to Open in 2017; 'Blade Runner 2' Set for January 2018

Two release dates have been announced for two of our most anticipated movies coming up in the next few years. First up, the action sequel John Wick 2 has been scheduled for release starting on February 10th, 2017 - a little less than a year from now. The film has already finished shooting, partially in New York City, and apparently the plot takes Keanu Reeves to Rome to kick some more ass. Stuntman Chad Stahelski from the first one is back again to direct this one. Next up, Warner Bros has officially set a release date for Denis Villeneuve's Blade Runner sequel, untitled now, known simply as Blade Runner 2. That movie will open on January 12th, 2018, a few weeks after Episode VIII hits theaters in late 2017. I'm very excited for both.

It seems a bit odd to me that Blade Runner 2 is opening in theaters in January. Denis Villeneuve directing Ryan Gosling (and supposedly Harrison Ford back as Deckard) with cinematography by Roger Deakins - and it's scheduled for the traditional January dumping season? Of course, there have been some bigger movies opening in January recently (American Sniper, 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi) but this seems noticeably out of place. Either they're planning a tricky strategy similar to The Revenant, with the movie opening in December in limited release first. Or they're going all out and hoping to break box office records in January like Deadpool did in February. Only time will tell. Stay tuned for news on these movies.