Foyle Film Festival’s Light in Motion competition award winners 2024 announced at closing night gala

Arts & Culture, Film & TV

Watch more of our videos on ShotsTV.com and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565Visit Shots! nowThe prestigious Light in Motion Competition Awards were unveiled on Sunday, December 1 at the Brunswick Moviebowl, marking the culmination of this year’s Foyle Film Festival.The awards were announced before the Northern Ireland premiere of On Becoming a Guinea Fowl, presented courtesy of Picturehouse Entertainment.As one of the select international festivals with Oscar®, BAFTA, and BIFA recognition, Foyle Film Festival continues to champion global talent in filmmaking. The Light in Motion competition features three Academy Award-qualifying categories (Irish Short Film, International Short Film, and Short Animation) and two BAFTA-qualifying categories (British Short Film and British Short Animation). Sponsored by City of Derry Crystal, the competition showcases filmmakers and animators from across the globe.Foyle Film Festival Industry and Competition Programmer Eavan King, Director of ‘Turnaround’ Aisling Byrne, and Owen McMonagle from Brunswick MoviebowlThis year’s winners are as follows:Best British Animated Short FilmThe Wedding Veil of the Proud Princess by Anna-Ester VolozhA visually stunning and poetic animation that tells the tale of a princess seeking the impossible: a king who conquers all others. The jury praised its ethereal style and exceptional production values.Special Mention: To Break A Circle by Kalia FirestarBest British Short FilmRemember to Breathe by Joe Simmons, produced by Stan RawlingsA poignant story of a junior doctor grappling with the pressures of work, isolation, and human connection. The jury commended its intense pacing and life-affirming climax.Special Mention: Tusky by Steven BoyleBest Animated Short FilmPóg Mo Pigeon by Clíodhna Lyons, written by Polly Holland, and produced by Claire Finn and Cormac SlevinAn emotional exploration of a boy’s relationship with a wild bird and his mother, interwoven with themes of religion. The jury lauded its originality, storytelling, and haunting beauty.Special Mentions: Tennis Oranges by Sean Pecknold, and The Song of the Sheep by Jules Marcel, Anaïs Castro de Angel, Juliette Bigo, Evan Lambert, Alex Le Ruyet, Jeanne Bigo, Anaïs Ledoux. Produced by Phillippe Mais and distributed by Je Regarde.Best International Short FilmAfter Dark by Iain Forbes, produced by Oda Roth. This gripping narrative follows a man helping a stranger late at night, questioning her story as events unfold. The jury highlighted its haunting nature and refusal to offer easy resolutions.Special Mentions: Anuja by Adam J. Graves, and The Masterpiece by Àlex LoraBest Irish Short FilmTurnaround by Aisling Byrne, produced by Killian CoyleA West Cork cleaner faces a moral dilemma while dealing with a hidden secret after a tragic loss. The jury celebrated its powerful storytelling, stunning performances, and emotional depth.Special Mention: Dear Imelda by Árón HoldenA Celebration of Global TalentClosing the awards, Industry and Competition Programmer Eavan King remarked: “Foyle Film Festival through the Light in Motion competition provides a direct pathway to Oscar and BAFTA recognition for talent from this island and beyond. “To renew our Oscar accreditation and add another BAFTA awards category is something we are so proud of. This year, we’ve celebrated the very best in live-action and animated short films, bringing together a remarkable array of talent. Congratulations to all our competitors and winners.”The Foyle Film Festival extends its gratitude to the festival juries, funders (Northern Ireland Screen, Department of Communities, Derry City and Strabane District Council, and Ulster University), and the competition sponsor City of Derry Crystal. Their support makes this annual celebration of filmmaking excellence possible.Continue Reading

China Plays Its Cards in Tech War With U.S.

Technology

China has announced it is banning exports of gallium, germanium, antimony and other key high-tech materials to the United States, citing their potential use in military technology. The move comes a day after the U.S. announced it would expand the list of Chinese companies subject to export controls on advanced technology. (AP)

Our Take

China’s dominance over the mining and refining of rare-earth metals needed to manufacture advanced technology has long been identified as a key source of leverage Beijing could potentially use against the United States. But even as the trade and tech war between the two sides escalated, China held off on playing those cards.

If it did so now, it is in part because of how much the tech war between the U.S. and China has ramped up during U.S. President Joe Biden’s term in office, as part of a broadening of the trade war that began under former President Donald Trump. In the past four years, the Biden administration has utilized strategic tariffs and trade restrictions to cut off China’s access to the technologies—in particular advanced semiconductors—that are driving the AI and next-gen tech revolution.

Ridley Scott Told Off the Studio Executive Who Said He Needs to Start Making Movies About ‘Normal People’: ‘What the F— Does That Mean?’

Arts & Culture, Film & TV

Ridley Scott revealed on the Director’s Guild of America’s “Director’s Cut” podcast (via Entertainment Weekly) that he was criticized by a studio executive early in his career for not making movies about “normal people.” Scott’s directing career kicked off with his Cannes-winning historical drama “The Duellists,” followed by “Alien,” “Blade Runner” and the fantasy adventure “Legend.”…

An Arctic blast caused havoc for Thanksgiving travel – it’s back

Travel

Your support helps us to tell the storyFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreFollowing days of heavy lake-effect snow that left communities buried and killed several motorists, forecasters warned Tuesday that another round was expected for residents of the northern U.S. this week. As Arctic air continues to send temperatures plummeting in the eastern half of the country, a storm moving north of the Great Lakes is expected to bring widespread snow and strong winds. The National Weather Service said that it would lead to more lake-effect snowfall in the Midwest and the Northeast.Winter storm warnings and advisories were posted through Tuesday in Michigan, and lake-effect snow warnings were in effect through Tuesday night in parts of Ohio, New York and Pennsylvania.More than 200 million people could be impacted by the lastest Arctic blastThe agency said heavy snow is anticipated again for parts of Michigan between Tuesday and Wednesday, with lake-effect snow downwind from Lakes Erie and Ontario. Impacts will be felt in the Mitten State through Thursday.Boys walk down a snow-covered side street in Erie, Pennsylvia, on Monday. More snow is forecast this week across the U.S.

New York Film Critics Circle award Israeli-Palestinian documentary

Arts & Culture, Film & TV

The New York Film Critics Circle, one of the nation’s oldest and most venerated critics’ groups, is kicking movie awards season into high gear Tuesday as they select their choices for the best of 2024. The group, comprised of roughly 50 print and online movie reviewers based in the city, is frequently the first major critics’ group to announce its best-of choices for the year. Their winners are chosen via ballot, and on a category-by-category basis; the awards have traditionally taken a number of hours to reveal. Marianne Jean-Baptiste was named the year’s best actress for “Hard Truths,” her reunion with British director Mike Leigh. She was previously nominated for an Oscar for her role in Leigh’s “Secrets & Lies.” 

The group selected as its best non-fiction film winner “No Other Land,” an Israel-Palestinian collaboration directed by Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor. Longtime film critic J. Hoberman recently called it the year’s best film in Artforum, describing it as an “explication of forced expulsion on the occupied West Bank made mostly on amateur digital video” about the “two-decade legal battle over the fate of an agrarian area with some twenty Palestinian villages.” The film is currently without distribution in North America. The NYFCC also named “All We Imagine As Light,” by Payal Kapadia, as the year’s best international film. The Indian film won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival last spring. While films that win this award are often tipped for the international feature Oscar, the jury responsible for selecting India’s submission to the Academy instead opted for Kiran Rao’s “Lost Ladies,” so if Kapadia’s film is to be nominated for an Oscar, it will have to be in the general categories. 

Kieran Culkin was named best supporting actor for his role in “A Real Pain,” and Carol Kane was selected as the year’s best supporting actress for the Nate Silver drama “Between the Temples.” The best animated film award went to “Flow,” by Latvian director Gints Zilbalodis. The best first film prize went to “Janet Planet,” an A24 production hellmed by Annie Baker, and the award for best cinematography went to Jomo Fray for their first-person viewpoints of “Nickel Boys.” Full list of NYFCC winners (in progress)Film: TBDDirector: TBDActor: TBDActress: Marianne Jean-Baptiste, “Hard Truths” (Bleecker Street)Supporting Actor: Kieran Culkin, “A Real Pain” (Searchlight Pictures)Supporting Actress: Carol Kane, “Between the Temples” (Sony Pictures Classics)Screenplay: TBDInternational Film: “All We Imagine As Light” (Janus Films/Sideshow)Non-Fiction Film: “No Other Land” (No current distributor)Animated Film: “Flow” (Janus Films/Sideshow)Cinematography: “Nickel Boys,” Jomo Fray (Amazon MGM Studios)First Film: “Janet Planet,” Annie Baker (A24)Special mention: TBDSpecial Award: TBDThe group launched in 1935, less than a decade after the advent of the Academy Awards, and has frequently positioned itself as an antidote to the Oscars’ choices and, paradoxically, a bellwether of what films may factor into the following year’s Oscar race. “Compared with the Oscars, the group’s best picture track record speaks for itself: ‘Citizen Kane’ over ‘How Green Was My Valley’; ‘A Clockwork Orange’ over ‘The French Connection’; ‘Day for Night’ over ‘The Sting’; ‘Goodfellas’ over ‘Dances with Wolves,'” the organization touts. “Since 1935, the Academy Awards have given best picture to 43% of the NYFCC’s picks.”

It’s been more than a decade since the NYFCC pick for the year’s best movie has matched up with Oscar’s choice — 2011’s “The Artist.” Since then, most of their picks have at least been nominated for the best picture Academy Award, including last year’s selection of Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon.”The group’s choices for acting prizes can be even further out of the mainstream, with some of their recent citations going to Regina Hall, best actress in 2018 for “Support the Girls,” Ethan Hawke, best actor in 2018 for “First Reformed,” and Charles Melton, best supporting actor in 2023 for “May December.” On the other hand, the NYFCC made waves in 1998 when they awarded their best actress prize to Cameron Diaz for the gross-out comedy “There’s Something About Mary.”Their awards will be handed out in January.