Chlotrudis Award Nominations

The Chlotrudis Society is a well-established Massachusetts non-profit that serves to honor and support independent and foreign language films.  The nominations for their 17th annual awards are:

BEST PICTURE
I Killed My Mother
Jack Goes Boating
The King's Speech
Mother
Undertow
Winter's Bone

I Killed My Mother, which won three prizes at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, and was eligible for the foreign language Oscar category last year (Canada's submission; it wasn't nominated) is notably for being the debut of writer\director\star Xavier Dolan, who is only 21.  It received the tiniest US distribution-- I'm not sure if it ever actually played Los Angeles.  I saw the film last year at the film festival, and while far from perfect, definitely showed promise.  His next film is Heartbeats.  Mother, a South Korean film which did fairly well with the critics prizes was also eligible last year for best foreign film.  Undertow was eligible this year, but not nominated.

BURIED TREASURE
Dogtooth
Down Terrace
Mary & Max
Mine
The Private Lives of Pippa Lee
Terribly Happy

BEST DIRECTOR
Tze Chun, Children of Invention
Banksy, Exit Through the Gift Shop
Xavier Dolan, I Killed My Mother
Joon-ho Bong, Mother
John Cameron Mitchell, Rabbit Hole
Debra Granik, Winter's Bone

BEST ACTOR
Vincent Cassel, Mesrine: Killer Instinct
Colin Firth, The King's Speech
Ryan Gosling, Blue Valentine 
Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Jack Goes Boating
Anthony Mackie, Night Catches Us
Alexander Siddig, Cairo Time

BEST ACTRESS
Anne Dorval, I Killed My Mother
Kate Jarvis, Fish Tank
Hye-ja Kim, Mother
Jennifer Lawrence, Winter's Bone
Paprika Steen, Applause

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Michael Fassbender, Fish Tank
John Hawkes, Winter's Bone
John Ortiz, Jack Goes Boating
Geoffrey Rush, The King's Speech
Miles Teller, Rabbit Hole

Teller did wonderful work with Nicole Kidman in Rabbit Hole-- it's lovely for him to get a small piece of recognition on the sadly underperforming movie.  I understand a film about grieving parents sounds awfully depressing, and that's likely the reason why nobody bothered to see it in the first place, but it's such a rich, beautifully made little chamber piece.  And it wasn't nearly as depressing as art-house alternatives Blue Valentine and Biutiful, both of which have become small success stories with audiences and critical plaudits.  Anyhow, the park bench scenes of Rabbit Hole are some of the most beautifully acting scenes of any movie of 2010!


BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Dale Dickey, Winter's Bone
Sissy Spacek, Get Low
Kierston Wareing, Fish Tank
Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom
Dianne Wiest, Rabbit Hole

BEST ENSEMBLE
Animal Kingdom
Down Terrace
Jack Goes Boating
The Kids Are All Right
Micmacs
Please Give

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Animal Kingdom
Everyone Else
I Killed My Mother
The King's Speech
Mother
Night Catches Us

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Fair Game
The Ghost Writer
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Rabbit Hole
Winter's Bone

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Bunny & the Bull
I Am Love
The King's Speech
Micmacs
The Secret of Kells
Winter's Bone

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Chloe
Get Loe
Henri-Georges Clouzot's Inferno
I Am Love
Undertow
Winter's Bone

BEST DOCUMENTARY
The Art of the Steal
Exit Through the Gift Shop
Inside Job
Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work
Marwencol
Prodigal Sons