Sundance Film Festival

Press Release: Sundance Institute Announces Winners of the 2006 Sundance/NHK International Filmmakers Award

Sundance Institute and NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) today announced at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival the winners of the 2006 Sundance/NHK International Filmmakers Awards. Marking the 10th anniversary of the Award, this year‘s winners represent the best in independent voices from around the globe. This annual award supports new artists in international cinema and is presented to emerging film directors from four global regions to support them in realizing their next project. One winner from Europe, Latin America, the United States, and Japan is selected by members of an International Jury. The four winners are presented with the award at the Festival Awards Ceremony.

The winning directors from each region will receive a $10,000 director‘s award and a guarantee from NHK to purchase the Japanese television broadcast rights upon completion of their project. NHK is Japan‘s largest broadcaster with five 24-hour TV and three radio channels. In addition, Sundance Institute will work closely with the award recipients throughout the year, providing ongoing support and assistance in seeking out opportunities to finance and distribute their projects.

The winning filmmakers and projects are: Patrice Toye, THE SPRING RITUAL from Europe; Fernando Eimbcke, LAKE TAHOE, from Latin America; Cruz Angeles, DON‘T LET ME DROWN from the United States; and Kanji Nakajima, THE CLONE RETURNS TO THE HOMELAND from Japan.

“These awards are one of the ways Sundance Institute supports distinctive new work thorough the Feature Film Program,” said Robert Redford, Founder and President of Sundance Institute. “In the 10th anniversary of the award, we‘re pleased to recognize the inspired storytelling of a talented group of filmmakers representing the best in independent voices from around the globe.”

“We are grateful to NHK for their continuing commitment to emerging international Filmmakers,” said Michelle Satter, Director, Sundance Institute Feature Film Program. “Their dedication to providing financial resources to filmmakers at the incipient stages of their projects is crucial to completing the films.”

Past recipients of the award include: Miranda July, ME AND YOU AND EVERYONE WE KNOW (USA); Andrucha Waddington, THE HOUSE OF SAND (Brazil); Lucrecia Martel, LA CIENAGA (Argentina); Juan Pablo Rebella and Pablo Stoll, WHISKY (Uruguay); Walter Salles, CENTRAL STATION (Brazil); and Chris Eyres, SMOKE SIGNALS (USA). Sundance/NHK films in post-production include György Pálfi, TAXIDERMIA (Hungary) and Catalin Mitulescu, THE WAY I SPENT THE END OF THE WORLD (Romania).

“Now in its tenth year, the Sundance/NHK International Filmmaker Award has supported over 37 filmmakers at the very beginning of their careers, and it is extremely gratifying to see new talent emerge each year,” said Ueda Makoto of NHK. “Thanks to our alliance with Sundance Institute, NHK will continue to introduce these new voices to Japanese audiences as well.”

Jurors for the 2006 Sundance/NHK International Filmmakers Award include Wim Wenders, Hector Babenco, Anthony Drazan, Marcos Bernstein, Fiona Mitchell, Joan Tewksberry, Toshio Endo, Yoshio Kakeo, and Shunichi Nagasaki.

The Winners of the 2006 Sundance/NHK International Filmmakers Award are:

Patrice Toye / THE SPRING RITUAL (Belgium)–THE SPRING RITUAL, written by Bjorn Olaf Johanneseen, is Patrice Toye‘s second feature film and tells the story of Tomas, who after staging his death and escaping to a new life, realizes the extent of his loss. He returns home, hoping to reunite with his wife, but finds that the life he left behind has irrevocably changed.

Patrice studied film at St. Lukas in Bruselles. She produced and directed news reports and documentaries for numerous Belgian broadcasters. After screening at Toronto, Berlin, and Montreal, Patrice Toye‘s feature film debut, ROSIE was released internationally, where it was met with critical acclaim.

Fernando Eimbcke / LAKE TAHOE (Mexico)–Thirteen-year-old Juan is obsessed with repairing the car he has just crashed, his late father‘s final gift to him. As he wanders the city searching for parts, Juan is forced to make the transition from childhood to adulthood in the course of a day.

After directing numerous music videos, Fernando Eimbcke wrote and directed his first Feature Film TEMPORADA DE PATOS (DUCK SEASON), which won the FIPRESCI Award, participated at the 43rd Semaine International de la Critique at Cannes (2004), is nominated for an Independent Spirit Award (Best Foreign Film) and is slated for 2006 US release by Warner Independent.

Cruz Angeles / DON‘T LET ME DROWN–Co-written by Maria Topete, DON”T LET ME DOWN portrays a post-September 11th world overflowing with fear and hate, where two Latino teens discover that the only thing that can keep them from drowning is each other.

A graduate of the NYU masters program in film, Cruz Angeles won a Director‘s Guild of America Award for Best Latino Student Filmmaker for his film, ABUELA‘S REVOLT, which screened at SXSW and was broadcast on PBS as part of WNET‘s REEL-NY. DON‘T LET ME DROWN, developed at Sundance Institute Screenwriters and Filmmakers Labs, will be his first feature.

Kanji Nakajima / THE CLONE RETURNS TO THE HOMELAND–Against the wishes of his wife, a recently deceased man is brought back as a clone. Although given a second chance, he is unable to connect to his family or escape the memories of his former self.

Writer, director, cinematographer, and musician, Kanji Nakajima developed his unique approach to filmmaking at the Tokyo Zokei University. His first feature, HAGANE, won first prize at the Portugal International Film Festival and his follow-up, THE BOX, won special mention at Torino.

NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) is Japan‘s largest broadcaster. Since 1925, it has continued to offer fair impartial reporting and high quality programs, earning the viewers‘ trust as the nation‘s sole public broadcaster. Through its five 24-hour TV channels (two terrestrial/three satellite) and three radio channels, NHK provides programs of all genres from news and education to sports and entertainment and serves as the hub of Japanese visual culture. NHK‘S arts and entertainment satellite channel, which was introduced in 1989, broadcasts more than 600 high quality international films each year. In order to contribute to the development of film culture and the promotion of cultural exchange, NHK is devoted to supporting burgeoning filmmakers who have the potential to guide the industry‘s future development. Along with the “Sundance/NHK International Filmmakers Award,” NHK also produces the “Asian Film Festival” which offers opportunities to emerging film directors in Asia.

The Sundance/NHK International Filmmakers Award is part of the Sundance Institute Feature Film Program. The Feature Film Program was established in 1981 to identify and foster a new generation of leading film artists and support them throughout the creation of a specific film project. The program features lab residencies in writing, directing, and producing, year-round creative and business support, and the Annenberg film fellowships, providing strategic financial support to filmmakers during the development and completion stages of a project. Over the years, the Feature Film Program has supported the early visionary work of Hany Abu-Assad (PARADISE NOW) Josh Marston (MARIA FULL OF GRACE), Walter Salles (CENTRAL STATION), Paul T. Anderson (HARD EIGHT), Quentin Tarantino (RESERVOIR DOGS), and Kimberly Peirce (BOYS DON’T CRY), among many others.

Sundance Institute

Dedicated year-round to the development of artists of independent vision and to the exhibition of their new work, Sundance Institute celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2006. Since its inception, the Institute has grown into an internationally recognized resource for thousands of independent artists through its Sundance Film Festival and artistic development programs which provide a range of concentrated creative and financial support for filmmakers, screenwriters, composers, writers, playwrights and theatre artists. The original values of independence, creative risk-taking, and discovery continue to define and guide the work of Sundance Institute, both with US artists and, increasingly, with artists from other regions of the world.