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 Entertainment | September 2006 
'Bella' Takes Top Prize at Toronto Festival
 AP
| | Mexican-born director Alejandro Gomez Monteverde's feature film debut, the unheralded "Bella," took the top audience prize at the 31st Toronto International Film Festival; critics honor fictional film of Bush assassination |
Toronto - Mexican-born director Alejandro Gomez Monteverde's feature film debut, the unheralded "Bella," took the top audience prize at the 31st Toronto International Film Festival. International critics gave an award to the controversial British TV movie "Death of a President," which centers on a fictionalized assassination of President Bush.
The romantic film "Bella" tells the story of a former Mexican soccer star turned chef (Mexican actor Eduardo Verastegui) and a troubled waitress (American stage actress Tammy Blanchard) whose lives converge and turn upside down during a single day in New York. It was the surprise winner of the People's Choice Award voted on by festival audiences.
"This festival has been so, so amazing," Monteverde said as he accepted the award at the festival's closing reception Saturday night at the Hilton Hotel. "They treat the little ones and the big ones the same. ... Thank you Toronto film festival for allowing filmmakers like myself who come from nothing to come here."
Monteverde was born in Mexico but moved to the United States as a teenager.
Last year's People's Choice Award winner, the South African film "Tsotsi," won the Oscar for best foreign-language film.
French director Patrice Leconte's buddy film "Mon meilleur ami" ("My Best Friend") was the first runner-up for the People's Choice Award. It was followed by Barbara Kopple and Cecilia Peck's documentary "Dixie Chicks: Shut up and Sing," which chronicles the trio's transition from country music darlings to bold symbols for freedom of expression after their criticism of Bush sparked a strong backlash.
British director Gabriel Range's "Death of a President" stirred up a strong reaction even before it premiered at the festival and won the Prize of the International Critics (FIPRESCI Prize). The jury of film critics cited the film "for the audacity with which it distorts reality to reveal a larger truth."
"Death of a President," which was bought by Newmarket Films and is slated to air Oct. 9 on an offshoot of Britain's Channel 4 network, chronicles the sniper shooting of Bush on Oct. 19, 2007, during a trip to Chicago and the ensuing investigation.
The film blends archival footage of the president interspersed with fierce anti-war protests and other fictional scenes crafted by the filmmakers. Actors posing as administration officials and Secret Service agents were digitally grafted into some images of the president and his entourage. The filmmakers said they chose to use Bush rather than substitute a fictitious president to heighten the authenticity.
"I'm thrilled that the film is going to be shown in theaters both here and in the U.S. in the near future," Range said Saturday. "That's proof that people can see beyond the premise and see that it's a film about this post-9/11 world that we live in."
Newmarket Supports The Death Of A President
Josh Tyler - CinemaBlend.com
2006-09-12
| | Gabriel Range accepts the Prize of the International Critic's (Fipresci Prize) at the Toronto International Film Festival in Toronto Saturday, Sept. 16, 2006. (CP/Aaron Harris) |
After fighting through death threats and media scrutiny, Director Gabriel Range's faux-documentary Death of a President has been snatched up for U.S. distribution by Newmarket Films for a meager $1 million according to The Hollywood Reporter. The movie reportedly cost $2 million to make, but don't feel bad for Range's bank account. Maple Films shelled out $500,000 for Canadian rights and it's already made $3 million overseas.
Death of a President is a "what if" film. The problem so many people have with it is that the "what if" hits a little too close to home. The movie realistically depicts a fictional October 2007 assassination of sitting President George W. Bush, and then explores its impact on American civil liberties.
Obviously, that's enough to get people up in arms. No matter how hated he is, Bush still has a few hardcore supporters. But I'm not sure I really understand what the fear is here. What, you think the movie will give people ideas? The movie doesn't advocate his murder, it simply presents it as part of a fictional scenario. I suppose Range could have wimped out and slapped some made up name on his President the way most weak-kneed Hollywood movies do, but why should he have to?
What's even stranger to me than the fact that people are throwing such a fit about it, is that Newmarket actually thinks people will want to see it. On paper this sounds like a limited release niche movie at best, but they're reportedly planning a major, wide release for Death of a President. Controversy sells tickets, and Newmarket is obviously hoping there's enough here to interest mainstream audiences. |
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