WALTZ WITH BASHIR the First Doc to Win at the Golden Globes

Ari Folman's WALTZ WITH BASHIR, the acclaimed animated doc from Isreal that was recently named Best Picture of the Year by the National Society of Film Critics, tonight became the first nonfiction film to win a Golden Globe, taking the prize for Best Foreign Language Film.  The Globes do not, obviously, present an award for Best Documentary.

In his acceptance speech, Folman said:

"This belongs to the best supporting team a filmmaker can even dream about, the Bridgit Folman Film Gang.  I want to thank, especially, my hilarious artistic partners, Yoni Goodman (Director of Animation) and David Polonsky (Art Director and Illustrator).  My producers, Roman Paul, Gerhard Meixner, Yael Nahlieli and Serge Lalou...  The Sony Classics twins, Tom Bernard and Michael Barker. 

And I want to dedicate this prize, as we promised to do, to the eight beautiful production babies who were born in our tiny studio in Tel Aviv, during the making of WALTZ WITH BASHIR, four years.  And I hope one day when they grow up, they watch this film together, and they see the war that takes place in the film; it will look to them like an ancient video game that has nothing to do with their lives whatsoever.

Thank you so much."

BASHIR is not eligible for the Best Documentary Prize at the Academy Awards, as distributor Sony Pictures Classics decided to play the New York Film Festival rather than pursue that award.  The film is still in the running for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film and for Best Animated Feature - although in a somewhat weak year for narrative films, who knows how many Oscars BASHIR might ultimately be nominated for.

On Thursday, WALTZ WITH BASHIR was named as one of 15 films on this year's Cinema Eye Honors Shortlist.  Nominations for those awards will be announced January 19 in Park City