EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP and INSIDE JOB Have the Momentum After a Weekend of Critics Awards

With critics awards season officially in high gear, two Oscar shortlisted films are feeling some momentum today, while some critics groups pointedly chose films that weren't on the Academy's shortlist (for varying reasons).

Banksy's EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP and Charles Ferguson's INSIDE JOB picked up multiple mentions (some wins, some honorable mentions, some nominations) from the various critics groups.

EXIT enjoyed victories from the New York Film Critics Online and the Indiana Film Critics, while being named runner-up by the Los Angeles Film Critics and the Southeastern Film Critics.  It also snagged a Broadcast Film Critics nomination.  There's little question that EXIT is having the best awards season of any nonfiction film - in addition to its critics prizes it was nommed for 6 Cinema Eye Honors, the IDA's Feature Doc Prize and the Spirit Awards' doc prize.  It's the only film on the Academy shortlist to be nominated for more than one of the other big documentary awards.  And now it's enjoying the best run with film critics to date.

INSIDE JOB had been having a surprisingly quiet awards season up until today, when it won both the New York Film Critics and the Southeastern Film Critics.  Earlier in the weekend it picked up Runner-Up from the Boston Film Critics and also picked up a Broadcast Film Critics nomination.

While we're talking about the shortlist and awards - we should note that, while its unlikely to pick up any film critics mentions (due to its airing on HBO this summer), GASLAND had its own major achievement this weekend, when New York Governor David Paterson announced a temporary moratorium on natrual gas fracking.  It would be hard to argue that the governor's action (and the massive grassroots campaign that led to it) weren't spurred in large part by Josh Fox' shortlisted film.  And in the "timing is everything" department, note that GASLAND's DVD comes out tomorrow.

Meanwhile, note that both the LA Film Critics and the Boston Film Critics opted to give their prizes to films conspicuously not included on the Academy's Documentary Feature shortlist - Boston gave two prizes to Jeff Malmberg's MARWENCOL (which opted to forego the Academy push over costs required by the Oscar rules) and the Los Angeles Film Critics went with Lixin Fan's LAST TRAIN HOME.  Both of those films (along with EXIT) are vying for multiple awards, including Outstanding Feature at Cinema Eye.

Here's a recap of what happened this weekend and how it affected the shortlisted films:

CLIENT 9
1 new nomination

EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP
2 wins
2 runners-up
1 new nomination
1 major film critic top films list

GASLAND
major story development spurred by film

INSIDE JOB
2 wins
1 runner-up
2 new nominations
2 major film critic top films list

RESTREPO
3 new nominations
1 major film critic top films list

THE TILLMAN STORY
1 runner-up
3 new nominations

WAITING FOR 'SUPERMAN'
3 new nominations
1 major film critic top films list

Detail:

Film Critics Awards Announced

New York Film Critics
Winner: INSIDE JOB

Los Angeles Film Critics
Winner: LAST TRAIN HOME
Runner-Up: EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP

Boston Film Critics
Winner: MARWENCOL, Runner-Up: INSIDE JOB
Also: MARWENCOL's Jeff Malmberg receives Best New Filmmaker

New York Film Critics Online
Winner: EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP

Southeastern Film Critics
Winner: INSIDE JOB
Runner-Up: EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP

Indiana Film Journalists
Winner; EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP
Runner-Up: THE TILLMAN STORY

Film Critics Nominations Announced

Broadcast Film Critics Nominations
Includes: EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP, INSIDE JOB, RESTREPO, THE TILLMAN STORY and WAITING FOR 'SUPERMAN'

Houston Critics Nominations
Includes CLIENT 9, MARWENCOL, RESTREPO, THE TILLMAN STORY and WAITING FOR 'SUPERMAN'

St. Louis Critics Nominations
Includes: A FILM UNFINISHED, RESTREPO, THE TILLMAN STORY, WAITING FOR 'SUPERMAN', WAKING SLEEPING BEAUTY

Major Film Critics Top Films Lists

David Denby, The New Yorker
Includes EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP, RESTREPO and INSIDE JOB

Anthony Lane, The New Yorker
Includes SWEETGRASS

Richard Corliss, TIME
Includes INSIDE JOB, WAITING FOR SUPERMAN

 

Comments

[john]

congratulations to all. .great job guys