MUMBAI: The National Society of Film Critics (NCFC) has named apocalyptic psychological drama Melancholia as the year‘s best film.
The Society has also chosen Kirsten Dunst as best actress and Brad Pitt as best actor for the baseball drama Moneyball as well as The Tree of Life.
Though Lars von Trier lost out as the best director award for his work on Melancholia to Terrence Malick for The Tree of Life, his film‘s big win bolstered the offbeat film‘s chances for the upcoming Academy Awards that will announce nominees later this month.
Set against the backdrop of a country wedding, the dark film explores the strained relationship of two sisters, one a bride played by Dunst, while a strange planet threatens to collide with Earth, wiping out all traces of human existence.
Pitt, already a strong contender for the Oscars, was honoured for his roles as Oakland A‘s manager Billy Beane in Moneyball as well as a strict father in The Tree of Life.
Critics‘ awards are important in helping build momentum heading toward the Academy Awards, or Oscars, which are the world‘s top film awards given out on the final Sunday in February by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
The NSFC includes 58 members from major newspapers in Los Angeles, Boston, New York, Chicago and other cities as well as from Time, Newsweek and The New Yorker and newspapers The Village Voice and the Boston Phoenix.
The Real Millionaire by Piyush Thakur will be screened in International Competition at 34th Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival.
This is his story and that of his family and the villagers‘ journey towards realizing the actual meaning of the word "winning", reads the synopsis of the film on the festival‘s website.
The festival will be held from January 27-February 4,2012.
The film is a story of a farmer Vishnu, who‘s life changes after he gets a call from the reality game show,KBC (Kaun Banega Crorepati). This is his story and that of his family and the villagers‘ journey towards realizing the actual meaning of the word winning.
