Oscar-nominated director Debra Granik Praises TEC program

Filmmaker Magazine has a great interview this month with Debra Granik, the Oscar-nominated director of Winter's Bone and the just-released documentary Stray Dog. Both were Edit Center class projects and Debra gave us a huge shout out:

The Edit Center is legendary when it comes to the idea of reveling in the art of editing and the artistry and arduousness of it. The editor that edited Stray Dog, Tory Stewart, had gone through The Edit Center program and really benefited from it. She and I found it extremely rich. It injected something very positive into the process… The classes could be both intimate and large, and they were really a true help and intellectually very invigorating.

You can read the full interview here.

Winter's Bone Wins at 2011 Spirit Awards

Winter’s Bone, the class project of May 2009, picked up two awards at 2011 Film Independent’s Spirit Awards as John Hawkes walked away with the Best Supporting Actor award and Dale Dickey won Best Supporting Actress. The film was edited by Affonso Goncalves, a TEC instructor, with TEC alums Naomi Goodman and Tory Stewart serving as assistant editors. The film was the most nominated film this year with seven nominations, including Best Feature and Best Director. In his acceptance speech, Hawkes thanked the film’s crew, Jennifer Lawrence (the film’s leading actress), and director Debra Granik, whom he said was the “best of the best.” For more information on the 2011 Spirit Awards winners, visit the Daily Mail article here.

Class Film, Alums, and Teachers Nominated for Oscars

Winter’s Bone, The Kids Are All Right, and Inside Job have all received awards nominations for the 83rd Annual Academy Awards. Winter’s Bone, the TEC class project in May 2009, has received an Oscar nomination for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay as well as Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor. Winter’s Bone was edited by TEC instructor, Affonso Goncalves, who was assisted by Naomi Goodman and Tory Stewart, both TEC alums. The Kids Are All Right, in which TEC alum Riva Marker was an executive produce received a nomination for Best Picture, as well as nominations for Best Actress in a Leading Role and Original Screenplay. Inside Job, which was edited and co-written by TEC alums Chad Beck and Adam Bolt and assisted by alums Eugene Yi, Sheila Shirazi, and John Woo is nominated for Best Documentary Feature. Winners will be announced on February 27, 2011. For a full list of Oscar nominations, visit Oscar.com.

Independent Spirit Award Nominations Include Class Films and Alums

The 26th annual Independent Spirit Awards' nominations were announced today and include a slew of TEC Alums, Instructors, and a class film. Winter's Bone leads the awards pack with 7 nominations, including Best Feature, Best Director, and both Best Male and Female Lead. Other nominees include: Best Feature, The Kids Are Alright (Executive Producer, Riva Marker, TEC alum); Best First Feature, Night Catches Us (Editor, Affonso Gonçalves, TEC instructor); Someone to Watch Award, Hossein Keshavarz for TEC project, Dog Sweat. Also nominated for Best First Screenplay was Monogomy which was edited by TEC alum/instructor, Mollie Goldstein and Tiny Furniture which was edited by TEC alum Lance Edmands. For the full list of nominees, visit indieWIRE.

Winter's Bone Wins at Gotham Awards

Winter's Bone, the project of the May 2009 6-week class, won Best Feature and Best Ensemble Performance at the 2010 Gotham Awards. See all the winners at indieWIRE.

Winter's Bone Leads in Gotham Awards

Winter's Bone, the project of the May 2009 class, has been nominated for three Gotham Awards. The film was nominated in the following categories: Best Feature, Best Ensemble Performance, and Best Breakthrough Performance (Jennifer Lawrence). The film leads the pack in nominations this year and is nominated alongside Black Swan, The Kids Are Alright, and Let Me In -- to name a few. The film was edited by TEC instructor Affonso Gonçalves who was assisted by TEC alums Naomi Goodman and Victoria Stewart.

Early Oscar Predictions Include TEC Alums and Class Film

indieWIRE released its Oscar predictions for 2011, the following are a few highlights: The Inside Job, edited and co-written by TEC alums Chad Beck and Adam Bolt, “… will be nominated for, and likely win, best documentary feature,” writes Peter Knegt. It is also brought up as a dark horse in the categories of Best Picture and Best Editing -- a category that is historically filled solely by narratives. indieWIRE suggests The Kids Are Alright, executively produced by alum Riva Marker, is a “safe bet” in the category of Best Picture, Best Actress, and Original Screenplay. Winter’s Bone, the project of the May 2009 class, is also a contender in several categories including: Best Picture, Best Actress, and Best Adapted Screenplay. Of course we will all have to wait until the Academy releases its short-list in the months to come. To see the full list of predictions, visit indieWIRE.

Class Films Make indieWIRE's List for Top Films of 2010

Cold Weather and Winter's Bone, both 6-week class projects in 2009, have made CriticWIRE's mid-year list of "Top English-language Narrative Films of 2010." IndieWIRE's, CriticWIRE, aggregates letter grade scores from over 100 critics and bloggers as they watch films released in film festivals like Cannes, Sundance, and Tribeca, in addition to theatrical releases. Cold Weather, came in at number 1 with an "A-" rating. Only 11 of the films that have either premiered in 2010 or been released theatrically have achieved a score of "A-." Read more about the films that made the list here.

Rave Reviews for Winter's Bone

Winter's Bone, the project of the May 2009 class, is receiving great reviews across the board. Joe Morgenstern of The Wall Street Journal writes of Jennifer Lawrence who plays the heroine Ree, "...a professional actress who doesn't seem to act so much as achieve a state of grace that combines intelligence with fierce resolve." NY Mag's David Edelstein states that, "Winter's Bone is the year's most stirring film." Entertainment Weekly calls it, "One of the unshowiest and most true-blooded epics of Americana you're ever likely to see." The film was edited by TEC instructor Affonso Gonçalves who was assisted by TEC alums Naomi Goodman and Tory Stewart. Winter's Bone opens in theaters this weekend in NY and LA.

Class Films Headed to SXSW

Four Edit Center class films to play SXSW in March. Cold Weather (July 2009), Strange Powers: Stephin Merritt and The Magnetic Fields (July 2008 & September 2008), For Once in My Life (July 2009), and fresh off its Sundance win, Winter's Bone (May 2009). For Once in My Life was edited by TEC Alum Amy Foote, Strange Powers was edited by Sarah Devorkin, co-edited by Naomi Goodman and assisted by Kathryn Schubert -- all of whom are alums. Winter's Bone was cut by TEC instructor, Affonso Gonçalves.