Melbourne Ahead Of The Curve For Oscar Picks
Melbourne audiences have once again proven that they are the most discerning film audience in Australia, with Cinema Nova besting the rest of the country at the Box Office for many of the films nominated for the 85th Academy Awards, announced today.
Two Oscar nominated films, Moonrise Kingdom (nominated for Best Original Screenplay) and Beasts of the Southern Wild (nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress and Best Adapted Screenplay), found that over 10% of Australians that saw them theatrically enjoyed the titles at Nova. Similarly, Best Documentary Feature nominee Searching for Sugar Man, now in its 15th week of release, has experienced enormous success with one fifth of the Australian audience having seen it at the Carlton location. Cinema Nova was also the number one location for Ben Lewin’s acclaimed drama The Sessions (nominated for Best Supporting Actress) as well as Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master (nominated for Best Actor, Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress). Cinema Nova was proudly the top-grossing Melbourne cinema for A Royal Affair, nominated for Best Foreign Feature.
According to Cinema Nova General Manager Kristian Connelly, this is indicative of the fantastic taste of Melbourne audiences.
“These nominations are extraordinary. For one cinema to repeatedly top the rest of the country for many of the films picked as the best of the year indicates that Melbourne’s film culture is not only sophisticated but also extremely prognostic. Bookmakers should take note for next year’s Academy Awards,” said Mr Connelly.
Cinema Nova is delighted to have a full slate of Oscars picks screening and scheduled over the coming months, including Lincoln (nominated for 12 Oscars), Life of Pi (nominated for 11 Academy Awards), Les Miserables (nominated for 8 Academy Awards), Silver Linings Playbook (also nominated for 8 Oscars), Django Unchained (nominated for 5 Academy Awards) and Zero Dark Thirty (also nominated for 5 Academy Awards).
“We are also delighted to have been chosen as the only Melbourne venue that will be showcasing the Academy Award Nominated documentary ‘Chasing Ice’ as part of the 2013 Transitions Film Festival, the Best Short Film – Live Action and Best Short Film – Animated showcase and an advance screening of Kon-Tiki, one of the picks for Best Foreign Language Film, three months ahead of its theatrical release,” said Mr Connelly.
Next Wednesday, Cinema Nova will be exclusively screening the English language version of Best Foreign Language Feature nominee Kon-Tiki (which was shot in both the Norwegian and English language) and hosting a Meet the Filmmaker Event with Academy Award-winning Producer, Jeremy Thomas (The Last Emperor). Tickets to this exclusive event are now available at: http://www.cinemanova.com.au/catalogue/meet-the-filmmaker/kontikimtf
The Oscars Short Film nominees will also be screening in programs dedicated to the ‘Live Action’ and ‘Animated’ selections, to be held at the cinema for limited sessions between February 16 and 24. Tickets and times will be launched soon.
Chasing Ice is screening as part of the 2013 Transitions Film Festival at Cinema Nova, which Cinema Nova is proud to be a venue partner for in 2013. Cinema Nova will also host a number of events as part of Transitions Film Festival, including after film discussions and forums with Australia’s leading sustainability experts and personalities. The Transitions Film Festival runs in parallel to the Sustainable Living Festival, Australia’s largest and oldest sustainability festival. The full program will be released in the coming week. Tickets will go on sale in mid-January at www.cinemanova.com.au