2004, 10th Annual Awards

Special Awards

Chlotrudis Hall of Fame - Philip Seymour Hoffman

The Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film is thrilled to announce that acclaimed actor Philip Seymour Hoffman will be the first inductee into the newly created Chlotrudis Hall of Fame.

Already an experienced actor of six years in the movies when Chlotrudis first noticed him in the unforgettable Paul Thomas Anderson film Boogie Nights, it was 1998 that was Phil's first big year for this organization. Phil received a double-nomination in the Best Supporting Actor category for his roles in Todd Solondz' Happiness, and Brad Anderson's Next Stop Wonderland. That same year, Phil was awarded the first Gertrudis Award, given to an actor who in a short time and relatively small number of performances has burned an indelible mark on our film consciousness. Who knew how right we were in giving Phil this award?

The following year at the Sixth Annual Chlotrudis Awards, Phil won the Chltorudis Award for Best Supporting Actor for his work in Paul Thomas Anderson's Best Movie winner, Magnolia. Since then, Phil has impressed indie film buffs and megaplex audiences alike with stellar work in such films as Flawless, State and Main, Almost Famous, Punch-Drunk Love, 25th Hour and Cold Mountain.

2003 was a big year for Phil at the movies. He starred in the powerfully original film Love Liza, written by his brother Gordy (who is nominated for the Best Original Screenplay Award this year). While Chlotrudis members embraced Love Liza and found Phil's performance intensely gripping, it was his low-key work in Owning Mahowny that brought Phil's third Chlotrudis Award nomination, his first in the Best Actor Category.

Phil works tirelessly in such a wide variety of films, who would have guessed that he is also a critically acclaimed stage actor and theatre director? Some of Phil's stage roles include Tony Award nominated performances in Long Day's Journey Into Night and True West. Phil has directed three plays, Jesus Hopped the A Train, The Glory of Living, and Our Lady of 121st Street.

We are all fortunate that Phil seems to enjoy working so much. He is building a career of lasting relevance and inspiration. It has been the Chlotrudis Society's pleasure to grow as an organization concurrently with Phil's amazing career, and we are pleased to honor him with the premiere spot in our brand new Hall of Fame.

Chlotrudis Excellence in Direction Award - Thom Fitzgerald

Thom Fitzgerald's films are tough to categorize. He started with a visually arresting, complex, time-jumping story of a young man returning home to his dysfunctional family after a ten year absence. The Hanging Garden scored two Chlotrudis nominations for Best Supporting Actor and Best Cinematography. From there he moved to tongue-in-cheek docudrama with the delightful Beefcake. Switching gears entirely, Thom's next film, The Wild Dogs, engaged gypsies, beggars, and actors to look at poverty and the sex-trade in post-revolutionary Romania. With The Event Thom looks at the complex morality of assisted suicide in a powerful human drama. The Event has received two more Chlotrudis nominations for Best Supporting Actress and Best Cast.

We are thrilled to honor Thom with this year's Chlotrudis Award given to a director whose creative vision and filmmaking skill consistently challenge and intrigue audiences. Thom comes to Boston in the midst of making his most ambitious film, 3 Needles. Shot in the U.S., China, and Africa, 3 Needles follows the stories of a missionary nun, a blood trafficker, and a porn star set amidst the combatative and derisive AIDS pandemic.

Chlotrudis Breakthrough Award - Kerry Washington

The Chlotrudis Society for Indpendent Film has had an eye on Kerry Washington's career ever since she mesmerized us in her big screen debut, Our Song. That movie was nominated for two Chlotrudis Awards, Best Original Screenplay and Best Cast, which Kerry had an integral part in. We are so excited to be able to present her with the Chlotrudis Award for a Breakout Career (formerly the Gertrudis Award) at this year's ceremony.

Nominated last year for her first Independent Spirit Award for "Best Actress" in the Boston-based film Lift, Kerry has been working non-stop every since. Last fall she was seen in The Human Stain starring Nicole Kidman and Sir Anthony Hopkins and is currently gracing the big screen in Against the Ropes: The Jackie Kallen Story starring Meg Ryan. Watch for her next film, United States of Leland opposite Kevin Spacey and Ryan Gosling. Kerry is possibly best known for her supporting role in Save the Last Dance.

Kerry recently wrapped production in New Orleans in the Taylor Hackford film Unchain My Heart, the inspirational life story of Ray Charles where she played Charles' wife Della. Also in the works is the independent film Sexual Life. She is currently filming She Hate Me, the latest film by Spike Lee and Doug Liman's Mr. and Mrs. Smith starring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. If ever there was an actress about to take off, and so deservingly, it is Kerry Washington.

Chlotrudis Visionary Award - Agnés Godard

The Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film is thrilled to announce Chlotrudis Winner Agnès Godard as this year's recipient of the Visionary Award, given to a cinematographer whose work represents an independent and creative vision. She will also accept the Best Cinematography Award that she won at the 7th Annual Awards for Beau Travail. She is nominated this year for her work in Claire Denis' Vendredi Soir (Friday Night).

Godard has worked with many internationally praised directors, most notably France's Claire Denis. She was a camera operator for Denis' early films, Chocolat and S'en Fout le Mort (No Fear, No Die). As director of photography, Godard teamed with Denis for J'ai pas sommeil (I Can't Sleep), Nénette et Boni, Beau Travail, Trouble Every Day, and Vendredi Soir (Friday Night). Early in her career she worked as a camera operator on several of Wim Wenders' films, including Wings of Desire and Peter Greenaway's A Zed and Two Noughts. As cinematographer she lent her eye to Agnès Varda's Jacquot de Nantes, Erick Zonca's La Vie Rêvée des Anges (The Dreamlife of Angels), and most recently André Téchiné's Les Égarés. Godard's work has been recognized at numerous awards and festivals, including a Best Cinematography César Award fo Beau Travail.

Chlotrudis Body Of Work Award - Daniel MacIvor

Daniel MacIvor has been creating theatre since 1986. A writer/ performer/director and Artistic Director/Founder of da da kamera, his plays include Somewhere I Have Never Travelled, Yes I Am And Who Are You?, See Bob Run, Wild Abandon, This Is A Play, 2-2 Tango, The Soldier Dreams, Marion Bridge, You Are Here and In On It. With long-time collaborator Daniel Brooks, he has created The Lorca Play, House, Here Lies Henry and Monster, which have travelled throughout Canada, the U.S., Europe, Israel and Australia.

Also a filmmaker, MacIvor’s projects include writing the award-winning short film The Fairy Who Didn’t Want to be a Fairy Anymore, and writing and directing Parade (with Brad Fraser), Permission, Until I Hear From You, and Sydney That Summer. MacIvor’s first feature film Past Perfect (produced by Camelia Frieberg), was released in theatres across Canada in March and April 2003. MacIvor shot his second feature, Wilby Wonderful, in Nova Scotia in July and August 2003.

MacIvor can also be seen in Thom Fitzgerald’s Beefcake, Don McKellar’s CBC series "Twitch City," and Jeremy Podeswa’s film The Five Senses, for which he was nominated for a Best Actor Chlotrudis Award and a Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actor. That film also won the Best Cast Chlotrudis Award. Past Perfect premiered at the 2002 Toronto International Film Festival, along with his screenplay adaptation of his play Marion Bridge, directed by Wiebke von Carolsfeld. MacIvor is also nominated this year in the Best Adapted Screenplay Category.

The Village Voice and the New York theatre community honored MacIvor by presenting a Village Voice OBIE Award to him in recognition of In On It, which ran at P.S 122 in September – October 2001. Currently, MacIvor continues to tour his one-man performance Cul-de-sac and is at work on his next screenplay.

We are thrilled to present Daniel with the Chlotrudis Award for a “Body of Work,” acknowledging his outstanding contributions to the stage and screen, both in front of and behind the camera.

Chlotrudis Someone to Watch Award - Wiebke von Carolsfeld

Nominated in three categories, Marion Bridge is exactly the type of film Chlotrudis likes to champion. A tiny independent, family drama with a lot of appeal that because of the nature of the business can't get wide exposure. The Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film takes notice though. Marion Bridge received nods in the Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cast, and Buried Treasure categories.

We're thrilled to announce that Wiebke von Carolsfeld, director of Marion Bridge, will be on hand to receive the Chlotrudis "Someone to Watch" Award. Marion Bridge is Wiebke’s first feature as a director. She won the City TV Award for Best First Feature at the Toronto International Film Festival and was nominated by the Director’s Guild for outstanding Achievement in Direction for her work on the movie.

She has made two award winning short films as a director, ‘from morning on I waited yesterday’ and ‘spiral bound’, which have screened at festivals all across Canada, the United States as well as in Europe. In 2002, she was the Director Observer on Atom Egoyan’s feature Ararat.

Marion Bridge was distributed in the U.S. by Film Movement, whose founder and CEO, Larry Meistrich, will also be in attendance at the March 28 event. Could star Molly Parker make an appearance? We've got our fingers crossed.

Chlotrudis Maverick Award - Larry Meistrich

With his bold proclamation that “Film Movement is the future of distribution,” Larry Meistrich is the perfect choice for the first recipient of the Chlotrudis Maverick Award. Film Movement’s unique mission to start a grassroots movement that joins together filmmakers and film fans for a simple common cause -- to provide access to the best films made every year, is so similar to our own that it’s a perfect fit to welcome and thank Larry for his groundbreaking work.

Two of Film Movement’s 2003 releases are up for Chlotrudis Awards. O.T.: Our Town is one of the five nominees in the Best Documentary category. Canadian film Marion Bridge, a film long-championed by CSIF since it’s screening at the 2002 Toronto International Film Festival, received three nods, including Best Adapted Screenplay for Daniel MacIvor, Best Cast, and Buried Treasure.

Larry’s work first caught the CSIF eye as the producer of the big winner at the 3rd Awards ceremony. Sling Blade was nominated for Best Movie, Director, Actor, and Supporting Actor (twice), winning the kitties for the Actor and Movie categories. Four years later, another film Larry produced made a big Chlotrudis splash. You Can Count on Me was nominated in the Best Actress, Actor, and Original Screenplay categories.

Larry was also the founder and CEO of Shooting Gallery for 10 years. Shooting Gallery was another champion of the independent film getting smaller films into theatres across the country. Judy Berlin was Shooting Gallery’s big Chlotrudis film, picking up four nominations (for Movie, Director, Supporting Actress and Original Screenplay) at the 7th Awards Ceremony. Other Shooting Gallery film including Croupier, Eureka, and Last Resort also made big impacts on Chlotrudis members. At The Shooting Gallery, Meistrich also founded Guns for Hire, a comprehensive production and post-production operation with facilities in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Toronto and Vancouver.

Larry received the 1998 Crain’s Small Business Award and the 1999 Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in New York. He currently serves on the board of the New York Production Council.

Now Larry is creating an entirely new model for distribution involving theatrical releases combined with a DVD subscription service. Obviously, anyone with the passion for independent film will be more than welcome at the Chlotrudis Awards Ceremony.