As many film critics and columnists predicted, Julie Christie is among the Oscar nominees for Best Actress for her role in Away from Her.
However, she is not the only one up for an award. Sarah Polley herself is up for Best Adapted Screenplay, for her adaption of Alice Munroe’s short story The Bear Came Over the Mountain. Sarah is the first main Road to Avonlea cast member to receive an Oscar nomination.
The Academy Awards will be handed out on February 24 on ABC. Whether or not it will be a full-on gala or something watered down a la this year’s Golden Globes is yet to be seen.
UPDATE! (Jan. 23): Variety has reactions from both nominees. Here’s what Sarah had to say…
“I’m in total disbelief. I’m thrilled but kind of in shock too. It’s been such a strange year and I’m bowled over by the life of the film. It’s more than I could have ever hoped. This now adds a very surreal element to it.”
And an excerpt from Julie Christie’s response…
“What’s most gratifying to me is Sarah Polley getting a nomination for screenplay adaptation. I was afraid she wouldn’t be recognized. I wondered if they were going to get this great piece of work. I’m very glad I did it because it’s a terribly important issue. We’ve got to face the fact that we’re living longer. This is the comeuppance of wishing for immortality. . . .”
Nominees for the 80th Annual Academy Awards
Variety
Away from Her is one of the nominees for Best Film at the first ever Canadian Indie Awards. Also nominated is the CBC miniseries October 1970 for, well, Best Miniseries (it featured RH Thomson).
Created by the CFTPA, the Canadian Indie Awards’ purpose is to honour independent producers within the country. They will be handed out at a gala February 20 in Ottawa. It will not be televised.
CFTPA Press Release
Actress Julie Christie is receiving more acclaim from her role in Sarah Polley’s Away from Her — this time from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. She is among the nominees for Best Actress at this year’s BAFTA Awards.
So far she’s won the Golden Globe, as well as a slew of others from various critics associations.
The BAFTAs will be handed out on February 10 and will air in the US on BBC America.
CBC Arts
Complete list of BAFTA nominees
Congratulations to Julie Christie, who won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Dramatic Motion Picture for her performance in Sarah Polley’s Away from Her.
The next major award she is nominated for is the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture. The SAG Awards will be handed out on January 27, and will be simulcast on TBS and TNT in the US.
Golden Globe Awards
Actress Julie Christie notched another award for her performance in Sarah Polley’s Away from Her. On Monday night, she won the Critics Choice Award for Best Actress. However, she was not on-hand to accept it.
The Critics Choice Awards, handed out by the Broadcast Film Critics Association, has been around for twelve years and is thought to be a better predictor of Oscar success than the Golden Globes.
Globe and Mail article
Broadcast Film Critics Association
