The San Diego Film Critics Society (SDFCS) held its annual awards luncheon at the Prado restaurant in Balboa Park on Friday, February 4. Imelda Staunton, voted by the group as Best Actress in the Mike Leigh written-and-directed film Vera Drake, traveled all the way from England to receive her award. Vera Drake concerns a British family in the depths of emotional crisis during the post-World War II years. Staunton was nominated for a Golden Globe, a SAG award and is among the five candidates for a Best Actress Oscar.

Filmmaker Alejandro Amenábar came from Spain to accept his award for The Sea Inside as Best Foreign Language Film. Amenábar, who wrote and directed this movie, won the Golden Globe and is up for an Oscar for his moving film about a man’s battle for the right to die with dignity.

This San Diego luncheon event provided an opportunity for attendees to mingle with the award recipients and hear about their films firsthand. In addition to SDFCS members, the luncheon invitees included talent and publicists from the movies of 2004 as well as local film publicists and guests. Although all talent from the SDFCS final award selections receive invitations to attend the luncheon, they are juggling many offers at the same time from Golden Globe and Academy Award venues.  

“We were so pleased and honored that both Imelda and Alejandro took time out of their busy schedules to attend our awards,” said Kyle Counts, the group’s outgoing president.

In his presentation of the award to Staunton, Counts said, “When you first heard the name of Imelda, you thought of a bunch of shoes, but that’s all going to change after seeing Vera Drake. I knew when I came out of the theater after seeing it just how special it was. It’s a privilege to present this award to the amazing and versatile Imelda Staunton.”

SDFCS member Greg Muskewitz presented the awards for the group’s choice of Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay to Mike Leigh and Best Supporting Actor to Phil Davis, all for Vera Drake.

Muskewitz stated, “Mr. Leigh's skills as a writer and director are so finely attuned with each of the characters appearing on screen, the ability to not only humanize them and make them into individuals, but to elicit the actors to create such strong identities, are part of the most laudable trademarks of his cinema. Leigh's work is very much a collaboration of ideas, research, improvisation, and a searing, sincere investment in the objective observation of these individuals. The balance between what's on the page, and what each actor brings to the role on their own -- regardless of the size of their part – from Imelda as Vera Drake, Philip Davis as her husband, or Ruth Sheen in just a couple of scenes – the collective process of collaboration all circles back to Mr. Leigh.”

Staunton declared, “I’m so honored and thankful that you recognize the importance of this film.” In accepting her own award, Staunton (well-known in England for her work on stage, film, TV and radio) explained Mike Leigh’s filmmaking process. “There is no script, actors come to the set unaware of what the story is or who the characters are, and the film comes alive in the rehearsal process from Mike Leigh’s head. He completes the screenplay at the end of the process. It’s truly amazing.”

SDFCS Yazmin Ghonaim Wilensky presented the award to Alejandro Amenábar. “It’s a real honor to recognize a truly inspirational and talented director for The Sea Inside (starring Javier Bardem), a powerful narration based on the real life and death of a man tormented by his existence as a quadriplegic,” she said. “Mr. Amenábar remained faithful to his evident interest in exploring alternate realities, while choosing as his subject the fundamental controversies surrounding euthanasia.”

Amenábar responded, “I want to thank the San Diego Film Critics for this award and consideration of The Sea Inside. I’m honored that it has received such international acclaim.”

Each year SDFCS members see nearly 300 or more films from which they narrow down their top picks in 16 categories. The group’s mission, “To provide diverse critical opinion about movies, advance film education and awareness, and recognize excellence in cinema,” is further supported by various educational endeavors throughout the year.

(Photo: Imelda Staunton and Kyle Counts.) 

Read Diana Saenger’s reviews of classic films at http://classicfilm.about.com.