Ben Affleck's Argo

Golden Globe Winners

While a lot of what's been talked about today are the most controversial acceptance speeches and best gaffes, there actually were awards handed out at last night's Golden Globes. Among the winners include Tom Hooper's Les Miserables, which took home the Best Film – Comedy or Musical award along with the supporting actress and lead actor prizes for Anne Hathaway and Hugh Jackman, respectively. On the drama side, Ben Affleck's Argo was a bit of surprise, winning three awards over two films that were seen to be the favorites: Steven Spielberg's Lincoln and Kathryn Bigelow's Zero Dark Thirty, both of which took home prizes for their respective leads, Daniel Day-Lewis and Jessica Chastain. See the full list of winners here

DGA Doc Nominees

Some documentarians were recognized today with the Directors Guild of America announcing their choices for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentaries. The five nominated directors are Alison Klayman (Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry, HRW '12), Malik Bendjelloul (Searching for Sugar Man), Lauren Greenfield (The Queen of Versailles), David France (How to Survive a Plague, ND/NF '12), and Kirby Dick (The Invisible War, HRW '12). On a related note, the Film Society is happy to announce the return of three recently Oscar-nominated documentaries—How to Survive a Plague, The Invisible War, and 5 Broken Cameras—which will have an extended run starting this Friday!

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Adam Leon's Gimme the Loot

Filmmaking Grants from Film Independent

Film Independent, the Los Angeles-based non-profit behind the Independent Sprit Awards, recently announced the recipients of its yearly filmmaking grants including the “Someone to Watch Award,” which was presented to Adam Leon for last year's Sundance and ND/NF favorite Gimme the Loot, coming out this spring from IFC Films. Past recipients of the award, which offers a $25,000 unrestricted grant, include Indie Night alum Mark Jackson and critically-acclaimed writer-director Lynn Shelton.

Other grantees include Peter Nicks, who won the Stella Artois Truer Than Fiction Award for The Waiting Room, a moving documentary observing the daily goings-on of a Bay Area hospital. Previous Truer Than Fiction winners include Heather Courtney (Where Soldiers Come From) and Bill and Turner Ross (45365). “We love to highlight talented, hardworking filmmakers whose herculean efforts can be seen in their films,” said Film Independent Co-President Sean McManus. “We commend all the finalists and recipients for keeping the independent spirit alive through their tireless work.”

Oversimplification Coming to Theaters This Spring

After winning the Gotham Award for “Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You” and getting Jay-Z to sign on as an executive producer, Terrence Nance's An Oversimplification of Her Beauty will now actually be in theaters near you. A favorite at last year's New Directors/New Films festival, the film was picked up by Variance Films, the indie distribution house behind films such as Spike Lee's Red Hook Summer. “I know it’s a bit cliché to say 'you’ve never seen anything like this before,' but if you’ve caught the film, I think you’ll agree that you’ve never seen anything like this before,” said Variance Films exec Dylan Marchetti. Variance plans to release the film on April 16.