September 16, 2004
FINE LINE FEATURES A HIT ON FESTIVAL CIRCUIT
Vera Drake , The Sea Inside, Maria Full of Grace Win Major Awards at Venice and Deauville
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Los Angeles, (Sept. 15, 2004) – A trio of Fine Line Features films took home major awards at film festivals around the globe this past week as Vera Drake, The Sea Inside and Maria Full of Grace dominated the Venice and Deauville Film Festivals.
At Venice, the Mike Leigh-directed drama Vera Drake was awarded the festival’s top prize as it won the Golden Lion award and the film’s star, Imelda Staunton, was presented with the festival’s Best Actress trophy. Vera Drake, which is scheduled for an Oct. 10 release in New York and an Oct. 22 expansion, will next screen in the upcoming New York Film Festival.
Also at Venice, the Alejandro Amenabar-directed drama The Sea Inside won a pair of honors as it took home the Grand Jury Prize and a Best Actor nod for star Javier Bardem. The Sea Inside is also screening this week at the Toronto Film Festival and is scheduled for a Dec. 17 release.
HBO Films/Fine Line’s Maria Full of Grace, which was released on July 16 and has just crossed the $5 million mark in domestic box office, stole the show at the Deauville Film Festival as it became the first film in the festival’s 30-year history to win the Grand Prize, Critics Awards and Audience Award.
Fine Line Features is a division of New Line Cinema, a Time Warner Company. Formed in 1990, Fine Line aggressively acquires, produces, markets and distributes high-quality movies by emerging and world-class directors. In 2003 Fine Line Features released Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize winner American Splendor, and Gus Van Sant’s Elephant, winner of the Palme d’Or and Best Director prizes at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival. This year Fine Line will release Jonathan Glazer’s Birth, and John Waters’ A Dirty Shame.