And the award for best nudity goes to...
Story by Jack Foley
THE Alliance of Women Journalists has announced the winners of its 2006 EDA Awards, including the category for Best Depiction of Nudity or Sexuality.
Kate Winslet’s drama Little Children took the prize, beating the likes of Babel, Borat, The Notorious Bettie Page and Sherrybaby. The film is directed by Todd Field and includes several scenes of sexual intercourse between the British actress and her co-star Patrick Wilson.
But the footage is tastefully filmed and is in service of the story, rather than feeling tacky, sensational or exploitative.
The Alliance of Women Film Journalists was founded in 2006 by Jennifer Merin, Maitland McDonagh, Joanna Langfield and Jenny Halper.
Members include highly qualified professional female movie critics, reporters and feature writers working in print, broadcast and online media.
Their purpose is to support work by and about women – both in front of and behind the camera – through intra-group promotional activities.
Several of their awards categories raised eyebrows when they were announced last week, including Actress Most In Need Of A New Agent.
That ‘honour’ went to Uma Thurman, from a nominee list that included Bryce Dallas Howard, Nicole Kidman, Sarah Jessica Parker and Meg Ryan.
Of the Movies You Wanted To Love But Just Couldn’t, Marie Antoinette ‘triumphed’ over All The King’s Men, The Lake House, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest and The Holiday.
Of the other categories worth noting (and there are several), here’s the pick of the rest…
BEST FILM: Pan’s Labyrinth (Guillermo del Toro)
BEST DRAMA BY OR ABOUT WOMEN: Little Children (Todd Field)
BEST COMEDY BY OR ABOUT WOMEN: Little Miss Sunshine (Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris)
BEST SCREENPLAY WRITTEN BY A WOMAN: Half Nelson (Anna Boden)
BEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMATIC PERFORMANCE: Dame Helen Mirren (The Queen)
BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDIC PERFORMANCE: Meryl Streep (The Devil Wears Prada)
BEST BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE FOR A YOUNG ACTRESS: Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine)
2006’s OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT BY A WOMAN IN THE FILM INDUSTRY: Cate Blanchett for her amazing 2006 trifecta as Susan in Babel, Lena Brandt in The Good German and Sheba Hart in Notes On A Scandal.
THE LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: Dame Judi Dench, for a treasury of extraordinary performances far too numerous to name here, and for her great integrity in choosing and making the very most out of roles big and small.
AWFJ AWARD FOR HUMANITARIAN ACTIVISM: Angelina Jolie, for redirecting the spotlight that shines on her so that it illuminates critical problems of child welfare, poverty, pandemic and prevasive violence throughout the world, and for commiting her spirit, time and material resources to their resolution.