The headlines may still be going to “The Social Network,” but “The King’s Speech” is on an impressive roll through the fall film festivals. On the heels of being the most talked-about film at the Telluride Film Festival, and then winning the audience award at Toronto, the Tom Hooper drama won the audience award at the Hamptons International Film Festival on Sunday.
It also landed in the top spot on the first post-Toronto “Gurus o’ Gold” chart of Oscar predictions at Movie City News, narrowly edging “The Social Network” as the year’s most likely nominee, in the view of 15 Oscar pundits.
Director Alice Nellis’ “Mamas and Papas” was the Hamptons big winner on the jury side, taking home the jury award for narrative feature and also the prize for screenwriting.
Other winners included Canadian director Xavier Dolan’s “Heartbeats,” and Cam Archer’s “S— Year,” which has drawn wildly mixed reviews at festivals this year.
The Hamptons Film Festival is far smaller fest than Toronto or Telluride, but it attracts an upscale audience that may in some ways overlap with the Academy’s voters. Rarely, though, does the festival winner figure in the Oscar race the way “The King’s Speech” is likely to do; winners the last three years have been “The Young Victoria,” the Scandinavian film “Troubled Water” and “Four Minutes.”
The Hamptons Golden Starfish Award winners:
Audience Award, Narrative:“The King’s Speech”
Audience Award, Documentary:“Love Etc.”
Narrative Jury Winner:“Mamas and Papas”
Zicherman Screenplay Winner:“Mamas and Papas”
Documentary Jury Winner:“Circo”
Conflict and Resolution Jury Winner:“My So-Called Enemy”
Short Film Winner:“Born Sweet”
Investigation Discovery Award for Excellence in Journalism:“The House of Suh”
Wouter Barendrecht Pioneering Vision Award:“S— Year”
Kodak Award for Best Cinematography:“Heartbeats”
Victor Rabinowitz and Joanne Grant Award for Social Justice:“No Tomorrow”
Babelgum Award, Grand Jury Award Winner:“Coalition of the Willing
