The winners of three filmmaking awards were honored at the Taos Talking Picture Festival. “The Doe Boy,” written and directed by Randy Redroad, was given the Perrier “Bubbling Under” Award for a first-time filmmaker. “The Other Days of Ruby Rae,” by Vikki Blanche, won the festival’s George Méliès Award. And the prestigious Taos Land Grant Award, which includes five acres of land on Cerro Montoso, outside of Taos, was given to Lukas Moodysson, the writer/director of “Together.”
The awards ceremony was followed by an appearance by Dame Elizabeth Taylor, in Taos to accept the Festival’s Maverick Award. “It is a thrill to recognize these three exceptional filmmakers,” said Jason Silverman, artistic director of Taos Talking Pictures, the organization that produces the festival. “The range of work that the jurors chose from indicates the richness and diversity of the contemporary cinema. The winners, along with the other films in the festival, offer strong evidence that this is a wonderful time for independent filmmaking.”
Randy Redroad, the writer/director of the feature film The Doe Boy, will accept The Perrier Bubbling Under Award for First-Time Filmmakers at the 2001 Taos Talking Picture Festival. Redroad will be given a crystal Perrier bottle and be a finalist to receive a prize of $50,000, to be given at year’s end. “The Doe Boy is a remarkably intelligent, sophisticated and surprising film,” said Jason Silverman, artistic director of Taos Talking Pictures. “Randy has taken some complex issues of identity, and revealed something new and powerful.”
Perrier, the bestselling sparkling brand in the country, and a member of the largest premium bottled water group, the Perrier Group of America, has taken a stake in independent film with the establishment of the Perrier Bubbling Under Award for First-Time Filmmakers. Perrier is setting up partnerships with five film festivals nationwide to give individual awards to first-time feature directors. At the end of the year, Perrier will empanel a jury to review these five films and select a grand prize winner, who will receive a grant of $50,000 to be applied to their next production.
Redroad is the second Bubbling Under finalist chosen. The first was Rosemary Rodriguez, director of Acts of Worship, winner of the award at the recent Santa Barbara International Film Festival. “Perrier seeks to acknowledge and honor the tremendous effort a director must make to bring their first feature to the screen,” said Elena Paraskeva, Marketing Manager of International Brands at the Perrier Group of America. “We look forward to quenching the thirst for self-expression that compels many to make films, and to recognizing and honoring their independent spirit.”
In addition to the five festivals to be selected for the Bubbling Under Award, Perrier supports a number of others, including the New York/Avignon Film Festival and the Newport Film Festival. For more details, check out the Perrier Web site.
