Film

‘CODA,’ ‘Summer of Soul’ Win Top Jury and Audience Awards at Sundance Film Festival

By Alice G. Collins 1 year ago


a person standing in front of a crowd: CODA Summer of Soul

© TheWrap
CODA Summer of Soul

The narrative feature “CODA” and the documentary “Summer of Soul” swept the top categories at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, winning the Grand Jury Prizes and also taking the audience awards in the U.S. dramatic and documentary competitions.

“CODA,” director Sian Heder’s coming-of-age story in which Emilia Jones plays the only hearing member of a deaf family, also won an award for its ensemble, many of them deaf actors who performed in ASL. Its wins come three days after the film set a record for the largest sale in Sundance history, a $25 million deal with Apple.

“Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised),” which like “CODA” screened on the festival’s opening night, is a documentary by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson built around long-unseen concert footage from the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, a six-weekend event that first-time director Questlove uses

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Explosion on Film Set in Santa Clarita Starts Brush Fire, Critically Injures 3

By Alice G. Collins 1 year ago

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An explosion on a film set in Santa Clarita, Calif. sparked a brush fire, leaving three people critically injured, according to the Associated Press.

As reported by the Santa Clarita Valley Signal, the Los Angeles County Fire Department responded to initial reports of an explosion on the 25100 block of Rye Canyon Loop around 4:45 p.m.

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Abraham Bedoyan told the Associated Press that the blast was reported in an industrial neighborhood. L.A. County Fire Department Supervisor Martin Rangel said that ambulances took three patients in critical condition to the hospital.

Rangel also told the Associated Press that the fire spread to a hillside, but the flames were quickly put out by firefighters. The L.A. County Fire Department Air Operations Twitter account posted an update at 5:45 p.m., stating that the brush fire had been put

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Fire in Santa Clarita Not Started By Film Set, Says LA County Fire Department

By Alice G. Collins 1 year ago


a view of a large mountain in the background: Los Angeles downtown skyline after sunrise

Los Angeles downtown skyline after sunrise

Despite early reports that a film production set off an explosion and subsequent brush fire in Santa Clarita on Tuesday, officials say that isn’t the case.

“We’re unsure of how the rumor of it being a movie shoot got out. There’s no evidence leading us in that direction thus far,” says Jonathan Matheny, a Los Angeles County Fire Department public information officer, who said the inciting event occurred at a business within an industrial park.

According to multiple reports, there was a loud explosion at around 4:45 p.m. in the afternoon on the 25100 block of Rye Canyon Road in Valencia, California, an area north of Los Angeles. It sparked a brush fire — quickly dubbed the Rye Fire — that 125 firefighters and two helicopters were ultimately able to hold to one acre. It is no longer an active fire.

An investigation is

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“CODA” big winner at 2021 Sundance Film Festival

By Alice G. Collins 1 year ago

“CODA,” a touching coming-of-age dramedy about a young girl in conflict with her deaf parents and brother as she attempts to pursue singing — a talent they cannot fully appreciate — received top honors at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival.



a man holding a gun: coda-620-50621511826-77be663404-o.jpg

© Seacia Pavao/Courtesy of Sundance Institute
coda-620-50621511826-77be663404-o.jpg

The film received the Grand Jury Prize for U.S. Drama, as well as the Audience Award, a director’s award for Siân Heder and a special jury award for its ensemble cast, which includes Emilia Jones, Marlee Matlin, Troy Kotsur, Daniel Durant, Eugenio Derbez and Ferdia Walsh-Peelo.

“CODA” (an acronym for Child Of Deaf Adults) also set a record last week when worldwide distribution rights were picked up by Apple Studios for $25 million — the highest sum ever for a film premiering at Sundance.

Other award-winners announced Tuesday evening were the “Summer of Soul (…or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised),”

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