Exciting news for film fans. Guardian News and Media (GNM) today launches the inaugural Guardian Film Awards, a brand new celebration of contemporary cinema which rethinks the categories from the ground up and puts the movie-goer at the heart of the experience.
In a fresh twist, alongside the traditional big hitter categories like best film and best director, readers can vote for their favourite marketing campaign, film festival and movie scene. And instead of the usual gender divisions of best actor and best actress, in the Guardian Film Awards, both sexes battle it out in the same categories.
Unlike traditional awards like the Oscars or Golden Globes, the Guardian Film Awards give readers the chance to have their say in the matter every step of the way – from shaping the shortlists to having a vote at the final judging stage.
The way it works is simple. Readers vote for their favourites in the main nine categories from the longlists chosen by Guardian film editors and writers. The votes cast will decide the shortlist, which will then be considered by a panel of six expert judges – including Guardian and Observer critics Peter Bradshaw and Xan Brooks, editor-in-chief Alan Rusbridger, film editor Catherine Shoard, award-winning film-maker Adam Curtis, and critic and presenter Claudia Winkleman. The invisible seventh judge at the table will be the reader, whose vote will help shape and guide the panel’s final decision.
The shortlists will be announced on 19 February. The winners will collect their awards at a ceremony on 6 March.
The full category list includes:
Best film (this can be in any genre and includes documentaries and foreign-language films)
Best actor (male or female)
Best supporting actor (male or female)
Best director
Best scene
Best line of dialogue
Best film festival
Best marketing campaign
Biggest game-changer
Best cinema (wholly voted by readers)
So-bad-it’s-good film (wholly voted by readers)
Lifetime achievement (special judges’ award wholly nominated and voted by the panel)
Guardian & Observer film critic and judge Peter Bradshaw said: “The Guardian Film Awards will offer a new slant on the awards season; they will be enjoyable, unpretentious, and user-friendly and let the reader and moviegoer connect more directly with the glittering prizes themselves.”
Judge Claudia Winkleman said: “I’m thrilled to be one of the judges for the Guardian Film Awards. I’m particularly excited as the readers are voting too. Also, I think it’s common knowledge that I’d follow Peter Bradshaw anywhere.”
Readers can vote and participate on the Guardian Film Awards 2014 website: theguardian.com/guardian-film-
Read more on the longlists here.