MELBOURNE, Saturday, 24 January 2009 – Madman titles MAN ON WIRE, WALTZ WITH BASHIR and DEPARTURES have each received prestigious nominations at the 81st Academy Awards® Nominees announcement ceremony- held on Thursday, 22nd January (Pacific Standard Time), at a conference attended by over 400 international media and broadcast live via the internet.
MAN ON WIRE – the thrilling tale of tightrope artist Philippe Petit’s daring, but illegal, high-wire routine performed between the twin towers of the World Trade Center in 1974 – has been nominated in the Best Documentary Feature category. Petit toured Australia in October 2008 for MAN ON WIRE’s theatrical season, including an appearance on Andrew Denton’s ENOUGH ROPE.
MAN ON WIRE will be available on DVD, February 4th, 2009 – $29.95 SRP.
The highly-anticipated, upcoming Madman DVD release, WALTZ WITH BASHIR has been nominated in the Best Foreign Language Film category. The buzz title at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival and winner of the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film, WALTZ WITH BASHIR is the story of Ari, an Israeli soldier, coming to terms with the suppressed memories of his service during the first Lebanon war. Told using stunning animation, WALTZ WITH BASHIR is enchanting, gripping, horrific, innovative and unlike anything you’ve ever seen before.
WALTZ WITH BASHIR will be available on DVD, April 1st, 2009 – $29.95 SRP.
Also nominated in the Best Foreign Language Film category is Japanese film DEPARTURES, the story of Daigo Kobayashi, a professional cellist who faces unemployment when his orchestra is dissolved. Upon answering an advertisement entitled “Departures”, thinking it is for a travel agency, Daigo finds himself in the role of “Nokanshi” or “encoffineer”, a funerary celebrant who prepares bodies for entry into the next life. DEPARTURES has won many awards in its native Japan, as well as winning Best Film at the 2008 Montreal Film Festival and was the Official Closing Night Film at the 2008 Japanese Film Festival in Sydney and Melbourne.
DEPARTURES is coming soon from Madman.
The 81st Annual Academy Awards ceremony will be held on Sunday, February 22, 2009, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, Los Angeles, California. The Oscar® presentation ceremony will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.