Second Annual Ash Awards

Best Foreign Film

Tomboy (Dir. Céline Sciamma)


This coming-age-film about a young girl who moves to a new town where she takes on a new identity, calling herself Michael, is sometimes difficult to watch.
As a viewer I felt bad for both her, and a girl she befriends, who has a crush on ‘Michael.’
The reaction of her mother was both eye-opening and disturbing.

Tomboy is an important film, not only because it encourages people to be open-minded about something that must be terribly difficult for adults and children to face, but because it solidifies Céline Sciamma’s position as one of the brightest up-and-coming filmmakers of the day.
Like her first film, Waterlilies, Tomboy bravely tackles the pain and confusion of adolescence and leaves the viewer with a rare, legitimate sense of hope.


Honorable mention

Circumstance (Dir. Maryam Keshavarz)


Best Supporting Actor


Christopher Plummer, Beginners (Dir. Mike Mills)


This film was an interesting juxtaposition of a man at the end of his life who knows how to live and love, and a younger man (his son) who does not.
Plummer’s character believes himself to be invincible until the truth is unavoidable.
His “Live life to the fullest” attitude was not easily acquired and it seemed to come to him far too late, but the way he approaches everything in the end made him seem so deserving of life that the thought of his character dying was hard to process.
I shed some tears watching this one.


Best Supporting Actress


Jessica Chastain, The Help (Dir. Tate Taylor)

Don’t get me wrong, Octavia Spencer gave a great performance in this film, but something about the wacky positivity of this character against the scenes dealing with her miscarriages broke my heart and made Chastain stand out to me.

Honorable Mention
Carey Mulligan, Drive (Dir. Nicolas Winding Refn)
Carey Mulligan, Shame (Dir. Steve McQueen…should totally change his name)

Best Actor

Michael Fassbender, Shame (Dir. Steve McQueen)

Fassbender’s role of Brandon is one I don’t think many people would want to play because at first, his character is not at all likeable.
He’s a porn addict, a sex addict, and he doesn’t seem to care about his friends or his sister.
But in just three scenes (with the help of some horribly sad voice over by Mulligan in one of them), he was able to transform Brandon from someone you don’t understand into someone you pity.
By the end of the film, you look at him and Mulligan and think, “These people could use a hug.”
It makes you wonder, “What happens to people who are never loved?”

Honorable Mention

Ryan Gosling, Drive (Dir. Nicolas Winding Refn)

Best Actress

Viola Davis, The Help (Dir. Tate Taylor)

To me, Viola Davis has been overlooked for years.
I’ve always been amazed by her.
She’s versatile and just brilliant, and I’m glad to see she’s finally getting some acknowledgement.

She made me cry numerous times in The Help, but that goodbye scene between her and the child she was caring for basically destroyed me.

Honorable Mention

Rooney Mara, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Dir. David Fincher)

Best Original Score

Harry Escott - Shame (Dir. Steve McQueen)

Best Original Soundtrack

Marius De Vries, Sucker Punch  (Dir. Zack Snyder)

Honorable Mention

Eric Craig, Drive (Dir. Nicolas Winding Refn)

Best Original Screenplay
Martha Marcy May Marlene (Written and Directed by Sean Durkin)

Best Director
Nicolas Winding Refn - Drive

Best Picture

The Help (Dir. Tate Taylor)


Honorable mention

Martha Marcy May Marlene (Dir. Sean Durkin)
Drive (Dir. Nicolas Winding Refn)
Shame (Dir. Steve McQueen)