2012 Richard Harris Award and Variety Award Recipients Announced

Wednesday, November 21, 2012


JUDE LAW AND SIR MICHAEL GAMBON TO BE HONOURED AT THE 15th MOËT BRITISH INDEPENDENT FILM
AWARDS

London, Tuesday 20th November –
Recipients of both The Richard Harris Award and The Variety Award were
announced today by Johanna von Fischer and
Tessa Collinson, joint Directors,
The Moët British Independent Film Awards.

Sir Michael Gambon will receive the Richard Harris
Award and Jude Law The Variety Award at the awards ceremony on Sunday 9th
December at Old Billingsgate.

 

The Richard Harris Award was introduced in 2002 in
honour of Richard Harris and recognises outstanding contribution to British
film by an actor.  Previous winners
have included John Hurt, David Thewlis, Bob Hoskins, Jim Broadbent, Daniel
Day-Lewis, Helena Bonham Carter and most recently Ralph Fiennes in 2011.

 

The honour this year is a poignant
one, given that it was Richard Harris’s role of the beloved Hogwarts
headmaster, ‘Dumbledore’ in Harry Potter
and the Prisoner of Azkaban,
which Sir Michael Gambon bravely stepped into,
following Harris’ passing in 2002.

 

Sir Michael Gambon’s career as an
actor spans six decades, working across theatre, radio, television and cinema.
Gambon’s iconic role in the television serial The Singing Detective won him his first of four Best Actor BAFTA TV
Awards and roles in dramas such as Maigret
made him a household name. The controversial The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover; The Wings of the Dove;
Mary Reilly
; Sleepy Hollow; Gosford Park; Layer Cake; Charlotte Gray and
The King’s Speech are just a few of
the credits that have established Gambon as a leading light of the British film
industry.

 

His work in Hollywood includes
Michael Mann’s The Insider; Wes
Anderson’s The Life Aquatic with Steve
Zissou
and Robert De Niro’s The Good
Shepherd.
Since staring in the Harry Potter franchise, Gambon is known
by audiences of all ages around the globe. Sir Michael Gambon’s most recent
film role was in Dustin Hoffman’s Quartet
which will be released in the UK in January. He is currently on stage
starring in All That Fall at The
Arts Theatre.

Jude Law will pick-up the Variety Award which recognises an
actor, director, writer or producer who has helped to focus the international
spotlight on the UK.  The Variety Award was received last year by Kenneth Branagh and has previously been awarded to Liam Neeson, Sir
Michael Caine, Daniel Craig, Dame Helen Mirren and Richard Curtis to name a
few.

 

Jude Law is a quintessentially British actor who
has become a truly international star. Never afraid to challenge himself, Law
has worked with some of the world’s most respected filmmakers, including Steven
Spielberg (AI: Artificial Intelligence);
Martin Scorsese (Hugo & Aviator);
David Cronenberg (eXistenZ); Sam
Mendes (The Road To Perdition) Steven
Soderbergh (Contagion) and Clint
Eastwood (Midnight in the Garden of Good
and Evil
). Jude Law made a huge international impression with his
performance as Dickie Greenleaf in Anthony Minghella’s The Talented Mr Ripley for which
he was nominated for Academy and Golden Globe Awards and was awarded a BAFTA
for “Best Supporting Actor”. He again received Oscar, Golden Globe and BAFTA
nominations for his role in Minghella’s Cold Mountain.

 

In 2009 he took on Hamlet in the West End
and later on Broadway.  He was nominated for an Olivier and a Tony Award
as Best Actor. He was multi-nominated again for “Anna Christie” at the
Donmar Warehouse in 2011 and will return to the stage in 2013 as Henry V
for director Michael Grandage.  Law
has consistently proved himself to be a versatile actor and has worked with a
host of international filmmakers such as Wong Kar Wai (My Blueberry Nights), Jean-Jacques Annaud (Enemy at The Gates) and Fernando Meirelles (360). Yet Law constantly has a foot firmly planted in the British
film industry with roles in Anna
Karenina
and Minghella’s Breaking
& Entering,
as well as playing the ever popular Dr Watson in Guy
Ritchie’s hugely successful Sherlock
Holmes
and Sherlock Holmes: A Game
of Shadows,
which has reinforced
his status as one of the most bankable British actors working in cinema today. Jude
is currently shooting the very British dark comedy Dom Hemingway in which he plays the title role. His other
forthcoming projects include Side
Effects
– his second collaboration with Steven Soderbergh; Werner Herzog’s Queen of the Desert and Wes Anderson’s The
Grand Budapest Hotel.

 

Both Michael Gambon and Jude Law will be present at
Old Billingsgate on the 9th December to receive their awards.

 

Previous winners of the prestigious Best British
Independent Film award include Tyrannosaur,
The King’s Speech, Moon, Control,
Slumdog Millionaire, The Constant Gardener
and This Is England. 

 

Recognised for its
quality and prestige, Moët & Chandon is the champagne of choice for
celebration at international film festivals. The venerable house has captured the attention of Hollywood’s brightest stars since
the birth of the film industry. Generations of legendary actors, actresses,
producers and directors have celebrated their achievements with Moët &
Chandon at the most significant and exclusive cinema events, including the
Oscars & Golden Globes celebrations.

 

Proud supporters and patrons of The Moët British
Independent Film Awards include Mike Figgis,
Tom Hollander, Adrian Lester, Ken Loach, Ewan McGregor, Helen Mirren, Samantha
Morton, James Nesbitt, Michael Sheen, Trudie Styler, Tilda Swinton, Meera Syal,
David Thewlis, Ray Winstone
and Michael
Winterbottom
.

 

The Moët British Independent Film Awards would like
to thank all its supporters, especially: Moët
& Chandon, BFI, 3 Mills Studios, BBC Films, Company3, M.A.C, Raindance,
Sanderson & St Martins Lane – Morgans Hotel Group, Soho House, Studiocanal,
Swarovski, Variety, AD Creative, AllCity, Intermission and LightBrigade Media.


Created by
Raindance



Notes to the editor: 


About The MOËT British Independent Film Awards.

Created in 1998, The British Independent Film
Awards set out to celebrate merit and achievement in independently funded
British filmmaking, to honour new talent, and to promote British filmmaking and
British talent to a wider public.

 

In recognition of Moët & Chandon’s
generous contribution as headline sponsor, the 2012 event is referred to as The MOËT
British Independent Film Awards.

 

For further
information on MBIFA, visit
www.bifa.org.uk

 

For press information regarding The Moët
British Independent Film Awards contact Emma McCorkell or Caragh Cook at
Organic:

emma.mccorkell@organic-marketing.co.uk  caragh.cook@organic-marketing.co.uk

+44 (0)
203 372 0976

Images from the
event can be downloaded from

www.organic-marketing.co.uk/press.php

 

For press
information regarding Moët & Chandon contact:

Alexandra King.  Alexandra.king@mhuk.co.uk 020 7808 4458

 

For further
information on Moët & Chandon, visit
http://moet.com

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