Lottery Backed Vera Drake Leads Oscar Hopefuls

Lottery Backed Vera Drake Leads Oscar Hopefuls LOS ANGELES, California, January 25/PRNewswire/ -- Mike Leigh's Vera Drake starring Imelda Staunton and backed by GBP1.3 million of Lottery cash is leading the British nominations at this year's 77th Annual Academy Awards in Los Angeles, it was announced today. British film talent who are up for a possible Oscar(R) on 27 February include: Mike Leigh for Best Direction for Vera Drake Mike Leigh for Writing (Original Screenplay) for Vera Drake Imelda Staunton for Actress in a Leading Role for Vera Drake Kate Winslet for Actress in a Leading Role for Finding Neverland Sophie Okonedo for Actress in a Supporting Role for Hotel Rwanda Clive Owen for Actor in a supporting role for British writer Patrick Marber's Closer The UK Film Council and FilmFour's 'Cinema Extreme' short filmmaking strand has also produced an Oscar(R) nominee with Andrea Arnold's stunning short film Wasp starring Natalie Press (My Summer of Love) and Danny Dyer (The Football Factory). The film was funded with GBP25,000 of Lottery cash from the New Cinema Fund in partnership with FilmFour. John Woodward, Chief Executive of the UK Film Council says, "It's extremely heartening to see yet again that British filmmaking talent is being recognised by the most high profile film awards ceremony in the world. Britain has a hugely talented industry and these nominations show why National Lottery investment in film pays major dividends for our culture and economy." Notes for Editors: UK Film Council Film is a rich and popular part of our culture. It also makes a significant contribution to the UK economy with an estimated annual turnover of GBP5 billion. The industry employs 57,000 people across the UK and in 2003 more than GBP1.17 billion was spent in the UK on film production alone. Cinema is this country's most popular and powerful form of entertainment. In 2003 there were 167 million visits to the cinema in the UK, the second highest for 30 years. British films are watched by millions of people around the world promoting Britain abroad and boosting tourism. As the lead agency for film, the UK Film Council's aims to stimulate a competitive, successful and vibrant UK film industry and culture, both now and for the future. For this reason, we use National Lottery support to develop new filmmakers, fund exciting new British films such as Touching the Void and Vera Drake and give audiences the opportunity to see a wider choice of films such as The Motorcycle Diaries and The House of Flying Daggers. The UK Film Council also helps to promote Britain as a film making location and to raise the profile of British films abroad. Source: UK Film Council For further information contact: Ian Thomson/Caroline Nagle, UK Film Council Press Office, T: +44-(0)20-7861-7861, E: press@ukfilmcouncil.org.uk ------- Profile: International Entertainment