Hotel Rwanda scoops top prize
2005-06-30 14:51
Los Angeles - The screenwriters of Hotel Rwanda won the feature film Humanitas Prize for their fact-based story of a hotel manager's efforts to shelter victims of that country's 1994 genocide.
Writers Keir Pearson and Terry George received $25 000 in recognition of the film's "reminder of the importance and duty of universal concern".
"Everyone knew what was happening at the time, but all the great leaders of the West did nothing," Pearson said. "This film was about an ordinary man, a hotel manager, who did do something and did something great."
Don Cheadle was nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of hotel manager Paul Rusesabagina in the 2004 movie.
Withholding an award
More than $135 000 in prize money was distributed to 10 writers on Wednesday at the Hilton Universal Hotel, for films and TV shows the Humanitas Prize organisation said "entertain, engage and enrich the viewing public".
Writer-actor Ruben Santiago-Hudson won $25 000 for Lackawanna Blues, a music- and dance-filled HBO cable TV movie based on his experiences growing up in a boarding house in the 1950s and '60s. The cast included Jimmy Smits, Mos Def and singer Macy Gray.
For the first time in 31 years, voters chose not to award a prize in the sitcom category, because none of the scripts submitted measured up to standards, Humanitas Prize President Frank Desiderio said.
Desiderio said the decision underscored a feeling in Hollywood that "there's a dearth of good comedies on right now. The golden age of comedy certainly isn't now".
List of winners
Other winners of the screenwriting awards were:
Michael Kang, who received $10 000 for The Motel, about a lonely 13-year-old boy who befriends a resident at his parents' hourly rate motel.
It was cited for its "candid depiction of how easily a parent's words can build or break a child's self-confidence".
John Wells, who received $15 000 for an episode of NBC's The West Wing in which the president calls for peace talks after Americans are killed by Palestinian terrorists.
Kelly Ward and Cliff MacGillivray, who received $25 000 for an episode of the animated PBS childrens series Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks in which Piggley Winks helps a friend grieve over a pet fish's death.
Karen Leigh Hopkins and Alan Marc Levy, who received $25 000 for the ABC Family TV movie Searching for David's Heart, about a teen girl coping with her older brother's death.
Film school graduate Erika Kennair, who received $10 000 for a spec script for a The Bernie Mac Show episode.
The Humanitas Prize, founded in 1974, is given annually to TV shows and films that explore meaningful social issues. Past winners include Matt Damon and Ben Affleck for Good Will Hunting, Tim Robbins for Dead Man Walking, David E Kelly for The Practice and Tony Kushner for Angels in America.
- AP