Honoring film and television writers whose work explores the human condition in a nuanced, meaningful way, the Humanitas Prizes were awarded on Friday (9/9) during a ceremony emceed by comedian Larry Wilmore at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Topping the Comedy and Feature Film categories, respectively, were writers Adam McKay for Don’t Look Up and Matt Harris for The Starling. Winning for best family feature film were writers Charise Castro Smith and Jared Bush for Encanto.
On the TV front, the “If A Black Man Cries in the Woods…” episode of black-ish–penned by Robb Chavis–took the comedy series honor while the “Chapter One” episode of Pachinko written by Soo Hugh won for best drama teleplay.
Winning screenwriters took home awards and $10,000 cash prizes across 10 categories. Here’s a category-by-category rundown of the 46th annual Humanitas Prize winners:
46TH ANNUAL HUMANITAS PRIZE WINNERS:
Children’s Teleplay
El Deafo: Written by Cece Bell and Will McRobb
Comedy Feature Film
Don’t Look Up: Written by Adam McKay
Comedy Teleplay
black-ish: “If A Black Man Cries in the Woods…” – Written by Robb Chavis
Documentary
In the Same Breath: Nanfu Wang
Drama Feature Film
The Starling: Written by Matt Harris
Drama Teleplay
Pachinko: “Chapter One” – Written by Soo Hugh
Family Feature Film
Encanto: Written by Charise Castro Smith & Jared Bush
Limited Series, TV Movie, or Special
Women of the Movement: “Mother and Son” – Written by Marissa Jo Cerar
Short Film
Girls Are Strong Here: Written by Scott Burkhardt
Web Series
The Disappointments: Written by Rich Burns
Jennifer Kent On Why Her Feature Directing Debut, “The Babadook,” Continues To Haunt Us
"The Babadook," when it was released 10 years ago, didn't seem to portend a cultural sensation.
It was the first film by a little-known Australian filmmaker, Jennifer Kent. It had that strange name. On opening weekend, it played in two theaters.
But with time, the long shadows of "The Babadook" continued to envelop moviegoers. Its rerelease this weekend in theaters, a decade later, is less of a reminder of a sleeper 2014 indie hit than it is a chance to revisit a horror milestone that continues to cast a dark spell.
Not many small-budget, first-feature films can be fairly said to have shifted cinema but Kent's directorial debut may be one of them. It was at the nexus of that much-debated term "elevated horror." But regardless of that label, it helped kicked off a wave of challenging, filmmaker-driven genre movies like "It Follows," "Get Out" and "Hereditary."
Kent, 55, has watched all of this — and those many "Babadook" memes — unfold over the years with a mix of elation and confusion. Her film was inspired in part by the death of her father, and its horror elements likewise arise out of the suppression of emotions. A single mother (Essie Davis) is struggling with raising her young son (Noah Wiseman) years after the tragic death of her husband. A figure from a pop-up children's book begins to appear. As things grow more intense, his name is drawn out in three chilling syllables — "Bah-Bah-Doooook" — an incantation of unprocessed grief.
Kent recently spoke from her native Australia to reflect on the origins and continuing life of "The Babadook."
Q: Given that you didn't set out to in any way "change" horror, how have you regarded the unique afterlife of "The... Read More