Abortion Film Sweeps British Film Awards

[Khephra]

LONDON (Reuters) - Mike Leigh's moving portrayal of a back-street abortionist in 1950s London swept the British Independent Film Awards late Tuesday, taking six awards, including Best Film and Best Director.

"Vera Drake" also snared the Best Actress award for Imelda Staunton and Best Actor for Phil Davis.

The film, which deals with a working class abortionist whose views are at odds with the society around her, found similar success at the Venice Film Festival, where it took the Golden Lion for Best Film and Best Actress for Staunton.

The Best Documentary award went to "Touching the Void," a gripping true story about climbers Joe Simpson and Simon Yates who reached the peak of the Siula Grande in Peru, only to face death on the way down.

http://reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=filmNews&storyID=6964551

[ClintonTyree]

1. WalMart won't be selling this anytime soon................

unless they get a tremendous profit margin out of it.

[CBHagman]

2. Good for Mike Leigh and Imelda Staunton.

I don't see everything Mike Leigh directs or Staunton appears in, but I did want to catch this. The cast is excellent.

I hope more people see this movie. The story unfolds in a very simple way, and the perspective is generally nonjudgmental of the characters, with a few notable exceptions. I'd like to screen this in front of a variety of Americans and see how they react.

[tigereye]

3. I think Mike Leigh is great

someone needs to remind us what things used to be like. I like all of his films.