The Golden Banana


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2009 - 20th Annual Banane d'or Awards



Picture: The Hurt Locker (Kathryn Bigelow)*
Director: Spike Jonze, Where the Wild Things Are
Actor: Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler
Actress: Brenda Blethyn, London River
Supporting Actor: Koen De Graeve, The Misfortunates
Supporting Actress: Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler
Screenplay: Moon - Duncan Jones & Nathan Parker
(use of) Music: Slumdog Millionaire - A.R. Rahman, Danny Boyle**

* - Bigelow is the first director to win a Golden Banana for both Best Director and Best Picture, having received the Best Director trophy for Strange Days (1996).
** - This is Boyle's second Banana in this category, after his win for Trainspotting (1996).


2008 - 19th Annual Banane d'or Awards



Picture: There Will Be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson)
Director: Joel & Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men*
Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood**
Actress: Barbara Sarafian, Moscow, Belgium
Supporting Actor: Eddie Marsan, Happy-Go-Lucky
Supporting Actress: Ronit Elkabetz, The Band's Visit
Screenplay: In Bruges - Martin McDonagh
(use of) Music: There Will Be Blood - Jonny Greenwood, Paul Thomas Anderson

* - This is the Coen Brothers' second Best Director win, following Barton Fink (1991). The other members of this distinguished club are Darren Aronofsky, Pedro Almodovar, and Ang Lee.
** - Daniel Day-Lewis is the first actor to receive a second Best Actor Banana, having previously won in 1994 for In the Name of the Father.



2007 - 18th Annual Banane d'or Awards



Picture: The Lives of Others (Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck)
Director: David Fincher, Zodiac
Actor: Ulrich Muhe, The Lives of Others
Actress: Anamaria Marinca, 4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days
Supporting Actor: Max von Sydow, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Supporting Actress: Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton
Screenplay: The Lives of Others - Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
(use of) Music: Control - New Order, Ian Neil, Matt Greenhalgh, Anton Corbijn
Best International Short Film: Decroche - Manuel Schapira



2006 - 17th Annual Banane d'or Awards



Picture: Children of Men (Alfonso Cuaron)
Director: Ang Lee, Brokeback Mountain*
Actor: Sacha Baron Cohen, Borat
Actress: Penelope Cruz, Volver
Supporting Actor: Matt Damon, The Departed
Supporting Actress: Abigail Breslin, Little Miss Sunshine
Screenplay: Crazy - François Boulay, Jean-Marc Vallee
(use of) Music: Crazy - David Bowie, Jean-Marc Vallee
Best Belgian Short Film: Tanghi Argentini - Guido Thys

* - Following his win for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), this is Ang Lee's second Best Director Banana, making him the third person to win it twice.



2005 - 16th Annual Banane d'or Awards



Picture: Million Dollar Baby (Clint Eastwood)*
Director: Mike Leigh, Vera Drake
Actor: Paul Giamatti, Sideways
Actress: Julie Delpy, Before Sunset
Supporting Actor: Morgan Freeman, Million Dollar Baby
Supporting Actress: Emily Mortimer, Match Point
Screenplay: Before Sunset - Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke
(use of) Music: Closer - Darian Pollard, Mike Nichols

* - Following his win for Unforgiven (1992), Eastwood is the second person to win the Best Picture Banana twice.



2004 - 15th Annual Banane d'or Awards



Picture: Capturing the Friedmans (Andrew Jarecki)*
Director: Michel Gondry, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Actor: Birol Unel, Head-On
Actress: Sibel Kekilli, Head-On
Supporting Actor: Mark Ruffalo, My Life Without Me
Supporting Actress: Hope Davis, American Splendor
Screenplay: The Fog of War - awarded to Errol Morris
(use of) Music: Shrek 2 - John Powell, Stephen Barton, Harry Gregson-Williams, James McKee Smith, Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury, Conrad Vernon

* - Capturing the Friedmans deeply impressed me at the time with its dissection of a family under pressure. Back then, I didn't have the perspective to fully see how often films filtered allegations of sexual abuse through doubt and ambiguity - something I find problematic now.



2003 - 14th Annual Banane d'or Awards



Picture: City of God (Fernando Meirelles)
Director: Lars von Trier, Dogville
Actor: James Nesbitt, Bloody Sunday
Actress: Renee Zellweger, Chicago
Supporting Actor: Paul Bettany, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Supporting Actress: Nora-Jane Noone, The Magdalene Sisters
Screenplay: City of God - Braulio Mantovani
(use of) Music: Kill Bill, Vol.1 - Lily Chou Chou, The RZA, D.A. Young, Quentin Tarantino*
Special Achievement Award: Peter Jackson, The Lord of the Rings trilogy (The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, The Return of the King)

* - This is Tarantino's third Banana. He previously won Best Film and Best Screenplay for Reservoir Dogs (1993).



2002 - 13th Annual Banane d'or Awards



Picture: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Peter Jackson)
Director: Pedro Almodovar, Talk to Her*
Actor: Tom Wilkinson, In the Bedroom
Actress: Nicole Kidman, The Others
Supporting Actor: Paul Newman, Road to Perdition
Supporting Actress: Maggie Smith, Gosford Park
Screenplay: Atanarjuat, The Fast Runner - Paul Apak Angilirq, Norman Cohn, Zacharias Kunuk, Herve Paniaq, Pauloosie Qulitalik
(use of) Music: Talk to Her - Alberto Iglesias, Pedro Almodovar

* - This is Almodovar's second Best Director Banana, making him the second person to win it twice, after Live Flesh (1998). The victory also brings his total to three Bananas.



2001 - 12th Annual Banane d'or Awards



Picture: Amelie (Jean-Pierre Jeunet)
Director : Darren Aronofsky, Requiem for a Dream*
Actor: Guy Pierce, Memento
Actress: Isabelle Hupert, The Piano Teacher
Supporting Actor: Gael Garcia Bernal, Amores Perros
Supporting Actress: Ellen Burstyn, Requiem for a Dream
Screenplay: No Man's Land - Danis Tanovic
(use of) Music: Requiem for a Dream - Clint Mansell, Darren Aronofsky

* - This is Aronofsky's second Best Director Banana, making him the first to win the award twice, after Pi (1999). The victory also brings his total to three Bananas.



2000 - 11th Annual Banane d'or Awards



Picture: In the Mood for Love (Wong Kar-Wai)
Director: Ang Lee, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Actor: Russell Crowe, The Insider
Actress: Hilary Swank, Boys Don't Cry
Supporting Actor: Willem Dafoe, Shadow of the Vampire
Supporting Actress: Chloe Sevigny, Boys Don't Cry
Screenplay: With a Friend Like Harry - Gilles Marchand, Dominik Moll
(use of) Music: In the Mood for Love - Mike Galasso, Shigeru Umebayashi, Wong Kar-Wai


I have been handing out these awards since I was 14 at the end of 1990.
To be eligible in a certain year, a film must be released in Belgium and I must have seen it.
Screeners are always welcome :o)

(p.s. The winners were my favorites AT THE TIME, my tastes have changed over the years)