06/03/2006

Rachel Weisz, the 34 year-old British actress who gives a short but convincing and radiant performance in Fernando Meirelles’ The Constant Gardener [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], was one of the four triumphant UK winners at the 78th Oscar ceremony last night in Los Angeles, along with the popular animated feature film Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit [+see also:
trailer
film profile], co-directed by Nick Park and Steve Box; UK/South African co-production Tsotsi by Gavin Hood, voted Best Foreign Language Film; and Six Shooter by Irish playwright Martin McDonagh, winner of the Best Live Action Short Film.

Weisz, who previously won a Golden Globe but was denied a BAFTA for her role as a political activist in The Constant Gardener, said that receiving an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress was a “tremendous honour” and she paid tribute to her “luminous” co-star Ralph Fiennes. The thriller, based on a novel by John le Carré, was produced by Focus Features, the UK Film Council (which injected €3m in the film), Potboiler Productions and Scion Films. The film itself has had a luminous career since its launch in Venice last September, with multiple awards at the UK BIFAs and Evening Standard Awards and over €51m grossed worldwide.

Nick Park, the creator of the cracking duo Wallace and his dog Gromit, was a sure winner for the first feature-length adventures of his animated characters, adding a fourth statuette to his Oscar collection. Park, who shouted “Cracking cheese Gromit” with his co-director Steve Box, also paid tribute to voice actors Helena Bonham Carter, and, in particular, Peter Sallis, who has been the voice of Wallace for the last 23 years.

Gavin Hood’s portrayal of ghetto life in Johannesburg and a boy’s journey from crime to redemption in Tsotsi was produced in the UK by Peter Fudakowski. The film has already conquered the hearts of festival programmers and audiences in Edinburgh and Toronto, and will be released in the UK on March 17 by Momentum.