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As part of the online event, ten acting talents were selected by an international jury, that included US casting director and ICDN member Cassandra Han, Kosovan director Antoneta Kastrati and Danish producer René Ezra.

The programme also included three panels specifically on casting:

• EQUITY IN CASTING, moderated by Imran Khan, Head of Development, Big Window Production, included New York Casting Director Aleta Chappelle, European-based American casting director and ICDN member Cassandra Han and London, Berlin and Istanbul based talent agent and actor Olgu Caglar.
• THE ART OF CASTING, moderated by actress and talent agent Caprice Crawford, focused on two recent award-nominated productions: Bridgerton and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. Both productions were cast by ICDN members – Kelly Valentine Hendry (Bridgerton) and Avy Kaufman (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom) – who discussed the particular casting processes for these projects.
• CASTING FOR PRODUCERS, a question and answer session for producers and directors with ICDN members Timka Grin and Luci Lenox, as well as casting director Nicci Topping and Gary Broughton from Spotlight.

All three panel sessions are available to watch back online:

EUROPEAN SHOOTING STARS is an important event for enabling international careers for acting talent. Shooting Stars of recent years include Carey Mulligan (Promising Young Woman, The Great Gatsby), Oscar-winner Alicia Vikander (Tomb Raider), Maisie Williams (Game of Thrones), Riz Ahmed (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Mogul Mowgli- Berlinale2020) and George MacKay(1917).

EFP online.

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First in our series of interviews is with UK casting legend Debbie McWilliams, Honorary Member and one of the founders of the International Casting Directors Network.

Lots of directors tend to rely on people they already know, and it’s our job to introduce people whom they won’t know and give a chance to, because otherwise you would see the same old people over and over again.

Debbie McWilliams, ICDN, CDG, AMPAS

Stay tuned for more interviews with our esteemed members!

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First in the series of interviews is with Debbie McWilliams, Honorary member and one of the founders of the International Casting Directors Network.

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As we are approaching the end of 2020–a year of so many challenges–we are thinking of our members and friends who lost loved ones, and saluting those who fought personally with Covid-19, wildfires, earthquakes, economic hardship and social injustices.

We are happy for all the successes of our dear colleagues and friends, and thankful for the hard work and support our members provided for the ICDN throughout this year.

We have learned a lot, and this extraordinary time made us change gears, work harder, and grow, far outside our comfort zones. It was intense, somewhat exhausting, but we surely have emerged stronger. May we all continue, together, in good health and hopefully meet in person soon. Cheers!

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(Barcelona) French casting director Élodie Demey, along with co-casting directors Marie-France Michel and Justine Léocadie, will be the first to take home a newly-minted figurine in honor of their work on the 2019 feature Hors Normes (The Specials), directed by Olivier Nakache and Éric Toledano.

The International Casting Directors Network (ICDN) established the first-ever international prize for best casting of a feature film in 2016, in order to spotlight the essential role and extraordinary achievements of casting directors in the filmmaking process. Since then, the award has been presented at Locarno Film Festival, Sarajevo Film Festival, and this year in Barcelona, at the Sitges Fantastic Film Festival of Catalunya.

This year, the award also received a new polish, in the form of an official statuette and new award name: the Semiramis Award for Best Casting.

Semiramis was a legendary Assyrian queen who ruled with wisdom, strength and steadiness. The statuette is an original work by Swiss sculptor Peter Hartmann, whose bronzes are exhibited throughout Geneva in parks and public places.

Due to COVID-19, the 2020 Semiramis Award programme was conducted virtually through the Sitges Industry Hub Online on Friday, October 16th. Spanish actress Melina Matthews presented the honors at a ceremony hosted by Barcelona-based ICDN member Luci Lenox.

“The casting of Hors Normes is truly an example of what we fellow casting directors recognise as a brilliant job: the combination of major stars at the top of their game, combined with new talent and real authenticity,” said Lenox.

“It is a great honour for me to receive this award for which I thank the ICDN and the jury,” said Demey. “Casting this important and brilliantly directed film has been a truly enriching and interesting experience for me. I would like to share this award with both of my co-casting directors, Justine Léocadie and Marie-France Michel. Together, we have worked to form a strong group made of famous actors, newcomers, and non-actors, all of which give life to this poignant and moving film with great talent.”

Casting directors are still the sole department heads credited in the main titles of a film who receive no acknowledgment at most of the world’s top award shows (such as the Oscars or David di Donatello Awards), which is what originally prompted ICDN to establish its own casting award.

Since then, however, casting directors saw one of their own elected to the head of the Academy of Motion Pictures–sparking hope for a future Oscar–followed by the creation of a prestigious new Best Casting Award at the BAFTAs. With the renowned and steadfast Semiramis now at the helm, a sea change in their campaign for recognition appears to be finally underway.

NOMINEES FOR ICDN’S 2020 SEMIRAMIS AWARD FOR BEST CASTING

SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL

Timka Grin | Antoinette Boulat | Sebastián Moradiellos

(Bosnia & Herzegovina, 2019)

A PERFECTLY NORMAL FAMILY

Anja Philip

(Denmark, 2020)

HORS NORMES (WINNER)

Élodie Demey | Co-casting: Justine Léocadie, Marie-France Michel

(France, 2019)

HOPE

Celine Engebrigtsen

(Norway, 2019)

PLATZSPITZBABY

Corinna Glaus | Co-casting: Nora Leibundgut

(Switzerland, 2019)

The Award Ceremony can be viewed here:

ICDN is a professional association bringing together casting directors from over 25 different countries to network, connect, share information, and help raise the profile of the casting profession.

Established in 1968, Sitges, the International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia, is the number one fantasy film festival in the world. For more information, please visit sitgesfilmfestival.com.

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(Barcelona) For the past few years, sunny Sarajevo has played host to the International Casting Directors Network‘s Best Casting Award ceremony each August.

This year, due to travel restrictions and safety measures under COVID-19, accolades will be handed out instead in collaboration with Sitges Film Festival in Barcelona, in an online ceremony featuring special guests and other surprises.

Sitges, the International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia, is the number one fantasy film festival in the world. This year’s festival will present a combination of live and online events. ICDN’s award ceremony is slated for a virtual red carpet at 19:00 CEST (Central European Summer Time) on Friday, October 16, 2020.

The Award for Best Casting was established in 2016 as the first-ever international prize for best casting of a feature film, spotlighting the essential role and extraordinary achievements of casting directors around the world in the filmmaking process.

While some progress has been made in recent years, such as the prestigious Best Casting BAFTA, casting directors are the sole department heads whose names appear in the main titles of a film without any recognition at most of the top award ceremonies (such as the Oscars or David di Donatello Awards). Yet, without them, many films would never get made – much less possess the chemistry and brilliance of an artfully assembled cast.

As ICDN Executive Board Member Lana Veenker noted, “Good casting requires exquisite taste and judgment, intuition, inspiration, curiosity, an encyclopedic knowledge of actors, and an ability to think outside the box. It commands powerful directing skills to draw out nuanced performances, and the diplomacy and tact to play intermediary between creative and financial interests. Casting directors are advocates for actors they believe in, and for artistic choices that bring the whole ensemble together. We are thrilled to recognize these extraordinary artists, representing the best of our profession, and to celebrate their achievements”

NOMINEES FOR ICDN’S 2020 BEST CASTING AWARD

SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL

Timka Grin | Antoinette Boulat | Sebastián Moradiellos

(Bosnia & Herzegovina, 2019)

A PERFECTLY NORMAL FAMILY

Anja Philip

(Denmark, 2020)

HORS NORMES

Élodie Demey | Co-casting: Justine Léocadie, Marie-France Michel

(France, 2019)

HOPE

Celine Engebrigtsen

(Norway, 2019)

PLATZSPITZBABY

Corinna Glaus | Co-casting: Nora Leibundgut

(Switzerland, 2019)

Laurels will be presented virtually this year via Sitges Industry Hub Online on Friday, October 16th at 19h (CEST).

RSVPs are required to access the Industry Hub. Deadline to register is Tuesday, October 13th, 2020.

To confirm attendance, please register at the link below by October 13th, and an invitation will be sent to you:

RSVP

ICDN is a professional association bringing together casting directors from over 25 different countries to network, connect, share information, and help raise the profile of the casting profession. For more information, please visit theICDN.com.

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(Sarajevo) For the past few years, Sarajevo Film Festival, one of Europe’s most prestigious yearly film events, has played host to the International Casting Directors Network’s annual award ceremony. This year, due to travel restrictions and safety measures under COVID-19, accolades will be handed out in a special online ceremony, featuring special guests and other surprises, on Thursday, August 20^th, 2020.

ICDN’s Award for Best Casting was established in 2016 as the first-ever international prize for best casting of a feature film, spotlighting the essential role and extraordinary achievements of casting directors in the filmmaking process.

While some progress has been made in recent years, such as the prestigious Best Casting BAFTA, casting directors are the sole department heads whose names appear in the main titles of a film without any recognition at most of the top award ceremonies (such as the Oscars or David di Donatello Awards). Yet, without them, many films would never get made – much less possess the chemistry and brilliance of an artfully assembled cast. 

As ICDN Executive Board Member Lana Veenker noted, “Good casting requires exquisite taste and judgment, intuition, inspiration, curiosity, an encyclopedic knowledge of actors, and an ability to think outside the box. It commands powerful directing skills to draw out nuanced performances, and the diplomacy and tact to play intermediary between creative and financial interests. Casting directors are advocates for actors they believe in, and for artistic choices that bring the whole ensemble together. We are thrilled to announce these nominees, representing the best of our profession, and to celebrate their achievements.”

Nominees for ICDN’S 2020 Best Casting Award

SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL (Bosnia & Herzegovina, 2019)
Timka Grin | Antoinette Boulat | Sebastian Moradiellos 

A PERFECTLY NORMAL FAMILY (Denmark, 2020)
Anja Philip

HORS NORMES (France, 2019)
Élodie Demey | Co-casting: Justine Leocadie, Marie-France Michel

HOPE (Norway, 2019)
Celine Engebrigtsen 

PLATZSPITZBABY (Switzerland, 2019)
Corinna Glaus | Co-casting: Nora Leibundgut

Laurels will be presented virtually this year via Zoom on Thursday, August 20th at 19h (CET). Interested parties may receive a link to join the ceremony and press conference by registering at the link below:

RSVP

ICDN is a professional association bringing together casting directors from over 25 different countries to network, connect, share information, and help raise the profile of the profession. For more information, please visit theICDN.com.

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The ceremony for the Italian Film Academy’s David di Donatello Awards took place on May 8, 2020. Italian casting directors have been fighting to be included in the award categories for years, sadly to no avail – even though extremely prestigious awards such as the BAFTAs now have a Best Casting category. Five films and ten directors were nominated for a David. But throughout all the interviews that took place during the ceremony, broadcast online, not one of them had single word of thanks to the casting directors who had contributed to the success of the winning films.

Casting is an integral part of the creative filmmaking process. Martin Scorsese even advises young directors that “casting is 85% to 90% of the picture.” We casting directors attach name actors during development, a process which often decides whether or not a given project is even made. Sometimes we engage in long and arduous talent searches, auditioning thousands of young hopefuls in search of new actors who can (and do) become the stars of tomorrow: a recent Italian example is HBO’s My Brilliant Friend, the success of which depending heavily on finding the two young girls from Naples around whom the story revolved. In fact, ICDN member Laura Muccino and Sara Casani auditioned nearly 10,000 girls to find their two female leads at two different ages – leading ladies who would go on to define the aesthetic of that series so deeply.

Casting can even change the shape of cinematic history: it was legendary casting director Marion Dougherty who pushed to cast Danny Glover across from Mel Gibson in Lethal Weapon, even though the part was written for a white male. She also put Robin Williams into his first dramatic role in Garp, seeing something in him that went deeper than his comedy. Knowing the film industry’s penchant for playing it safe, we imagine that Marion had to go up against powerful forces in order to achieve casting like that in her day.

Even on a project without big stars or a mass audition process, we search tirelessly to find those actors who can best fulfill the storytelling, reflect the aesthetics of the director and help the producer to ensure that the project is commercially viable.

But why are the awards entities so reluctant to include Best Casting, when everyone from sound editors to hair-and-makeup artists get Oscars?

Honestly, it puzzles even us. We do complete our work before a film starts production – so sometimes it seems that everyone simply forgets about us by the time it’s all over. Many believe that it’s because the profession has always been associated with women, and therefore systematically undervalued. Perhaps it’s due to the secretive nature of the casting process itself. We surely don’t reveal to actors: Do you have any idea how hard I had to fight to get you into that role?

Whatever the reason, what shocked us so much about the Italian Academy Awards ceremony was that there was not even one single “thank you” for us. Not from the producers, whose film’s very existence may have had something to do with us. Not from the directors, for whom we work so hard to secure the cast they need – and want. And not from the actors, who you would think might be the most aware of how exactly they got onto that stage.

In the continued absence of recognition from the Italian film industry, the International Casting Directors Network would like to give resounding (if virtual) applause to the casting directors of the films that were nominated for David awards in the categories of Best Film, Best Director and Best First-Time Director:

Francesca Borromeo: Il Traditore, Il primo Re, Ricordi, Il campione

Maurilio Mangano: Il Traditore

Francesco Vedovati: Pinocchio

Stefania De Santis: Martin Eden

Marco Matteo Donat-Cattin: Bangla

Chiara Polizzi: La paranza dei bambini

Costanza Boccardi: 5 è il numero perfetto

Chiara Natalucci: Il campione

Davide Zurolo: L’immortale

Thank you for your hard work and substantial contribution to the winning films. We strongly urge the Italian Film Academy to join the British Academy of Film and Television Arts in including a casting category for its most prestigious award, the BAFTA.

Lilia Hartmann-Trapani
June 2020

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During the 70th Berlin International Film Festival, the ICDN welcomed seven new members from around the globe at its annual General Assembly:

• Florentina Bratfanof (Romania)
• Celine Engebrigtsen (Norway)
• Clemens Erbach (Germany)
• Cassandra Han (Italy)
• Kei Kawamura (Japan)
• Sara Törnkvist (Sweden, winner of the 2019 ICDN Casting Director Award), and
• Saida van der Reijd (Netherlands).

The International Casting Directors Network is a steadily growing network of casting directors from all over the world committed to furthering awareness about the importance of casting in the filmmaking process. The ICDN is currently accepting new member applications and invites interested casting directors to join our ranks by clicking here.

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