Jamie passion and passionfruit!

Nominees:

Alfonso Cuaron (Children of Men)

Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth)

David Fincher (Zodiac)

Florian Henckel von Donnersmark (The Lives of Others)

Cristian Mungiu (4 months, 3 weeks, 2 days)

Cristi Puiu (The Death of Mr Lazarescu)

Adam Shankman (Hairspray)

Shinobu Yaguchi (Swing Girls)

Special Mention to:

Shinobu Yaguchi (Swing Girls)

A lesson in comedy making by Yaguchi with some hilarious scenes and great pacing as well as more than a few messages for the audience.  An exemple of how to throw everything in the wash and come out with a gem.

Special Mention to:

Cristian Mungiu (4 months, 3 weeks, 2 days)

A dramatic story simply told with no fear of long scenes and lack of action but with a very clear idea of how to create dramatic tension

Winner:

Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth)

For the realisation of a great concept; a mixture of a fairy tale and sadistic Spanish civil war episode which works and is gripping!  Del Toro wins against great competition, all of this year’s finalists have shown considerable merit in their work.