SECRETS & LIES

Written and directed by Mike Leigh

Brenda Blethyn
Maurice Jean-Baptiste
Timothy Spall
Claire Rushbrook

Premiere date: September 27, 1996
R for language.

Hortense, a young black optometrist, has just buried her beloved adoptive mother. In her sorrow, she embarks on a search for her birth mother, who turns out to be Cynthia, a white factory worker living a lonely life with her surly daughter Roxanne. No one in the family, except Cynthia's brother Maurice and his wife Monica, knows that the teenage Cynthia gave up a child for adoption without ever seeing the baby. Hortense contacts Cynthia, and after a heart-wrenching reconciliation, they become best friends. Cynthia convinces Hortense to attend a birthday party and meet the family - as a mate from the factory - but during the cake and champagne celebration, the family's secrets and lies emerge in a cathartic, emotional sweep.

Cannes Film Festival
Palme d'Or
Best Actress - Brenda Blethyn
Prize of the Ecumenical Jury
xx
5 Academy Award Nominations
Best Picture
Best Director
Best Actress - Brenda Blethyn
Best Supporting Actress - Marianne Jean-Baptiste
Best Original Screenplay

THE ENGLISH PATIENT

Based on the novel by Michael Ondaatje
Written and directed by Anthony Minghella

Ralph Fiennes
Juliette Binoche
Willem Dafoe
Kristin Scott Thomas

Premiere date: November 6, 1996
R for sexuality, some violence and language.

In a field hospital in Italy during World War II, Hana, a nurse from Canada, is caring for a pilot who was horribly burned in a plane wreck. He has no identification and cannot remember his name, so he's known simply as "the English patient," because of his accent. When the hospital is forced to evacuate, Hana determines en route that the patient shouldn't be moved far due to his fragile condition, so the two are left in a monastery to be picked up later. In time, Hana begins to piece together the patient's story from the shards of his memories; he's actually Count Laszlo Almasy, an explorer working with a group mapping uncharted territory in North Africa. An Englishman soon joins Almasy's team, and travelling with him is his lovely and spirited wife, Katherine. Katherine and Laszlo soon fall in love, which leads Laszlo to betray his friend, his country and all that is dear to him.

National Board of Review
Best Supporting Actress - Juliette Binoche (TIE)
Best Supporting Actress - Kristin Scott Thomas (TIE)

12 Academy Award Nominations, 9 Wins
Best Picture
Best Director
Best Actor - Ralph Fiennes
Best Actress - Kristin Scott Thomas
Best Supporting Actress - Juliette Binoche
Best Adapted Screenplay
Best Film Editing
Best Cinematography
Best Art Direction
Best Costume Design
Best Original Score
Best Sound