British documentary 'Touching the Void' in the running for an Oscar

Lottery funded film 'Touching the Void' is in the running for Best Documentary at next year’s Oscars.
The film was co-financed by the UK Film Council's New Cinema Fund.
The film has made the shortlist of 12 films in the category of Best Documentary Feature for the 77th Academy Awards, to take place on February 27 2005 in Los Angeles.
Five nominees selected from the list of 12 will be announced on January 25 2005.
The other films on the shortlist are 'Born into Brothels', 'Home of the Brave', 'Howard Zinn: You can’t be Neutral on a Moving Train', 'In the Realms of the Unreal', 'Riding Giants', 'The Ritchie Boys', 'The Story of the Weeping Camel', 'Super Size Me', 'Tell Them Who You Are', 'Tupac: Resurrection' and 'Twist of Faith'.
Directed by Kevin Macdonald, Touching the Void won the BAFTA for Outstanding British Film and the Evening Standard Award for Best Film, earlier this year and took £13.7 million at the worldwide box office.
Based on the international bestseller by renowned climber Joe Simpson, Touching the Void tells the true story of two young and ambitious mountaineers who set off on a perilous journey to scale the west face of Siula Grande, a remote and treacherous 21,000ft peak in the Peruvian Andes.
Paul Trijbits, Head of the UK Film Council’s New Cinema Fund, which backed the film with £392,000 Lottery cash, said: “This is fantastic news and a real honour for Kevin Macdonald and his documentary Touching the Void. This British documentary supported by the UK Film Council and FilmFour is the highest grossing British documentary to date and has captured the world’s attention and imagination.
“It demonstrates the strength and skill of UK filmmakers and the benefits that Lottery support for the film industry can bring. Touching the Void has already taken over £13.7 million at the worldwide box office and has notched up more than 4.4 million cinema visits around the world."
(GB)