13th SDFCS Awards
December 15, 2008
Best Film:
Slumdog Millionaire
Best Director:
Danny Boyle
Slumdog Millionaire
The 13th San Diego Film Critics Society Awards were announced on December 15, 2008.
Daniel Francis Boyle is an English director and producer. He is known for his work on films including Shallow Grave (1994), Trainspotting (1996) and its sequel T2 Trainspotting (2017), The Beach (2000), 28 Days Later (2002), Sunshine (2007), Slumdog Millionaire (2008), 127 Hours (2010), Steve Jobs (2015), and Yesterday (2019).
The San Diego Film Critics Society (SDFCS) is an organization of film reviewers from San Diego–based publications that was founded in 1997.
Dev Patel is a British actor and filmmaker. He has received various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award and nominations for an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards. Patel was included in Time's list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2024.
Anthony Dod Mantle, DFF, BSC, ASC is a British cinematographer and still photographer.
Slumdog Millionaire is a 2008 British drama film that is a loose adaptation of the novel Q & A (2005) by Indian author Vikas Swarup. It narrates the story of 18-year-old Jamal Malik from the Juhu slums of Mumbai. Starring Dev Patel in his film debut as Jamal, and filmed in India, it was directed by Danny Boyle, written by Simon Beaufoy, and produced by Christian Colson, with Loveleen Tandan credited as co-director. As a contestant on Kaun Banega Crorepati, a Hindi Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, Jamal surprises everyone by answering every question correctly so far, winning ₹1 crore, and he is one question away from winning the grand prize of ₹2 crore. Accused of cheating, he recounts his life story to the police, illustrating how he was able to answer each question.
The 7th Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards were given on December 8, 2008.
The 34th Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards, given by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA), honored the best in film for 2008. Pixar's animated film WALL-E won the Best Film award and became the first-ever animated film to do so; however, the film lost the Best Animated Film award to Waltz with Bashir.
The 74th New York Film Critics Circle Awards, honoring the best in film for 2008, were announced on 10 December 2008 and presented on 5 January 2009.
The 5th St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Awards were awarded on December 15, 2008.
The 8th New York Film Critics Online Awards, honoring the best in filmmaking in 2008, were given on 15 December 2008.
The 21st Chicago Film Critics Association Awards, given by the CFCA on December 18, 2008, honored the best in film for 2008. Disney/Pixar's WALL-E was the most successful film in the ceremony, winning four awards, including Best Film, out of five nominations. Slumdog Millionaire won three awards, while The Dark Knight and Let the Right One In won two awards each.
The 13th Florida Film Critics Circle Awards were given on December 18, 2008.
The 43rd National Society of Film Critics Awards, given on 3 January 2009, honored the best in film for 2008.
Loveleen Tandan is an Indian film and casting director. She is the co-director (India) of Slumdog Millionaire along with Danny Boyle. She has also been the casting director for several other films, including Monsoon Wedding (2001) and Brick Lane (2007). She has been a casting consultant for The Namesake (2007).
The 12th Online Film Critics Society Awards, honoring the best in film for 2008, were given on 19 January 2009.
Slumdog Millionaire: Music from the Motion Picture is the soundtrack album of the British drama film of the same name, directed by Danny Boyle. The original score and songs were composed by A. R. Rahman, who planned the score in two months and completed it in 20 days, a far shorter time period than usual.
"Jai Ho" is a song composed by A. R. Rahman for the 2008 film Slumdog Millionaire. When Danny Boyle, the director of Slumdog Millionaire, approached Rahman to compose its soundtrack, he included the song. "Jai Ho" accompanies a choreographed dance sequence at the end credits of the film. Indian singer Tanvi Shah wrote and provided vocals for an English section of the song. "Jai Ho" is a phrase which can be roughly translated as "Let [the] victory prevail", "Let there be victory", or "May there always be victory".
The 29th London Film Critics Circle Awards, honouring the best in film for 2008, were announced by the London Film Critics Circle on 4 February 2009.
127 Hours: Music from the Motion Picture is the soundtrack to Danny Boyle's 2010 film of the same name. It was composed by Academy Award Winner A. R. Rahman, Boyle's previous collaborator on Slumdog Millionaire. The score, centred on guitar, was recorded mainly in London and was completed in three weeks. The soundtrack was released digitally on 2 November and physically on 22 November, by Interscope Records and Fox Music. The score is briefly orchestral and the song's main theme, "If I Rise" features Rahman playing the Harpejji.