Director: Ryan Coogler
Year: 2013
Running Time: 84 minutes
Synopsis
Winner of both the Grand Jury Prize for dramatic feature and the Audience Award for U.S. dramatic film at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, director Ryan Coogler’s Fruitvale Station follows the true story of Oscar Grant (Michael B. Jordan), a 22- year-old Bay Area resident who wakes up on the morning of December 31, 2008 and feels something in the air. Not sure what it is, he takes it as a sign to get a head start on his resolutions: being a better son to his mother (Octavia Spencer), whose birthday falls on New Year’s Eve, being a better partner to his girlfriend Sophina (Melonie Diaz), who he hasn’t been completely honest with as of late, and being a better father to Tatiana (Ariana Neal), their beautiful four year-old daughter. Crossing paths with friends, family, and strangers, Oscar starts out well, but as the day goes on, he realizes that change is not going to come easily. His resolve takes a tragic turn, however, when BART officers shoot him in cold blood at the Fruitvale subway stop on New Year’s Day. Oscar’s life and tragic death would shake the Bay Area – and the entire nation – to its very core.
Awards
2014 AFI Awards – Movie of the Year
2013 Austin Film Critics Association – Best First Film
2013 Boston Society of Film Critics Awards – Best New Filmmaker
2013 Cannes Film Festival – Un Certain Regard – Avenir Prize
2013 Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards – Russell Smith Award
2013 Deauville Film Festival – Audience Award
2013 Gotham Awards – Breakthrough Award (Michael B. Jordan) and Breakthrough Director Award (Ryan Coogler)
2013 Hamptons International Film Festival – Breakthrough Performer (Michael B. Jordan)
2013 Hollywood Film Festival – Spotlight Award (Michael B. Jordan)
2013 Humanitas Prize – Sundance Film Category
2014 Image Awards – Outstanding Independent Motion Picture
2014 Independent Spirit Awards – Best First Feature
2013 Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards – Breakout Filmmaker of the Year
2013 Nantucket Film Festival – Vimeo Award
2013 National Board of Review NBR Award – Best Supporting Actress, Breakthrough Performance, Best Directorial Debut, Top Ten Films
2013 New York Film Critics Circle Awards – Best First Film
2014 Producer’s Guild Awards – Stanley Kramer Awards
2014 Santa Barbara International Film Festival – Virtuoso Award
2013 Satellite Awards – Breakthrough Performance Award (Michael B. Jordan)
2013 Stockholm Film Festival – Best First Film
2013 Sundance Audience Award & Grand Jury Prize
2013 Zurich Film Festival International Feature Film – Special Mention