- American Cousins
"American Cousins" is a
romantic comedy about aScots-Italian fish and chip shop owner who gives refuge to hisMafia relatives when they go on the run. It was voted one of the top three Scottish films of all time by readers of The List magazine [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/3518815.stm BBC NEWS | Scotland | Trainspotting wins best film poll ] ] .Plot
Two
New Jersey mobsters are almost killed when a deal in Eastern Europe goes wrong. They take refuge with their law-abiding cousin Bobby, who runs a fish and chip shop inGlasgow ,Scotland . But when one of the Americans takes a shine to Bobby’s girl and the other clashes with local hoodlums, Bobby realises he has to stand up for himself or risk losing everything he loves.Production
American Cousins was the debut feature for director Don Coutts, screenwriter Sergio Casci, Director of Photography Jerry Kelly and Editor Lindy Cameron [ [http://www.american-cousins.com/ www.american-cousins.com ] ] . The team had previously made three shorts: St. Antony’s Day Off (1995), Rose (1998) and Dead Sea Reels (1996) which won the
Vendome Film Festival award for Best European Short Film [ [http://www.woodstockfilmfestival.com/archives/2003schedule/features_2003.htm Woodstock Film Schedule 2002 - 845 679-4265 ] ] .The film was produced by Margaret Matheson, whose credits include
Antonia (1995), winner of the 1996Academy Award forBest Foreign Language Film [ [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112379/ Antonia (1995) ] ] .Cast
Despite a relatively modest budget, American Cousins attracted a substantial US cast including
Dan Hedaya (Blood Simple ),Danny Nucci (Titanic ) andVincent Pastore (The Sopranos ). The UK cast was headed byShirley Henderson , Gerald Lepkowski and veteran Scottish actorRussell Hunter , in one of his last roles [ [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0324992/ American Cousins (2003) ] ] .Awards
The film’s awards include [ [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0324992/ American Cousins (2003) ] ] :
*Audience Award
BAFTA Scotland
*Best Screenplay BAFTA Scotland (Sergio Casci)
*Best ActressCherbourg-Octeville Festival (Shirley Henderson)
*Jury AwardNewport Beach Film Festival
*Best FilmMilan International Film Festival [ [http://www.miff.it/01festival_storia_edizione4_vincitori.php?lang=2&edition=4 MIFF | 8° Film Festival Internazionale di Milano - Bando di Concorso, Programma 2007 ] ]
*Best Director Milan International Film Festival (Don Coutts)
*Audience Award Milan International Film FestivalScreenwriter Sergio Casci was also nominated for
BAFTA UK’sCarl Foreman Award [ [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0324992/ American Cousins (2003) ] ] .References
1 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/3518815.stm2 http://www.american-cousins.com3 http://www.woodstockfilmfestival.com/archives/2003schedule/features_2003.htm4 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt01123795 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt03249926 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt03249927 http://www.miff.it/01festival_storia_edizione4_vincitori.php?lang=2&edition=48 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0324992 External links
* [http://www.american-cousins.com Official website]
*imdb title|0324992
* [http://arts.guardian.co.uk/fridayreview/story/0,12102,1089282,00.html Review in "The Guardian"]
* [http://www.hi-arts.co.uk/jun03_interview3c.htm Interview]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.