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Laurels for Pulling No Punches
Here's a roundup of prizes and film festival selections for the
documentary, "Rod Taylor: Pulling No
Punches."
Beverly Hills Film Festival
Pulling No Punches premiered in the U.S. at the Beverly Hills Film
Festival and promptly won the Audience Award for Best Documentary. The movie screened on Thursday evening, April 27,
2017, at the TCL
Chinese Theaters on Hollywood Boulevard.
Robert de Young, Stephan Wellink, Nick Eddy and Diane Tomasik at the
Red Carpet event before the screening.
Among the luminaries in attendance for the screening were:
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Stephan Wellink, producer, whose steadfast
appreciation for Rod Taylor had its roots in childhood and
culminated in this splendid film.
Robert de Young, producer/director. Robert had
previously done films on Australian actors Errol Flynn and Peter
Finch, making his partnership with Stephan Wellink a perfect fit.
Simon Wellink, camera operator, sound engineer and
son of Stephan Wellink.
Stephen Vagg, the author of "Rod
Taylor: An Aussie in Hollywood." He was a consultant on the film
and appears on screen, bringing perspective to aspects of Rod's
career.
Nicholas Eddy, Rod's friend and attorney in
Australia, who also appears in the documentary.
Liz Ploger, a former MGM worker who was Rod's
fan club president in the 1960s as well as a longtime
Taylor family friend.
Diane Tomasik, yours truly, the creator and
keeper of this website. I received a "special thanks" credit in the
film and was thrilled to have been included in the festivities
surrounding the screening. You can see photos of filmmakers and friends via an album
at my
Facebook page.
Burbank
International Film Festival 2017
"Pulling No Punches" continued its winning ways at its second U.S.
screening, receiving the award for Best Feature
Documentary at the Burbank International Film Festival.
The
screening, on Sept. 10, 2017, was followed by a Q&A with Tippi Hedren
and Veronica Cartwright, Rod's co-stars from "The Birds." The Q&A was
moderated by Cari Beauchamp, a renowned film historian, documentary
filmmaker and author. The panel discussion is part of the DVD release of
the film by
Umbrella Entertainment
in Australia.
Tippi
Hedren and Stephen Vagg, author of Rod's biography, at the Burbank film
festival.
Glasgow Film Festival 2018
The Rod Taylor documentary had two well-received screenings and
all-around positive reviews in Glasgow.
Pulling No Punches
was shown Feb. 25 and Feb. 26, 2018, during Glasgow's 14th annual
celebration of cinema – now one of the largest film festivals in the UK.
The festival showcased more than 180 films from 51 countries. The
Australian-made Rod documentary was part of the "Stranger than Fiction"
strand of films featuring true stories.
The screenings were followed by Q&A sessions with director Robert de
Young and producer Stephan Wellink. Wellink applauded the "great
feedback from a well-informed audience during the Q&A."
Leading up to the Glasgow film festival, the following reviews from the UK praised the
film:
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Eye for Film called the documentary "one of the most enjoyable works
of its kind.... Even if you have no idea who he is when you start
watching, you’re guaranteed a good time – and that was Rod Taylor, all
the way."
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The Peoples Movies said that Rod Taylor, "even in the later stages
of life and battling illness, proves to be a charismatic and exuberant
storyteller. Taylor is clearly enjoying reminiscing and it's undeniably
infectious to behold."
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60 Minutes With reviewed the
DVD stating: "Featuring '60s style animated graphics and music, "Rod
Taylor: Pulling No Punches" has all the pizzazz of a TV show/movie that
Rod would have starred in back then, while also shining a light on all
of the fantastic work that he has done over a long and varied career."
Impact Docs
Awards 2018
"Pulling No Punches" received an Award of Excellence in the Impact Docs Awards
2018. Impact Docs is an international awards competition -- not a
traditional film festival -- designed to help industry professionals who
create fresh, standout documentaries achieve the publicity and
credibility they deserve. Entries do not compete against each other but
are judged against a high standard of merit and are scored accordingly.
Oniros Film
Awards 2017
The film earned two laurels in the Oniros Film Awards (OFA), a monthly
and annual award competition based in Italy. For August 2017, the award
for Best Documentary was presented to director Robert de Young and Best
Producer was presented to Stephan Wellink.
The OFA's mission is
discovering quality and ambitious films by promoting filmmakers’ works
and by helping them realize their dreams. The name of the award comes
from the Greek word oneiros, which means "dream."
IndieFEST Film Awards
2017
The
Rod documentary earned one of the top prizes -- Award of Excellence:
Special Mention -- in the season's IndieFEST judging, announced in August
2017.
The IndieFEST Film Awards is not a traditional film festival. Rather, it
is an international awards competition that strives to give talented
directors, producers, actors, creative teams and new media creators the
positive exposure they deserve. Stephan Wellink, Robert de Young and the
team behind the Rod documentary certainly deserve the opportunity and
accolades!
Participating in a Directors Panel at the Gig Harbor Film Festival:
James Cho, "Pulling No Punches" director Robert De Young, Sky Bergman,
Jon Weinbert and Meg Valliant.
Gig
Harbor Film Festival 2017
"Pulling
No Punches" was well-received when it screened at the Galaxy Theatre
during the Gig Harbor Film Festival on Saturday, Oct. 28, 2017. After
the screening, director Robert de Young fielded questions from the
enthusiastic audience.
Hollywood International
Moving Pictures Film Festival: Award of Recognition for Best
Documentary Feature, August 2017.
Hollywood International Independent Documentary Awards: Award of Excellence,
August 2017.
Atlanta Docufest:
Semifinalist in the Atlanta International
Documentary Film Festival 2017.
The Monthly Film Festival: Finalist for Best Feature Film among the
nominees considered in September/October 2017.
Spotlight Documentary Film Awards 2017:
"Pulling No Punches" earned a Gold Award, which celebrates incredible
films with the second highest scores from the panel of judges.
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"Pulling No Punches" producer Stephan Wellink with
Carol Kikumura Taylor, Rod's wife, who is holding the award from the Burbank
International Film Festival.
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