Welcome to the 2013 Urchies!
We are proud to present to you, for the first time anywhere, this year’s esteemed Urchie winners. Amidst all the rubbish clogging our theatres, televisions, and bookshelves, artists around the world are striving to bring you works of integrity and merit. Here are this year’s best of the best.
Book of the Year
Boneshepherds by Patrick Rosal
Patrick Rosal’s book of poetry couldn’t have existed without a trip to the Philippines – its poems so very much of the country’s soil – but the work is still written from the outside looking in. Yet these poems aren’t stories of exclusion or displacement. They are poems written from the cusp of understanding, from the point of view of an outsider being warmly invited into the kitchen of an auntie he never knew he had.
Other nominees
The Best American Travel Writing 2012 edited by William T. Vollmann
I Wonder as I Wander by Langston Hughes
Writer of the Year
Alison Bechdel
Alison Bechdel affected the Urchins and the world in a big way this year with the release of her second graphic memoir Are You My Mother?: A Comic Drama, a follow-up to 2006′s incredibly successful Fun Home. Bechdel’s genius lies not only in her ability to transform the graphic novel into literature, but her ability to infuse that art form with thought-provoking social and societal commentary. As the Mellon Residential Fellow for Arts and Practice at the Richard and Mary L. Gray Center at the University of Chicago, Bechdel was influential in earning the school a spot on the Huffington Post’s top 10 LGBT-friendly colleges As an artist, Bechdel’s social consciousness, artistic innovation, and inquisitive intellect represent everything the Urchin Movement stands for. In addition to Are You My Mother?: A Comic Drama and Fun Home, check out Bechdel’s graphic essay on Vermont in State by State: A Panoramic Portrait of America and comic series Dykes to Watch out For.
Other nominees
Annie Proulx
The Daily Show writing staff
Film of the Year
Argo
Argo was most publicized for its direction by Ben Affleck, but behind its star power lies a compelling, terrifying, and true story about a 1981 CIA operative that used the cover of a Hollywood film to rescue six U.S. diplomats from the Iran hostage crisis. In a stroke of artistic ingenuity, screenwriter Chris Terrio adapted the film’s screenplay from a 2007 article in Wired. Produced by the consistently politically-minded George Clooney, the film provides a fascinating insight into the inner workings of international operations and security and demonstrates the power of creativity and collaboration. Director Affleck adroitly weaves together the many components of the story, aided by outstanding performances by Alan Arkin and John Goodman and what is potentially the best casting ever done.
Other nominees
Tabu
The Hobbit
Screenplay of the Year
The Master by Paul Thomas Anderson
Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest movie may also be his most off kilter, like a piece of machinery that cannot stop, despite being uncomfortably misaligned, and is slowly wearing itself thin. The Master is by no means a perfect film nor a perfect screenplay, but its daring and painful use of repetition, and its teetering from discord to disquiet, is certainly something to behold.
Other nominees
Django Unchained by Quentin Tarantino
Silver Linings Playbook by David O. Russell
Best Performance by an Actress
Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables
Though Anne Hathaway’s on-screen time as Fantine in this year’s film adaptation of Les Miserables is fairly short, its impact lingers throughout the film and long afterwards. Watching Hathaway convey Fantine’s struggle and pain as she works to provide for her young daughter, it is nearly impossible to believe that she is the same actress the carried The Princess Dairies films 11 years ago. Hathaway has honed her craft to become one of her generation’s best actresses, an accolade confirmed by her performance in Les Miserables. As an actress and as a human being, Hathaway wears her heart on her sleeve, and can easily move an audience to tears or laughter with the furrow of a brow. In Les Miserables, she moved many to tears as she bravely laid her emotions bare before the world. In mere minutes, Hathaway stole the film, and her performance will be remembered for years to come.
Other nominees
Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Quvenzhané Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild
Best Performance by an Actor
Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained
The Urchins, like Quentin Tarantino, are longtime fans of the Austrian actor Christoph Waltz. While his performance as Dr. King Schultz in Django Unchained might not surpass his brilliant turn as Col. Hans Landa in Inglourious Basterds, it certainly surpasses every other acting performance of the year. With nothing more than a twitch of his eyebrow or barely perceptible shift in his countenance, Waltz can convey as much as a five minute monologue. Waltz manages to infuse Django Unchained‘s Dr. King Schultz with near simultaneous apathy and empathy and an arc so subtle that its finale is fireworks. Waltz is a rare breed of first-class actor who is incredibly selective with his roles, which results in long periods of anticipation for his next work. That period has begun.
Other nominees
Joaquin Phoenix, The Master
Hugh Jackman, Les Miserables
Exemplary Human Being
Photo credit: EPA/KHIN MAUNG WIN
Barack Obama and Aung San Suu Kyi
A tie! Thank you to all who voted, and we couldn’t agree more. Both President Obama and The Lady represent a better, brighter future for the world and are two of the most active people in bringing about the change necessary to create that future.
Other nominee Hillary Clinton
Musical Artist/Band of the Year
Of Monsters and Men
The Icelandic quintet received international attention this year with their single Little Talks, but their entire debut album, My Head Is an Animal, is a rare jewel of musical perfection. From the meditative and hypnotic Slow and Steady to the heart-wrenching Love Love Love to the ethereal Sloom to the hippie dance party-worthy Dirty Paws, each song appeals to different senses, emotions, and aesthetics. With alternating male and female vocals and instruments like the glockenspiel, accordion, and melodica filling their songs with rich, dreamlike melodies, Of Monsters and Men manages to run the musical gamut while maintaining a style very much their own.
Other nominees
Big Sir
Holly Golightly & The Brokeoffs
Song of the Year
Nothing’s Gonna Change The Way You Feel About Me Now – Justin Townes Earle
The title track from Justin Townes Earle’s new album marks the singer-songwriter’s stray from what many critics lauded as the comeback of classic country. Needless to say, a lot of people didn’t like the album. However, Nothing’s Gonna Change The Way You Feel About Me Now marks an evolution in Earle’s exploration of the Americana genre. Earle should be applauded rather than criticized for experimenting with new sounds and styles, and we’re happy to get the ball rolling!
Other nominees
Somebody That I Used to Know – Gotye feat. Kimbra
Daredevil – Fiona Apple
Briton of the Year
Zadie Smith, author
Zadie’s done it again. Her self-proclaimed ‘messy novel’ NW is packed with some of best comic dialogue you’ll find in fiction today, and the book further cements her spot on the heavyweight list of contemporary fiction writers. (And finally! A book about the Urchins’ old postcode!)
Other nominees
Mo Farrah, Olympian
Edward Goldsmith, founder of The Ecologist
Bookstore of the Year
Daunt Books, London
The original Daunt Books on the beautiful, if a bit posh, Marylebone High Street is a gem for any book lover, but particularly those constantly dreaming of far-off lands and one-way flights.Though Daunt Books stocks a full range of fiction and non-fiction works, its specialty is travel literature, guides, histories and fiction of every imaginable variety. As such, Daunt categorizes their books geographically: the literary fantasy of every Urchin. Fancy a trip to Norway, this year’s Urchin Destination of the Year? Swing by Daunt for a fictional work set in Norway, a book of poetry by a Norwegian author, a Norway travel guide, and a Norwegian phrase book. But be sure you set aside a nice rainy day for your jaunt to Daunt; which shouldn’t be too hard to come by in the introspective, literary paradise that is London. Daunt’s Edwardian digs are reminiscent of the English library of your childhood reveries, complete with little wooden staircases that lead to little wooden balconies circling the large book room of the shoppe. Plan to spend a rainy morning or afternoon at Daunt planning to get lost around the world.
Other nominees
DIESEL, A Bookstore, Oakland
Tattered Cover, Denver
Best Restaurant
Bati, Brooklyn
Tucked within the beautiful Brooklyn neighbourhood of Fort Greene is the dimly-lit, aroma-intoxicating presence of Bati. If you love Ethiopian food, you must go. If you love food, you must go. A meal at Bati always transcends your normal, everyday eating experience. With astoundingly delicious food and a more-than-vegan-friendly menu, Bati is the perfect place to share food you love with people you love.
Other nominees
Lehka Hlava, Prague
Ivar’s Acres of Clams, Seattle
Best Television Show
The Colbert Report
The political satire of Stephen Colbert is not only a hilarious diversion, but a serious look into the flaws and hypocrisies of our nation. During an important election year, The Colbert Report reached out to perhaps disillusioned voters and helped rejuvenate enthusiasm for political activism. His comedic take on the trials and tribulations of the election season also offered a much needed respite from the negativity of the mainstream media coverage, and served as a looking glass for the absurdity of U.S. politics.
Other nominees
The Mindy Project
Portlandia
Urchin Travel Destination of the Year
Norway
When Sarah began her world travels with New Zealand, she feared that she had perhaps spoilt things by seeing the most beautiful place in the world first. Then she went to Norway. With countless dramatic fjords, numerous scarcely inhabited islands, the midnight sun in the summer and the Northern Lights in the winter, snowy expanses dotted with wild reindeer, and the greenest valleys, Norway is truly a sight to behold. While it is a bit out of the way of most usual tourist routes and can be quite expensive if you’re not careful, it is well worth the trek and the budgeting. Shop at grocery stores, stay in simple cabins (or better yet, take advantage of their free camping!), and save your change for what will feel like hundreds of ferry rides and you will experience a land of magic and a culture inspiring and unique. For nine of the past eleven years, Norway has ranked number one on the UN’s Human Development Index (based on life expectancy, education, and standard of living.) When previously unwealthy Norway discovered oil and gas in the 1960s, it established universal health care, comprehensive social security, and subsidized higher education for its citizens and made sure to set aside a vast portion for aide to other countries, a practice it continues to follow.
Other nominees
Paris
British Colombia
