Will A Single Man overcome Monsters? Can Rumer conquer Mount Kimbie? Here are the nominees
An alien invasion movie, a stately adaptation of a Christopher Isherwood story about a man in mourning, a vibrant piece of UK hip-hop and the debut from Burt Bacharach's latest protege are among the contenders for this year's Guardian First Film and First Album awards, the shortlists for which are announced today.
The awards ? won last year by Gideon Koppel for Sleep Furiously, his documentary about a dying Welsh hill village, and the xx for their eponymous album ? reward the best film made by a first-time director from anywhere in the world, and the best debut album from a British artist. Koppel and the xx will be among the judges for the 2010 awards.
The biggest films on the shortlist are Monsters, the low-budget alien invasion movie directed by the young Briton Gareth Edwards, A Single Man, adapted from an Isherwood story by the former Gucci creative director Tom Ford and Casey Affleck's I'm Still Here, a hoax portraying the supposed emotional and professional implosion of its star, Joaquin Phoenix.
Six British directors made the shortlist, where they are joined by three Americans and a Frenchman.
Frontrunners for the music award include Seasons of my Soul by Rumer, Disc-Overy by the London-based MC Tinie Tempah and the underground dance music of Ikonika, whose album Contact, Love, Want, Have won critical plaudits for its unusual and innovative use of sound.
Guardian critics voted for the shortlists, the 10 films and albums winning the most votes moving through to the final stage. As well as last year's winners, the judges will include Guardian critics and significant figures from the film and music industries.
Actor Saffron Burrows, who has starred in Frida, Deep Blue Sea and the US TV series Law & Order: Criminal Intent, joins the film panel, while the music judges are joined by Edwyn Collins, known for his work as a solo performer, as the singer of Orange Juice and as a producer of young British artists, including the Cribs and Frankie and the Heartstrings.
Collins, who has turned down invitations to judge other awards, chose to join the panel for the First Album Award because of its commitment to new music.
Joanna Hogg, director of Unrelated, which won the 2008 First Film Award, said the prize was invaluable in bringing her film to a wider audience.
"It kept the film in cinemas for several weeks longer than we might have expected," she said. "It kept the film in the news. And it has also helped my followup films too. I felt new avenues opening up, and financial doors opening up."
This year's winners will be announced in the Guardian's Film & Music supplement on 28 January.
The Guardian First Film Award shortlist
The Arbor (director: Clio Barnard)Down Terrace (director: Ben Wheatley)
Exit Through the Gift Shop (director: Banksy)
Four Lions (director: Chris Morris)
Gainsbourg (director: Joann Sfar)
I'm Still Here (director: Casey Affleck)
Monsters (director: Gareth Edwards)
Restrepo (director: Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger)
A Single Man (director: Tom Ford)
Skeletons (director: Nick Whitfield)
The Guardian First Album Award shortlist
Delphic: AcolyteEverything Everything: Man Alive
Gold Panda: Lucky Shiner
Ikonika: Contact, Love, Want, Have
Male Bonding: Nothing Hurts
Marina and the Diamonds: The Family Jewels
Mount Kimbie: Crooks and Lovers
Rumer: Seasons of my Soul
Stornoway: Beachcomber's Windowsill
Tinie Tempah: Disc-Overy
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