Nokia Truer Than Fiction Award: Heather Courtney

Courtney Har'el DennisHeather Courtney Five years ago, Heather Courtney returned to her small hometown of Hancock, Mich., to make a documentary about growing up in rural America. The result is "Where Soldiers Come From," which follows the four-year journey of three Afghanistan-bound soldiers forever changed by war.Though Courtney traveled to the mountains of Afghanistan, she doesn't consider her work a film about war."At its core, it's a coming-of-age story about a group of friends, their town and how a faraway war changes all of them," she says.Courtney intentionally steered clear of any politics and focused instead on larger social issues through personal stories. It's a principle she stuck by while helming her previous immigration-related docs "Letters From the Other Side" (2006) and "Los Trabajadores" (2001).As for her next project, Courtney says it's always hard to switch gears: "It's a really a big hurdle to get the funds to start another film. This award was just the boost and encouragement I needed."RUNNERS-UP Alma Har'el "Bombay Beach" Israeli musicvideo helmer Har'el's non-fiction hybrid "Bombay Beach," about the idiosyncratic inhabitants of the Salton Sea, includes choreographed dancing and other surreal touches. "I used many different techniques that some purists might not accept as documentary," Har'el says. "But I don't really think defining it as something else would be accurate."Danfung Dennis "Hell and Back Again" Dennis' debut, the Oscar-nominated "Hell and Back Again," captures a Marine's life during and after his stint in Afghanistan. "Through my work I hope to shake people from their indifference to war, and to bridge the disconnect between the realities on the ground and the public consciousness at home," he says.FILM INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARDS 2012FIND finds fresh Spirit guidesHonoreesPiaget Producer's Award | Audi Someone to Watch Award | Nokia Truer Than Fiction Award Contact Addie Morfoot at news@variety.com

MPTF Uncovers New $350M Fundraiser Campaign

Movie Television Fund board member George Clooney today introduced the launch of the $350 million fundraiser drive in the organization within the next 3 years. Throughout a breakfast in the Polo Lounge in Beverly Hillsides, MPTF brass stated that $238 million was already elevated within the effort, with key contributions from the kind of Clooney, Steve Bing, Tom Cruise, Craig Diller, Fox Entertaiment Group, David Geffen, Michael Lewis, Jerry Perenchio, Joe Roth, Jeffrey and Marilyn Katzenberg, Todd Phillips, Patrick Soon-shiong, Thomas Tull and John Wells, amongst others. That’s additionally towards the $100 million already available based on Katzenberg, chairman from the MPTF Foundation. In the last two decades, the fund has elevated $200 million. MPTF leader Bob Beitcher stated the fundraiser push may come as an75,000 baby seniors is going to be retiring in the industry within the next two decades. “This is really a back-up on their behalf,” he stated today.The fund’s greatest fundraiser event of the season, the annual “Night Before” Oscar party, is placed for Saturday in the Beverly Hillsides Hotel. It’s been an assorted bag of news in the MPTF — Clooney, a board member for any year, stated today that Katzenberg told him, “If you believe the Sudan is difficult, just try the MPTF.”The organization that delivers lengthy-term healthcare and services for people from the entertainment industry was penalized $80,000 through the condition yesterday because of its part within the dying of the patient this year. Beitcher addressed the citation today, saying the MPTF introduced in outdoors safety consultants and carried out special practicing staff so “this won’t happen again,” he stated. “This is essential but is ancient history for all of us.”The Woodland Hillsides-based nursing facility recently introduced it had reorganized enough to reverse a 2009 decision to seal it lower — a move that came critique and legal cases. The reopened facility will house as much as 40 patients at any time moving forward.Final week, the MPTF also introduced a tie-track of UCLA Health System and it is Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital which will offer ageriatric psychiatry unit in the fund’s Wasserman Campus. It'll provide inpatient and outpatient services and it is likely to be ready to go at the begining of 2013.

Ratings: The Forest Runs Weakly NCIS Sustains Strong Amounts with 200th Episode

Joe Anderson, Paulina Gaitan ABC's thriller The Forest first demonstrated to a smaller amount strong amounts than a few of the network's other drama premieres this year's season (along with a couple of them got canceled). Still, it exercised better for your network than any type in the time is right slot since the fall ending of Dwts. The season's top show, NCIS, marked its 200th show with another large audience, although trumping Fox's Glee inside the coveted grownups-18-to-49 demographic. The CBS ratings stalwart didn't set a collection record, however. See the relaxation in the day's news on TVGuide.com 8 p.m.CBS: NCIS 20.82 million audiences (4.1 demo rating)ABC: Last Guy Standing 7.75 million (2.3) Last Guy Standing 7.96 million (2.5)Fox: Glee 7.72 million (3.2)NBC: The Finest Loser 6.35 million (2.3) CW: 90210 1.36 million (.7) 9 p.m.CBS: NCIS: La 16.12 million audiences (3.1 demo rating)ABC: The Forest 7.51 million (2.4) Fox: New Girl 6.92 million (3.5) Raising Hope 4.67 million (2.2)CW: Ringer 1.15 million (.5) 10 p.m.CBS: Memorable 11.70 million audiences (2.2 demo rating)NBC: Motherhood 4.64 million (1.6)

'Smash' helmer to direct NBC drama pilot

As "Smash" readies because of its premiere in a few days, NBC has drawn on helmer Michael Mayer to direct another Peacock pilot, "Don' Harm." The Jekyll and Hyde-designed drama involves an excellent neurosurgeon who wresles together with his harmful alter-ego. David Schulner composed the pilot and professional producers with Rachel Kaplan and Peter Traugott for Universal TV. Mayer will function as a co-professional producer. Mayer makes his mark on Broadway recently after helming tuners "Spring Awakening" and "American Idiot." NBC's tuner-drama "Smash" marked his first TV pilot. He most lately helmed the Primary Stem revival of "On the Obvious Day You Can Observe Forever" with Harry Connick Junior. Contact Cynthia Littleton at cynthia.littleton@variety.com