OMFG, WE KNOW AN OSCAR-WINNER!  Back in October, our good friend Blushing Whale introduced us to Irish busker Glen Hansard and Czech artist Marketa Irglova, the stars of a little indie Irish flick called "Once."  We met them at the Screen on the Green theater in Angel-Islington, London (above, with Glen), where the duo were hosting a film screening, Q&A and live performance. Here's a video we shot of them performing their Oscar-winning song, "Falling Slowly":





"Once" was, in my humble opinion, the best movie released in 2007 and a shame it wasn't nominated for best picture.  It appeared on many film critics' lists of the top 10 best flicks of the year.  If you haven't seen it yet, RUN to the video store and buy the DVD now!  (Already released in the US; on sale this week in the UK).  We all joked with Glen that their song would be nominated for an Oscar. They kinda laughed it off. But the buzz kept building. Their little film shot for $100,000 has made more than $14 million in the U.S. alone. It's just been released on DVD and finding bigger audiences now.  We were thrilled when the film was nominated for an Oscar. And we can't even express our happiness for Glen and Marketa's Oscar win. It couldn't have happened to two nicer people.

Here's their Acceptance Speech from the 80th annual Academy Awards, 24 February 2008:

ACCEPTANCE SPEECH

Glen Hansard:
Thanks! This is amazing. What are we doing here? This is mad. We made this film two years ago. We shot on two Handycams. It took us three weeks to make. We made it for a hundred grand. We never thought we would come into a room like this and be in front of you people. It's been an amazing thing. Thanks for taking this film seriously, all of you. It means a lot to us. Thanks to the Academy, thanks to all the people who've helped us, they know who they are, we don't need to say them. This is amazing. Make art. Make art. Thanks.

Marketa Irglova:
Hi everyone. I just want to thank you so much. This is such a big deal, not only for us, but for all other independent musicians and artists that spend most of their time struggling, and this, the fact that we're standing here tonight, the fact that we're able to hold this, it's just to prove no matter how far out your dreams are, it's possible. And, you know, fair play to those who dare to dream and don't give up. And this song was written from a perspective of hope, and hope at the end of the day connects us all, no matter how different we are. And so thank you so much, who helped us along way. Thank you.