Frozen River

Frozen River is a film which won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. Directed by Courtney Hunt, the film tells the story of two upstate New York women—one white (Melissa Leo), and one Native American (Misty Upham)—who conspire to smuggle illegal immigrants into the United States across the frozen St. Lawrence River.

The film received two Academy Award nominations, one for Best Actress and the other for Best Original Screenplay. The winners will be announced on February 22, 2009.Oscar.com: Academy Awards

• Melissa Leo for Best Actress
• Courtney Hunt for Best Original Screenplay

In the film, Melissa Leo plays Ray Eddy, a mother of two who finds that her alcoholic husband has run away to Atlantic City with the down payment intended for the family's soon-to-be-delivered new trailer home. While fruitlessly hoping for a raise at her job at the local 99 cent store, Leo stumbles into a lucrative smuggling opportunity through a chance meeting with ostracized Mohawk Indian mother Lila. Determined to get the new trailer and to be able to afford Christmas gifts for her children, T.J. (Charlie McDermott) and Ricky (James Reilly), Eddy decides to use one of her few remaining possessions—her beat-up car—to drive across the frozen river separating the United States and Canada.

• Official Site: Production Photos from Frozen River

• WireImage.com: Frozen River Sundance Premiere Photos

• Los Angeles Times Video: Contender Q&A with Frozen River Star Melissa Leo (January 1, 2009)