Category: Lists, News, and Other Editorials

  • 30 Movies to See This Pride Month

    30 Movies to See This Pride Month

    Happy Pride!

    All About My Mother (1999)

    ‘All About My Mother’ (Sony Pictures Classics)

    The most acclaimed Spanish filmmaker since Victor Erice, Pedro Almodovar’s distinctively queer and vibrant filmography makes him one of the most unique, prolific, and consistently exciting filmmakers of the last 40 years. From his darkly funny earlier fare like What Have I Done to Deserve This? and Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown to his more recent emotionally-devastating dramas like Talk to Her and Pain and Glory, Almodovar has never fit into any easy labels. All About My Mother is his magnum opus, merging his distinctive humor, melodrama, and his desire to tackle serious issues. This is a moving and affecting portrait of motherhood, love, and what it means to be family.

    Where to Watch: Rent or Buy

     

    And Then We Danced (2019)

    ‘And Then We Danced’ (Music Box)

    A powerfully acted and dazzlingly emotional coming-of-age story set in the world of competitive dancing, Levan Akin’s And Then We Danced is an honest love story set in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi. The dance sequences are a wonder to behold, they’re bursting with passion and energy. Levan Gelbakhiani delivers a phenomenal central performance in this criminally underseen film that you’ll feel in your heart long after the credits roll.

    Where to Watch: Prime Video, Tubi, Kanopy, Mubi

     

    The Birdcage (1996)

    ‘The Birdcage’ (United Artists)

    Led by gut-bustingly funny and empathetic work from co-leads Nathan Lane and Robin Williams, Mike Nichols’ The Birdcage is an uplifting tale that sees a gay couple attempt to put on a straight facade when meeting the ultra-conservative parents of their son’s fiancee. This Elaine May-written movie is still one of the rare mainstream Hollywood films to feature a happy gay couple at the story’s forefront.

    Where to Watch: Paramount+, PlutoTV, The Roku Channel, Tubi

     

    The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant (1972)

    ‘The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant’ (New Yorker Films)

    In the 13 years he was making feature films before his untimely death from a drug overdose at 37, Rainer Werner Fassbinder constructed one of the greatest filmographies ever. While he ventured into more experimental fare with films such as World on a Wire and Berlin Alexanderplatz, Fassbinder’s bread and butter was the sumptuous Sirkian melodrama and The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant is one of his best, incorporating a Bergmanesque story into a story of an arrogant and self-centered fashion designer who plunges into a love affair with a young woman.

    Where to Watch: Max, The Criterion Channel

     

    Bound (1996)

    ;Bound’ (Gramercy)

    While they broke out into the mainstream with The Matrix, many film fans first heard about The Wachowskis from their neo-noir crime thriller Bound. Stylish and with a tight and captivating screenplay, this is the Wachowskis best film outside of the one that made them household names. Gina Gershon, Jennifer Tilly, and Joe Pantoliano star in this film that follows a woman and her lover as they attempt to take millions of dollars from the mob.

    Where to Watch: Prime Video, Paramount+

     

    But I’m a Cheerleader (1999)

    ‘But I’m a Cheerleader’ (Lionsgate)

    This movie was such a welcome surprise. I wasn’t expecting a heartwarming, hilarious, and compassionate satire bursting with color and vibrancy but that is exactly what Jamie Babbit’s But I’m a Cheerleader is. You might not think that a film largely set in a gay conversion camp can be raucously funny, but Babbit strikes the tone well, effectively skewering societal heteronormativity and homophobia while maintaining the film’s sense of campy fun.

    Where to Watch: Prime Video, The Roku Channel, The Criterion Collection, Tubi, PlutoTV

     

    Carol (2015)

    ‘Carol’ (The Weinstein Company)

    Anchored by phenomenal performances from Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara, this adaptation of a Patricia Highsmith novel follows the aspiring photographer Therese as she falls in love with the older and wealthier Carol. Every aspect of this film is firing on all cylinders, Edward Lachman’s lavish cinematography, Carter Burwell’s jazzy and affecting score, Phyllis Nagy’s wonderfully romantic yet melancholy screenplay, and, of course, Todd Haynes’ exquisite direction.

    Where to Watch: Netflix, Kanopy

     

    C.R.A.Z.Y. (2005)

    ‘C.R.A.Z.Y.’ (Samuel Goldwyn)

    A movie about coming-out that you can (probably) watch with your parents, Quebecois Jean-Marc Vallee’s C.R.A.Z.Y. is a thoroughly entertaining coming-of-age film about a young man discovering his identity under the pressure of his conservative family. The film also works as a wonderful time capsule, capturing the 60s and 70s with detail and a fantastic soundtrack that includes David Bowie, The Cure, Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones, and Elvis Presley.

    Where to Watch: Max, Kanopy

     

    Farewell My Concubine (1993)

    ‘Farewell, My Concubine’ (Miramax)

    An epic romantic melodrama set in mid 20th century China, you may need some knowledge of Chinese history to truly appreciate this film. But even without that knowledge, Farewell, My Concubine is a lavish production, exquisitely crafted on all technical fronts. Gong Li is absolutely brilliant in this film as the titular concubine and Leslie Cheung and Zhang Fengyi are fantastic as well.

    Where to Watch: Rent/Buy

     

    The Handmaiden (2016)

    ‘The Handmaiden’ (Amazon)

    Sumptuous period detail and seductive performances come together in this deliciously entertaining erotic thriller from ‘Oldboy’ director Park Chan-Wook. The Handmaiden is one of the best-looking period films of the past 10 years with cinematographer Chung-Hoon Chung, costume designer Jo Sang-Gyeong, and production designer Ryu Seong-Hie working in tandem to capture early 20th century Japanese luxury in awe-inspiring fashion. Park’s direction is at his best since Oldboy, thrilling his audience with the precision of a master.

    Where to Watch: Prime Video, FilmBox

     

    Happy Together (1997)

    ‘Happy Together’ (Kino International)

    It’s reductive and I’m in no way trying to bring down what is an impeccable filmography but the cinema of Wong Kar-Wai can be grouped into two categories, passionate romantic dramas and neo-noir crime dramas. Some merge both styles such as Chungking Express and Fallen Angels. But like Wong’s magnum opus In the Mood For Love, Happy Together fits wholly into the former category and is a pure romantic drama about isolation, marginalization, and codependency. The late Leslie Cheung and Wong regular Tony Leung give fantastic performances as the central couple.

    Where to Watch: Max, The Criterion Collection

     

    Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001)

    ‘Hedwig and the Angry Inch’ (Fine Line)

    An exhilarating glam rock opera musical, Hedwig and the Angry Inch is director, writer, and star John Cameron Mitchell’s bold, imaginative, and genuinely touching portrait of Hedwig, a trans punk rock singer from Berlin who tells the story of her life, one of love and betrayal, through her songs. Visually audacious and with a fantastic soundtrack, Mitchell’s film is full of irresistible energy and remarkable charm. 

    Where to Watch: Rent/Buy

     

    Joyland (2022)

    ‘Joyland’ (Oscilloscope)

    Executive produced by Malala Yousafzai, Riz Ahmed, and Ramin Bahrani among others, Saim Sadiq’s Joyland follows the sensitive Haider who finds a job at a burlesque theater and falls in love with its central star, a trans woman named Biba. This winner of the most recent Spirit award for Best International Film was banned in its home country of Pakistan for its positive depiction of a transgender woman. This is a stunningly-shot, deeply humanistic film that deserves to be more widely recognized (and brought to streaming!).

    Where to Watch: N/A

     

    The Long Day Closes (1992)

    ‘The Long Day Closes’ (Sony Pictures Classics)

    An atmospheric and lyrical coming-of-age story about a boy’s burgeoning homosexuality, Catholic faith, and relationship with his mother, The Long Day Closes is one of (very) British auteur Terence Davies’ best features, functioning as an autobiographical examination of the truths that can reside in memory. Wonderfully shot and at times surreal with its imagery and rejection of conventional notions of plot, Davies’ film is a singular experience resplendent with a love for cinema and music.

    Where to Watch: The Criterion Collection

     

    Madchen in Uniform (1931)

    ‘Madchen in Uniform’ (Filmchoice)

    This is by far the oldest film on this list, and you might be surprised to see that a film from 1931 has mostly held up in terms of its LGBTQ+ representation but clearly Leontine Sagan and her crew were decades ahead of their time. This is a fantastic coming-of-age film told through stunning German Expressionist cinematography and unexpectedly naturalistic performances. While the teacher-student relationship at the center of the story is a significant issue, this film is a celebration of female companionship, queer identity, and resistance against oppressive authority that also featured the second cinematic lesbian kiss.

    Where to Watch: Plex

     

    Maurice (1987)

    ‘Maurice’ (Cinecom)

    One of the best films produced by the Ismail Merchant-James Ivory partnership, Maurice is a lushly photographed period piece from the late 20th century masters of the literate Hollywood period romance. Less successful on the awards circuit than its straight Merchant-Ivory cousins Remains of the Day, A Room With a View, and Howards End, this is a criminally overlooked tale of gay love and repression that still moves over a century after E.M. Forster first put the story of Maurice and Clive on page. 

    Where to Watch: Kanopy, Mubi

     

    Moonlight (2016)

    ‘Moonlight’ (A24)

    Probably the most acclaimed American film of the last ten years, Barry Jenkins’ unquestionable masterpiece Moonlight is a masterclass in everything from empathetic filmmaking to subtle yet devastating acting. Moonlight is the coming-of-age story of Chiron, a young Black man wrestling with his identity, sexuality, and purpose. Barry Jenkins and cinematographer James Laxton’s images are pure visual poetry accentuated by Nicholas Britell’s somber, atmospheric strings. It’s a wonderful movie and an absolute must-see for anyone who considers themselves a fan of film.

    Where to Watch: Max, Kanopy, DirecTV

     

    My Own Private Idaho (1991)

    ‘My Own Private Idaho’ (Fine Line)

    Led by two compelling lead performances from River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves, My Own Private Idaho is one of Gus Van Sant’s most exceptional features that follows two hustlers on the road to survival and self discovery. The film is one of the most important in the New Queer Cinema canon, a movement led by queer American filmmakers during the HIV/AIDS crisis that was at its peak from the late 80s to the mid 90s. Gus Van Sant, Todd Haynes, Gregg Araki, Cheryl Dunye, and Marlon Riggs (all of whom have films included on this list) were some of the most significant contributors to this movement.

    Where to Watch: Rent/Buy

     

    Mysterious Skin (2004)

    ‘Mysterious Skin’ (TLA)

    Gregg Araki made multiple films centered around the queer experience, including acclaimed works like Nowhere, The Doom Generation, and The Living End, but the devastating Mysterious Skin is widely considered to be his masterpiece. Infamously harrowing yet at times beautiful and incredibly affecting, Araki’s film is not for those unprepared to see a story that deals with trauma and abuse in a way that stays with you. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Brady Corbet give some of the best performances of their careers here. 

    Where to Watch: The Criterion Collection

     

    Paris is Burning (1990)

    ‘Paris is Burning’ (Off White)

    No other documentary I’ve seen feels so vivid and full of life. Paris is Burning captures the lives and stories surrounding the New York ballroom scene of the 80s and does so with the utmost interest and care for every person who is a part of it. Real-life figures like Pepper Lebeija,  Dorian Corey, Octavia St. Laurent, and Venus Xtravaganza start to feel like friends by the end of the film’s speedy 78 minutes. While it has its issues, at its core Paris is Burning is an effortlessly lovable celebration of ballroom culture that has proved to be incredibly influential.

    Where to Watch: Max, The Criterion Collection

     

    Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)

    ‘Portrait of a Lady on Fire’ (Neon)

    Every 10 years, the British Film Institute conducts the Sight and Sound poll, asking critics around the world for their takes on the greatest films ever made. In 2022, “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” was ranked at number 30, the highest ranking for any film from the 2010s. This profoundly emotional period piece follows the romance of two women, Heloise and Marianne, as they spend a week together on an isolated island off the coast of France. With accolades from the Cannes Film Festival, Cesar Awards and European Film Awards, director Celine Sciamma has earned her title as one of, if not the most, acclaimed female filmmakers of her generation. One of the most gorgeous films I’ve seen, both in photography and thematics, this is one of my personal all-time favorites.

    Where to Watch: Hulu, Kanopy

     

    Pride (2014)

    ‘Pride’ (CBS)

    A feel-good activism story brimming with humor and heart, Matthew Warchus’ Pride is a touching film set during the conservative Thatcher era in Britain as gay activists work to aid miners during the U.K. miner strike of 1984-85. The cast is stacked featuring phenomenal British actors like Bill Nighy, Imelda Staunton, Paddy Considine, Dominic West, and George MacKay who are all great in their respective roles. There are not many fiction films about activism as good as this.

    Where to Watch: Showtime, DirecTV

     

    Straight Up (2019)

    ‘Straight Up’ (Strand)

    A light, fun screwball rom-com, James Sweeney’s debut is a fresh take on traditional romantic comedy tropes. The film lives and dies on the chemistry of its two leads Sweeney and Katie Findlay, two characters who long for love but find something standing in the way of them being a perfect couple. Reminiscent of classic rom coms like His Girl Friday and When Harry Met Sally in its witty banter, Sweeney translates the feel of those movies to a new generation with different preoccupations.

    Where to Watch: Netflix, Kanopy

     

    Stranger by the Lake (2013)

    ‘Stranger by the Lake’ (Strand)

    Fantastic cinematography from Claire Mathon, an atmosphere filled with dread, and deft direction from Alain Guiraudie come together in Guiraudie’s Stranger by the Lake. This is a film about risk and passion, addiction and attraction led by captivating turns from Pierre Deladonchamps, Christophe Paou, and Patrick d’Assumcao as summer occupants of a lakeside gay cruising beach.

    Where to Watch: Kanopy

     

    Tangerine (2015)

    ‘Tangerine’ (Magnolia)

    Bursting with raw energy, Tangerine is so much damn fun. Powered by two alternatingly hilarious, tender, and passionate performances from Kitana Kiki Rodriguez and Mya Taylor, Tangerine is a whirlwind of a film that takes you on the journey of hookers Sin-Dee and Alexandra who scour Los Angeles looking for Chester, the pimp that cheated on Sin-Dee. The film was shot on iPhones and consists of mostly non-actors and first-time actors, accentuating the film’s realism. But don’t be fooled by director Sean Baker’s realist aesthetic, this is one of the most unabashedly entertaining indie dramas in recent years.

    Where to Watch: Max, Hoopla, Kanopy, DirecTV

     

    Tongues Untied (1989)

    ‘Tongues Untied’ (Frameline)

    A film based on the thesis that Black men loving other Black men is a revolutionary act, Marlon Riggs’ Tongues Untied is an essential film both in its social and political content. This is a film built from the art of not only Marlon Riggs but numerous Black gay voices from poets to activists. It’s an incredible film made with an infectious amount of passion that depicts intersectionality in a way that makes its audience think and feel deeply.

    Where to Watch: The Criterion Collection, Kanopy, Ovid

     

    Tropical Malady (2004)

    ;Tropical Malady’ (Strand)

    Apichatpong Weerasethakul has a lyrical cinematic style that is completely his own. His cinema is deeply mystical, atmospheric, and aware of nature. Split into two halves, Weerasethakul’s best film Tropical Malady is both a wonderfully shot gay romance and a story steeped in Thai legends, populated by shamans, surreal magical realism, and mystical forces. It’s a film that lives completely on its own wavelength and if you share that wavelength, you will fall in love with it.

    Where to Watch: Kanopy

     

    The Watermelon Woman (1996)

    ‘The Watermelon Woman’ (First Run)

    This comedy follows a Black lesbian filmmaker named Cheryl (director Cheryl Dunye playing herself) who dives into the life of an actress billed as the Watermelon Woman who was known for playing “mammy” archetypes in the 1930s. Cheryl simultaneously looks for love in this hilarious rom-com mockumentary, which sits at the intersection of race, sex, history, love, and queerness.

    Where to Watch: Showtime, Kanopy, DirecTV, Fandor

     

    The Way He Looks (2014)

    ‘The Way He Looks’ (Strand)

    Endearingly cute and wonderfully romantic, Daniel Ribeiro’s The Way He Looks is an adorable Brazilian coming of age story about a blind child finding first love. This touching film unabashedly wears its heart on its sleeve and features a great soundtrack, charming performances, and a genuine sense of empathy for its characters.

    Where to Watch: Kanopy

     

    Weekend (2011)

    ‘Weekend’ (IFC)

    As intimate and sensitive as romantic dramas can be, Andrew Haigh’s phenomenal feature Weekend is a genuine examination of sex and love in modern gay relationships. It’s an effortlessly endearing film that’s at times sexy, hilarious, thoughtful, and critical. Both Tom Cullen and Chris New give vulnerable naturalistic performances, their character’s flaws and preoccupations bared in full view to the audience.

    Where to Watch: AMC+, The Criterion Collection, Tubi, Kanopy, DirecTV, PlutoTV

  • Cannes 2023: ‘Anatomy of a Fall’ Takes Palme, ‘The Zone of Interest’ and ‘Fallen Leaves’ Take Other Prizes

    Cannes 2023: ‘Anatomy of a Fall’ Takes Palme, ‘The Zone of Interest’ and ‘Fallen Leaves’ Take Other Prizes

    Justine Triet became just the third female director to win the Palme D’Or with ‘Anatomy of a Fall’ taking Cannes’ top prize. Critical darling ‘The Zone of Interest’ was awarded with the second prize and we will very likely be seeing both films pop up again and again later in the year when awards season kicks into full gear. Alice Rohrwacher’s ‘La Chimera’ and Todd Haynes’ ‘May December’ left the Croisette without prizes while Aki Kaurismaki’s ‘Fallen Leaves’ won the Cannes Jury Prize.

    Here are the awards and their winners:

    Palme d’Or
    Anatomy of a Fall, dir: Justine Triet

    Grand Prize
    The Zone of Interest, dir: Jonathan Glazer

    Best Director
    Tranh Anh Hung, The Pot-au-Feu

    Jury Prize
    Fallen Leaves, dir: Aki Kaurismaki

    Best Screenplay
    Yuji Sakamato, Monster

    Best Actress
    Merve Dizdar, About Dry Grasses

    Best Actor
    Koji Yakusho, Perfect Days

    Camera d’Or
    Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell, dir: Thien An Pham

    Short Film Palme d’Or
    27, dir: Flóra Anna Buda

    Special Mention:
    Far, dir: Gunnur Martinsdottir Schluter

  • Oscars 2023: EEAAO Wins 7; Fraser, ‘All Quiet’ Surprise

    Oscars 2023: EEAAO Wins 7; Fraser, ‘All Quiet’ Surprise

    The biggest story of the night is Everything Everywhere All at Once’s absolute dominance. It won seven Oscars including Best Picture, Director, Actress, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress (a controversial win for Jamie Lee Curtis), Original Screenplay, and Editing. From its SXSW release to now, the film has been steadily gathering steam to become the Oscar-crushing behemoth that it did. Its seven Oscars is the most any film has won in a single year since Gravity won seven in 2014.

    Brendan Fraser won Best Actor! The fan-favorite star from The Whale triumphed in Best Actor, winning over presumed favorite Austin Butler. In other news, Netflix’s All Quiet on the Western Front won four of its nine nominations (surprising Babylon in Production Design), while The Banshees of Insiherin, The Fabelmans, Elvis and Tar were all completely snubbed. So much for sharing the wealth.

    After an electrifying performance, RRR’s “Naatu Naatu” won Best Original Song, becoming the first Indian film to have its song win (Slumdog Millionaire was not an Indian film). Everything Everywhere All at Once and Top Gun: Maverick won in Best Editing and Sound respectively, breaking the stat tying those two categories together for ten years.

    Anyways, here are the winners:

    Best Picture

    All Quiet on the Western Front — Malte Grunert, Producer
    Avatar: The Way of Water — James Cameron and Jon Landau, Producers
    The Banshees of Inisherin — Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin and Martin McDonagh, Producers
    Elvis — Baz Luhrmann, Catherine Martin, Gail Berman, Patrick McCormick and Schuyler Weiss, Producers
    Everything Everywhere All at Once — Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert and Jonathan Wang, Producers
    The Fabelmans — Kristie Macosko Krieger, Steven Spielberg and Tony Kushner, Producers
    Tár — Todd Field, Alexandra Milchan and Scott Lambert, Producers
    Top Gun: Maverick — Tom Cruise, Christopher McQuarrie, David Ellison and Jerry Bruckheimer, Producers
    Triangle of Sadness — Erik Hemmendorff and Philippe Bober, Producers
    Women Talking — Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner and Frances McDormand, Producers

    Best Directing

    The Banshees of Inisherin — Martin McDonagh
    Everything Everywhere All at Once — Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert
    The Fabelmans — Steven Spielberg
    Tár — Todd Field
    Triangle of Sadness — Ruben Östlund

    Best Actor in a Leading Role

    Austin Butler in Elvis
    Colin Farrell in The Banshees of Inisherin
    Brendan Fraser in The Whale
    Paul Mescal in Aftersun
    Bill Nighy in Living

    Best Actress in a Leading Role

    Cate Blanchett in Tár
    Ana de Armas in Blonde
    Andrea Riseborough in To Leslie
    Michelle Williams in The Fabelmans
    Michelle Yeoh in Everything Everywhere All at Once

    Best Actor in a Supporting Role

    Brendan Gleeson in The Banshees of Inisherin
    Brian Tyree Henry in Causeway
    Judd Hirsch in The Fabelmans
    Barry Keoghan in The Banshees of Inisherin
    Ke Huy Quan in Everything Everywhere All at Once

    Best Actress in a Supporting Role

    Angela Bassett in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
    Hong Chau in The Whale
    Kerry Condon in The Banshees of Inisherin
    Jamie Lee Curtis in Everything Everywhere All at Once
    Stephanie Hsu in Everything Everywhere All at Once

    Best Costume Design

    Babylon — Mary Zophres
    Black Panther: Wakanda Forever — Ruth Carter
    Elvis — Catherine Martin
    Everything Everywhere All at Once — Shirley Kurata
    Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris — Jenny Beavan

    Best Sound

    All Quiet on the Western Front — Viktor Prásil, Frank Kruse, Markus Stemler, Lars Ginzel and Stefan Korte
    Avatar: The Way of Water — Julian Howarth, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Dick Bernstein, Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers and Michael Hedges
    The Batman — Stuart Wilson, William Files, Douglas Murray and Andy Nelson
    Elvis — David Lee, Wayne Pashley, Andy Nelson and Michael Keller
    Top Gun: Maverick — Mark Weingarten, James H. Mather, Al Nelson, Chris Burdon and Mark Taylor

    Best Original Score

    All Quiet on the Western Front — Volker Bertelmann
    Babylon — Justin Hurwitz
    The Banshees of Inisherin — Carter Burwell
    Everything Everywhere All at Once — Son Lux
    The Fabelmans — John Williams

    Best Adapted Screenplay

    All Quiet on the Western Front — Screenplay by Edward Berger, Lesley Paterson and Ian Stokell
    Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery — Written by Rian Johnson
    Living — Written by Kazuo Ishiguro
    Top Gun: Maverick — Screenplay by Ehren Kruger and Eric Warren Singer and Christopher McQuarrie; Story by Peter Craig and Justin Marks
    Women Talking — Screenplay by Sarah Polley

    Best Original Screenplay

    The Banshees of Inisherin — Written by Martin McDonagh
    Everything Everywhere All at Once — Written by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert
    The Fabelmans — Written by Steven Spielberg and Tony Kushner
    Tár — Written by Todd Field
    Triangle of Sadness — Written by Ruben Östlund

    Best Live-Action Short Film

    “An Irish Goodbye” — Tom Berkeley and Ross White
    “Ivalu” — Anders Walter and Rebecca Pruzan
    “Le Pupille” — Alice Rohrwacher and Alfonso Cuarón
    “Night Ride” — Eirik Tveiten and Gaute Lid Larssen
    “The Red Suitcase” — Cyrus Neshvad

    Best Animated Short Film

    “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse” — Charlie Mackesy and Matthew Freud
    “The Flying Sailor” — Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby
    “Ice Merchants” — João Gonzalez and Bruno Caetano
    “My Year of Dicks” — Sara Gunnarsdóttir and Pamela Ribon
    “An Ostrich Told Me the World Is Fake and I Think I Believe It” — Lachlan Pendragon

    Best Animated Film

    Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio — Guillermo del Toro, Mark Gustafson, Gary Ungar and Alex Bulkley
    Marcel the Shell With Shoes On — Dean Fleischer Camp, Elisabeth Holm, Andrew Goldman, Caroline Kaplan and Paul Mezey
    Puss in Boots: The Last Wish — Joel Crawford and Mark Swift
    The Sea Beast — Chris Williams and Jed Schlanger
    Turning Red — Domee Shi and Lindsey Collins

    Best Original Song

    “Applause” from Tell It Like a Woman; Music and Lyric by Diane Warren
    “Hold My Hand” from Top Gun: Maverick; Music and Lyric by Lady Gaga and BloodPop
    “Lift Me Up” from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever; Music by Tems, Rihanna, Ryan Coogler and Ludwig Goransson; Lyric by Tems and Ryan Coogler
    “Naatu Naatu” from RRR; Music by M.M. Keeravaani; Lyric by Chandrabose
    “This Is a Life” from Everything Everywhere All at Once; Music by Ryan Lott, David Byrne and Mitski; Lyric by Ryan Lott and David Byrne

    Best International Feature Film

    All Quiet on the Western Front — Germany
    Argentina, 1985 — Argentina
    Close — Belgium
    EO — Poland
    The Quiet Girl — Ireland

    Best Makeup and Hairstyling

    All Quiet on the Western Front — Heike Merker and Linda Eisenhamerová
    The Batman — Naomi Donne, Mike Marino and Mike Fontaine
    Black Panther: Wakanda Forever — Camille Friend and Joel Harlow
    Elvis — Mark Coulier, Jason Baird and Aldo Signoretti
    The Whale — Adrien Morot, Judy Chin and Anne Marie Bradley

    Best Production Design

    All Quiet on the Western Front — Production Design: Christian M. Goldbeck; Set Decoration: Ernestine Hipper
    Avatar: The Way of Water — Production Design: Dylan Cole and Ben Procter; Set Decoration: Vanessa Cole
    Babylon — Production Design: Florencia Martin; Set Decoration: Anthony Carlino
    Elvis — Production Design: Catherine Martin and Karen Murphy; Set Decoration: Bev Dunn
    The Fabelmans — Production Design: Rick Carter; Set Decoration: Karen O’Hara

    Best Cinematography

    All Quiet on the Western Front — James Friend
    Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths — Darius Khondji
    Elvis — Mandy Walker
    Empire of Light — Roger Deakins
    Tár — Florian Hoffmeister

    Best Visual Effects

    All Quiet on the Western Front — Frank Petzold, Viktor Müller, Markus Frank and Kamil Jafar
    Avatar: The Way of Water — Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon and Daniel Barrett
    The Batman — Dan Lemmon, Russell Earl, Anders Langlands and Dominic Tuohy
    Black Panther: Wakanda Forever — Geoffrey Baumann, Craig Hammack, R. Christopher White and Dan Sudick
    Top Gun: Maverick — Ryan Tudhope, Seth Hill, Bryan Litson and Scott R. Fisher

    Best Documentary Feature

    All That Breathes — Shaunak Sen, Aman Mann and Teddy Leifer
    All the Beauty and the Bloodshed — Laura Poitras, Howard Gertler, John Lyons, Nan Goldin and Yoni Golijov
    Fire of Love — Sara Dosa, Shane Boris and Ina Fichman
    A House Made of Splinters — Simon Lereng Wilmont and Monica Hellström
    Navalny — Daniel Roher, Odessa Rae, Diane Becker, Melanie Miller and Shane Boris

    Best Documentary Short Subject

    “The Elephant Whisperers” — Kartiki Gonsalves and Guneet Monga
    “Haulout” — Evgenia Arbugaeva and Maxim Arbugaev
    “How Do You Measure a Year?” — Jay Rosenblatt
    “The Martha Mitchell Effect” — Anne Alvergue and Beth Levison
    “Stranger at the Gate” — Joshua Seftel and Conall Jones

    Best Film Editing

    The Banshees of Inisherin — Mikkel E.G. Nielsen
    Elvis — Matt Villa and Jonathan Redmond
    Everything Everywhere All at Once — Paul Rogers
    Tár — Monika Willi
    Top Gun: Maverick — Eddie Hamilton

  • The Final Sequence of “Black Girl” and Glauber Rocha’s Notion of Violence

    The Final Sequence of “Black Girl” and Glauber Rocha’s Notion of Violence

    In his revolutionary 1965 manifesto ‘The Aesthetics of Hunger’, landmark filmmaker and film theorist Glauber Rocha wrote “The moment of violence is the moment when the colonizer becomes aware of the existence of the colonized. Only when he is confronted with violence can the colonizer understand, through horror, the strength of the culture he exploits. As long as he does not take up arms, the colonized man remains a slave.” 

    When Rocha says violence he doesn’t mean bloody revolution but instead is defining violence as when abuse towards the oppressed is forced into the view of the oppressors. And this abuse can’t solely be forced into the sights of the oppressors, it must be portrayed in an unabashedly polemic manner, to the point where there is no doubt that what is being viewed is inhumanity. Rocha promoted this portrayal of “violence” as one of the purposes of the Cinema Novo movement, a Brazilian movement led by Rocha and filmmakers such as Nelson Pereira dos Santos and Joaquim Pedro de Andrade that dedicated itself to promoting social equality through the depiction of underdeveloped and impoverished regions of Brazil. 

    And while Cinema Novo’s relationship with the Third Cinema movement is much-discussed (one camp seems to be those who believe that Cinema Novo is an early subcategory of Third Cinema and the other sees the movement’s influence from the Italian Neorealist auteurs as evidence that the movements should be put into two different categories), there are undeniable parallels between the two. One being the common focus on the idea of a camera as a weapon capable of an artistic assault on oppression. Ousmane Sembene’s 1966 masterpiece “Black Girl” epitomizes this. The film is an explicit and unambiguous condemnation of the European neocolonialism that perpetuates the profound racism, classism, and general inhumanity inherent in colonial systems. 

    And while the entire film is centered around this, the last sequence in particular is one of the best cinematic articulations of Rocha’s goals among Third Cinema and Third Cinema-adjacent films. The sequence almost functions as an epilogue. By this point, the film has already hit its climactic moment, with Diouana committing suicide in a bathtub Marat-style, choosing death as the only way to seize her agency from who have essentially enslaved her. After Diouana’s death, one of her former employers travels to Diouana’s home in Dakar to deliver Diouana’s items, including the mask she gifted them and a sum of money, to her mother who refuses. While it’s never explained why she refuses, one likely possibility is that she is fully aware of the way Europeans treat Africans and knows that the man offering her money likely had a part to play in the death of her daughter. Once rejected, the man begins to leave and a young boy (who may or not be Diouana’s younger brother) picks up the mask to wear it and begins to follow the man. Sembene’s camera cuts between the steadily advancing child, face fully concealed, and the increasingly uncomfortable European, the cuts growing more frantic as the sequence continues. Once the European reaches the bridge, he escapes to his car and drives off, the audience seeing the vehicle swiftly escape through the eyes of the child. Sembene cuts to the boy in the mask, his visage facing the camera for the first time in the sequence. He takes the mask off slowly, revealing his face looking at the car in the distance as the credits start to play. 

    ‘Black Girl’ (Janus)

    Masks depersonalize individuals who cease to be such while hidden behind them. While wearing the mask, the boy becomes a symbol of something larger, the Senegalese people, African victims of colonial oppression, the youth growing up in a newly-independent Africa. And as the boy follows the European, never letting him leave his sight, Sembene illustrates his purpose. He wants to instill fear in the minds of his neocolonial oppressors. The fear that Africa will not sit idly by as oppression occurs. The fear that their neocolonial oppression will be put under a microscope and that vitriolic art condemning it will be released to the masses. There is nothing more powerful than knowledge and with this film, Sembene displays not only his acute awareness of the circumstances his people are being subjected to but also a vow to spread that knowledge to his fellow Africans. This is deeply angry, political filmmaking and with the last sequence, Sembene gives the many European members of his audience a warning: Your sins will remain hidden no longer.

    Ousmane Sembène once said that “Cinema is like an ongoing political rally with the audience”. The Senegalese auteur was previously a prominent figure in African literature yet switched to filmmaking as he believed it to be “a more effective tool for [his] activism”. Cinema is the most accessible of art forms and therefore in Sembene’s view the method through which to most effectively educate the masses. While lauded by European audiences throughout his career, Sembène made his art for the purpose of illustrating the preoccupations of his fellow Africans. Like Rocha, Sembene realized the importance of making neocolonial oppression impossible for the oppressors to ignore. So while he was mainly interested in making films for African audiences, Sembene wanted his work to shock European audiences, eliciting in them the fear that the people they are oppressing are conscious of the indignity of their circumstances. 

  • 6 Films You Should Watch Even Though the Academy Clearly Didn’t

    6 Films You Should Watch Even Though the Academy Clearly Didn’t

    While some of the best movies of the last 10 years (Parasite, Moonlight, Drive My Car, etc.) have done amazing with the Academy, dozens of phenomenal films (Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Uncut Gems, Burning) have been snubbed entirely. Clearly, the Oscars don’t always get it right and every year they fail to acknowledge many of the year’s best, especially when it comes to non-English and independent cinema. This year was no exception and here are some I believe the Academy may come to regret (ok, maybe they won’t be regretting passing on Crimes of the Future).

    CRIMES OF THE FUTURE

    ‘Crimes of the Future’ (Neon)

    David Cronenberg’s first full length feature film since 2014’s Maps to the Stars, Crimes to the Future is a return to the director’s bread and butter, noir influenced body horror films, something he hasn’t made since 1999’s eXistenZ (though his son’s Possessor was a welcome taste of the science fiction body horror that must be in the family genetics). Crimes of the Future is the Canadian master’s best since Eastern Promises and stars Viggo Mortensen, Lea Seydoux, and Kristen Stewart all in top form. If a movie whose tagline is “surgery is the new sex” is not an instant no for you, this movie has more going on than what meets the eye and is a (mostly) rewarding experience.

    NO BEARS

    ‘No Bears’ (Sideshow)

    Two of Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi’s previous films The White Balloon and This is Not a Film (both worth checking out if you haven’t already) screened at Sewall in early February through Rice Cinema. No Bears is Panahi’s newest feature and sees the humanistic director, who has just recently been released from prison by Iran after being arrested for his polemic and essential work, at the peak of his powers. Panahi, who was censored and jailed for making “propaganda against the state” (This is Not a Film was smuggled out of the country in a flash drive hidden in a cake), has made with No Bears a must-see film that wrestles with what impact his work is really having.

    DECISION TO LEAVE

    ‘Decision to Leave’ (MUBI)

    With Parasite’s massive success in 2019, Korean cinema has received an influx of attention in the last few years. As a result, filmmakers like Bong Joon-Ho, Lee Chang-Dong, Hong Sang-Soo, Na Hong-Jin, and Park Chan-Wook who have been putting out exemplary work for over a decade are finally getting the awareness they deserve. Park, the director of modern classics like Oldboy and The Handmaiden, is back with a Hitchcockian romantic thriller following a detective that becomes captivated by the wife of the murdered man. With stunning cinematography from Kim Ji-Yong and a fantastic performance from Tang Wei, this is a film the Academy will likely regret snubbing (Explain to me how every Park film has missed an International Feature nomination?!)

    NOPE

    ‘Nope’ (Universal)

    While the Oscars didn’t nominate it anywhere, the prestigious New York Film Critics Circle awarded Nope’s Keke Palmer for her multidimensional work in the film. Jordan Peele’s latest is a mix of horror, mystery, thriller, and western that also happens to be a commentary on everything from our culture’s obsession with spectacle to animal cruelty. Does it work? YES and while it’s not on the level of Peele’s debut Get Out, this genre mashup will leave you entertained both while you’re watching and then during the hours you will be thinking about it afterwards.

    THE NORTHMAN

    ‘The Northman’ (A24)

    Tired of rewatching Game of Thrones and in need of something to satisfy your medieval action drama fix? Look no further because this movie has everything you miss from graphic gore to *ahem* interesting family dynamics! The cast is stacked featuring Alexander Skarsgard, Nicole Kidman, Ethan Hawke, Claes Bang, Anya Taylor-Joy, Willem Dafoe, and Bjork. With this film, The Witch, and The Lighthouse under his belt, director Robert Eggers has quickly become one of the most exciting filmmakers of his generation.

    THE EIGHT MOUNTAINS

    ‘The Eight Mountains’ (Sideshow)

    For The Eight Mountains, Felix van Groeningen, known for emotional human dramas such as the Broken Circle Breakdown and Beautiful Boy, teamed up with past collaborator Charlotte Vandermeersch to direct this incredible retelling of the acclaimed Paolo Cognetti novel of the same name. This passionate ode to platonic love is one of the most criminally overlooked films of the year and one the Academy likely would’ve acknowledged if it was in English. Both Luca Marinelli (‘Martin Eden’, ‘Don’t Be Bad’) and Alessandro Borghi (‘Don’t Be Bad’, ‘On My Skin’) deliver wonderful performances in this winner of last year’s Cannes Jury Prize.

  • SAG Awards 2023: Fraser Triumphs; EEAAO Completes PGA, DGA, SAG Trifecta

    SAG Awards 2023: Fraser Triumphs; EEAAO Completes PGA, DGA, SAG Trifecta

    Everything Everywhere All at Once has now won the guild trifecta of PGA, DGA, and SAG, something no film has done since 2015’s Best Picture winner Birdman. It also took three of the four acting awards, showing the massive amount of love that SAG had for the film. With Michelle Yeoh’s win, no contender has won all four major acting precursors, making this year one of the most up in the air in a while.

    Brendan Fraser’s SAG-winning speech was incredible, powerful, and rousing. It’s exactly the kind of speech that turns Academy members heads and his performance is the kind of transformational, head-turning work that receives Oscars. While Austin Butler triumphed at the Globes and at BAFTA, those two awards bodies award young actors in the major acting categories more often than the Academy usually does. I think Fraser has this.

    While Barry Keoghan won at BAFTA, that was a one-off and Ke Huy Quan will easily take the Oscar. Now, the other supporting category isn’t as clear cut. While Jamie Lee Curtis surprised with a win here, that is an incredibly predictable SAG pick (they have a preference for big stars). So the question is will the Academy will go with Angela Bassett (who has GG and CCA like 2019 winner Regina King) or will they go with Kerry Condon (who has just BAFTA like Mark Rylance in 2016)? At this stage, I am leaning towards Condon since I think Bassett would have been a no-brainer prediction if she had won SAG but my thoughts on this have been like a yo-yo.

    While Michelle Yeoh is the lead from the film that has unquestionably captured the zeitgeist, Tar clearly has love from the academy being the only film with Picture, Directing, Editing, acting, and Cinematography nominations. I think Blanchett will take this, though like with my Supporting Actress prediction this is subject to change.

    Here are the winners and nominees:

    OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A CAST IN A MOTION PICTURE

    WINNER: Everything Everywhere All At Once

    Babylon

    The Banshees of Inisherin

    The Fabelmans

    Women Talking

    OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

    WINNER: Brendan Fraser, The Whale

    Austin Butler, Elvis

    Colin Farrell, The Banshees of Inisherin

    Bill Nighy, Living

    Adam Sandler, Hustle

    OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

    WINNER: Michelle Yeoh, Everything Everywhere All at Once

    Cate Blanchett, Tár

    Viola Davis, The Woman King

    Ana de Armas, Blonde

    Danielle Deadwyler, Till

    OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

    WINNER: Ke Huy Quan, Everything Everywhere All at Once

    Paul Dano, The Fabelmans

    Brendan Gleeson, The Banshees of Inisherin

    Barry Keoghan, The Banshees of Inisherin

    Eddie Redmayne, The Good Nurse

    OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

    WINNER: Jamie Lee Curtis, Everything Everywhere All at Once

    Angela Bassett, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

    Hong Chau, The Whale

    Kerry Condon, The Banshees of Inisherin

    Stephanie Hsu, Everything Everywhere All at Once

    OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ENSEMBLE IN A DRAMA SERIES

    WINNER: The White Lotus

    Better Call Saul

    The Crown

    Ozark

    Severance

    OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES

    WINNER: Jason Bateman, Ozark

    Jonathan Banks, Better Call Saul

    Jeff Bridges, The Old Man

    Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul

    Adam Scott, Severance

    OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES

    WINNER: Jennifer Coolidge, The White Lotus

    Elizabeth Debicki, The Crown

    Julia Garner, Ozark

    Laura Linney, Ozark

    Zendaya, Euphoria

    OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ENSEMBLE IN A COMEDY SERIES

    WINNER: Abbott Elementary

    Barry

    The Bear

    Hacks

    Only Murders in the Building

    OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES

    WINNER: Jeremy Allen White, The Bear

    Anthony Carrigan, Barry

    Bill Hader, Barry

    Steve Martin, Only Murders in the Building

    Martin Short, Only Murders in the Building

    OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES

    WINNER: Jean Smart, Hacks

    Christina Applegate, Dead to Me

    Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

    Quinta Brunson, Abbott Elementary

    Jenna Ortega, Wednesday

    OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A TELEVISION MOVIE OR LIMITED SERIES

    WINNER: Sam Elliott, 1883

    Steve Carell, The Patient

    Taron Egerton, Black Bird

    Paul Walter Hauser, Black Bird

    Evan Peters, Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story

    OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A TELEVISION MOVIE OR LIMITED SERIES

    WINNER: Jessica Chastain, George and Tammy

    Emily Blunt, The English

    Julia Garner, Inventing Anna

    Niecy Nash-Betts, Dahmer- Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story

    Amanda Seyfried, The Dropout

    OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A STUNT ENSEMBLE IN A MOTION PICTURE

    WINNER: Top Gun: Maverick

    Avatar: The Way of Water

    The Batman

    Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

    The Woman King

    OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A STUNT ENSEMBLE IN A COMEDY OR DRAMA SERIES

    WINNER: Stranger Things

    Andor

    The Boys

    House of the Dragon

    Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

    Source: Vanity Fair

  • PGA Awards 2023: ‘EEAAO’ Wins Another; ‘Navalny’ Cements Itself as Doc Frontrunner

    PGA Awards 2023: ‘EEAAO’ Wins Another; ‘Navalny’ Cements Itself as Doc Frontrunner

    Everything Everywhere All at Once is going to win Best Picture. There are no ifs and or buts about it. PGA is the most important precursor and with EEAAO’s win here and at DGA and Critics Choice, it has all it needs to truly truly cement it as the Best Picture frontrunner. Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio which has now won at PGA, CCA, the Golden Globes, and the Annies will be winning Animated Feature with essentially complete certainty as well.

    Navalny winning here at PGA was huge. While consensus frontrunner Fire of Love won DGA, Navalny now has both BAFTA and PGA, a combo that the last two winners in this category had (My Octopus Teacher and Summer of Soul). I’ve had as my winner for a month now because of its strong showing at guild nominations and since the political documentaries that win are like this (ones that are almost completely non-controversial to the general liberal Hollywood population).

    Here’s the full list of nominees and winners.

    Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures

    • “Avatar: The Way of Water”
    • “The Banshees of Inisherin”
    • “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”
    • “Elvis”
    • “Everything Everywhere All At Once” (WINNER)
    • “The Fabelmans”
    • “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery”
    • “TÁR”
    • “Top Gun: Maverick”
    • “The Whale”

    Award for Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures

    • “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” (WINNER)
    • “Marcel the Shell with Shoes On”
    • “Minions: The Rise of Gru”
    • “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish”
    • “Turning Red”

    Norman Felton Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television – Drama

    • “Andor”
    • “Better Call Saul”
    • “Ozark”
    • “Severance”
    • “The White Lotus” (WINNER)

    Danny Thomas Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television – Comedy

    • “Abbott Elementary”
    • “Barry”
    • “The Bear” (WINNER)
    • “Hacks”
    • “Only Murders in the Building”

    David L. Wolper Award for Outstanding Producer of Limited or Anthology Series Television

    • “Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story”
    • “The Dropout” (WINNER)
    • “Inventing Anna”
    • “Obi-Wan Kenobi”
    • “Pam & Tommy”

    Award for Outstanding Producer of Televised or Streamed Motion Pictures

    • “Fire Island”
    • “Hocus Pocus 2”
    • “Pinocchio”
    • “Prey”
    • “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story” (WINNER)

    Award for Outstanding Producer of Non-Fiction Television

    • “30 for 30”
    • “60 Minutes”
    • “George Carlin’s American Dream”
    • “Lucy and Desi”
    • “Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy” (WINNER)

    Award for Outstanding Producer of Live Entertainment, Variety, Sketch, Standup & Talk Television

    • “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah”
    • “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
    • “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” (WINNER)
    • “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert”
    • “Saturday Night Live”

    Award for Outstanding Producer of Game & Competition Television

    • “The Amazing Race”
    • “Lizzo’s Watch Out For The Big Grrrls” (WINNER)
    • “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars”
    • “Top Chef”
    • “The Voice”

    The Award for Outstanding Producer of Documentary Motion Picture

    • “All That Breathes”
    • “Descendant”
    • “Fire of Love”
    • “Navalny” (WINNER)
    • “Nothing Compares”
    • “Retrograde”
    • “The Territory”

    The Award for Outstanding Sports Program

    • “Formula 1: Drive to Survive”
    • “Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Detroit Lions”
    • “Legacy: The True Story of the LA Lakers”
    • “McEnroe”
    • “Tony Hawk: Until the Wheels Come Off” (WINNER)

    The Award for Outstanding Children’s Program

    • “Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock”
    • “Green Eggs and Ham”
    • “Sesame Street” (WINNER)
    • “Snoopy Presents: It’s the Small Things, Charlie Brown”
    • “Waffles + Mochi’s Restaurant”

    The Award for Outstanding Short-Form Program

    • “Better Call Saul: Filmmaker Training”
    • “Love, Death + Robots”
    • “Only Murders in the Building: One Killer Question” (WINNER)
    • “Sesame Street’s #ComingTogether Word of the Day Series”
    • “Tales of the Jedi”

    Source: IndieWire

  • BAFTA 2023: ‘All Quiet’ Surprises With 7, Including Best Film

    BAFTA 2023: ‘All Quiet’ Surprises With 7, Including Best Film

    All Quiet on the Western Front won 7 awards at this year’s BAFTA Awards including Best Film, Director, Adapted Screenplay, and Cinematography. How many of these will the film win at the Oscars? at this point it has Best International Film in the bag and is a possible winner for Cinematography, but I doubt it expands past that.

    Oscar frontrunner Everything Everywhere All at Once was held to just Best Editing while its main challenger The Banshees of Inisherin came out with four, Best British Film, Original Screenplay, Supporting Actress, and a surprising Supporting Actor win for Barry Keoghan. With these wins, and Austin Butler and Cate Blanchett’s wins in Best Actor and Best Actress respectively, none of the acting races have a clear frontrunner, making this. Though if Blanchett ends up winning at SAG that will change. Since Eddie Redmayne in 2015, every BAFTA winner in Best Actor has also won at the Oscars and if Butler wins at SAG he will have the same three major precursors (GG, BAFTA, and SAG) that fellow biopic winners Redmayne and Malek did in 2015 and 2019 respectively.

    My pick for Best Documentary, Navalny won at BAFTA, making me even more confident that it will triumph over All the Beauty and the Bloodshed and Fire of Love with the Academy as well. It’s exactly the kind of political film they like, not too extreme, highly watchable, and relevant but not at the top of the current news cycle.

    Here are the BAFTA winners:

    Best film

    “All Quiet on the Western Front” *WINNER

    “The Banshees of Inisherin”

    “Everything Everywhere All At Once”

    “Elvis”

    “‘TÁR”

    Outstanding British film

    “Aftersun”

    “The Banshees of Inisherin” *WINNER

    “Brian and Charles”

    “Empire of Light”

    “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande”

    “Living”

    “Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical”

    “See How They Run”

    “The Swimmers”

    “The Wonder”

    Outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer

    “Aftersun” Charlotte Wells (writer/director) *WINNER

    “Blue Jean” Georgia Oakley (writer/director), Hélène Sifre (producer)

    “Electric Malady” Marie Lidén (director)

    “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande” Katy Brand (writer)

    “Rebellion” Elena Sánchez Bellot (director) Maia Kenworthy (director)todi

    Best film not in the English language

    “All Quiet on the Western Front” *WINNER

    “Argentina, 1985”

    “Corsage”

    “Decision to Leave”

    “The Quiet Girl”

    Best documentary

    “All That Breathes”

    “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed”

    “Fire of Love”

    “Moonage Daydream”

    “Navalny” *WINNER

    Best animated film

    “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” *WINNER

    “Marcel the Shell with Shoes On”

    “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish”

    “Turning Red”

    Best director

    Edward Berger, “All Quiet on the Western Front” *WINNER

    Martin McDonagh, “The Banshees of Inisherin”

    Park Chan-wook, “Decision To Leave”

    Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, “Everything Everywhere All At Once”

    Todd Field, “TÁR”

    Gina Prince-Bythewood, “The Woman King”

    Best original screenplay

    Martin McDonagh, “The Banshees of Inisherin” *WINNER

    Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, “Everything Everywhere All At Once”

    Tony Kushner and Steven Spielberg, “The Fabelmans”

    Todd Field, “TÁR”

    Ruben Östlund, “Triangle of Sadness”

    Best adapted screenplay

    Edward Berger, Ian Stokell and Leslie Patterson, “All Quiet on the Western Front” *WINNER

    Kazuo Ishiguro, “Living”

    Colm Bairéad, “The Quiet Girl”

    Rebecca Lenkiewicz, “She Said”

    Samuel D. Hunter, “The Whale”

    Best lead actress

    Ana de Armas, “Blonde”

    Cate Blanchett, “TÁR” *WINNER

    Viola Davis, “The Woman King”

    Danielle Deadwyler, “Till”

    Emma Thompson, “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande”

    Michelle Yeoh, “Everything Everywhere All At Once”

    Best lead actor

    Austin Butler, “Elvis” *WINNER

    Brendan Fraser, “The Whale”

    Colin Farrell, “The Banshees of Inisherin”

    Daryl McCormack, “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande”

    Paul Mescal, “Aftersun”

    Bill Nighy, “Living”

    Best supporting actress

    Angela Bassett, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”

    Hong Chau, “The Whale”

    Kerry Condon, “The Banshees of Inisherin” *WINNER

    Jamie Lee Curtis, “Everything Everywhere All At Once”

    Dolly De Leon, “Triangle of Sadness”

    Carey Mulligan, “She Said”

    Best supporting actor

    Brendan Gleeson, “The Banshees of Inisherin”

    Barry Keoghan, “The Banshees of Inisherin” *WINNER

    Ke Huy Quan, “Everything Everywhere All At Once”

    Eddie Redmayne, “The Good Nurse”

    Albrecht Schuch, “All Quiet on the Western Front”

    Michael Ward, “Empire of Light”

    Best original score

    Volker Bertelmann, “All Quiet on the Western Front” *WINNER

    Justin Hurwitz, “Babylon”

    Carter Burwell, “The Banshees of Inisherin”

    Son Lux, “Everything Everywhere All At Once”

    Alexandre Desplat, “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio”

    Best casting

    Lucy Pardee, “Aftersun”

    Simon Bär, “All Quiet on the Western Front”

    Nikki Barrett, Denise Chamian, “Elvis” *WINNER

    Sarah Halley Finn, “Everything Everywhere All At Once”

    Pauline Hansson, “Triangle of Sadness”

    Best cinematography

    James Friend, “All Quiet on the Western Front” *WINNER

    Greig Fraser, “The Batman”

    Mandy Walker, “Elvis”

    Roger Deakins, “Empire of Light”

    Claudio Miranda, “Top Gun: Maverick”

    Best editing

    Sven Budelmann, “All Quiet on the Western Front”

    Mikkel E.G. Nielsen, “The Banshees of Inisherin”

    Matt Villa, “Elvis”

    Paul Rogers, “Everything Everywhere All At Once” *WINNER

    Eddie Hamilton, “Top Gun: Maverick”

    Best production design

    Christian M. Goldbreck, Ernestine Hipper, “All Quiet on the Western Front”

    Florencia Martin, Anthony Carlino, “Babylon” *WINNER

    James Chinlund, Lee Sandales, “The Batman”

    Catherine Martin, Karen Murphy, Bev Dunn, “Elvis”

    Curt Enderle, Guy Davis, “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio”

    Best costume design

    Lisy Christl, “All Quiet on the Western Front”

    J.R. Hawbaker and Albert Wolsky, “Amsterdam”

    Mary Zophres, “Babylon”

    Catherine Martin, “Elvis” *WINNER

    Jenny Beavan, “Mrs Harris Goes To Paris”

    Best makeup and hair

    Heike Merker, “All Quiet on the Western Front”

    Michael Marino and Zoe Tahir, “The Batman”

    Shane Thomas, Louise Coulston, Mark Coulier and Barrie Gower, “Elvis” *WINNER

    Naomi Donne, Barrie Gower, Sharon Martin, “Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical”

    Anne Marie Bradley, Judy Chin, Adrien Morot, “The Whale”

    Best sound

    Lars Ginzsel, Frank Kruse, Viktor Prášil and Markus Stemler, “All Quiet on the Western Front” *WINNER

    Christopher Boyes, Michael Hedges, Julian Howarth, Gary Summers and Gwendoyln Yates Whittle, “Avatar: The Way of Water”

    Michael Keller, David Lee, Andy Nelson and Wayne Pashley, “Elvis”

    Deb Adair, Stephen Griffiths, Andy Shelley, Steve Single and Roland Winke, “TÁR”

    Chris Burdon, James H. Mather, Al Nelson, Mark Taylor and Mark Weingarten, “Top Gun: Maverick”

    Best special visual effects

    Markus Frank, Kamil Jafar, Viktor Müller and Frank Petzoid, “All Quiet on the Western Front”

    Richard Baneham, Daniel Barrett, Joe Letteri and Eric Saindon, “Avatar: The Way of Water” *WINNER

    Russell Earl, Dan Lemmon, Anders Langlands and Dominic Tuohy, “The Batman”

    Benjamin Brewer, Ethan Feldbau, Jonathan Kombrinck and Zak Stoltz, “Everything Everywhere All At Once”

    Seth Hill, Scott R. Fisher, Bryan Litson and Ryan Tudhope, “Top Gun: Maverick”

    Best British short animation

    “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse” *WINNER

    “Middle Watch”

    “Your Mountain is Waiting”

    Best British short film

    “The Ballad Of Olive Morris”

    “Bazigaga”

    “Bus Girl”

    “A Drifting Up”

    “An Irish Goodbye” *WINNER

    EE Rising Star

    Aimee Lou Wood

    Daryl McCormack

    Emma Mackey *WINNER

    Naomi Ackie

    Sheila Atim

    Source: CNN

  • DGA Awards 2023: The Daniels Win Another Major Prize on Their Way to Oscar

    DGA Awards 2023: The Daniels Win Another Major Prize on Their Way to Oscar

    The Daniels’ winning at DGA, means another major prize for Everything Everywhere All at Once on its way to presumed triumph at the Oscars on March 12th. This gives them two of the four major directing precursors (they also won for directing at Critics Choice) and are definitively in the pole position in the category.

    On the documentary side, Fire of Love’s Sara Dosa won for her work. In the last five years, every Best Documentary winner has won at least one genre documentary award at the Critics Choice Awards, and this year Fire of Love and Navalny are the only nominees with a genre documentary prize. My chips are on Navalny to win as the Academy has shown a bias against archival documentaries unless they were undeniable winners (like last year’s Summer of Soul). Navalny’s win at BAFTA further cements it in my mind as the likely winner.

    Here are the rest of the winners at DGA:

    OUTSTANDING DIRECTORIAL ACHIEVEMENT IN THEATRICAL FEATURE FILM

    Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert
    Everything Everywhere All at Once

    DRAMA SERIES

    Sam Levinson
    Euphoria, “Stand Still Like the Hummingbird” (HBO)
    Mr. Levinson’s Directorial Team:
    Unit Production Manager: Will Greenfield
    First Assistant Directors: Valerie Johnson, Sally Brunski
    Second Assistant Directors: Cindy King, Colin Duffy
    Second Second Assistant Directors: James Chestnut
    Additional Second Assistant Director: Aaron Rose Leone

    COMEDY SERIES

    Bill Hader
    Barry, “710N” (HBO)
    Mr. Hader’s Directorial Team:
    Unit Production Manager: Aida Rodgers
    First Assistant Director: Gavin Kleintop
    Second Assistant Director: Erin Stern Linares
    Second Second Assistant Directors: Yarden Levo, Chalis Romero

    COMMERCIALS

    Kim Gehrig
    Somesuch, Inc.

    Accessibility, Apple ‑ Apple (Direct)
    First Assistant Directors: Michael Estrella
    Second Assistant Director: Brian Steffen
    Second Second Assistant Director: Shauna Frontera

    Run Baby Run, iPhone ‑ Apple (Direct)
    First Assistant Director: Matias Nilsson
    Second Assistant Director: Carl Jackson
    Second Second Assistant Director: Michael Paulson

    OUTSTANDING DIRECTORIAL ACHIEVEMENT OF A FIRST-TIME THEATRICAL FEATURE FILM DIRECTOR

    Charlotte Wells
    Aftersun
    (A24)

    MOVIES FOR TELEVISION AND LIMITED SERIES

    Helen Shaver
    Station Eleven, “Who’s There?” (HBO Max)
    Ms. Shaver’s Directorial Team:

    Unit Production Manager: David Nicksay
    First Assistant Director: Jennifer Wilkinson
    Second Assistant Director: Anna Vogt

    REALITY PROGRAMS

    Ben Simms
    Running Wild with Bear Grylls, “Florence Pugh in the Volcanic Rainforests of Costa Rica” (National Geographic Channel)
    Mr. Simms’ Directorial Team:
    Associate Director: Sara Brown

    CHILDREN’S PROGRAMS

    Anne Renton
    Best Foot Forward, “Halloween” (Apple TV+)
    Ms. Renton’s Directorial Team:
    Unit Production Manager: Lance W. Lanfear
    First Assistant Director: Nandi Bowe
    Second Assistant Director: Susie Balaban
    Second Second Assistant Director: Tim Neven

    DOCUMENTARY

    Sara Dosa
    Fire of Love (National Geographic)

    VARIETY/TALK/NEWS/SPORTS – SPECIALS

    Glenn Weiss
    The 75th Annual Tony Awards (CBS)
    Mr. Weiss’s Directorial Team:
    Associate Directors: Ken Diego, Robin Abrams, Susan Kopensky, Ricky Kirshner
    Stage Managers: Garry Hood, Bennymar Almonte, Phyllis Digilio, Peter Epstein, Andrew Feigin, Doug Fogel, Jeffry Gitter, Tyler Goldman, Arthur Lewis, Kevin Lishawa, Julie LoRusso, Seth Mellman, Jason Pacella, Jeffrey Pearl, Annette Powlis, Lauren Class Schneider, Eddie Valk

    VARIETY/TALK/NEWS/SPORTS – REGULARLY SCHEDULED PROGRAMMING

    Liz Patrick
    Saturday Night Live, “Host and Musical Guest Jack Harlow” (NBC)
    Ms. Patrick’s Directorial Team:
    Associate Directors: Michael Mancini, Michael Poole, Laura Ouziel‑Mack
    Stage Managers: Gena Rositano, Chris Kelly, Eddie Valk

    Source: Deadline

  • In Bicycle Thieves, De Sica puts a human face to the noise

    In Bicycle Thieves, De Sica puts a human face to the noise

    By Arman Saxena

    People yelling, cars screeching, and crowds running. This is Bicycle Thieves’ sonic landscape, a collage of sounds used to depict the constant bustle of post-war Rome. Antonio and his family are victims of this noise, the noise allowed his bike, his livelihood, to be stolen and the noise catches him when he himself, in a moment of desperation, resorts to thievery. 

    At the beginning of the film, Antonio is separate from the noise. A crowd of bodies jostles against each other as they await the municipal employment officer, hoping that this will be the day they are offered a job. But Antonio sits apart from the crowd, he does not see himself as one of them, he will not resort to the same fervent desperation. And when he is the one offered the job, a man from inside the crowd has to go fetch him so he can receive his offer. He stands above the mass of people, though as the film will remind us, this is only for a moment, and he soon returns down the steps, back to the masses. Once Maria sells their wedding sheets and Antonio buys the bike we see the couple at their happiest, smiling wide as they cruise down the streets of Rome. Things seem hopeful for the first time in the film, as if Antonio won’t have to continue struggling so arduously to support his family. He finally has agency as a man, no longer is his eight year old son the household’s main breadwinner, he has reclaimed his position as head of the family. Of course, this does not last long. As soon as he loses his bike, Antonio becomes obsessed and desperate.

    For many, it is incredibly difficult to empathize with a crowd or a collective. They can pity them for what they represent but true empathy for those human beings is absent. What De Sica does in Bicycle Thieves is he isolates Antonio from the crowd, focusing on him and his family, while initially implying that he is in a way different from the noise that engulfs him. He is not drowned by the noise, he works towards his goals in spite of it. However, De Sica is really not interested in promoting some idea of exceptionalism triumphing over poverty. After Antonio is caught attempting to steal the bike outside the wealthy man’s home and is eventually let go, he and Bruno slowly stumble down the streets of Rome. There are tears in both their eyes and they tightly grasp onto each other’s hands as they join the masses, the camera cutting to a rearview wide shot as their identifying characteristics dissolve further and further into the sea of noise. Antonio was doomed from the start. He was never going to escape the noise no matter how hard he tried. We empathize with Antonio. And when Antonio rejoins the crowd, we begin to truly empathize with the noise, which is what I believe to be the film’s purpose. 

    Roger Ebert famously described films as “machines that generate empathy” and De Sica’s film is one of the most effective examples of that idea. Empathy is not pity. There is a barrier in pity between the pitied and who is pitying. There are no barriers in empathy, both humans are on the same level, the same playing field. I think De Sica purposefully depersonalizes the masses occupying the Rome streets. Of course, there are major exceptions to this, including the mother of the young ruffian who Antonio accuses of thievery and the old man who Antonio interrogates and threatens. It is no mistake that the people Antonio acts belligerently towards are those who are even lower on the social scale than he is, the old man is going to church solely for the purpose of a decent meal and the elderly mother has been waiting for her son to get a job for over a year. It is also no mistake that while no one runs after the man that steals Antonio’s bike, a whole mob, many of which are decked out in suits, follows Antonio once he steals the bike of a wealthy man. While neorealism’s thesis is about observation and generating empathy just through the act of depicting human experience, there is a palpable anger in the film’s margins that bleeds to the surface through scenes like these. 

    When we first see him and his impoverished surroundings, many will pity Antonio and his family. As the film goes on, however, we spend more time with Antonio. We see the smiles he shares with his wife when he gets the bike and the tears he sheds once he has accepted that he won’t get it back. We see every aspect of their lives and no matter who the viewer is, it is impossible not to find similarities between his character and themselves. And by the time the word “Fin” has appeared on the frame, that initial pity has transformed into empathy.