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The 15 shortlisted films vying to become one of the five Best International Feature nominees at the 2021 Academy Awards are a surprising and creatively engaging bunch. Their stories often are drenched in history — much of it tragic and disturbing — and turbulent social and political currents course through any number of them. Just four of the 15 were directed by familiar names so, for the most part, the filmmakers behind these works are in the early stages of their careers, which can only create optimism and excitement about what these up-and-comers will do in the future. Oscar nominations will be revealed on March 15. I’ve now seen all of the contenders and must say that it was, for the most part, stimulating to encounter so many fresh voices from some often little-heard-from realms of the cinematic world. Fewer than half of the semi-finalists come from countries typically thought of as regularly representing the cinematic front-rank — France, Iran, Denmark, Mexico, … [Read more...] about Oscars: Todd McCarthy’s Top Picks For Best International Feature Nominations

EXCLUSIVE : Naomi Scott ( Aladdin ), Olivia Cooke ( Ready Player One ), and Bel Powley ( T he Diary Of A Teenage Girl ) are starring in and executive-producing dark-comedy thriller podcast series Soft Voice . The story follows a young woman (Scott) with a voice in her head that tells her what to do, leading to her extraordinary success. One day, the voice disappears — and a new one takes over. Heralding from LA-based audio studio QCode , the 10-episode series is created by James Bloor. The drama will launch from March 17 on most major pod platforms. Also exec-producing are Jordan Spence, Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, Fred Berger, Rob Herting, and David Henning. Scott and Jordan Spence are producing the project under their New Name banner. QCode was recently nominated for nine Ambie Awards including Podcast of the Year for drama Dirty Diana with Demi Moore. The company is also starting to turn a number of its audio series into TV and films. Olivia Cooke … [Read more...] about Naomi Scott, Olivia Cooke & Bel Powley Lead ‘Soft Voice’ Podcast From QCode

EXCLUSIVE: The largest genre film festival in South America, Fantaspoa , has unveiled the first half of its program for its seventeenth edition, running April 9-18. Scroll down for the full list. Like last year, the fest has been forced to run online due to the ongoing pandemic. It will be held completely free of charge with films available to stream in Brazil via a renewed partnership with Brazilian horror streaming service Darkflix. Last year’s event attracted more than 67,000 viewers. While the films are geo-locked, and limited to 3,000 viewers per screening, Q&As and workshops will be available to view anywhere in the world. There are 25 feature films confirmed to date, including three world premieres, five international premieres, and 10 Latin American premieres. Titles arrive from previous fests including San Sebastian, Rotterdam and Toronto. Related Story South America's Largest Genre Film Festival Fantaspoa Sets 2020 Digital Edition With Streamer … [Read more...] about Brazil’s Fantaspoa, South America’s Largest Genre Festival, Unveils First Half Of 2021 Program

The doings of the international art world often seem arcane and over the top, but never moreso than as depicted in The Man Who Sold His Skin . This is a madly dramatic and engrossing melodrama about a political refugee whose unique predicament bundles with it issues pertaining to personal and political identity, the Middle East quagmire, romantic rejection and the outer limits of art world presumption and extravagance. Tunisia’s shortlisted submission in the International Feature Oscar race is a very tasty couscous of fine ingredients and flat-out entertaining enough to warrant significant international exposure. Kaouther Ben Hania ’s follow-up to her 2017 Cannes Un Certain Regard selection Beauty And The Dogs is notable for its gutsy narrative moves, rich visuals and sheer drive, which marks her, along with her notably resourceful and elegant Lebanese cinematographer Christopher Aoun, as talents who should emerge even more decisively before long. Related … [Read more...] about Int’l Critics Line: Todd McCarthy On Tunisia’s Oscar-Shortlisted ‘The Man Who Sold His Skin’

When visual effects supervisor Michael Fong and effects supervisor Bill Watral boarded Soul , they were each a bit intimidated, immediately recognizing the film as one of frighteningly novel ambitions. Meditating on the origins of the human personality, Pixar ’s latest would require them to bring to life characters and worlds unlike any they’d created before. Directed by Pete Docter and Kemp Powers, Soul centers on Joe (Jamie Foxx), a frustrated middle-school band teacher who seeks to return to Earth, to realize his dreams of performing as a jazz musician, after a sudden accident separates him from his body. Thrust into a celestial realm known as The Great Before, the character finds that he’ll only be able to get back to New York City if he agrees to mentor a stubborn, fledgling soul named 22 (Tina Fey). Related Story 'Soul' Directors Pete Docter And Kemp Powers On Bringing Authentic Life To Pixar's First Black Lead Character & The Importance Of … [Read more...] about ‘Soul’ VFX Supervisors Michael Fong & Bill Watral Embrace Inner “Adrenaline Junkie,” Pushing Boundaries With Pixar’s Latest Feature