Oscars

The Danish Oscar committee has selected Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s Flee as its entry for this year’s international Oscar race. The animated documentary tells the true story of a man, Amin, on the verge of marriage which compels him to reveal his hidden past for the first time. The film beat out Charlotte Sieling’s Margrete – Queen of the North and Ole Bornedal’s The Shadow in My Eye to be chosen. The decision was made by Danish Film Institute CEO Chairman Claus Ladegaard (CEO, Danish Film Institute), Jacob Jarek (Danish Producers), Tea Lindeburg (Danish Directors), Mette Heeno (Danish Screenwriters), Jan Weincke (Danish Cinematographers), Nanna Frank Rasmussen (Danish Film Critics), Søren Søndergaard (Danish Cinema Owners) and Marianne Moritzen (Head of Fiction, Danish Film Institute). Flee was selected for the Cannes Film Festival’s virtual edition last year. It screened physically in Sundance, winning the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize. Since then the film …

Continue Reading about Denmark Sends Sundance Hit ‘Flee’ To International Oscar Race →

Unclenching the Fists , the drama directed by Kira Kovalenko that won the grand prize this year in the Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard sidebar, has been selected to represent Russia in the Best International Feature Film category at the 94th Oscars . The news was announced Monday by the Russian Oscar Committee. Produced by Ukranian-Russian super-producer Alexander Rodnyansky with Sergey Melkumov, the pic (titled Razzhimaya Kulaki in Russian) is set in a former mining town in the industrial section of North Ossetia and follows a young woman named Ada (Milana Aguzarova) who struggles to escape the stifling hold of the family she loves as much as she rejects. Mubi has North American, UK and Ireland, Latin America and India rights to the the film, which will make its Los Angeles premiere next month at AFI Fest. This year’s Un Certain Regard sidebar has spawned at least four submissions to the 2022 International Feature Oscar race, with Unclenching the …

Continue Reading about Russia Submits Cannes Un Certain Regard Winner ‘Unclenching The Fists’ To Oscar Race →

Costa Rica on Friday selected Nathalie Álvarez Mesén’s debut feature Clara Sola to as the country’s submission to the 2022 International Feature Oscar race. The pic, which made its world premiere in the Directors’ Fortnight sidebar at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, was later scooped up by Oscilloscope Laboratories which will release it in theaters early next year. Álvarez Mesén and Maria Camila Arias co-penned the script for the pic, which is set in a remote Costa Rican village and centers on 40-year-old Clara, who endures a repressively religious and withdrawn life under the command of her mother. Tension builds within the family as Clara’s younger niece approaches her quinceañera, igniting a sexual and mystical awakening in Clara, and a journey to free herself from the conventions that have dominated her life. Ana Julia Porras Espinoza, Daniel Castañeda Rincón, Flor María Vargas Chavez and Wendy Chinchilla Araya star. Sweden-based production company Hobab …

Continue Reading about Costa Rica Chooses ‘Clara Sola’ As Its Oscar International Feature Submission →

Koozhangal , the PS Vinothraj directorial has been selected as India's official entry to the Oscars 2022. The social drama is bankrolled by the popular actress Nayanthara and director Vignesh Shivan, under the banner Rowdy Pictures. The renowned actors Vicky Kaushal and Samantha, took to their social media pages to congratulate the couple on the Oscar entry of Koozhangal . Vicky Kaushal, the supremely talented Bollywood actor congratulated Nayanthara and Vignesh Shivan for the great achievement, with a special story on his official Instagram handle. The Sardar Udham actor shared a poster of Koozhangal on his Insta story, and wrote: " Congratulations Vignesh Shivan, Nayanthara & Team #Koozhangal! Go for glory!! " Samantha Ruth Prabhu, the popular actress who is all set to join hands with Nayanthara and Vignesh Shivan for the upcoming romantic comedy Kaathuvaakula Rendu Kaadhal , took to her Insta story and congratulated the couple. " Big …

Continue Reading about Koozhangal Is India’s Official Entry To Oscars 2022; Celebs Congratulate Producers Nayanthara & Vignesh Shivan →

The International Documentary Association came out with its shortlist of the year’s best documentaries today, a list as notable for what was left out as what made it in. A total of 29 feature films earned a spot on the IDA shortlist, including some considered Oscar frontrunners: Summer of Soul , Ascension , and Flee —each of which earned nominations last week for both the Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards and the Gotham Awards. But several other films making a strong bid for Oscar attention were snubbed, among them The Rescue , Becoming Cousteau , Attica , Procession , and My Name Is Pauli Murray . The IDA gave recognition to several documentaries with an international dimension, like Faya Dayi , from Mexican-Ethiopian director Jessica Bashir, Chinese-born filmmaker Nanfu Wang’s Covid-19-related doc In The Same Breath , and Miguel’s War , the story of a gay Lebanese man who exiles himself to Spain. The IDA-shortlisted President focuses on …

Continue Reading about IDA Shortlists: ‘Flee,’ ‘Ascension,’ ‘Summer of Soul’ Get Recognition, But Other Oscar Doc Hopefuls Snubbed →

The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures will be taking a trip to Vienna for a six-week programming initiative including a symposium and film series with a distinct cinematic connection to that fabled Austrian city. The museum announced today the series launch on December 10 and running through January 31. It is designed to explore what the museum describes as the “large community of predominately Jewish, Austrian-born film artists and professionals who helped shape the films and industry of classical era Hollywood.” Titled “ Vienna in Hollywood : Emigres and Exiles in the Studio System,” the series is presented in collaboration with the USC Libraries and the USC Max Kade Institute. The Austrian Consulate General in L.A. also is offering support. Bill Kramer, director and president of the Academy Museum, said: “During the classical Hollywood era, so many beloved films and so many components of the movie industry were developed and shaped by Austrian émigrés, including …

Continue Reading about Academy Museum Set Six-Week Film Series And Symposium On Impact Of Austrian Jews In Hollywood From Wilder To Zinnemann →

After a long Covid delay, The French Dispatch opens this weekend with distributor Searchlight Pictures and the industry hoping the whimsical Wes Anderson ’s film brings a touch of Grand Budapest Hotel -ish coin to the specialty box office. Hoping, but not counting on it, as the box office take beyond studio tentpoles has been largely dour and stubbornly unpredictable. The French Dispatch debuts in 52 theaters and 14 markets in a crowded field including the pop culture phenomenon called Dune . Searchlight acquired The French Dispatch in September of 2019 and it was to have played at a Covid-canceled Cannes in 2020. It premiered on the Croisette this year instead, then screened at the BFI London Film Festival, Telluride, the New York Film Festival –hitting 25 fests in all. Anderson’s tenth film — full name The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun — brings to life a collection of stories from the final issue of an American magazine …

Continue Reading about Finalement! Wes Anderson’s ‘The French Dispatch’ Delivered To Theaters; ‘Becoming Cousteau’ Dives In – Specialty Preview →

Dwayne Johnson is one of the most active stars on social media, often taking to Twitter and Instagram to provide updates on his projects for his fans, a tradition which continues now with a new video and photo from the set of his new action-thriller Skyscraper . Here's what The Rock had to say about his set photo, which was taken during the third week of production on this action-thriller. "Bloody and battered w/ my director Rawson Thurber between takes. WEEK 3 complete of our action thriller #SKYSCRAPER. This is my second film with Rawson putting my trust in his hands. A very smart, ambitious, extremely focused and methodical guy who wants to deliver a f*cking intensely breathtaking and epic film for the fans. Our story takes place in China. In the penthouse of the world's tallest skyscraper... on fire. More details to come down the road. Until then, WEEK 3 complete and we'll just keep on keepin' on. #JohnsonThurber #SKYSCRAPER" This project came together quite quickly, with …

Continue Reading about The Rock Gets Bloody in Skyscraper Set Photo and Video →

Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya are currently gearing up for the release of their upcoming film Dune . The two have been known to have a perfect friendship and recently they put their relationship to test with a BFF text hosted by Buzzfeed. After guessing each other's birthdays, middle names, favourite snacks, the duo was asked about each other's celebrity crushes. when Timothée teased Zendaya by quickly blurting out her beau Tom Holland's name. "Easy, Tom Holland," he says with a slight smirk. Meanwhile, Zendaya also teased him in her own say, she said, "Aw, man. I don't actually know... Maybe that's a secret... on purpose." Take a look at the video, Venice Film Festival 2021: Spencer, Dune, The Lost Daughter And More Movies To Watch Out For Notably, Zendaya and Tom Holland, who have been working together for five years in MCU's Spider-Man franchise, are rumoured to be dating. Earlier this year, the two were spotted kissing in a car at a LA …

Continue Reading about Timothée Chalamet Reveals Zendaya’s Celebrity Crush Is Rumored Boyfriend Tom Holland →

EXCLUSIVE : Leven Rambin ( The Forever Purge ), Jake McLaughlin ( Quantico ), Shane West ( Gotham ), Sohvi Rodriguez ( Animal Kingdom ) and Dee Wallace ( E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial ) will star in Homestead , a thriller from writer-director Marcos Efron ( And Soon the Darkess ), which is currently in production in Knoxville, Tennessee. The film from Conley Entertainment Group centers on a young couple (Rambin and McLaughlin) who have fled the city in search of peace and serenity in the mountains, but subsequently find that they must contend with myriad dangers—both close to home, as well as on a much larger scale. Brian Conley, Mark Heidelberger, Eric Bross and Stephen Israel are producing, with John Black and Richie Walls set to co-produce. Rambin recently starred in The Forever Purge —the fifth film in Universal Pictures’ Purge horror franchise—also appearing in David Fincher’s Netflix Oscar winner, Mank . The actress has also …

Continue Reading about ‘Homestead’: Leven Rambin, Jake McLaughlin & Shane West To Topline Thriller →