Movie On 2022

This year I'll start my Wish List with films by female directors as in the buzz list there is an unusual number of them plus most films I'm truly interested in watching (with few exceptions) are made by them. Still no official news about selections announcements but there is some speculation:  Press Conference Official Selection on April 18,  Semaine on April 22 and Quizaine on April 23.  The only official announcement came yesterday with ACID selection on April 23, date is already in calendar.  The closing date for submitting films was last Monday, March 11th so now the decision process has begun in full. French Female Filmmakers Céline Sciamma with Portrait de la jeune fille en feu (Portrait of a Lady On Fire) Sciamma has been twice before in Cannes, in 2007 with her debut film Naissance des pieuvres (Water Lilies) competing in Un Certain Regard and in 2014 with Bande de Filles (Girlhood) in the Quinzaine.  But she was also in 2016 Quinzaine not as a director...

A few days back came the announcement of the fifteenth edition of the Atelier with 15 directors invited to attend the Festival de Cannes.  Together with their producers, they will be able to meet potential partners, a necessary step to finish their project and start the making of their film. The filmmakers are selected according to the quality of their project and that of their previous films, as well as on the state of progress of their finance plan.  The program will enable them to gain access to international financing and speed up the production process. In order to help the selected filmmakers, L'Atelier undertakes to publish a Livre des Projects to promote the film projects and present the directors and their film producers to film professionals and the media, plus organize appointments and allow them access to daily Festival screenings. These are the 15 projects from 15 countries selected for the 15th edition of L'Atelier Broadway , Christos Massalas, Greece In Alaska, ...

As happens every single year, Cannes buzz starts during the Berlinale and gets louder when Berlinale ends.  But this year there are good news, buzz seems to be a lot more intersting than last year as there are some strong filmmakers with movies ready to be screen in competition, out of competition, any other fest section or parallel section. Then we have to consider that after 2018 fiasco, smaller changes could make fest a lot more interesting and well, better.  No one will forget that thanks to French movie theaters owners, Netflix was banned and Roma was not accepted.  So, Roma went to La Biennale only to win the Golden Lion and the rest is history.  Much buzz (or is just plain gossip?) is going around about the discussions between festival organizers and Netflix but know problem is not Thierry Fremaux, who almost lost his job in 2017 due to this issue; problem is with the board of directors where there are a few movie theaters owners.  Soon we will see the en...

Updating blog, this is the last post that needed update with winners. The American awards season is over and boy, I'm truly glad is over as this edition was like a very unpleasant roller coaster ride with so many ups and downs that were hard to sustain and well, to accept. Sight. So, there is no surprise when we saw the awards season closing with a top winner that will go to the must-forget cinema history annals; still, if one person from Oscars top winning film should be acknowledge was Octavia Spencer, who -of course- was not acknowledged at all.  Yes, talking about Green Book. But top individual award winner became Alfonso Cuarón by winning two top awards, Best Director and Best Cinematography plus his film winning Best Foreign Language Film. Believe that what really upset many of those I follow on Social Media was the awful fact that there were too-many relevant Academy honors to two films that portrayed homosexuality in a non-flattering and what seemed (or is) non-realistic wa...

Updating blog. The Favourite by Yorgos Lanthimos was the big winner of the night with a record 10 wins, including best film, best director, best actress and supporting actress, best screenplay and more; Roma wins best international film. The Richard Harris Award for Outstanding Contribution by an Actor to British Film went to none other than Judi Dench, The Variety Award to Felicity Jones, and the Special Jury Prize to Horace Ove. To check winners at official site go here.  Winners are in *BLUE . ---///--- 10/31/18 The Favourite leads with 13 nominations for the 2018 British Independent Film Awards (BIFAs) announced this morning by British actors Ellie Bamber and Arinzé Kene at the Everyman Cinema, King’s Cross. Yorgos Lanthimos’s black comedy about the 18th century court of Queen Anne is recognized for Best British Independent Film, Best Director and Best Screenplay. Olivia Colman is nominated for Best Actress, with her co-stars in the female-led ensemble, Emma Stone and Rachel W...

Updating blog.  The indie awards one day before the Oscars gave honors to many films, spreading the wealth all over.  Still, If Beale Street Could Talk by Barry Jenkins became the top winner by winning three awards. To check winners at official site go here . Winners are in *BLUE . ---///--- 11/18/18 The 2019 Film Independent Spirit Award nominees were announced last Friday's morning at the W Hotel in Hollywood, presented by Gemma Chan and Molly Shannon and featuring yet another diverse group of talented creators with a shared belief in the power and promise of independent storytelling. Perhaps the most remarkable fact in nominees list is that honors are well-spread among many films as pack leader is We the Animals by Jeremiah Zagar with five nominations followed by three feature films Eight Grade, First Reformed and You Were Never Really Here with four each.  Then we have the distributor breakdown where A24 scored 12 nominations followed by Amazon Studios, Netflix and t...

Updating blog. To watch complete awards ceremony, just two-hours long, go down to post end. Perhaps was only me but 2018 was a below average production quality for French Cinema as there were not great movies and much less, great directors.  The only director worth-watching did an English-language film and well, got enough honors by Paris based foreign press.  Yes, talking about The Sisters Brothers by Jacques Audiard. To check winners at official site go here .  Winners are in *BLUE . ---///--- 12/18/18 Yesterday the foreign press based in Paris announced the nominations for the 2019 edition of the Lumières Awards which honors French and Francophone films since 1995 when Daniel Toscan du Plantier and Edward Behr created the award. More than 130 films were screened in France during 2018 and 37 gained a nomination; now eighty (80) Lumières Academy members -representing 30+ countries- will vote to define the winner in each category. Very-lucky Academy members have access ...