CANNES 2021

 74th CANNES International Film Festival - July 6-17

Competition

Annette, Leos Carax (France) - Opening Film

The Story of My Wife, Ildikó Enyedi (Hungary)

Benedetta, Paul Verhoeven (Netherlands)

Bergman Island, Mia-Hansen-Love (France)

Drive My Car, Rysuke Hamaguchi (Japan)

Ha’Berech (Ahed’s Knee), Nadav Lapid (Israel)

Casablanca Beats, Nabil Ayouch (Morocco)

Compartment No 6, Juho Kuosmanen (Finland)

The Worst Person in the World, Joachim Trier (Norway)

La Fracture, Catherine Corsini (France)

The Restless, Joachim Lafosse (Belgium)

Paris 13th District, Jacques Audiard (France)

Lingui, Mahamat-Saleh Haroun (Chad)

Memoria, Apichatpong Weerasethakul (Thailand)

Nitram, Justin Kurzel (Australia)

France, Bruno Dumont (France)

Petrov’s Flu, Kirill Serebrennikov (Russia)

Red Rocket, Sean Baker (US)

Flag Day, Sean Penn (US)

The French Dispatch, Wes Anderson (US)

Titane, Julia Ducournau (France)

Tre Piani, Nanni Moretti (Italy)

Tour S’Est Bien Passe, François Ozon (France)

A Hero, Asghar Farhadi (Iran)

Un Certain Regard

Moneyboys, CB Yi (Austria)

Blue Bayou, Justin Chon (US)

Freda, Gessica Geneus (Haiti)

Delo (House Arrest), Alexey German Jr (Russia)

Bonne Mere, Hafsia Herzi (France)

Noche de Fuego, Tatiana Huezo (Mexico)

Lamb, Valdimar Johansson (Iceland)

Commitment Hasan, Hasan Semih Kaplanoglu (Turkey)

After Yang, Kogonada (US)

Let There Be Morning, Eran Kolirin (Israel)

Unclenching the Fists, Kira Kovalenko (Russia)

Women Do Cry, Mina Mileva, Vesela Kazakova (Bulgaria)

Rehana Maryam Noor, Abdullah Mohammad Saad (Bangladesh)

Great Freedom, Sebastian Meise (Austria)

La Civil, Teodora Ana Mihai (Romania/Belgium)

Gaey Wa’r, Na Jiazuo (China)

The Innocents, Eskil Vogt (Norway)

Un Monde, Laura Wandel (Belgium)

Out of Competition

De Son Vivant, Emmanuelle Bercot (France)

Emergency Declaration, Han Jae-Rim (Korea)

The Velvet Underground, Todd Haynes (US)

Bac Nord, Cédric Jimenez (France)

Aline, The Voice of Love, Valérie Lemercier (France)

Stillwater, Tom McCarthy (US)

Midnight Screenings

Bloody Oranges, Jean-Christophe Meurisse (France)

Cannes Premiere

Hold Me Tight, Mathieu Amalric (France)

Cow, Andrea Arnold (UK)

Love Songs for Tough Guys, Samuel Benchetrit (France)

Deception, Arnaud Desplechin (France)

Jane Par Charlotte, Charlotte Gainsbourg (France)

In Front of Your Face, Hong Sang-Soo (Korea)

Mothering Sunday, Eva Husson (France)

Evolution, Kornél Mundruczo (Hungary)

Val, Ting Poo, Leo Scott (US)

JFK Revisited: Through The Looking Glass, Oliver Stone (US)

Special Screenings

Mariner of the Mountains, Karim Ainouz (Brazil)

Black Notebooks, Shlomi Elkabetz (Israel)

Babi Yar. Context, Sergei Loznitsa (Ukraine)

H6, Yé Yé (France)

The Year of the Everlasting Storm, Jafar Panahi (Iran), Anthony Chen (Singapore), Malik Vitthal (US), Laura Poitras (US), Dominga Sotomayor (Chile), David Lowery (US) and Apichatpong Weerasethakul (Thailand)

César Winners 2021

 46th César Winners

The awards ceremony took place at L'Olympia. These are the winners:

BEST FILM

Bye Bye Morons (Adieu les cons), dir: Albert Dupontel

BEST DIRECTOR

Albert Dupontel, Bye Bye Morons (Adieu les cons)

BEST ACTRESS

Laure Calamy, My Donkey, My Lover & I (Antoinette dans les Cévennes)

BEST ACTOR

Sami Bouajila, A Son (Un Fils)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Emilie Dequenne, Love Affair(s) (Les Choses qu’on dit, les choses qu’on fait)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Nicolas Mairé, Bye Bye Morons (Adieu les cons)

BEST FIRST FILM

Two of Us (Deux), dir: Filippo Meneghetti

BEST FOREIGN FILM

Another Round, dir: Thomas Vinterberg (Denmark)

BEST MALE NEWCOMER

Jean-Pascal Zadi, Tout simplement noir

BEST FEMALE NEWCOMER

Fathia Youssouf, Cuties (Mignonnes)

BEST EDITING

Tina Baz, Adolescentes

BEST SCORE

Rone, La Nuit venue

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Stéphanie Demoustier, The Girl with a Bracelet (La Fille au bracelet)

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Albert Dupontel, Bye Bye Morons (Adieu les cons)

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Madeline Fontaine, How to Be a Good Wife (La Bonne épouse)

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

Carlos Conti, Bye Bye Morons (Adieu les cons)

BEST SOUND

Adolescentes, Yolande Decarsin, Jeanne Delplanco, Fanny Martin, Olivier Goinard

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Alexis Kavyrchine, Bye Bye Morons (Adieu les cons)

BEST DOCUMENTARY

Adolescentes, dir: Sébastien Lifshitz

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

Josep, dir: Aurel

BEST ANIMATED SHORT

L’Heure de l’ours, dir: Agnès Patron

BEST SHORT FILM

Qu’importe si les bêtes meurent, dir: Sofia Alaoui

César 2021

46th César Awards Nominations 

The awards ceremony will take place at L'Olympia on March 12.

BEST FILM
Bye Bye Morons (Adieu les Cons), dir: Albert Dupontel
Adolescentes, dir: Sébastien Lifshitz
Antoinette dans les Cévennes, dir: Caroline Vignal
Love Affair(s) (Les Choses qu’on Dit, Les Choses qu’on Fait), dir: Emmanuel Mouret
Summer of 85 (Eté 85), dir: François Ozon

BEST DIRECTOR
Albert Dupontel, Bye Bye Morons
Maîwenn, DNA
Sébastien Lifshitz, Adolescentes
Emmanuel Mouret, Love Affair(s)
François Ozon, Summer of 85

BEST ACTRESS
Laure Calamy, Antoinette dans les Cévennes
Martine Chevallier, Two of Us (Deux)
Virginie Efira, Bye Bye Morons
Camélia Jordana, Love Affair(s)
Barbara Sukowa, Two of Us (Deux)

BEST ACTOR
Sami Bouajila, Un Fils
Jonathan Cohen, Enorme
Albert Dupontel, Bye Bye Morons
Niels Schneider, Love Affair(s)
Lambert Wilson, De Gaulle

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Fanny Ardant, DNA
Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Summer of 85
Emilie Dequenne, Love Affair(s)
Noémie Lvovsky, La Bonne Epouse
Yolande Moreau, La Bonne Epouse

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Edouard Baer, La Bonne Epouse
Louis Garrel, DNA
Benjamin Lavernhe, Antoinette dans les Cévennes
Vincent Macaigne, Love Affair(s)
Nicolas Mairé, Bye Bye Morons

BEST FEMALE NEWCOMER
Mélissa Guers, La Fille au Bracelet
India Hair, Poissonsexe
Julia Piaton, Love Affair(s)
Camille Rutherford, Felicità
Fathia Youssouf, Cuties (Mignonnes)

BEST MALE NEWCOMER
Guang Huo, La Nuit Venue
Félix Lefebvre, Summer of 85
Benjamin Voisin, Summer of 85
Alexandre Wetter, Miss
Jean-Pascal Zadi, Tout Simplement Noir

 

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Albert Dupontel, Bye Bye Morons
Caroline Vignal, Antoinette dans les Cévennes
Emmanuel Mouret, Love Affair(s)
Filippo Meneghetti & Malysone Bovorashy, Two of Us
Benoît Delépine & Gustave Kerven, Effacer l’Historique

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Olivier Assayas, Wasp Network
Hannelore Cayre & Jean-Paul Salomé, Mama Weed (La Daronne)
François Ozon, Summer of 85
Stéphanie Demoustier, La Fille au Bracelet
Eric Barbier, Petit Pays

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Alexis Kavyrchine, Bye Bye Morons
Antoine Parouty & Paul Guilhaume, Adolescentes
Simon Beaufils, Antoinette dans les Cévennes
Laurent Desmet, Love Affair(s)
Hichame Alaouié, Summer of 85

BEST SCORE
Christophe Julien, Bye Bye Morons
Stephen Warbeck, DNA
Mateï Bratescot, Antoinette dans les Cévennes
Jean-Benoït Dunckel, Summer of 85
Rone, La Nuit Venue

BEST EDITING
Christophe Pinel, Bye Bye Morons
Tina Baz, Adolescentes
Annette Dutertre, Antoinette dans les Cévennes
Marital Salomon, Love Affair(s)
Laure Gardette, Summer of 85

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Mimi Lempicka, Bye Bye Morons
Madeline Fontaine, La Bonne Epouse
Hélène Davoudian, Love Affair(s)
Anaïs Romand & Sergio Ballo, De Gaulle
Pascaline Chavanne, Summer of 85

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Carlos Conti, Bye Bye Morons
Thierry François, La Bonne Epouse
David Faivre, Love Affair(s)
Nicolas De Boiscuillé, De Gaulle
Benoît Barouh, Summer of 85

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Calamity, Une Enfance de Martha Jane Cannary, dir: Rémi Chayé
Josep, dir: Aurel
Petit Vampire, dir: Joann Sfar

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Adolescentes, dir: Sébastien Lifshitz
La Cravate, dir: Etienne Chaillou & Mathias Théry
Cyrille Agriculteur, 30 Ans, 20 Vaches, du Lait, du Beurre, des Dettes, dir: Rodolphe Marconi
Histoire d’un Regard, dir: Mariana Otero
Un Pays qui se Tient Sage, dir: David du Fresne

BEST FIRST FILM
Two of Us, dir: Filippo Meneghetti
Garçon Chiffon, dir: Nicolas Maury
Cuties, dir: Maïmouna Doucouré
Tout Simplement Noir, dir: Jean-Pascal Zadi
Un Divan à Tunis, dir: Manele Labidi

BEST FOREIGN FILM
1917, dir: Sam Mendes
Corpus Christi, dir: Jan Komasa
Dark Waters, dir: Todd Haynes
Another Round, dir: Thomas Vinterberg
Eva en Août, dir: Jonas Trueba

TOP 20 - BEST OF 2020

 

My favorite 20 BEST FILMS of 2020 (in alphabetical order):

BE WATER

Bao Nguyen (US)

BURNING GHOST

Vif-argent

Stéphane Batut (France)

DAYS

日子

Tsai Ming-liang (Taiwan)

DRY WIND

Vento seco

Daniel Nolasco (Brazil)

FIRE WILL COME

O que arde

Oliver Laxe (Spain)

FIRST COW

Kelly Reichardt (US)

GAZA MON AMOUR

  مونامورغزة 

Nasser Brothers (Palestine)

MATTHIAS & MAXIME

Xavier Dolan (Canada)

THE METAMORPHOSIS OF BIRDS

A metamorfose dos pássaros

Catarina Vasconcelos (Portugal)

NOMADLAND

Chloé Zhao (US)

NOTTURNO

Gianfranco Rosi (Italy)

THE PRINCE

El Príncipe

Sebastián Muñoz (Chile)

SHOULD THE WIND DROP

Si le vent tombe

Երբ որ քամին հանդարտվի

Nora Martirosyan (Armenia/France)

SOUND OF METAL

Darius Marder (US)

SPRING BLOSSOM

Seize printemps

Suzanne Lindon (France)

A SUN

陽光普照

Chung Mong-hong (Taiwan)

SUN CHILDREN

خورشید

Majid Majidi (Iran)

TWILIGHT'S KISS (Suk Suk)

叔 叔

Ray Yeung (Hong Kong)

VITALINA VARELA

Pedro Costa (Portugal)

WET SEASON

热带雨

Anthony Chen (Singapore)

SFFLA 2021

22nd Scandinavian Film Festival L.A.
7-24, 2021 - VIRTUAL EDITION

SCREENING SCHEDULE:

Week of January 7-10

Another Round - Thomas Vinterberg - Denmark - 117 min

Agnes Joy - Silja Hauksdóttir - Iceland - 92 min

Blizzard of Souls - Dzintars Dreibergs - Latvia - 104 min

The Last Ones - Veiko Õunpua - Estonia - 117 min

Week of January 14-17

Charter - Amanda Kernell - Sweden - 94 min

Hope - Maria Sødahl - Norway - 130 min

Nova Lituania - Karolis Kaupinis - Lithuania - 96 min

Tove - Zaida Bergroth - Finland - 100 min

Week of January 21-24

My Favorite War - Ilze Burkovska-Jacobsen - Norway/Latvia - animation 80 min

For more information and to buy tickets, please visit SFFLA2021

Oscar Entries 2020

Submissions to the 93rd Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film

As of today, we have several submissions announced to the 93rd Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film. Last year there were 93 submissions from around the world. Stay tuned for more submissions for this year as they get announced.

The category was previously called the Best Foreign Language Film, but this was changed in April 2019 to Best International Feature Film, after the Academy deemed the word "Foreign" to be outdated.

The deadline for submissions is extended until late 2020. The Academy is scheduled to announce a list of eligible submissions in late December 2020 from which 15 finalists will be shortlisted on February 9, 2021. The final five nominees will be announced on March 15, 2021. The winner will be announced on April 25, 2021 at the Oscar ceremony held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.

UPDATE:

The Academy of Motion Pictures announced the 93 submissions. Here is the complete list followed by my rating:

• Albania - Open Door
• Argentina - The Sleepwalkers ★★★
• Armenia - Songs of Solomon ★★★
• Austria - What We Wanted ★★★
• Bangladesh - Sincerely Yours, Dhaka
• Belgium - Working Girls ★★★
• Bolivia - Chaco
• Bosnia & Herzegovina - Quo Vadis, Aida? ★★★★
• Brazil - Babenco: Tell Me When I Die ★★★
• Bulgaria - The Father ★★★
• Cambodia - Fathers
• Cameroon - The Fisherman's Diary
• Canada - 14 Days, 12 Nights ★★★
• Chile - The Mole Agent ★★★
• China - Leap ★★
• Colombia - Forgotten We'll Be ★★★★
• Costa Rica - Land of Ashes ★★
• Croatia - Extracurricular ★★
• Cuba - Buscando a Casal
• Czech Republic - Charlatan ★★★
• Denmark - Another Round ★★★
• Dominican Republic - A State of Madness
• Ecuador - Emptiness
• Egypt - When We're Born
• Estonia - The Last Ones ★★★
• Finland - Tove ★★★★
• France - Two of Us (Deux) ★★★★
• Georgia - Beginning ★★★
• Germany - And Tomorrow the Entire World ★★★
• Greece - Apples ★★★
• Guatemala - La Llorona ★★★
• Honduras - Days of Light
• Hong Kong - Better Days ★★★
• Hungary - Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time ★★★
• Iceland - Agnes Joy ★★★
• India - Jallikattu ★★★
• Indonesia - Impetigore ★★
• Iran - Sun Children ★★★★
• Ireland - Arracht ★★
• Israel - Asia ★★★
• Italy - Notturno ★★★★
• Ivory Coast - Night of the Kings ★★★
• Japan - True Mothers ★★★
• Jordan - 200 Meters ★★★
• Kazakhstan - The Crying Steppe ★
• Kenya - The Letter
• Kosovo - Exile
• Kyrgyzstan - Running to the Sky
• Latvia - Blizzard of Souls ★★★
• Lebanon - Broken Keys ★★
• Lesotho - This is Not a Burial, It's a Resurrection
• Lithuania - Nova Lituania ★★★
• Luxembourg - River Tales ★★★
• Malaysia - Soul (Roh) ★★★
• Mexico - I'm No Longer Here ★★★
• Mongolia - Veins of the World
• Montenegro - Breasts
• Morocco - The Unknown Saint ★★★
• Netherlands - Buladó ★★
• Nigeria - The Milkmaid ★★
• North Macedonia - Willow ★★★
• Norway - Hope ★★★
• Palestine - Gaza Mon Amour ★★★★
• Pakistan - Circus of Life (Zindagi Tamasha) ★★★★
• Panama - Causa Justa
• Paraguay - Killing the Dead
• Peru - Song Without a Name ★★★
• Philippines - Mindanao
• Poland - Never Gonna Snow Again ★★★★
• Portugal - Vitalina Varela ★★★★
• Romania - Collective ★★★
• Russia - Dear Comrades! ★★
• Saudi Arabia - Scales ★★
• Senegal - Nafi's Father ★★
• Serbia - Dara of Jasenovac ★★★
• Singapore - Wet Season ★★★★
• Slovakia - The Auschwitz Report ★★★
• Slovenia - Stories from the Chestnut Woods
• South Africa - Toorbos ★★★
• South Korea - The Man Standing Next ★★★
• Spain - The Endless Trench ★★★
• Sudan - You Will Die at 20 ★★★
• Suriname - Wiren
• Sweden - Charter ★★★
• Switzerland - My Little Sister ★★★
• Taiwan - A Sun ★★★★
• Thailand - Happy Old Year ★★★
• Tunisia - The Man Who Sold His Skin ★★★★
• Turkey - Miracle in Cell No. 7 ★★★
• Ukraine - Atlantis ★★★
• Uruguay - Alelí
• Venezuela - Once Upon a Time in Venezuela ★★
• Vietnam - Dreamy Eyes