The Fifties: 2024 Edition

by Cláudio Alves 

DUNE: PART TWO is the nomination leader, with eight individual citations.

Some time ago, Nick Davis used to have an annual tradition on his blog, commemorating the landmark of fifty new releases watched with an awards roster of sorts. Going through different Oscar-y categories, it felt like a way to celebrate the year in cinema before all the buzzy releases took over the conversation. As a reader, I loved those lists, using them as recommendations and insight into a fantastic writer's taste. Moreover, between that and Nathaniel's Halfway Mark honors, I grew inspired. Thus, a personal tradition came to be, with me taking tally of my own imaginary ballots around the same period. This year, having reached the goal of fifty 2024 feature releases, I've decided to share my "fifties" with you.

Consider it a love letter to the films I've loved so far in the year. It's also my homage to two writers I've long admired and whose influence over my cinephilia is impossible to quantify…

To clarify, I've considered fifty films already released in the US, whether in theaters or digital. I'm based in Portugal, but since The Film Experience follows the American calendar, this seems like the logical choice. My chosen categories reflect the Team Experience Awards, so there's an ensemble prize and Best Music instead of Song and Score. Moreover, I left some lineups with less than five nominees when I didn't find enough worthy titles.

Without further ado, here are my fifties:

BEST PICTURE

• DO NOT EXPECT TOO MUCH FROM THE END OF THE WORLD
• DUNE: PART TWO
• EVIL DOES NOT EXIST
• HERE
• INSIDE THE YELLOW COCOON SHELL
• LIMBO
• MAMBAR PIERRETTE
• PICTURES OF GHOSTS
• THE BREAKING ICE
• THE FEELING THAT THE TIME FOR DOING SOMETHING HAS PASSED

BEST DIRECTOR

• Pham Thien An, INSIDE THE YELLOW COCOON SHELL
• Bas Devos, HERE
• Luca Guadagnino, CHALLENGERS
• Radu Jude, DO NOT EXPECT TOO MUCH FROM THE END OF THE WORLD
• Rosine Mbakam, MAMBAR PIERRETTE

BEST ACTRESS

• Mouna Hawa, INSHALLAH A BOY
• Ilinca Manolache, DO NOT EXPECT TOO MUCH FROM THE END OF THE WORLD
• Mia MacKenna-Bruce, HOW TO HAVE SEX
• Ally Maki, SEAGRASS
• Léa Seydoux, THE BEAST

BEST ACTOR

• Mike Faist, CHALLENGERS
• Navid Mohammadzadeh, BEYOND THE WALL
• James Norton, NOWHERE SPECIAL
• Josh O'Connor, CHALLENGERS
• Raphaël Quenard, JUNKYARD DOG and YANNICK 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS 

• Anna Baryshnikov, LOVE LIES BLEEDING
• Rebecca Ferguson, DUNE: PART TWO
• Mishell Guaña, THE SETTLERS
• S. Epatha Merkerson, WE GROWN NOW
• Renée Soutendijk, SWEET DREAMS

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

• Alfredo Castro, THE SETTLERS
• Scott Cohen, THE FEELING THAT THE TIME FOR DOING SOMETHING HAS PASSED
• Pio Marmaï, YANNICK
• Issaka Sawadogo, IO CAPITANO
• Babak Tafti, THE FEELING THAT THE TIME FOR DOING SOMETHING HAS PASSED

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY 

• Joanna Arnow, THE FEELING THAT THE TIME FOR DOING SOMETHING HAS PASSED
• Anthony Chen, THE BREAKING ICE
• Gladys Joujou, Nadine Naous & Lina Soualem, BYE BYE TIBERIAS
• Radu Jude, DO NOT EXPECT TOO MUCH FROM THE END OF THE WORLD
• Ivan Sen, LIMBO

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

• Bertrand Bonello, Guillaume Bréaud & Benjamin Charbit, THE BEAST
• Patric Chiha, Jihane Chouaib & Axelle Ropert, THE BEAST IN THE JUNGLE
• Michael Showalter & Jennifer Westfeldt, THE IDEA OF YOU

BEST EDITING

• Marco Costa, CHALLENGERS
• Catalin Cristutiu, DO NOT EXPECT TOO MUCH FROM THE END OF THE WORLD
• Dieter Diependaele, HERE
• Ryūsuke Hamaguchi & Azusa Yamazaki, EVIL DOES NOT EXIST
• Mark Towns, LOVE LIES BLEEDING

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

• Simone D'Arcangelo, THE SETTLERS
• Greig Fraser, DUNE: PART TWO
• Dinh Duy Hung, INSIDE THE YELLOW COCOON SHELL
• Hélène Louvart, DISCO BOY
• Sayombhu Mukdeeprom, CHALLENGERS

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

• Myrte Beltman, SWEET DREAMS
• Luxi Du, THE BREAKING ICE
• Beck Rainford & Emma Field-Rayner, CLUB ZERO
• Patrice Vermette, Zsuzsanna Sipos & Shane Vieau, DUNE: PART TWO
• Merje Veski & Eric Frankel, WE GROWN NOW

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

• George Buxton, HOW TO HAVE SEX
• Claire Dubien, THE BEAST IN THE JUNGLE
• Elke Hoste & Baloji Tshiani, OMEN
• Charlotte Walter, WICKED LITTLE LETTERS
• Jacqueline West, DUNE: PART TWO

BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING

• ABIGAIL
• LOVE LIES BLEEDING
• MONKEY MAN
• THE ANIMAL KINGDOM
• THE THREE MUSKETEERS: D'ARTAGNAN

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

• CIVIL WAR
• DUNE: PART TWO
• GODZILLA X KONG: THE NEW EMPIRE
• LOVE LIES BLEEDING
• THE FALL GUY

BEST MUSIC

• Hole Dweller, RIDDLE OF FIRE
• Eiko Ishibashi, EVIL DOES NOT EXIST
• Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross, CHALLENGERS
• Vitalic, DISCO BOY
• Hans Zimmer, DUNE: PART TWO

BEST SOUND

• CIVIL WAR
• DUNE: PART TWO
• IO CAPITANO
• LOVE LIES BLEEDING
• MONKEY MAN

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

• ART COLLEGE 1994, Liu Jian

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

• APOLONIA, APOLONIA, Lea Glob
• BYE BYE TIBERIAS, Lina Soualem
• ON THE ADAMANT, Nicolas Philibert
• PICTURES OF GHOSTS, Kleber Mendonça Filho

BEST ENSEMBLE

• DO NOT EXPECT TOO MUCH FOR THE END OF THE WORLD
• HOW TO HAVE SEX
• JUNKYARD DOG
• SEAGRASS
• YANNICK

If you want to follow my cinematic journey through 2024, I keep a Letterboxd ranking regularly updated. It currently includes over sixty titles, some of which will reach general audiences in the coming months. However, I only considered the fifty that have been released for these special awards.

What about you, dear reader? If you had to formulate an Oscar ballot now, what would it look like?

Comments

[Peggy Sue]

What's your guide -in terms of eligibility- for your Twitter lineups?

[Cláudio Alves]

Peggy Sue - - For my Twitter FYC threads I follow US releases, digital and theatrical. For those proper ballots, I tend to go by Oscar eligibility.

[McGill]

“Wicked Little Letters” smacked me in the face with not being what I expected. I don’t know why I thought Olivia Colman would just play a few of her favourite comic notes in a satiric little movie. But Olivia never does anything half-hearted.

Olivia does malice, madness, pride, hubris, innocence, joy, yearning, fear, terror, fury, self-absorption, cunning, vengefulness, sweetness. She has no filter, she’s not thinking about audience approval, she just goes there.

For supporting actors where veteran actors play scary dads, there’s Timothy Spall in “Wicked Little Letters” and Ed Harris in “Love Lies Bleeding” (that wig! iieeeee!)

For Star of Tomorrow, Alisha Weir in “Abigail”. Weir was “Matilda” last year and was wonderful, and is also in “Wicked Little Letters” this year.

And a special tip of the hat to director Gabriela Cowperthwaite who gave us all the successful elements of a classic American space thriller in “I.S.S.” on a budget of $14 million.

I realized one week that the last three films I had seen had been directed by women. And I thought oh yes, because of the strike they are the “filler” films because other films weren’t finished. And yet - - I had been completely entertained.

[Frank Zappa]

@ Cláudio
Can we correctly infer from the above that it's Zendaya's performance and the writing that kept Challengers out of your Best Picture lineup?

[Cláudio Alves]

Frank Zappa -- I think you can say that. They're certainly the film's weakest elements, in my view. In any case, I happen to love these ten (and others) more than Guadagnino's latest, even as I admire a whole lot of it, from frenetic editing to sensualist direction.

[rdf]

Up until about 5yrs. ago I knew every. movie and every actor/actress in the movies./. A lot has change d and I will;l not go into that≥

Of the 20 actors you name in your write up.... I recognize 2 of them. There is no Hollywood stars..../ guess I will have to change with the times!!!!

[Joan Naylor]

It's a tradition that not only pays tribute to influential writers but also contributes to the communal slope dialogue that surrounds the art of filmmaking.

[Sophia Sophiam]

I want to extend my deepest gratitude for the immense impact your work has had on heardle decades my personal and professional growth. Your insights, guidance, and practical advice have been instrumental in helping me navigate challenges, overcome obstacles, and embrace new opportunities.