How many female directors are going to be nominated?

by Juan Carlos Ojano

In hindsight, concerns that "there are no movies" or cries to "cancel the Oscars" during the pandemic were premature and also insulting. We could lament all the films postponed or we could embrace the extraordinary films we got. 2020 was a rich year of diverse voices behind the movies. That happily translated to the awards conversation: BIPOC and female filmmakers have had an unprecedented presence in the run up to the Oscar nominations.

Looking back at Oscar history, only five women have been nominated for Best Director...

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Best International Feature: Costa Rica, Peru, Uruguay

by Cláudio Alves

Even though the Best International Feature category exists to celebrate world cinema, AMPAS tends to be biased in favor of European films. Productions from Africa, Asia, and Latin America tend to get shortchanged, although many stupendous films harken to those continents. Those tendencies may be waning though; In the last decade, only half of the winners came from Europe. With recent victories for Mexico and Chile, maybe we're living through a newfound openness from the Academy towards Latin American excellence? Speaking of which, we've already reviewed the flicks from Argentina, Chile, Guatemala, Mexico, and Venezuela. Now, it's time to examine the submissions of Costa Rica, Peru, and Uruguay… 

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Sundance: Robin Wright Directs “Land”

By Abe Friedtanzer 

Self-imposed exile is a common cinematic device used to frame narratives, with a variety of motivations for that lifestyle change. Venturing out solo into harsh or unknown conditions has been the premise of a range of films, including Wild and Into the Wild. Watching such a journey can be most poignant for what it reveals about its protagonist, and the beauty (or misery) they find along the way. Robin Wright makes her directorial debut with Land, a Focus Features production premiering at Sundance and slated for release on February 12th... 

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Showbiz History: Streisand makes history and Elijah Wood turns 40

6 random things that happened on this day, January 28th, in showbiz history...

1973 The 30th Golden Globes with The Godfather and Cabaret both winning Best Picture setting up their nail-biting historic Oscar night. Also on this night Diana Ross won the "New Star of the Year" award for playing Billie Holliday in Lady Sings the Blues for which she'd also be Oscar-nominated. Will Andra Day be as awards-lucky in the forthcoming United States vs. Billie Holliday?

1978 The 35th Golden Globes with The Turning Point and The Goodbye Girl winning the Best Picture prizes...

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International Oscar Race Pt 3: More than you need to know about the directors!

by Nathaniel R

In past years we've broken the International Feature Oscar category down into lots of different articles but we should probably calm down. So herewith the lists we usually provide in several articles in a more condensed all-in-one format! 93 films are competing for the nomination in this category. Given the field, consider this a year for fresh voices. Only eight countries (Colombia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Iran, Italy, Mongolia, North Macedonia, Russia) chose directors who have previously helmed Oscar-nominated or finalist films. Since we've already covered the previously Oscar-honored directors, let's look at the others.

We'll divvy it up into three categories: debuts, female directors, and the rest of the field. 

THE DEBUT DIRECTORS LIST

Amjad Abu Alala (You Will Die at 20 for Sudan)
Sudan's first-ever Oscar submission comes from a first-time director. He previously worked as a producer. 

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