Venice 2024: "The Room Next Door" takes the Golden Lion

by Nathaniel R

Pedro Almodóvar and his actresses Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton working on THE ROOM NEXT DOOR which is now a Golden Lion winner

The 81st annual Venice Film Festival has ended and the two perceived frontrunners The Brutalist and The Room Next Door took home major prizes, as did Babygirl, The Quiet Son, and Brazil's possible Oscar submission I'm Still Here. The "Competition" films are the headlining titles of course but they aren't the only films that get major mileage from applause and kudos as any festival wraps up. Outside of the main competition films like Familiar Touch (US), Familia (Italy), Iddu (Italy),  Mon Inséparable (France), Paul and Paulette Take a Bath (UK) and The New Year That Never Came (Romania) all won fanbases if the awards that flew around this week are indication.

The prizes went like so... 

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Venice 2024: Jury of One

by Elisa Giudici

As the Venice Film Festival draws to a close, the time has come to reflect on the competition, predict who will claim the prestigious Golden Lion, and consider which films will carry momentum into Oscar season. Above all, it's time to think about what will truly remain from this year's edition.

Overall Festival Impressions

Last year’s festival lacked consistency, with a mix of standout films and titles that induced sheer embarrassment. This year, however—thanks in part to a much stronger and more compelling Italian contingent—the competition has been far more solid, with only a couple of notable failures and several standout films. In fact, considering the lackluster showing at Cannes this year, Venice could very well take the title of Festival of the Year. The event is anchored by The Brutalist by Brady Corbet, a monumental work operating on a level unmatched by any other film this year. Almodóvar, Guadagnino, Salles, and Bing have also impressed...

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Cannes Winners 77th Edition, 2024: Palm Dog and all!

by Nathaniel R

Jesse Plemons (center) won Best Actor for Yorgos Lanthimos' KINDS OF KINDNESS © Searchlight

It's that time of year again. Cannes has wrapped and we can survey and begin to seek out all sorts of international films that have newfound cache. Some will rise as international hits and awards contenders, others will vanish except perhaps in the memories of those lucky enough to have seen their prize-winning festival bows. After the jump all the prizes and a few tidbits about the movies that took the Queer Palm, Palm Dog, and Camera D'Or...

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Venice 2023: Elisa, Jury of One.

by Elisa Giudici

"Poor Things" was the consensus favourite of the fest

The 80th Venice Film Festival is nearing its end, with the final ceremony and the Golden Lion awards on the horizon. It's time for some personal reflections, recognition for my favorites, and the challenging task of predicting the winners. Please note that these predictions may already be outdated depending on when you're reading this. 

General impressions, trends, predictions, wtf moments, and personal favorites after the jump...

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ICYMI - "Aftersun" led the British Independent Film Award Nominations

by Nathaniel R

"Aftersun" has been a hit with 'indie' awards groups like BIFA and Gotham.

The title here is a bit of a goof. You probably didn't miss the BIFA award nominations on Friday but we did. Apologizes for the delay in reporting them. The BIFAs use juries to come up with their nominations and if those juries like something they go ALL in.... 16 nominations for Aftersun (now playing in select theaters) sounds like a gargantuan amount of nominations and at first glance it lools like it was nominated for every category for which it was eligible. But therunner up Blue Jean, scored 13 nominations so, again, they go all in if they like something. What that means is that there isn't much variation from category to category. For instance Best Film, Best Director, and Best Screenplay are all interchangeable. After the jump some notes on the nominations...

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