Best International Film: UK & Ireland

by Cláudio Alves

This past Sunday, there was a lot to entertain awards obsessives. Among the various votes and ceremonies, one can find the British Independent Film Awards, where two of this year's Best International Film Oscar submissions took home some honors. Well, a lot of them in Kneecap's case. The Irish music biopic is the most nominated film in BIFA history, and its final tally of wins is just as impressive – seven victories total. Then, there is Santosh, the UK's Hindi-language submission, which took home two awards, for Breakthrough Producer and Best Screenplay. Will the Academy be similarly in love with these two projects, both works of openly political cinema? Let's consider…

Click to read more ...

Ireland's "Kneecap" leads the BIFA nominations

by Cláudio Alves

In a fascinating turn of events, the official Oscar submission from Ireland is the most nominated film at the British Independent Film Awards. Kneecap, a comedy about the homonymous Belfast hip-hop group, scored a grand total of 14 nods, including five for its director, Rich Peppiatt. In the second place, we find Rose Glass's Saint Maud follow-up, Love Lies Bleeding. A thriller flirting with body horror, it nabbed 12 honors. Coming in third, there's The Outrun which continues to grow its awards season profile. The Scottish drama scored nine nominations overall, but its best bet is probably Best Actress, where Saoirse Ronan is aiming for gold. If things go according to Sony Picture Classic's plans, the film might add an Oscar nomination to its bounty before the season's over…

Click to read more ...

The first Best International Film submissions are here!

by Cláudio Alves

THE DEVIL'S BATH (2024) Veronika Franz & Severin Fiala
And just like that, we're off to the races. Though the 97th Academy Awards are still half a year away, the deadline for countries to submit titles for the Best International Film category is much closer. Nations have until October 4th to choose their representative feature, which must have enjoyed a minimum seven-day theatrical release before the September 30th deadline. Considering those timeframes, it's expected that the next few months will be full of submission news as the world prepares for a cinematic Olympics of sorts. This year, Ireland and Austria are the first countries to announce their official Oscar contenders…

Click to read more ...