Almodóvar reigns at the Goyas again

by Nathaniel R

You'll read a lot of headlines saying that Pain and Glory swept the Goyas but it's not technically true. Though it won big it lost the bulk of its craft competitions and won only two of its five acting nominations. Still there's plenty of reason to celebrate if you're an Almodóvar junkie like we are here at TFE. The master's self-reflection took home seven Goyas including Best Film, Best Director and Best Actor for Antonio Banderas, who is of course also nominated at the Oscars. But Pain and Glory didn't have the night to itself. Each of the five Best Film nominees took home at least one prize with While at War, the latest from Alejandro Amenábar (The Others) clearly in runner up position as it won five categories including a win in Supporting Actor where it beat out both of the nominees from Pain & Glory.  And ,yes, the rumors are true: Pedro accidentally let it slip on the red carpet that Penelope Cruz would be presenting Best International Film at the Oscars in February. 

Full list of Goya winners and a few notes after the jump...

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Cannes' Oscar Impact

by Murtada Elfadl 

The Cannes Film festival is not usually a bellwether for Oscars. That happens with the trifecta of late August / early September of Venice, Telluride and Toronto. However this year several movies that premiered in the main competition and in adjacent sections have been nominated for Oscars. Two of them  - Parasite and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood - scored multiple nominations and are expected to win a few and are considered favorites for the big prize, Best Picture... 

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Dorian Awards love 'Pain and Glory,' 'Portrait of a Lady on Fire' and 'Parasite'

by Murtada Elfadl

GALECA, The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics announced their nominations for film and TV today. The Dorian Awards - named in honor of noted queer writer Oscar Wilde - showed the most love to Bong Joon-ho's Parasite and Celine Sciamma's Portrait of a Lady on Fire, with six nominations each, followed closely by Pedro Almodovar’s Pain and Glory with five nominations. Three movies not in English, two of them from Queer filmmakers, and all three of them were nominated for best director!

Other notable nominations include Alfre Woodard in best actress for Clemency, she'll compete with Awkafina (The Farewell) Scarlett Johansson (Marriage Story), Lupita Nyong’o, (Us) and of course Renee Zellweger in Judy. Here’s the full list...

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FYC: "Pain and Glory" for Best Cinematography

by Cláudio Alves

Pedro Almodóvar might be known for his brilliant reds, but his latest and most autobiographical film starts in blue. Submerged in blue, as it happens. In the bottom of a swimming pool tiled in shades of cyan, we find our blue-clad protagonist, underwater, pensive as he is enveloped by diluted chlorine and the memories of a distant past. They are remembrances of maternal warmth and white linens drying in the sun, shots so beautiful they seem more real than the present life for which they are prologue. Color theory has its limitations, of course, and Almodóvar's brush is guided more by emotion than by dogmatic rules. José Luis Alcaine's photography follows the same logic…

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Why Pedro Almodovar will be nominated at the Oscars

by Murtada Elfadl

Pedro Almodovar will be nominated for best director at the Oscars. Currently Bong Joon Ho, Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino lead the pack. Noah Baumbach, Greta Gerwig, Sam Mendes, Todd Phillips and Taika Waititi are fighting for the 4th spot. The 5th is booked for Almodovar. He might not appear on any director shortlist before January 13th, but his name will be called on the day when it most matters. There are 3 reasons why he’ll be nominated...

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