Through Her Lens: 2017 (The 90th Oscars)

A series by Juan Carlos Ojano. Previous Episodes: 2018 | 2019 | 2020-21

The 2017 awards season was marred by the multiple accusations of sexual abuse and harrassment made towards several industry giants, mainly notorious film producer Harvey Weinstein. This catapulted the #MeToo and #TimesUp movement into the international spotlight, addressing women’s issues in a broader context, especially with a misogynistic president sitting at the White House.

At that year’s Oscars, Greta Gerwig became only the fifth woman to be nominated for Best Director in the awards’ ninety years of existence. A moment that must be celebrated, but also an embarrassing reminder of how Hollywood has failed women directors, whether in awards or in actual film production. Out of the 341 films included in the Reminder List of Eligible Films in 2017 (90th Academy Awards), 60 (17.6%) were directed/co-directed by women...

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Cannes at Home: Day 8

by Cláudio Alves 

What an exciting day to be at Cannes this must have been. Asghar Farhadi unveiled a new picture to critical acclaim, with some even stating that A Hero is his greatest work since A Separation. In the main competition, Julia Ducournau also presented her sophomore feature, Titane. After Raw, the new film seems like it will continue the director's exploration on the limits of body horror. As for some sidebar prospects, Miguel Gomes opened his latest work in the Director's Fortnight. The Tsugua Diaries was co-directed with Maureen Fazendeiro and represents Gomes' first feature since Arabian Nights. Unfortunately, another project called Savagery remains incomplete since the pandemic forced the production to halt. In any case, for our homebound Cannes alternative, let's explore the past and best works from these filmmakers…

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"BPM" Leads César Nominations

by Nathaniel R

The stars of BPM (Arnaud Valois, Adele Haenel, and Nahuel Pérez Biscayart) were all nominated for Césars

The César Awards, now in their 43rd year, and essentially France's Oscars have announced their nominations. It wasn't a great year for France in terms of their US arthouse performances. The most successful French release this past year in the States was François Ozon's Frantz (César eligible in 2016) which finished its theatrical run just shy of a million dollars. But of the French films that did make some sort of transatlantic mark this year (whether through festival hype or theatrical release) you'll see BPM (Beats Per Minute), the horror film Raw, and Agnes Varda's Oscar nominated Faces Places among their nominees...

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