DGA Nominees: Anderson, Branagh, Campion, Spielberg, Villeneuve

by Nathaniel R

And now the 'super thursday' of Guild Awards comes to an end with the Directors Guild of America nominations. The Directors Guild has historically been the best 'predictor' as to the Best Picture lineup though that distinction ceased being really important in 2009 when Oscar expanded its Best Picture lineup. Since then we've only seen one DGA Feature Film nominee that didnt show up in Oscar's Best Picture list (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) though we've several several DGA nominees who didn't show up in the parallel Oscar list for Best Director. Make sense? Okay, let's discuss their nominees...

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International Oscar Finals: Meet the Directors, Consider the Stats

by Nathaniel R

In some ways the competition for "Best International Feature Film" is the longest of Oscar races. It begins as early as the fall festivals in the previous year when titles that have not yet debuted in their home countries begin showing their faces. By the time Cannes rolls around it's in full swing. The first contest for each buzzy film, within this awards context of course, is to be submitted by its home country. The second big hurdle is making the finalist list of 15 which is where we are right now. The announcement of the 15 Oscar finalists this year has the usual mix of high profile contenders and 'oh, didn't see that one coming!' surprises. A high profile only gets you so far in this race -- notice that French Cannes champ Titane and Romanian Berlinale champ  Bad Luck Banging... are both missing from the finals.

Let's meet the directors behind the 15 films vying for those 5 nomination slots...

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Interview: Tatiana Huezo on Mexico's Oscar contender "Prayers for the Stolen" (now streaming)

by Nathaniel R

After several shorts and a few documentaries including the highly acclaimed Tempestad, which won her the Best Director Ariel back home in Mexico, filmmaker Tatiana Huezo didn't rest on her laurels. She wanted to take a risk. She set herself an "ambitious challenge" for her first narrative feature, adapting the award winning novel "Prayers for the Stolen" by Jennifer Clement about young girls living in the mountains who are in continual danger of abduction and worse from the cartels.

The risk paid off when her film debuted to immediate praise at Cannes where it won a Special Mention in Un Certain Regard. Prayers for the Stolen, now streaming on Netflix, was then selected as Mexico's Oscar submission for Best International Feature Film. We were privileged to sit down with the director recently to discuss her film and the Oscar race. This interview was conducted with a translator though Tatiana Huezo slipped into English once, with joyful laughter to say "Nooo, it's too much!" when the topic of Oscar submissions came up... 

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Best International Film: Mexico's "Prayers for the Stolen"

by Cláudio Alves

I don't usually take notes while watching films. However, after a screening ends, I might run to my notebook or laptop to jot down some detail, the description of an incredible image I want to preserve in my memory. It's especially true when I know I'm reviewing said film later on, as was the case with Tatiana Huezo's narrative feature debut, Prayers for the Stolen or Noche de Fuego. This time, though, I didn't just have a couple of stray compositions that had left an impression. Indeed, I wrote down a review's worth of small observations, fleeting images that captured the imagination, portentous symbolism that enchanted through its menace, sounds echoing in my head long after the credits rolled. Such is Huezo's ability to draw poetry from harsh realism

Watching Mexico's Oscar submission is to be immersed in a cinematic world of dangerous beauty, a sinister corner of the country, rural and ruthless. In the right circumstances, the vast landscapes of mountains and poppy fields might have looked pastoral, but there's far too much menace in the air for it to register...

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