Armenia, Canada, Colombia, and Peru announce their Oscar submissions
Monday, October 4, 2021 at 9:57PM by Nathaniel R
DRUNKEN BIRDS
We have four more submission for Oscar's Best International Feature Film race to share.
CANADA
Remember that nude asshole boyfriend "Fermin" from Alfonso Cuarón's Roma who knocked our heroine up and then abandoned her? The actor who played him, Jorge Antonio Guerrero, could be back in the International Feature Oscar race. Guerrero headlines this year's Canadian Oscar submission Drunken Birds, which is about a man on the run from a cartel leader who relocates to Quebec and hopes to find a woman there who fled from the same cartel. The film, in French and Spanish, comes from Canadian director Ivan Grbovic and just played TIFF...
SHOULD THE WIND DROP
ARMENIA
Armenia has selected the drama Should the Wind Drop starring Gregoire Colin (Beau Travail) as an auditor who has to decide if an airport in a disputed zone between countries should be reopened.
MEMORIA
COLOMBIA
To our surprise Colombia has selected the very international Memoria which stars Tilda Swinton as a woman visiting Colombia who begins to hear strange noises. It's from Thai master Apichatpong "Joe" Weerasethakul. This is Apichatpong's second Oscar submission since Thailand sent his most famous picture Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010) after it won the Palme d'Or.
Memoria is is partially in English which could pose a problem. The Academy has been loosening up the rules in this category in recent years, particularly around international productions like this one but in the past they've frowned upon countries submitting films which don't have enough top creatives from the country in question. The director, editor, and cinematographer are Thai, and the stars are Scottish, French, and Spanish but Memoria does takes place in Colombia and it does employ some Colombian film industry talent including the production designer of the Oscar nominated Embrace of the Serpent and the costume designer of the Oscar finalist Birds of Passage.
PERU
Peru will be sending a film by Henry Vallejo called Powerful Chief which is about a man who relocates for a job that he's too late for and tries to survive while homeless by picking up small jobs.
You can see the submission charts and predictions at TFE and follow along on Letterboxd here if you'd like.
Reader Comments (2)
Just in... it's 2002 all over again for Spain.
"El Buen Patrón" (The Good Boss), by Fernando León de Aranoa, starring Javier Bardem is the submission from the Spanish Academy, defeating "Mediterraneo" and "Madres Paralelas" (I thought it was going to be Mediterraneo, and if not, El Buen Patrón).
This basically seeks to attract the AMPAS voters with Javier Bardem (useless, all their eyes on him will be on "Being the Ricardos" and "Dune"), and think that Almodovar will do just fine, on other categories - just kidding, they don't like him, they only reward him, when they can give him something to make things less embarrassing for Goya history, just look at the track record of wins and noms by Almodovar films.
And this, just forces AMPAS to open the chance of nomination for Picture, Director, Original Screenplay - alongside Actress - if they want to recognise the film. Just like in 2002, with "Talk to Her". And like in 2006 with Volver, that would have earned Cruz her first - lead - Oscar, had not Helen Mirren's The Queen been around...
So, Cruz might even win, and Pedro might be multinominated, even for Picture (overdue nomination for his brother and always producer, Agustín, who I met live some years ago)
You can tell MEMORIA won't be nominated because an Asian and South American cinema needs to leap over several additional hurdles than European cinema.