Will the "Loving Vincent" team return to the Oscars via "The Peasants"?

by Nathaniel R

THE PEASANTS

Do you remember that painted animation film Loving Vincent (2017)? It was billed as the world's first fully painted feature film and it went on to an Oscar nomination in the Best Animated Feature category (eventually losing to Pixar's Coco). The married filmmaking team behind that picture have done it again with The Peasants, which is an adaptation of a novel about a peasant girl who causes a scandal by marrying a rich older man. Only three animated films have ever been nominated for Best International Feature Film -- Waltz With Bashir, Flee, and The Missing Picture (sort of) -- and interestingly enough all three of them can be classified as documentaries in addition to being animated. The same isn't true of The Peasants but Poland is submitting this one for the Oscar race...

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Emmys 2023: What if TV Movies had their own awards? (Key Stats + Personal Ballot)

by Juan Carlos Ojano

TV movies (now that mostly means streaming titles) have returned to favor amongst Emmy voters after a nadir of interest last season. All of the nominees for Outstanding Television Movie have received nominations outside that category - a stark difference from last season. This year, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (8 noms) and Prey (6) lead the pack, with Hocus Pocus 2 (3) and Dolly Parton’s Mountain Magic Christmas and Fire Island (2 each) trailing behind. Even Boston Strangler got a single nom despite being absent in the Television Movie category. Frankly, this should have been the case for the past few years - especially beginning with the pandemic year/s - since this category has registered a steady uptick of eligible films.

Stats, graphs, and a personal ballot after the jump... 

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TIFF '23: Final Farewells and a Jury of One

by Cláudio Alves

Since THE BOY AND THE HERON opened the festival, there was a Studio Ghibli pop-up store. Sadly, I didn't take either of these giant fur babies home. But it was tempting!

All things in life must come to an end, so it's time to say goodbye to TIFF '23. Words will never be enough to express my gratitude to Nathaniel and the Media Inclusion Initiative, whose help made this coverage possible. Overall, I watched 59 features and six shorts, reviewing most of them along the way, and getting positively drunk on cinema. It was especially incredible to experience so many of these films on giant screens, unlike the sort I get to experience in Lisbon-based festivals. To watch something like Rosine Mbakam's Mambar Pierrette on the Scotiabank Theater's IMAX screen is an experience I won't soon forget.

Beyond the films, I met amazing people at TIFF, from fellow critics to festival programmers and ex-directors, editors, and the like. I even got to take a selfie with Abe, my fellow Team Experience member who I only knew through Zoom until now. Pardon the sentimentality, but this was a dream come true…

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7 More Films (Some Surprises) Join the International Oscar Race

by Nathaniel R

While Denmark and Germany have been Oscar's two favourite countries in the past 20 or so years, they weren't always the biggest draws. Four traditionally powerhouse countries in the International Oscar Race -- France, Italy, Sweden, and Spain -- haven't had as much consistent pull of late but underestimate them at your own peril. All four have now announced their horses for the Oscars so it's an exciting week for news in this category. And they weren't the only countries to share their golden news this week. The charts are updated but let's talk about 7 of the new submissions... 

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TIFF ‘23: A Humorous Look at Activism in ‘A Difficult Year’

By Abe Friedtanzer

Courtesy of TIFF

There are many things to be angry about in today’s world, including the inaction by governments around crucial issues. Activism takes many forms and often has specific aims, but the goals of a protest movement can also be wildly unattainable. The very funny A Difficult Year pokes fun at that notion with its story of two opportunists who become involved with an anti-commercialization group for all the wrong reasons...

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