TIFF '23: “The Teachers’ Lounge” builds a fizzling provocation

by Cláudio Alves

Germany’s official submission for the 96th Academy Awards starts with a students’ rights violation. Between teachers and administration, headaches abound due to a series of thefts with no apparent culprit. By the time we meet them, with no solution in sight, the staff sanctions two teachers to go into a classroom and question the students. When no kid comes forward with a confession, not even after the class representatives are pressured, the educators insist on searching through their belongings. A suspicious amount of money is found in a wallet, paranoia combined with xenophobic distrust toward the child’s Turkish origins. Turns out the money was a present from his parents.

It’s an embarrassment for all, especially Carla Nowak, the teacher whose classroom got raided. New to the school and full of righteous indignation, she sets out to make a point, kickstarting a chain of events that will soon slip out of everyone’s control…

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TIFF '23: "Concrete Utopia" is an earth-shaking blockbuster parable

by Cláudio Alves

Genre cinema has long been the home of social critique through allegory. Think back to Godzilla's reflection on Japan's atomic trauma or Night of the Living Dead's invention of the zombie movie as the place to study civilization's collapse. South Korea's new Oscar submission, Concrete Utopia, follows the tradition. Though, here, you'll find no Romero undead or radioactive kaiju to distract and reflect human folly at the viewer. Instead, Tae-hwa Eom's latest tackles the precepts of the disaster flick with a dash of post-apocalyptic dystopia, showing Humanity's self-made ruin in the aftermath of a massive earthquake that renders Seoul a wasteland…

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TIFF '23: "Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World" is one wild ride

by Cláudio Alves

So many films wear the label of "provocative" as a medal of honor, boasting about their challenges to the audience and engaging shock. Yet, most of those reveal themselves as anything but, their provocation an empty buzzword  for a press release. Because disappointment is so common, it feels doubly refreshing when a genuinely provocative film comes about, like a punch to the solar plexus that makes you smile and beg for more. That's the case of Radu Jude's Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World, a Locarno prize-winner recently announced as Romania's official submission for the 96th Academy Awards. Pardon the vulgarity, but it's a fucking masterpiece...

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International Oscar Race - Australia's Choice. Plus Mexican and Swedish submission finalists

by Nathaniel R

"Shayda" will be Australia's Oscar submission

We've already shared some news in our favourite non-acting Oscar category. The most exciting thing at the moment is the Danish finalists which include a film called either Promised Land or Bastard (depending on where its playing). Elisa tells us that its going to be a major contender and could even bag Mads Mikkelsen the Best Actor win in Venice. Other recent Oscar updates for this category involved submissions from Estonia, South Korea and Uruguay and a finalist list from Netherlands, and news from Switzerland, Chile, and Tajikstan. We now have 13 submissions. The charts have been updated. The latest exciting news is the finalist lists from two important countries who historically perform well in this category, Mexico and Sweden... 

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Denmark's Three Oscar Submission Finalists for 2023

by Nathaniel R

Mads Mikkelsen in "The Promised Land", a Danish Oscar submission finalist

We've shared this observation before but Germany and Denmark have (so far at least) been to the Oscars of the 21st century what France and Italy were to the 20th century. The two countries cannot be discounted in any upcoming Oscar race. Since 2000 Denmark has received 8 nominations and 2 wins (their grand total now being 14/4) and they've made the finals three additional times in that time span, too. Germany is Oscar's current favourite country scoring 9 nominations, 3 wins, and 5 additional finalists since 2000 (their all time stats are now 21/4). Germany has submitted the contemporary drama The Teacher's Lounge which premiered at Berlinale and will be at TIFF soon for the upcoming Oscar race. Now we know the three Danish finalists for the submission honor though their choice won't be announced until late September. They are...

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