International Oscar - French finalists and Chart updates

by Nathaniel R

Anatomy of a Fall

Oscar often shouted "Viva La France!" in the 20th century. They're still enthused in the 21st century but they're no longer broadcasting it as loudly. France hasn't won since 1992's Indochine 31 years ago. Still they've continued to collect frequent ominations. In fact, they're the most nominated country of all time by such a significant margin that it's difficult to imagine another country catching up (especially with closest rival in this regard, Italy, being less frequently nominated these days). This year France is choosing between five pictures, two of which (at least) would make formidable contenders if selected. The other three might, too, but their profiles are considerably lower at the moment. The finalists are... 

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Cannes Winners for the 76th Edition

by Nathaniel R

Jane Fonda handed the Palme to Justine Triet "Anatomy of a Fall". Photo © Andreas Rentz / Getty Images

The 76th edition of Cannes has wrapped. The closing ceremony brought an end to a week plus of speculation about prizes. French auteur Justine Triet, of Sybiil fame, took the coveted Palme d'Or for her fourth narrative feature,  Anatomy of a Fall. She's only the third female director to win the prize (after Jane Campion for The Piano and Julia Ducornau for Titane) though the fifth woman (Actresses Léa Seydoux and Adele Exarchopolous shared the Palme with their director in a non-traditional jury decision the year of Blue is the Warmest Colour).

A whole slew of awards (and, thus, titles to look out for at future festivals) are after the jump...

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Cannes Finale Pt 1 (Personal Choices / Predictions)

Elisa Giudici reporting from Cannes

Benoit Magimet & Juliette Binoche star in "La Passion de Dodin Bouffant"

Another edition of the Cannes Film Festival is close to the finish line. It's time for some 'for your considerations', some praise for my favourites, and the impossible task of predicting the Palme d'Or winner. Predictions which will quickly be outdated by the actual winners at the closing ceremony. 

How was this Cannes Film Festival overall? I managed to see all of the Competition titles (a couple more reviews coming), a large chunk of Out of Competition titles and a couple each from Quinzaine and Un Certain Regard. The general impression is that this Cannes edition lacks a masterpiece that everyone agrees upon. This absence is perceived only in these final hours, when we're all trying to guess the big winner. But the competition did feature a large group of excellent movies. There was only one terrible movie (sorry Sean Penn, but Black Flies in competition was a bad joke)...

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