And So It Begins: Oscars, Politics, and the Philippines

By Juan Carlos Ojano

Photo: Cine Diaz

Much has been said about how political the submission process for Best International Feature Film at the Oscars is. That assumption is fair. To quickly summarize the submission process, countries must form a nominating body - approved by their respective governments - that the Academy will then consider. These bodies will be in charge of selecting which films will represent the countries in contention for the award. This season, you have a contender like The Seed of the Sacred Fig (Iran didn’t submit it, director Mohammad Rasoulof is in conflict with the government and escaped the country, so Germany submitted it instead) and All We Imagine as Light (India didn’t submit it, director Payal Kapadia is outspokenly critical of the government) as proof of how contentious and political this process is. Make no mistake: everything about the Oscars is political. 

But if there is a film with a fascinating narrative entering this category, it’s the Philippines’ official submission: Ramona S. Díaz’s And So It Begins...

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TIFF '24: A Dozen Capsules and Final Farewells

by Cláudio Alves

PERFUMED WITH MINT was one of many gems in TIFF's Wavelengths section.

At long last, let's close this seemingly unending TIFF coverage, so that The Film Experience can move on to some NYFF reviews, maybe even some peeks into the Lisbon festival scene. Still, before bidding Toronto adieu, a dozen titles need assessment, even if it's through a cornucopia of capsule reviews, plus a personal top ten to close things off properly. Spread out through five different festival sections and four continents, these twelve final films span from the experimental to the conventional, from dreamy stylization to dry dreary realism. There are beautiful sights to appreciate and performances, too, including a pair of wildly different characterizations from Chilean actress Paulina García. 

To open the belated farewell, I propose a look at my favorite TIFF section – Wavelengths. Within its radical offerings, one can find pictures that look like none other, such unique visions as Muhammad Hamdy's Perfumed with Mint and Jessica Sarah Rinland's Collective Monologue…

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TIFF '24: "All We Imagine As Light" is one of the year's best films

by Cláudio Alves

France went with Emilia Pérez and Luxembourg chose not to submit a film at all. India was the last hope, but, as expected, went a different route, choosing a Hindi title, Laapataa Ladies, and ignoring the work of a director who's been outspoken against injustices in her country. Payal Kapadia's All We Imagine As Light is officially out of the Best International Film Oscar race – a pity, for it's one of the year's best films, a miracle of grace that's as close to cinematic perfection as one can get. So much so that talk of awards feels improper, an anodyne aspiration in the face of what Kapadia unleashes on screen. Awards are too small to do this narrative feature debut justice. Even the Cannes Grand Prize feels insufficient, for All We Imagine As Light is one for the ages…

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TIFF '24: "By the Stream" could be a good introduction to the cinema of Hong Sang-soo

by Cláudio Alves

There's an odd comfort in seeking the new Hong Sang-soo film at any given festival. Thanks to the speed at which the Korean auteur runs through production, you'll usually find one. He regularly premieres multiple features every year. Earlier in 2024, he won the Silver Bear at Berlin with A Traveler's Needs. A few months later, he was at Locarno, ready to present his overall 32nd feature-length project, By the Stream, which took the Best Performance award for Kim Min-hee's work. This second project also made it to TIFF, delighting loyal fans with a new Hong that's much like all the other Hongs that came before. That's not a dig, merely a recognition of the director's remarkable consistency…

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TIFF '24: A second opinion on "Caught by the Tides"

by Cláudio Alves

Zhao Tao in Jia Zhangke's CAUGHT BY THE TIDES (2024).

Every year, as the fall festival season hits, films heretofore seen by an exclusive set at their original premieres are given the opportunity for re-appreciation and new sets of critical eyes. It's always fascinating to see how a Cannes reaction may be upended at TIFF, for better or worse. Here at The Film Experience, that phenomenon is bolstered by a heterogeneous team whose opinions often differ. Consider the case of Jia Zhangke's Caught by the Tides, which played in the main competition at Cannes. To our own Elisa Giudici, it was a disappointment and an indisputably minor entry in the Chinese director's canon. For me, however, it's closer to masterpiece status, a cumulative wonder that's as major as you can get…

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