Austria's "Joy" is out of the Oscar race

by Cláudio Alves

...And then there were 91...

As we predicted back when Nigeria's Oscar submission was disqualified from the Best International Feature race, the same fate has befallen Austria's Joy. Despite some German dialogue, most of the film is in English, due to the fact it tells the story of Nigerian immigrants living in Europe. After all, Nigeria's official language is English. Once again, such news makes us ask ourselves if this is a fair predicament. One thing's for sure – it's ridiculous that the Academy doesn't vet the country's submissions before announcing the list of eligible films. It'd certainly avoid a great deal of scandal.

Even if it's amply justifiable, such disqualification is unfortunate, even a bit sad, because Joy's an achingly poignant triumph. The sort which deserves to be celebrated by the Academy, but seldomly is…

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How to fix the Best International Film category?

by Cláudio Alves

This year, the Best International Film category celebrated a record-setting number of submissions - 93 in total. 2019 has also been marked by the renaming of the award, which was previously called the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, as well as some new rules that slightly change the voting process. However, one of the unhappiest yearly traditions associated with this honor refuses to go away. Once more, some films are being disqualified.

Nigeria's Lionheart isn't eligible for the Oscar. This is particularly terrible when one considers it's the first submission from one of the few African nations with a thriving film industry. Not surprisingly, the decision has generated quite a bit of controversy, with such renowned filmmakers as Ava DuVernay criticizing it…

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Best International Feature: New Rules, New Possibilities

by Cláudio Alves

Will the new rules booster Parasite's Oscar chances?

As we get closer to the peak of Awards Season, the Academy has been divulging new rules and approaches to their voting process. Most of the changes have to do with online accessibility to screeners, making it easier for the voters to have seen the films before sending in their ballots. One of the categories most affected by these changes is that of the recently renamed Best International Feature Oscar.

For one, the shortlist, which will be announced on December 16th, has been expanded from 9 to 10 films. Voters who want to help delineate this selection will have to watch at least 15 of the record-breaking 93 submitted features. Seven finalists will be selected by these voters, while the other three will be “saved” by a special committee.

That’s hardly different from the previous process. The relatively big change happens after the shortlist has been decided…

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Oscar's International Race Pt 5 - The Eye Candy

by Nathaniel R

Now that we've covered female directors, returning auteurs, trivia, and half of the trailers, and updated all the charts, let's do something lighter... and sexier... before we wrap up with the rest of the movie trailers.

We've selected 9 hunks for you to gawk at from the 93 films submitted. In the comments we trust that you'll let us know whose, uh, native tongue you'd most like to learn.

For educational purposes.

After the jump, beautiful men from Argentina, Norway, Pakistan, Thailand, and more...

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Oscar's International Race Pt 4 - Returning Directors

by Nathaniel R

In the race for this year's Best International Feature Film, Parasite definitely has the lead but Bong Joon-ho is one of only 20 directors trying again with Oscar after previous submissions in this category. None of them have been nominated before except the LEGEND we'll start with...

THE RETURNING GIANT
Spain's most globally celebrated director, Pedro Almodóvar, is back in contention for the seventh time with Pain and Glory, his 21st feature at the age of 72. This finally makes him Spain's most submitted director of all time...

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