The Power of the Underdog: Dolly de Leon and the Filipino of 2022

by Juan Carlos Ojano

WARNING: This article contains mild spoilers on Triangle of Sadness.

2022 has been a year unlike any other for the Philippines. The past year brought an unprecedented amount of Filipino actors to the international film scene. Leading the pack is Dolly de Leon as yacht cleaner Abigail in the Palme d’Or-winning satire Triangle of Sadness. As Abigail, de Leon showed the feisty resolve of an underdog waiting to be unleashed after a disruption in the social order. Together with other films this year discussing class divide like The Menu and Glass Onion, Triangle of Sadness struck a chord with audiences. With a slew of critics’ groups mentions, Dolly de Leon has enters the current Oscar nomination voting period strong: An LAFCA win, a Golden Globe nomination (a first for a Filipina), and a longlist mention at the BAFTAs. Any attention is much needed given a crowded Supporting Actress field.

But De Leon is not the only Filipino actor who enjoyed the spotlight this past year... 

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What Are Each Actor's Chances at Oscars Post-SAG Nominations?

By: Christopher James

After a surprise omission at the SAG Awards, what are Michelle Williams' chances at scoring an Oscar nomination for The Fabelmans?Now that the SAG Awards nominations have been announced, we have a slightly clearer picture of the acting races as we get closer to Oscar nomination morning. I use the word “slightly” because there’s always room for surprises. In fact, last year saw four acting nominees earn Oscar nominations without any precursor citations from the Golden Globes, Critics Choice and SAG Awards.

At this stage of the awards race, we have two questions to ask. Which actor with nominations from all three groups will be snubbed by Oscar? Which actor can sneak in without these precursors?

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Team Experience Predictions Chart - Round 4 - Post Holidays, Pre Awards Shows

We're polling the Team Film Experience on where the Oscar race stands. This week Best Picture, Director, and the Acting and Writing categories.

It has been over a month since we’ve checked in on the directing, acting and writing categories. Since then, Avatar has soared at the box office, Babylon has flopped and both the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards have announced their nominations. Some categories look completely different than they did at the end of November. Others, funny enough, remain the same. One category has a contender who is unanimously on the top of everyone’s predictions… and it’s not the one you think. 

Check out our predictions after the jump…

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Split Decision: “Everything Everywhere All at Once”

No two people feel the same exact way about any film. Thus, Team Experience is pairing up to debate the merits of each of the big awards season movies this year. Here’s Abe Friedtanzer and Baby Clyde talking about Everything Everywhere All at Once.

ABE: Baby Clyde, I hope all is well! I'm eager to start talking about a film that I absolutely loved, Everything Everywhere All at Once. I actually am very late to the party on this one. I wasn't seeing films in theaters yet back when it was originally released. I finally caught it about two months ago in early November and was impressed that it more than lived up to the hype. The performances are all phenomenal, and it's just drowning in creativity in a way that so few films are these days. But, if I'm to understand correctly, you don't agree. Before I get in to what else I loved about it, can you tell me what you didn't?

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Almost There: Hong Chau in "Downsizing"

by Cláudio Alves

With The Whale in theaters and The Menu currently streaming on HBO Max, it's a good time to be a Hong Chau fan. For many of us, she's the best part of both productions, finding the humanity within the former's misery, acing the stylized line readings and deliberate oddness of the gastronomic-inclined latter. Thanks to those achievements, the Asian-American actress is back in the Oscar discussion, working through her second bid for a Best Supporting Actress nomination. The first time this happened was in 2017, when  Chau also proved herself the standout element of a movie with mixed reviews. Even those who hated Alexander Payne's Downsizing generally concede that her performance rises above the movie, shining brightly from within its failings.

Indeed, as Ngoc Lan Tran, Hong Chau is the best reason to watch the sci-fi satirical misadventure cum environmentalist existentialist crisis…

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