Through Her Lens: An Introduction

A new series by Juan Carlos Ojano

Will any female directors be nominated this year at the Oscars? It's too early to say but sexism has been a long-standing problem in the history of cinema and the Oscars -- that's often reflected in who is invited to enter the canon and who is not. Year after year, films directed by women have been routinely ignored. Seeing five men in Best Director lineups during awards season has long been a given. Only seven women have been nominated for Best Director. Ever. Last season, though, featured what we hope will prove a turning point.

In this series, we will share an alternate list of five films directed by women per Oscar vintage, based on what was eligible. This is not to say that the films we'll cite will always be better than the ones nominated. Take this list more as a reminder that the work by women has always existed. That should be reason enough for celebration. This is Through Her Lens...

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Portugal chooses "The Metamorphosis of Birds" for Oscar

by Cláudio Alves

When reading the list of films shortlisted for the Portuguese Oscar submission, I confess I was a tad disheartened. Only two of the six films had even been released when the finalists were announced, and I only had watched one of them. The other happens to be a project that reeks of exploitation, which I wasn't enthusiastic about promoting. At least, the film I did see, Catarina Vasconcelos' The Metamorphosis of Birds, was one I loved, going so far as voting for it as one of the best unreleased films on last year's Team Experience Awards. As luck would have it, the voting body responsible for the submission fell for it too…

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New International Contenders: "The Hand of God" and an extremely hot Instagram star

by Nathaniel R

Time to check in again with Oscar submissions as five more countries join the fray. The highest profile new entry is Italy's The Hand of God by Paolo Sorrentino. He triumphed in this category eight years back with The Great Beauty (2013) which ended the longest drought -- seven years -- that Italy has ever had in this particular competition. If The Hand of God snags the nomination, Sorrentino will have performed this feat twice since Italy hasn't been nominated since. Sorrentino joins Iran's Asghar Farhadi (A Hero) as the only International contender this season who has already led a film to victory in this category.  The Hand of God is a memoir about Sorrentino's teenage years and a family tragedy. He's been campaigning enthusiastically since Cannes, recently attending the Middleburg Film Festival to receive an International Spotlight prize.

Other new contenders are after the jump...

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Chastain wins San Sebastian (+ Best Actress Chart Updates)

by Nathaniel R

Women won every award at San Sebastian this year.

Congratulations are in order to Jessica Chastain who took Best Actress at the San Sebastian Film Festival for her sensational star turn in The Eyes of Tammy Faye. We've updated the Best Actress chart. At this very early stage it's looking like a Stewart vs Chastain vs Gaga battle royale. Yes yes the internet always likes to crown the winner before there's even a battle (with everyone deciding Kristen Stewart is winning) but here at The Film Experience we prefer the contest for the nominations -- it's more egalitarian and one should always celebrate multiple actresses as there has never been a year with only one worthy contender. And, listen, when you earn substantial Oscar buzz you're already a winner baby.

Nevertheless "wins" do exist so let's look at the other San Sebastian winners and which actresses have won all the major festivals thus far after the jump... 

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Why everyone should know and cherish Lois Weber

by Cláudio Alves

In such works as his Story of Film and Women Make Film, Mark Cousins has put forward the idea that film history is sexist by omission. That's undeniable when one considers the case of the many women film pioneers who saw their achievements overshadowed by and even misattributed to their male colleagues. Lois Weber, who's currently being celebrated on the Criterion Channel, is one of those filmmakers whose legacy has been usurped, forgotten, despite both its quality and importance. The fact most of her 140 films are lost doesn't help matters. However, the few that have survived speak of an accomplished visual storyteller, political artist, and fearless provocateur. I think every cinephile should know about Lois Weber, and here's why… 

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