"Fallen Leaves" and "The Zone of Interest" lead the EFA nominations

by Cláudio Alves

Because of their specific focus and disconnection from the mainstream release calendar, the European Film Awards are rarely seen as part of the long road to Oscar. Then again, there's always the exception that proves the rule, and this year is exceptional, alright. Many Academy Award contenders showed up across the board, even beyond those submitted for the Best International Film category. Jonathan Glazer's The Zone of Interest and Aki Kaurismäki's Fallen Leaves, for instance, scored nominations for Picture, Director, Actress, Actor, and Screenplay. Sandra Hüller even managed to double-dip, getting recognized for this Nazi nightmare and her turn in Justine Triet's Palme d'Or winner, Anatomy of a Fall.

Discover the complete list of European Film Awards nominations, plus some additional commentary, after the jump…

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TIFF '23: Final Farewells and a Jury of One

by Cláudio Alves

Since THE BOY AND THE HERON opened the festival, there was a Studio Ghibli pop-up store. Sadly, I didn't take either of these giant fur babies home. But it was tempting!

All things in life must come to an end, so it's time to say goodbye to TIFF '23. Words will never be enough to express my gratitude to Nathaniel and the Media Inclusion Initiative, whose help made this coverage possible. Overall, I watched 59 features and six shorts, reviewing most of them along the way, and getting positively drunk on cinema. It was especially incredible to experience so many of these films on giant screens, unlike the sort I get to experience in Lisbon-based festivals. To watch something like Rosine Mbakam's Mambar Pierrette on the Scotiabank Theater's IMAX screen is an experience I won't soon forget.

Beyond the films, I met amazing people at TIFF, from fellow critics to festival programmers and ex-directors, editors, and the like. I even got to take a selfie with Abe, my fellow Team Experience member who I only knew through Zoom until now. Pardon the sentimentality, but this was a dream come true…

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TIFF '23: A Dozen of Festival Highlights

by Cláudio Alves

The 48th Toronto International Film Festival ended last Sunday, but this coverage continues. Even so, it's time to bring things to a close, so here's the last batch of reviews, all capsules because we're running out of time. They span five continents and a dozen nationalities, comprising a trip around the world through the vehicle borderless vehicle of cinema. Directorial approaches are as distinct as the cultures depicted, from meta-cinematic musings to modern noir, from magical realism with a spring on its step to the slowest of slow cinema. Still, all the works deserve your attention. They are shining gems that prove how, despite assertions to the contrary, cinema isn't dying. At TIFF, it's alive and thriving…

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TIFF '23: The Best International Film Oscar Race

by Cláudio Alves

The Toronto International Film Festival represents an excellent opportunity to get in touch with cinema from all over the world. For Oscar obsessives, it provides a great chance to catch up with Best International Film submissions, especially as they're announced throughout the festival. I already covered some of them – Australia's Shayda, Bhutan's The Monk and the Gun, Brazil's Pictures of Ghosts, Chile's The Settlers, Finland's Fallen Leaves, Germany's The Teachers' Lounge, Romania's Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World, South Korea's Concrete Utopia, and Turkey's About Dry Grasses. However, there are still some more TIFF titles to review.

They are the Netherlands's Sweet Dreams, Tunisia's Four Daughters, and Morocco's The Mother of All Lies. Though they haven't been officially selected, I also saw two of Norway's three finalists, A Happy Day and Songs of Earth…

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TIFF ’23: Baby, It’s Cold Outside

by Cláudio Alves

In narrative constructs, intense emotions, especially romantic ones, tend to be associated with high temperatures. It’s as if the feverous feeling escaped the body into the atmosphere. Or, maybe it’s the other way around, hearts and libidos inspired by the surrounding heat to burn hotter than ever. And yet, there’s something deceptively powerful about the flame of attraction sparking alive within the bitter cold. In those cases, one almost desires human connection as a physical need. The body calls for the warmth of another person. The mind yearns for companionship, a panacea to the frozen solitude of every day.

At this year’s TIFF, two films explore this dynamic, allowing the frigid climate to become as strong a force as human arrogance or the heart’s most ardent desires. In both examples, a love triangle emerges from the snow. They’re Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s About Dry Grasses and Anthony Chen’s The Breaking Ice…

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