French & Italian Finalists for Oscar Submissions

by Nathaniel R

The selection of France and Italy's contenders in Oscar's Best International Feature Film race are always a big deal; the two countries thoroughly dominated the category in the 20th century and they're still the all-time stat leaders 24 years into the new century. France announced an official finalist list of four films. We also know which films Italy is choosing between though there are no "finalists" per se since they skip that step and go straight to voting. Let's look at the possibilities after the jump...

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Cannes Diary: Best of the Fest from this 'Jury of One'

by Elisa Giudici

ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT © Cannes Film Festival

Cannes is coming to an end. In fact the closing awards ceremony begins less than four hours after this article's pubication. While we wait to finish reviewing all the films in competition and find out who will win the much-coveted Palme d'Or, it's time for A Jury of One...

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Cannes Diary: The past and future of cinema from "Napoleon" to VR

Once again, I have the privilege of sharing my experiences at the Cannes Film Festival here on The Film Experience with a daily diary of impressions and reviews from the Croisette.

by Elisa Giudici

Today we delve into both the rich history and the uncertain future of cinema. Some foresee a fate entwined with AI and irrelevance, while others celebrate the enduring vitality of an art form that blazed its trail over a century ago. This year’s Cannes opening reflects on the industry's past glories and its current challenges, not shying away from the unease about what lies ahead, evoking the dizzying excitement of days gone by...

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"Anatomy of a Fall" wins big at the Césars

by Nathaniel R

the great Juliette Binoche announcing Best Actress at the César Awards on Feb 23, 2024 in Paris

This has not been an awards season full of surprises. The expected winners just keep on winning whether we're talking awards bodies in the US, UK, or France. The 49th annual César Awards took place Friday in Paris with the expected winner, Justine Triet's Anatomy of a Fall, taking home six prizes. The nomination leader, Thomas Cailley's mutant adventure The Animal Kingdom also won multiple prizes with five statues in total... all for craft awards.  As expected the stupidly maligned but brilliant Oscar submission The Taste of Things was shut out from any wins after a paltry nomination showing.

The winners of each category and a few comments after the jump... 

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Berlinale #7: France is the big winner at Berlin

By Elisa Giudici

Mati Diop and Lupita Nyong'o at the awards ceremony © Ali Ghandtschi / Berlinale 2024

There was a clear standout at the 74th annual Berlinale: French cinema. Given the competition lineup, France secured all three podium positions one way or another. Let's start with the Golden Bear, naturally. The jury, led by Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong'o, crowned a new documentary by French-Senegalese director Mati Diop (of Atlantics fame) as the winner. It's a double win for French cinema: not only is Diop a French citizen, but she's also a product of the Cannes Film Festival, a source of national pride.

Her winning documentary, Dahomey, is a low-budget project that might have struggled in the bright spotlight at Cannes... 

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