TIFF 50: Colombia's "A Poet" and Japan's "Kokuho"

by Cláudio Alves

It's easy to understand why artists would be drawn to stories about artists. Self-reflection is a powerful siren call, and the particularities of another creative's tale can help you elide the pitfalls of more direct auto-fiction. This is especially true for those who consider the artistic practices beyond their chosen medium. In this year's Oscar race for Best International Film, we find two such projects. They represent journeys of inverse success, one about failure and the other focused on glory beyond reason. But of course, such greatness comes with a price that can be as bitter as a floundering. A film looks at the smallness of man, another at being bigger than life, inspiring awe and alienation, losing humanity along the way.

First up, there's Simón Mesa Soto's A Poet, representing Colombia. And then Lee Sang-il's Kokuho, selected by Japan after proving itself a box office hit…

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New Oscar Charts: Can Norway finally win "Best International Feature Film"?

by Nathaniel R

possible submissions from Japan & Norway

Counterintuitively, we begin this year's April Foolish Predictions (two months late --- woot!) with a category for which we currently have no proof of eligibility for. No country that competes in Oscar's annual Best International Feature Film category has (yet) announced their submission. But we do know, from past experiences, that many of the submissions each year will have premiered at film festivals ranging from last fall in 2024 through the fall of 2025. So we looked at recent editions of Sundance, Berlinale, and Cannes for clues. This is great fun to do as anything is possible this early; you don't even need a US distributor to compete (though of course it doesn't hurt)...

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