French Cinema and the Oscars: A Love Story

by Cláudio Alves

France is the most-nominated country in the History of the Best International Feature Oscar, having conquered 39 nods over the decades. They'll probably up that number soon with Ladj Ly's Les Misérables. The likeliness of a nomination doesn't mean the selection of the country's Oscar submission was without controversy. Many a cinephile thinks Céline Sciamma's Portrait of a Lady on Fire was more deserving. Without the benefit of being in the race for that particular trophy, the much-lauded period lesbian romance is likely to receive no Oscar love, even though it's eligible for most other categories

While it's rare for French films to be recognized outside the Best International Feature race, it's not unheard of. Since the beginning of the Academy Awards, 53 films have done so. That's not including documentaries or short films (or the number would be yet more inflated) . The Oscars may be very local in their tastes, but they've always shown a bit of Francophilia…

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Best International Feature: France, Denmark & Russia's contenders

by Cláudio Alves

In less than two weeks, December 16th to be exact, we'll know the Best International Feature shortlist. In previous years, there were only nine finalists but, due to recent rule changes, the list has been expanded to ten titles. As usual, expect to see a lot of European productions since this category loves to reward the cinema of the Old Continent. Thinking of those preferences, I've decided to purview the submissions of three European champions of the past. 

Specifically, they are France, with nine competitive wins and three honorary awards uner their belt; Denmark, with three victories; and Russia, which won once or four times if you count USSR's wins. We'll start with the most-nominated country in the category's History…

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French finalists on fire...

by Nathaniel R

Last year's international film Oscar race was one of its all-time most popular years with all of the pictures turning into arthouse hits (that never happens. Usually one is a flop). 2019's competition might be just as exciting. If countries choose well and the Academy follows suit, that is. Spain's Pain & Glory and South Korea's Parasite are the two highest profile international films in the race (both opening in early October in the US) and are likely to be successful in theaters, the former due to the consistent sales of Almodóvar imports and the latter due to its buzz and accessibility as entertainment. The third most high profile contender MIGHT be Portrait of a Lady on Fire from France. But France has yet to choose a film. UPDATE 9/20/19: THEY HAVE CHOSEN "LES MISERABLES"

They have however narrowed it down to three...

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Tweets: That sounds misérable and other observations

enjoy a curated sample of recent amusing or inspired tweets

my (60M) daughter (17F) has fallen in love with a guy she saw in the park (21M). he's at a barricade with 9 of his homosocial pals (21M-35M) & might die? i think i should save him but im also on the run from a beefy inspector (61M) since i broke my parole & became mayor. advice?

— class traitor tom branson (@combeferal) August 7, 2019

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France and the Oscar Race. Then and Now.

by Nathaniel R

As you've probably heard, France has altered their Oscar submission choice rules a bit. They'll now allow for "special screenings" (i.e. some variation of the common practice here in the US of the "qualifying run") to determine eligibility. In truth this wouldn't be news if it weren't France we were talking about. Most countries already allow some form of this practice so a film can be eligible for awards even if it isn't technically playing for audiences in time.

But France in the past has not allowed this given the country's very strict distribution rules. That's one of the reasons why, for example, that Blue is the Warmest Colour (2013) wasn't submitted in its year...

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