Interview: The stars of "Girl Picture" on their international breakout

by Nathaniel R

Linnea, Ammu, and Eleonora the stars of "GIRL PICTURE"

The Academy will release the names of 15 finalists for Best International Feature Film on December 21st. One film we hope to see on that list if Finland's absolutely wonderful Girl Picture. But even if the Academy passes it by (they've often been a little indifferent to films about teenagers) we're certain it will stand the test of the time as one of the best youth films of the 2020s. We urge you all to see it if you haven't yet as it's readily available for rental on various platforms. We've been singing its praises to everyone who would listen since Sundance nearly a year ago when it won the World Cinema Audience Award.

Ben interviewed the director Alli this summer when the movie was released Recently as a kind of sequel, I sat down with the three leading actresses who bring this great movie and their characters so much emotion, humor, and authenticity...

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"Close" gains Oscar momentum

by Nathaniel R

A few nights back I had the pleasure to attend a screening and reception for Close, Belgium's Oscar submission hosting by legendary indie producer Christine Vachon. Vachon joked that when people mistook her for the producer of Close, since she was hosting the event, she didn't actually want to correct them. "I wish I had produced this!" 

The film, which is stronger overall and certainly less divisive than Dhont's debut, the trans drama Girl (2018), has been a major hit on the festival circuit. It's about the intimate friendship between two 13 year-old boys. We first meet them in summertime bliss but a return to school, followed by stares and mild teasing from other kids, makes them self-conscious about their friendship. Not everyone loves the film but those that do really spark to its observational strength, patience and naturalism, and the potency of its emotional throughline despite coming at the drama sideways with very little audience hand-holding. I myself was jolted back to memories of that age...

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National Film Registry Inductees for 2022 / How to vote on 2023's List

by Nathaniel R

CARRIE (1976)

It's that time of year when this becomes THE LIST EXPERIENCE. The Library of Congress has revealed the titles that have been added to the National Film Registry denoting films that are "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." We wish it were any time other than December each year given all the other lists and that this one literally never has anything to do with the film year in process / wrapping up. But it is what it is. It's feast or famine and everyone is alway determined to keep December so tight that noone can breathe or pay attention to anything they're feasting on for more than two minutes!

Here is th 2022 list in chronological order as always...

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"Joyland" banned in Pakistan. Can it still compete at the Oscars?

by Nathaniel R

Saim Sadiq (via Instagram, left) and a memorable shot from his feature debut "Joyland" (right)

Censorship has been part of the history of art forever. The ways in which we think of censorship in Hollywood cinema usually involve ratings boards or production codes... self-censorship from the industry to prevent outside censorship from the government. It's less a case of banning art than an attempt to keep storytellers in line with accepted norms, however conservative those norms might be in their time. When the story of censorship visibly collides with the Oscar race, though, it's usually across the border and in the Best International Feature Film category. Now we have another of those stories via Pakistan's Oscar submission Joyland. 

The movie, a brilliant feature debut from 31 year old filmmaker Saim Sadiq, is a drama about a young husband in Lahore who falls for a trans performer after being hired by a local dance theater. It first came to international attention when it premiered at Cannes (the first Pakistani movie to do so) and won both Un Certain Regard and the Queer Palm. Just a week before its premiere in Pakistan its release was denied, endangering its Oscar run.  Questions naturally crop out like "Why would a country submit a film and then ban it?" and "Can it still compete?" so let's answer those...

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Dragula: Titans S1. E3 "Science Fiction (Horror) Double Feature"

by Nick Taylor

Alaska, Dracmorda, Swanthula, and David Dastmalchian on the judge's panel
Dragula: Titans gives us the first of the series’ traditional floorshows, allowing its creatures to strut their stuff on the main stage with smoke and strobe lights dancing in their ears as the horror-techno score plays on. Asking the queens for their interpretation of science fiction horror results is a wildly broad prompt, and the results range from cosmic horror to space aliens to robot monstrosities. There’s no lip syncing, no acting, no other requirement but owning that stage the way only they can. And boy, did they deliver...

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