International Oscar Finals: Meet the Directors, Consider the Stats

by Nathaniel R

In some ways the competition for "Best International Feature Film" is the longest of Oscar races. It begins as early as the fall festivals in the previous year when titles that have not yet debuted in their home countries begin showing their faces. By the time Cannes rolls around it's in full swing. The first contest for each buzzy film, within this awards context of course, is to be submitted by its home country. The second big hurdle is making the finalist list of 15 which is where we are right now. The announcement of the 15 Oscar finalists this year has the usual mix of high profile contenders and 'oh, didn't see that one coming!' surprises. A high profile only gets you so far in this race -- notice that French Cannes champ Titane and Romanian Berlinale champ  Bad Luck Banging... are both missing from the finals.

Let's meet the directors behind the 15 films vying for those 5 nomination slots...

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Interview: Maria Schrader on Directing Austrian Oscar Submission 'Stefan Zweig: Farewell to Europe'

By Jose Solis

Two years after The Grand Budapest Hotel put Stefan Zweig’s writing at the center of the Oscar race, the author himself now is the protagonist of Austria’s submission Stefan Zweig: Farewell to Europe. Directed by Maria Schrader, the film focuses on Zweig’s exile in South America after fleeing Nazi Germany in the mid-1930s, played with gravitas by Josef Hader, Zweig becomes one of the most powerful male characters of the year, in a performance that works on an intellectual as well as visceral level. Audiences who only know Schrader from her acting work, in films like Aimee & Jaguar, will be caught off guard by her elegant sense of framing, her impeccable pacing and the way she engages the viewer by avoiding going into any biopic stereotypes. I spoke to her about making the film, working with Hader, and what an Oscar nomination could mean for the film.

JOSE: This was a very hard movie to watch after the American election.

MARIA SCHRADER: Should I take that as a compliment?

JOSE: Yes!

MARIA SCHRADER: (Laughs)

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