"Dance of the 41" and "Identifying Features" are up for Ariel Awards

by Nathaniel R

"Identifying Features" is available to rent on several services

The nominations for the 63rd annual Ariel Awards (Mexico's Oscars essentially) have been announced. Identifying Features, a drama about a mother travelling across Mexico in search of answers about her son who vanished trying to cross the border made the biggest noise with 16 nominations. In happy news ALL of the Best Picture nominated films are readily available online to US audiences. We've seen more of the Ariel contenders than usual thanks to their festival appearances and current availability (links in the nomination list if we've written about them). Identifying Features is up against two films we loved, Dance of the 41 and Los Lobos along with Tragic Jungle and a documentary called The Three Deaths of Marisela Escobedo... 

[UPDATE THIS POST NOW REFLECTS THE WINNERS OF THESE PRIZES AS WELL]

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Platino Nominees: La Llorona, New Order, etc...

Just when you think it's safe to leave 2020 cinema behind, another award pops up! This time it's the 8th annual PLATINO Awards which are for Ibero-American films and television. The Best Film nominees are...

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AFI Fest: New Order

By Abe Friedtanzer

 

It’s not often that I truly regret watching a movie. The rare occasions on which it does happen make me question my policy of reading as little as possible about a film before I see it. I might have, for instance, read these important disclaimers from Elisa’s brief rave review of Venice Film Festival Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize winner New Order: “it feels like your hope for the future of humanity is being beaten to death” and “‘Chilling’ does not even begin to describe the act of witnessing this story play out. Do not get attached to any of the characters.” I agree fully with those warnings and would add a few of my own when it comes to breaking down this brutal film…

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On "Nomadland" and other Venice winners

Please welcome guest contributor Elisa Giudici. She saw all the Venice competition films and she brings us this special report!

By Elisa Giudici

The oldest Film Festival of the world was the first to roar back from the pandemic. Venice International Film Festival president Francesco Ciccutto and artistic director Alberto Barbera worked hard to organize this year's edition. At first, it played like a fever dream: an international film festival in one of the nations that lived through the most severe lockdowns and highest death count just a few months ago?

Hollywood majors and newer realities like Netflix, which in the recent past Venice would coddle with attention, betrayed the Venetian Mostra, and didn't send a single movie. Old friends rallied, though.  Pedro Almodóvar, Luca Guadagnino, Ann Hui, and Abel Ferrara wanted to be in Venice to help the Mostra. They were supported by European festivals early on in their filmmaking and didn't forget them in their time of need... 

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