All Oscar charts have been updated. But first, look how starry the shorts are!

by Nathaniel R

After the shortlist announcement we had to cram in some  quick research on the shorts categories. Live action short might prove rather starry because one of the ten stars Tilda Swinton (The Human Voice) and another stars Oscar Isaac and Alia Shawkat (The Letter Room). Most of the filmmakers behind this years 30 finalist shorts (across the 3 categories) would be receiving their first nominations but there are a few previous Oscar players in the mix too:  Skye Fitzgerald (Hunger Ward, doc short), Pedro Almodovar (The Human Voice, live action short), Max Lang (Snail and the Whale, animated short) 

We'll discuss each category in its own post as we approach the Academy's nomination ballot week (which is still almost a month away if you can believe it!) but in the meantime all the charts are freshly updated...

INDEX | PICTURE | DIRECTOR

ACTRESS | ACTOR | SUPP' ACTRESS | SUPP' ACTOR | 
SCREENPLAYS | VISUAL | SOUND | 
ANIMATED & DOCUMENTARY | INTERNATIONAL FEATURE 

The Academy Shortlists Have Arrived

As most of you reading probably know, there are nine Oscar categories that go through rounds of voting rather than just one ballot for the nominations. So each year the Academy narrows the field in these nine categories a few weeks to a month before the final nominations. Anything not listed below is no longer possible as a nominee in that specific category, since the ballots will only include these choices. (Curiously they don't do this winnowing process with one of the specialized categories, Best Animated Feature, so all 27 eligible films in that category are still possible as nominees.) The Academy will vote on the actual nominations between March 5th and March 10th and the Oscar nominatitons will be announced on March 15th, 2021. Then we'll have an unusually long wait for Oscar night on April 25th, 2021.

Here are the shortlists... 

Click to read more ...

Interview: Emil Gallardo on his Oscar Hopeful Short "1,2,3, All Eyes on Me"

by Nathaniel R

In November this year a few of us here at The Film Experience had the pleasure of attending the HollyShorts festival virtually. Shorts festivals are a great way to catch exciting talent on the rise. My favourite of the shorts I screened was a drama on the very tough topic of school shootings called 1,2,3, All Eyes on Me by debut filmmaker Emil Gallardo. Gallardo won the top prize at HollyShorts and with it Oscar consideration, attention from managers, and a HBO Directing Fellowship. He's also working on a feature now with his writing partner Derek Ho.

But success wasn't as instant as it sounds. He worked for years as a Production Assistant and Assistant Director starting in the Aughts before opting for film school himself. He humorously compares himself to a fish and the set to a fish bowl; if he's not there he's just squriming around -- Plop him back in! But making a film is never an easy swim. "I literally had pneumonia," he says recalling post-production. "I dragged myself out of bed to meet the Sundance deadline only to get rejected. But I wasn't going to miss the deadline!"

Click to read more ...

Animated Shorts - The Oscar Long List ?

by Nathaniel R

Since the Academy doesn't always release the longlists for their short film categories (why did they stop doing this?) we have to rely on other sources. The following list is not "official" but thanks to Cartoon Brew we have an approximation of what the Oscar's qualifying long list looks like in Best Animated Short. Cartoon Brew thinks it's about 96 films long with the following titles having had either "Oscar-qualifying" wins at approved festivals, public exhibition (this is how big studio shorts often qualify since they play before movies), or honors from BAFTA or the Student Academy Awards.

The longlist, where to screen the contenders, predictions, and a few notes after the jump...

Click to read more ...

Juliette Binoche and Hayao Miyazaki to be honored at Meihodo International

by Nathaniel R

If you're like us, every once in a while you find yourself asking "What's going on with Juliette Binoche?" The all time great has been a bit quiet this past year (apart from that unfortunately hushed release of The Truth) but this week she'll be honored at the Meihodo International Youth Visual Media Festival. If your reaction is "third annual what?" don't feel ashamed. There are so many festivals -- even in this virtual year - that it's hard for even the most devout cinephiles to keep track. But this one will be easy to get familiar with. The nominees are all on YouTube and the Meihodo ceremony will stream live on YouTube this Thursday (January 7th) at 3 PM EST. Juliette will open the ceremony and give a short interview from the set of the Claire Denis new movie (!!!) Radioscopie...

Click to read more ...