Are the new Best International Film rules a good idea?

As the summer stands between us and the awards season to come, Cláudio Alves and Juan Carlos Ojano discuss some of this year’s new Oscar rules, focusing on their beloved Best International Film race.

Visar Morina's SHAME AND MONEY became the first film eligible for the Best International Feature Oscar this season, when it won the World Dramatic Competition at the Sundance Film Festival.

CLÁUDIO: Much was said about the Oscar rule changes when they were first announced at the beginning of May, with various opinions going around. While the possibility of actors double-dipping in the same category for the first time since the 1930s is enticing, the transformations to the Best International Film race are perhaps more important and worthy of discussion. And who better to discuss it with than Juan Carlos Ojano, the only person I know who has seen every single nominee in the category's history and discussed them through The One-Inch Barrier podcast? But first, let's assess the rules themselves…

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Sundance 2026: Rinko Kikuchi plays a dancing widow in “Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty!”

by Cláudio Alves

Two weeks ago, the 2026 Sundance Film Festival came to a close, marking its first edition after founder Robert Redford’s death and the last time it was held in Park City. Next year, the festivities will take place in Boulder, Colorado, the start of a new chapter in its history. For me, it was also a first, as, after years of trying, I finally got press credentials to cover Sundance online – fifth time’s the charm. Sadly, the limited number of days of the online program meant I had little time to post anything during the fest itself. And then came the storms, a weather calamity that’s ravaged Portugal and has left me various days without power and only intermittent wi-fi. 

My apologies that it took so long for this coverage to kickstart, but better late than never. And to get things going in style, let’s look at one of the films Nathaniel has already spotlighted in the “We Can’t Wait” series, about his most-anticipated 2026 releases – Ha Chan, Shake Your Booty!…

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Sundance Review: “Sukkwan Island” is a Father-Son Story with Strong Performances

by Abe Friedtanzer

Unconventional father-son relationships are a hallmark of film and television. A poor or nonexistent early dynamic transforms into something much more intimate and still potentially complicated as the son comes into adulthood and sees the father in a considerably different light. Sukkwan Island finds its father-son duo living life far from anyone else, alone in a cabin on an island for a year to make up for lost time and catch up on the chance to get to know each other after missing out for so many years…

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Sundance Review: “Heightened Scrutiny” is an All-Too Timely Doc about the Fight for Transgender Rights

by Abe Friedtanzer

It’s a troubling time to be transgender in America, to say the least. Within just days of his return to the White House, Donald Trump has already taken massive steps to roll back protections against transgender people and to limit recognition of their existence in every way possible. The documentary Heightened Scrutiny carries an important message of perseverance and hope, following one lawyer arguing an important case about gender-affirming care in the delicate period between Trump’s election and inauguration while the Department of Justice is still on his side...

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Sundance Review: “Middletown” Celebrates Student Journalism

by Abe Friedtanzer

Married filmmakers Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine are no strangers to the Sundance Film Festival, premiering both Boys State and Girls State in Park City. They also made the documentary The Mission, about missionary John Allen Chau, who is the subject of a narrative film, Last Days, screening this year at Sundance. Moss and McBaine return to a field they know well - education - with a look back at a group of trailblazing student journalists and environmental advocates prepared to take on government systems and the mafia before they even graduated high school...

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