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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Team Experience Predictions: FINAL RESULTS!

by Cláudio Alves

Looking back, it's notable that, of the four acting winners, Michael B. Jordan was the only one some predicted would be snubbed of a nomination altogether. Eric and Nathaniel had him out of their final five in our first round of predictions. Look at him now!

The Oscars are over, and the next week of posts here, at The Film Experience, shall be dedicated to saying goodbye to the season that was before looking forward to the cinematic year that’s still just starting. One of the first matters to resolve is that of the team's predictions. Every year, we compete to see who’s most accurate out of the lot, both at the nominations and winners’ stages. Last year, Eric was the most accurate pundit at guessing the nominations, but Lynn Lee beat him in predicting the right victors. This year, Baby Clyde was the best of us all at sussing out who AMPAS would nominate. However, wins-wise, a new champion has been crowned. Or maybe two. Let me explain…

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The 14th Annual Team Experience Awards: “One Battle After Another” is our champion! Three cheers for PTA!!!

by Cláudio Alves

ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER | © Warner Bros.

Later tonight, we’ll have a new batch of Oscar winners to celebrate. But, for now, let us rejoice for the Team Experience Awards, voted on by the site’s writers, sans Nathaniel, who has his own Film Bitch Awards. It’s likely some of these victors may echo AMPAS’ picks, as One Battle After Another is our champion, after having tied with Sinners in nominations, twelve apiece. As ever, there are some ties to report as our voting body is quite small, with Supporting Actress and Costume Design the tightest races of the lot. Sentimental Value and The Secret Agent fans will also have reason to rejoice, with each flick scoring three prizes. Indeed, half of our winners come from international cinema...

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98th Academy Awards: FINAL PREDICTIONS!

by Cláudio Alves

Ryan Coogler's SINNERS is the most Oscar-nominated film ever! But will it win the most awards at the 98th Academy Awards? ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER is tough competition.

The 98th Academy Awards are almost upon us, so, on this last day before the festivities, let’s put our pundit hats on and try to suss out whom AMPAS has picked. Nine Team Experience writers, including Nathaniel(!), have provided their best guesses, evidencing some interesting trends, some even more interesting conflicts. One of the big questions is who’ll reign supreme between the two Warner Bros. Best Picture frontrunners. Will it be the all-time nomination leader or the critical darling whose director has been due for ages already? Nat is betting on Sinners getting the biggest haul of the night, including Best Picture, while others, like Eric Blum and Juan Carlos Ojano, don’t even think the vampire flick will beat Frankenstein in sheer number of victories. Presently, I’m the only one predicting Sinners getting the most wins with One Battle After Another still taking Picture. Only time will tell who’s rightest among us. 

Without further ado, please venture, after the jump, to see the full prediction charts, plus some added commentary from the team…

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Split Decision: "Sinners"

In the Split Decision series, our writers pair up and face off on an Oscar-nominated movie one loves and the other doesn't. Tonight, LYNN LEE and NICK TAYLOR discuss Sinners.

NICK: Lynn, I think you’re one of the only people on this site - maybe in the entire world - whose opinion on Sinners I don’t know. The most nominated film in Oscar’s history deserves a volley before the big night! For my part, I think Ryan Coogler’s ambition is off the charts, and I genuinely can’t wait to see what he and his team are going to do with their blank check. The execution of that ambition, from plotting to formal execution, is very uneven to me, and I have a hard time reconciling what’s so exciting with what’s undernourished. But before I continue, please tell me what you think of Sinners!!

LYNN: Funny, I feel like I've been singing the praises of Sinners so much lately, I'm finding it difficult to avoid repeating myself!  It was my #1 movie of 2025, and I think it deserved many, if not most, of its Oscar nominations...

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