Shortlists to be announced on February 9.
The Academy on Thursday (January 28) published a list of 93 films eligible for international feature film Oscar category.
Algeria’s Heliopolis, about the brutal suppression by French colonial authorities of an uprising in 1945, is omitted from the list. Screen understands the national selection committee withdrew the submission.
There were also a record number of documentary submissions – 238 compared to the previous high of 170 – in light of amended eligibility rules this season due to the pandemic, and a reduced field of 27 animation contenders.
The shortlists will be announced on February 9. The 93rd annual Academy Awards are scheduled...
The Academy on Thursday (January 28) published a list of 93 films eligible for international feature film Oscar category.
Algeria’s Heliopolis, about the brutal suppression by French colonial authorities of an uprising in 1945, is omitted from the list. Screen understands the national selection committee withdrew the submission.
There were also a record number of documentary submissions – 238 compared to the previous high of 170 – in light of amended eligibility rules this season due to the pandemic, and a reduced field of 27 animation contenders.
The shortlists will be announced on February 9. The 93rd annual Academy Awards are scheduled...
- 1/28/2021
- ScreenDaily
It’s been a banner year for Latin American cinema where 18 countries, including newcomer Suriname, have submitted films to vie for the international feature Oscar. Half of this year’s crop are by women, many of them debuts. Several entries focus on the plight of Indigenous people and other marginalized groups.
Despite the region’s chauvinistic societies, female cinematic voices have grown in strength in recent years. Some credit the #MeToo movement for the shift in attitudes and the growing number of femme directors in the region. In Bolivia, 85% of the producers are said to be women.
In some nations, private and public initiatives encourage more aspiring Indigenous and other marginalized filmmakers to create their visions. Mexico’s film institute Imcine, run by filmmaker Maria Novaro and her mostly female team, introduced a film fund for Indigenous and Afro-descendent filmmakers in 2019.
Strong female-led debuts hail from the likes of Peru,...
Despite the region’s chauvinistic societies, female cinematic voices have grown in strength in recent years. Some credit the #MeToo movement for the shift in attitudes and the growing number of femme directors in the region. In Bolivia, 85% of the producers are said to be women.
In some nations, private and public initiatives encourage more aspiring Indigenous and other marginalized filmmakers to create their visions. Mexico’s film institute Imcine, run by filmmaker Maria Novaro and her mostly female team, introduced a film fund for Indigenous and Afro-descendent filmmakers in 2019.
Strong female-led debuts hail from the likes of Peru,...
- 1/27/2021
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety Film + TV
A sleeper hit at Sundance, the sublimely disturbing Once Upon A Time In Venezuela has been taken under wing by the Topic streaming service and forwarded as the troubled nation’s Oscar submission for Best International Feature. Although it speaks very directly to the moment, Anbabel Rodriguez Rios’ documentary simultaneously gives off unmistakable airs of the eternal in the way it pointedly yet serenely presents the slow-motion crisis of a poor, aquatic-based community on the brink of extinction. The things of life — family, nature, the environment, education, politics — all figure prominently in the mix to create an indelible picture of a literal backwater facing devastation. It’s both a striking and deeply sorrowful work.
There is no question that what we see happening to the fishing village of Congo Mirador on Lake Maracaibo in northern Venezuela represents a humanitarian and ecological tragedy. Most documentarians would treat it exclusively as such,...
There is no question that what we see happening to the fishing village of Congo Mirador on Lake Maracaibo in northern Venezuela represents a humanitarian and ecological tragedy. Most documentarians would treat it exclusively as such,...
- 1/20/2021
- by Todd McCarthy
- Deadline Film + TV
Following two wins in the past three years, contenders from across the Americas are championing local culture and community.
The lack of physical festivals has not helped any film this year, and the relatively low-key roster from the Americas could have used the opportunity to break out a little-known filmmaker or remind voters of some of the more familiar names in play.
No film from the region made it onto the 10-strong shortlist last season and, despite speculation that some filmmakers might be holding back their latest work for what is hoped will be a return to physical festivals in...
The lack of physical festivals has not helped any film this year, and the relatively low-key roster from the Americas could have used the opportunity to break out a little-known filmmaker or remind voters of some of the more familiar names in play.
No film from the region made it onto the 10-strong shortlist last season and, despite speculation that some filmmakers might be holding back their latest work for what is hoped will be a return to physical festivals in...
- 1/12/2021
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Propped shakily over the lapping waters of Lake Maracaibo in the Caribbean-facing northeast corner of Venezuela, the tiny settlement of Congo Mirador is as tranquil as it is far-flung, but only the most obtuse of passing backpackers would describe it as idyllic. Impoverished and increasingly depopulated as it bears the economic brunt of the country’s political discord, it’s a village almost literally on the verge of sliding into the mud: Water pollution and sedimentation from nearby oil drilling have strangled its local fishing industry, while modest houses struggle to stay afloat. Over the course of several years, Anabel Rodriguez Rios’ unsentimentally elegiac documentary “Once Upon a Time in Venezuela” quietly observes Congo Mirador being brought to its knees, to progressively powerful and enraging effect.
Yet this is not a work of heart-sinking miserablism: The film captures communal resilience and institutional corruption in equal measure. Since its premiere in Sundance’s world documentary competition,...
Yet this is not a work of heart-sinking miserablism: The film captures communal resilience and institutional corruption in equal measure. Since its premiere in Sundance’s world documentary competition,...
- 12/2/2020
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
Topic, the fast-growing streaming service from First Look Media, has acquired North American streaming rights to Anabel Rodriguez Rios’ documentary feature debut, “Once Upon a Time in Venezuela.” The film, which explores the decline of the Venezuelan fishing village of Congo Mirador and, more broadly, the country’s complicated current political and social climate, made its world premiere at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival. It is Venezuela’s 2021 Academy Award submission for best international feature film, and was shortlisted for the 2020 IDA Documentary Awards. Topic plans an aggressive Oscar push for both documentary and foreign categories.
On Lake Maracaibo, beneath the mysterious silent Catatumbo lightning, the village of Congo Mirador is preparing for parliamentary elections. For streetwise local businesswoman and Chavist party representative Tamara every vote counts, fought by all means, while for opposition-supporting teacher Natalie, politics is a weapon unsuccessfully attempting to force her from her job. And with her sharp eyes,...
On Lake Maracaibo, beneath the mysterious silent Catatumbo lightning, the village of Congo Mirador is preparing for parliamentary elections. For streetwise local businesswoman and Chavist party representative Tamara every vote counts, fought by all means, while for opposition-supporting teacher Natalie, politics is a weapon unsuccessfully attempting to force her from her job. And with her sharp eyes,...
- 11/30/2020
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
A year after “Honeyland” became the first film ever nominated for Oscars in both the Best Documentary Feature and Best International Feature categories, Italy has become the seventh country to submit a nonfiction film to this year’s international race.
The country’s submission committee chose Gianfranco Rosi’s “Notturno,” an acclaimed doc from the filmmaker whose “Fire at Sea” was Italy’s Oscar entry five years ago. That film ended up being nominated in the documentary category but did not even make the shortlist in the category that was then called Best Foreign Language Film.
“Notturno” was chosen from 25 films under consideration by the Associazione Nazionale Industrie Cinematografiche Audiovisive e Multimediali (Anica), which is authorized by the Academy to choose Italy’s entry each year. The highest-profile film on that list was “The Life Ahead,” directed by Edoardo Ponti and featuring the first screen performance in a decade from Ponti’s mother,...
The country’s submission committee chose Gianfranco Rosi’s “Notturno,” an acclaimed doc from the filmmaker whose “Fire at Sea” was Italy’s Oscar entry five years ago. That film ended up being nominated in the documentary category but did not even make the shortlist in the category that was then called Best Foreign Language Film.
“Notturno” was chosen from 25 films under consideration by the Associazione Nazionale Industrie Cinematografiche Audiovisive e Multimediali (Anica), which is authorized by the Academy to choose Italy’s entry each year. The highest-profile film on that list was “The Life Ahead,” directed by Edoardo Ponti and featuring the first screen performance in a decade from Ponti’s mother,...
- 11/24/2020
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
As we head into Oscar season, some countries are figuring out the advantages of grabbing increased attention with a well-regarded dual entry. Last year, Macedonia submitted documentary breakout “Honeyland” (Neon) for Best International Feature Film, and the movie became the first film to score nominations in both categories.
While the film earned raves, it helped that the movie was well-watched by both the documentary branch and the international committee voters.
In 2020, the most recent international submission is Chile’s World Documentary Sundance selection “The Mole Agent,” which won the Audience Award at San Sebastián. Directed by Maite Alberdi, the dramatic non-fiction film tracks ex-Interpol detective Rómulo Aitken, who selects elderly spy Sergio Chamy to embed in a nursing home and report back the treatment of a woman there.
Other documentaries submitted by their countries this year include Alexander Nanau’s hard-hitting health expose “Collective,” Kenya’s “The Letter” (Maia Lekow...
While the film earned raves, it helped that the movie was well-watched by both the documentary branch and the international committee voters.
In 2020, the most recent international submission is Chile’s World Documentary Sundance selection “The Mole Agent,” which won the Audience Award at San Sebastián. Directed by Maite Alberdi, the dramatic non-fiction film tracks ex-Interpol detective Rómulo Aitken, who selects elderly spy Sergio Chamy to embed in a nursing home and report back the treatment of a woman there.
Other documentaries submitted by their countries this year include Alexander Nanau’s hard-hitting health expose “Collective,” Kenya’s “The Letter” (Maia Lekow...
- 11/19/2020
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
As we head into Oscar season, some countries are figuring out the advantages of grabbing increased attention with a well-regarded dual entry. Last year, Macedonia submitted documentary breakout “Honeyland” (Neon) for Best International Feature Film, and the movie became the first film to score nominations in both categories.
While the film earned raves, it helped that the movie was well-watched by both the documentary branch and the international committee voters.
In 2020, the most recent international submission is Chile’s World Documentary Sundance selection “The Mole Agent,” which won the Audience Award at San Sebastián. Directed by Maite Alberdi, the dramatic non-fiction film tracks ex-Interpol detective Rómulo Aitken, who selects elderly spy Sergio Chamy to embed in a nursing home and report back the treatment of a woman there.
Other documentaries submitted by their countries this year include Alexander Nanau’s hard-hitting health expose “Collective,” Kenya’s “The Letter” (Maia Lekow...
While the film earned raves, it helped that the movie was well-watched by both the documentary branch and the international committee voters.
In 2020, the most recent international submission is Chile’s World Documentary Sundance selection “The Mole Agent,” which won the Audience Award at San Sebastián. Directed by Maite Alberdi, the dramatic non-fiction film tracks ex-Interpol detective Rómulo Aitken, who selects elderly spy Sergio Chamy to embed in a nursing home and report back the treatment of a woman there.
Other documentaries submitted by their countries this year include Alexander Nanau’s hard-hitting health expose “Collective,” Kenya’s “The Letter” (Maia Lekow...
- 11/19/2020
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
As the title of this documentary from Maxx Caicedo and Nelson G Navarrete suggests, the pair get down to street level to consider the mix of politics and protest currently affecting Venezuelan society. In contrast to the single community consideration of Once Upon A Time In Venezuela - which is also screening as part of Doc NYC - here the directors are trying to give a more panoramic view of the issues, offering an array of voices, from medics to opposition leaders and blue collar workers.
A potted history of recent Venezuelan politics is stitched through the film - although, like much here, it could do with a tighter focus - but it basically emphasises the economic crisis in the country that has worsened under Hugo Chávez's successor Nicolás Maduro, exacerbated by his refusal to acknowledge the deep problems his country faces or to accept international aid. This crisis is at the.
A potted history of recent Venezuelan politics is stitched through the film - although, like much here, it could do with a tighter focus - but it basically emphasises the economic crisis in the country that has worsened under Hugo Chávez's successor Nicolás Maduro, exacerbated by his refusal to acknowledge the deep problems his country faces or to accept international aid. This crisis is at the.
- 11/16/2020
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
The 2021 International Documentary Association (IDA) Awards has announced the shortlists for the Best Feature and Best Short categories. In a year crowded with top-notch documentaries (see the Critics Choice Documentary Awards nominations here), with more debuts unspooling at Doc NYC (November 11-19), every reputable non-fiction awards group helps to curate the sprawling list of eventual Oscar contenders, and the IDA is no exception. (Read IndieWire’s current list of documentary feature predictions here.)
The IDA will bestow 16 awards this year, for Best Feature, Best Short, Best Curated Series, Best Episodic Series, Best Multi-Part Documentary, Best Short Form Series, Best Audio Documentary, David L. Wolper Student Documentary Award, Best Music Documentary, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Writing, Best Music Score, ABC News VideoSource Award, and the Pare Lorentz Award.
Honorees will be announced on Tuesday, November 10. Nominees will be announced on Tuesday, November 24, along with the other awards recipients.
The IDA will bestow 16 awards this year, for Best Feature, Best Short, Best Curated Series, Best Episodic Series, Best Multi-Part Documentary, Best Short Form Series, Best Audio Documentary, David L. Wolper Student Documentary Award, Best Music Documentary, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Writing, Best Music Score, ABC News VideoSource Award, and the Pare Lorentz Award.
Honorees will be announced on Tuesday, November 10. Nominees will be announced on Tuesday, November 24, along with the other awards recipients.
- 10/28/2020
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
New York-based sales agent Cargo Film & Releasing has snapped up U.S. rights to feature documentary “Once Upon a Time in Venezuela” ahead of its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival.
Rise and Shine holds international rights to the doc, which bows in the World Cinema Documentary Competition in Park City later this month.
The film, which is shot over seven years, centres on the Venezuelan fishing village of Congo Mirador, a once prosperous commercial and social hub that has spiralled into chaos and violence – reflecting the turbulent political climate that has ravaged the South American country in recent years.
At the center of the village’s existential fight stands two female leaders, including a Chavez-worshipping coordinator who is not above bribery and intimidation, and her most vocal critic – a local school teacher.
“Once Upon a Time in Venezuela” is directed by Venezuelan filmmaker Anabel Rodríguez Ríos and produced by Sepp R. Brudermann.
Rise and Shine holds international rights to the doc, which bows in the World Cinema Documentary Competition in Park City later this month.
The film, which is shot over seven years, centres on the Venezuelan fishing village of Congo Mirador, a once prosperous commercial and social hub that has spiralled into chaos and violence – reflecting the turbulent political climate that has ravaged the South American country in recent years.
At the center of the village’s existential fight stands two female leaders, including a Chavez-worshipping coordinator who is not above bribery and intimidation, and her most vocal critic – a local school teacher.
“Once Upon a Time in Venezuela” is directed by Venezuelan filmmaker Anabel Rodríguez Ríos and produced by Sepp R. Brudermann.
- 1/16/2020
- by Manori Ravindran
- Variety Film + TV
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