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With Janus possessing the much-needed restorations, Catherine Breillat is getting her biggest-ever spotlight in November’s Criterion Channel series spanning 1976’s A Real Young Girl to 2004’s Anatomy of Hell––just one of numerous retrospectives arriving next month. They’re also spotlighting Ida Lupino, directorial efforts of John Turturro (who also gets an “Adventures In Moviegoing”), the Coen brothers, and Jacques Audiard.

In a slightly more macroscopic view, Columbia Noir and a new edition of “Queersighting” ring in Noirvember. Gregg Araki’s Teen Apocalypse trilogy and Miller’s Crossing get Criterion Editions, while restorations of David Bowie-starrer The Linguini Incident, Med Hondo’s West Indies, and Dennis Hopper’s Out of the Blue make streaming debuts; and Kevin Jerome Everson’s Tonsler Park arrives just in time for another grim election day.

See the full list of titles arriving in November below:

36 fillette, Catherine Breillat, 1988

Anatomy of Hell, Catherine Breillat,...

Beim ersten NaturVision Filmfestival unter der Leitung von Beatrix Wesle, das gestern mit einem Screening der Preisträgerfilme zu Ende gegangen war, konnten die Veranstalter nach eigenen Angaben mit den Filmen nicht nur den Geschmack des Publikums treffen, sondern unterstützt durch eine Social-Media-Kampagne auch die Botschaft des Festivals weitertragen.

Gewinnerinnen und Gewinner des NaturVision Filmfestival (Credit: Tobias Metz)

„Die Rechnung ist aufgegangen“, heißt es in einer Abschlusspressemitteilung zum 23. NaturVision Filmfestival in Ludwigsburg, das gestern nach vier Tagen mit einem Screening der Preisträgerfilme zu Ende gegangenen war. Man habe mit den ausgewählten Natur- und Umweltdokus nicht nur den Geschmack des Publikums getroffen, sondern unterstützt durch eine Social-Media-Kampagne kam „die aktivierende Botschaft der bewegten Bilder“ auch an.

Beatrix Wesle, die in diesem Jahr erstmals als Festivalleiterin fungierte“ „NaturVision will mehr als Filme zeigen. Die porträtierten Menschen und ihre Geschichten bewegen zum Nach- und Umdenken, vor allem aber zum Handeln. Denn unseren wunderschönen Planeten können wir nur gemeinsam retten.

Strand Releasing has acquired North American rights from sales company Films Boutique to tender coming-of-age drama “Young Hearts” by Belgian newcomer Anthony Schatteman, which recently launched from the Berlin Film Festival.

Schatteman’s standout debut follows a 13-year-old boy named Elias, who feels drawn to his new neighbor, Alexander, and must overcome his conflicted feelings about being attracted to another boy. “Young Hearts” won a special mention in the Generation Kplus section of the Berlinale in February and has now been selected by Cannes Écran Junior, the Cannes Film Festival sidebar section showcasing films for all audiences that have a specific cultural and educational value for younger viewers.

The film will soon have its North American premiere at the Seattle International Film Festival in May.

“Casting directors take note: Lou Goossens [who plays Elias] in this first feature film role is an actor to watch out for,” wrote Variety critic Catherine Bray in her “Young Hearts” review,...

Strand Releasing has acquired the North American rights to Ray Yeung’s “All Shall Be Well,” which world premiered at this year’s Berlinale and won the Teddy Prize for best film. The movie played last week as the opening film at the Hong Kong International Film Festival.

“All Shall Be Well” chronicles the lives of two women, Angie and Pat, a couple living in Hong Kong who have been together for over four decades. After Pat’s unexpected death, Angie finds herself at the mercy of her extended family as she struggles to retain both her dignity and the home that they shared for over 30 years.

A universal tale, the movie also explores the limitations of Hong Kong’s laws, which don’t allow same-sex marriage. Patra Au Ga Man and Maggie Li Lin Lin star in the lead roles of Angie and Pat, respectively.

The deal was done...

Steve Buscemi’s “The Listener” is heading to the Sarasota Film Festival.

The 26th edition of the Florida fest will feature live and in-person screenings and events that will take place across Sarasota beginning on April 5. The 10-day fest will feature 23 narrative features, 41 documentary features and 81 short films.

Buscemi will be in Sarasota to participate in a Q&a following the screening of “The Listener,” which will serve as the closing night film. About a crisis hotline worker enduring the pressures of her job, the film starring Tessa Thompson made its world premiere at Venice Film Festival in 2022.

Lynn Dow’s “Bull Street,” starring Loretta Devine and Amy Madigan, will open the fest on April 5. The drama centers on a South Carolina small-town lawyer (Malynda Hale) as she faces local politics and an unwavering judge (Madigan) when her estranged father’s family tries to evict her and her grandmother (Devine) from her home.

"I've come home to join you on another journey..." Strand Releasing has debuted an official US trailer for a Norwegian documentary film titled Songs of Earth, a slow cinema gorgeous work of art made by the doc filmmaker Margreth Olin. This premiered at Cph:dox and IDFA and TIFF last year, and will be released in US cinemas in early 2024. A beautiful, meditative doc about the power of this planet. "Being connected to nature, what does it mean? Father knows and father shows. The director's father is 84. We follow in his footsteps into the mountain home. Into nature's smallest life and out to grand panoramas, where he grew up." It's set in a valley in Norway called Oldedalen (see Google Maps), where her family is from. All of the breathtaking shots of the landscape are mostly accompanied by sounds of nature transposed into melodies by the London Contemporary Orchestra. A sweeping...

Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony Awards ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages reflect the current standings in the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any individual contender. As other formal (and informal) polls suggest, competitions are fluid and subject to change based on buzz and events. Predictions are updated every Thursday.

Visit the prediction pages for the respective ceremonies via the links below:

Oscars | Emmys | Grammys | Tonys

2024 Oscars Predictions:

Best International Feature Wim Wenders’ ‘Perfect Days’

Weekly Commentary: The United Kingdom is poised to win its first Academy Award with Jonathan Glazer’s “The Zone of Interest” and what a deserved win it will be.

But while I have the floor: it’s time for the...

Shortlist of 15 films to be announced December 21, nominations out on January 23, 2024.

The Academy has announced eligible features in the categories of international feature film, animation, and documentary for the 96th Academy Awards on March 10, 2024.

The shortlist of 15 films will be announced on December 21, and the nominations announcement is January 23, 2024.

International

Eighty-eight countries or regions have submitted films eligible for consideration in the international feature film category. An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture (more than 40 minutes long) produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50%) non-English dialogue track. Namibia is a first-time entrant.

Academy members...

The International Documentary Association has announced nominations in 18 categories for its 39th awards, which will be awarded in a streaming ceremony on Dec. 12.

The nominees for best feature documentary are “Against the Tide,” “ANHELL69,” “Apolonia, Apolonia,” “Bobi Wine: The People’s President,” “Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project,” “In the Rearview,” “Milisuthando,” Q,” “The Mother of All Lies” and “While We Watched.”

The awards will unspool at 8 p.m. Pt on documentary.org and on IDA’s YouTube, Facebook and Instagram channels.

“In the wake of devastating events unfolding in the world and the grief our staff, board, community, and humanity at large are experiencing, we have decided to forego an in-person party. We know that stories have the power to encourage compassion, understanding, and peace. We are committed to preserving space for stories to be shared. Our wish is to recognize and celebrate the nominees and winners together, as a global documentary community,...

Cate Blanchett, Jessica Chastain, Lena Endre, Jeremy Irons, Sam Waterston, and John Lithgow all pay tribute with great admiration for Liv Ullmann in Dheeraj Akolkar’s all-embracing Liv Ullmann: A Road Less Travelled. Photo: Vidar Nordli-Mathisen, courtesy of Teddy TV

In the first instalment with Liv Ullmann on Dheeraj Akolkar’s Liv Ullmann: A Road Less Travelled (a highlight of the 14th edition of Doc NYC), we start out with greetings from Wim Wenders (Liv’s executive producer partner on Margreth Olin’s Songs Of Earth), whose film Anselm in 3D on Anselm Kiefer is the Special Presentation selection.

Jeremy Irons on Liv Ullmann: “To lend one’s voice to the voiceless can be quite powerful. I think we are alike in that life is what we’re here for.” On Liv receiving an Honorary Oscar in 2022: “She is a jewel.” Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Match Girl...

Cinema Eye Honors, a group the recognizes excellence in the artistry and craft of nonfiction filmmaking, announced the nominees for its 17th annual awards on Thursday, November 16th. The seven films nominated for Outstanding Nonfiction Feature are “20 Days in Mariupol,” “32 Sounds,” “The Eternal Memory,” “Four Daughters,” “Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project,” “Kokomo City,” and “Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie.” Ceh will present the winners at the annual awards ceremony to be held on January 12, 2024.

Leading the pack with six overall nominations is “Kokomo City,” a debut film from director D. Smith about the lives of four black trans sex workers. Smith was nominated for Outstanding Debut and Outstanding Direction. The film’s other three nominations were for Cinematography and Sound Design, as well as among The Unforgettables selection.

See Key dates for Best Documentary Feature contenders

Also earning nominations for their debut film was Mstyslav Chernov...

The 2024 Cinema Eye Honors has officially announced its full list of nominees, with D. Smith’s debut feature “Kokomo City” topping the awards contenders.

The Sundance breakout film about Black trans sex workers has six nominations for the 17th annual awards ceremony which spotlights achievements in nonfiction and documentary films and series. The 2024 Cinema Eye Honors will take place January 12 at the New York Academy of Medicine in East Harlem, New York.

Following “Kokomo City” are Mstyslav Chernov’s “20 Days in Mariupol,” Sam Green’s “32 Sounds,” and Maite Alberdi’s “The Eternal Memory,” each with five nominations. All four films are nominated for Outstanding Nonfiction Feature with the respective directors all nominated for Outstanding Direction.

This year’s Cinema Eye Honors also marks a history-making first with directors Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson being the first filmmakers to be nominated for Nonfiction Feature and Nonfiction Short in the same year,...

“Kokomo City,” D. Smith’s documentary about four trans Black women in New York and Georgia, led all films in nominations for the 17th annual Cinema Eye Honors, the New York-based awards designed to spotlight all facets of nonfiction filmmaking.

The film received six nominations, including Outstanding Nonfiction Feature and Outstanding Direction. Mstyslav Chernov’s “20 Days in Mariupol,” Maite Alberdi’s “The Eternal Memory” and Sam Green’s “32 Sounds” followed with five nominations each.

In the Outstanding Nonfiction Feature category, “Kokomo City,” “The Eternal Memory,” “20 Days in Mariupol” and “32 Sounds” were joined by “Four Daughters,” “Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project” and “Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie.”

Matthew Heineman’s “American Symphony” received nominations for Outstanding Production and Outstanding Score, making Heineman the third-most-nominated filmmaker in Cinema Eye history. With 12 nominations overall, he now trails Steve James and Laura Poitras by one.

While many...

The Cinema Eye Honors for achievement in nonfiction and documentary films and series has announced nominees for the 17th awards ceremony. “Kokomo City” from D. Smith led the nominees with six. “20 Days in Mariupol,” “32 Sounds” and “The Eternal Memory” each received five nominations. The nominees for outstanding fiction feature also include “Four Daughters,” “Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project” and “Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie.”

Outstanding direction nominees include Maite Alberdi for “The Eternal Memory,” Sam Green for “32 Sounds,” Kaouther Ben Hania for “Four Daughters,” Smith for “Kokomo City,” Claire Simon for “Our Body” and Wim Wenders for “Anselm.”

The Cinema Eye 2024 Awards Ceremony takes place on Jan. 12 at the New York Academy of Medicine in East Harlem.

Full list of nominees follows.

2024 Cinema Eye Honors Nominations

Outstanding Nonfiction Feature

20 Days in Mariupol

Directed by Mstyslav Chernov

Produced by Mstyslav Chernov, Michelle Mizner, Raney Aronson Rath...

Phrases like “Tone poem” and “meditation” are normally used by critics to describe works of art that are small and delicate.

Margareth Olin’s new documentary Songs of Earth, Norway’s selection for best international feature at next year’s Academy Awards, is surely a tone poem and equally surely a meditation on all manner of things, from our relationship with nature to the parent-child bond. The film, which boasts Liv Ullmann and Wim Wenders among its executive producers, is also surely a delicate film, one that frequently feels like it benefits more from being experienced than analyzed or interrogated.

Yet Songs of Earth is not a small movie. It’s a documentary that should be seen on the biggest screen at your disposal — whatever showcases its epic cinematography to its best advantage. Don’t sell Songs of Earth short, mind you, as an exclusively visual experience. Its sound design...

Margreth Olin’s “Songs of Earth,” Norway’s Oscar entry for the international feature film race, has been bought by Strand Releasing for North American distribution.

The documentary feature, which is executive produced by Wim Wenders and Liv Ullman, played at Toronto where it sold to key territories, and had its U.S. premiere at the Hamptons Film Festival. Strand Releasing is planning to debut the film early next year.

“We’re thrilled to represent this poetic and cinematic film and feel it will resonate with audiences in a meaningful way to address the global crisis,” said Jon Gerrans, Strand Releasing’s co-president.

“Songs of Earth” portrays the bond between the endangered Norwegian nature and Olin’s 85-year old father. The documentary shows how nature is threatened by climate change, while also depicting the passage of generations.

The film had its world premiere at the Copenhagen International Documentary Festival and...

Predicting the eventual five Oscar nominees for Best International Feature is made difficult by the three-step process that begins after the October 2, 2023 deadline for countries to submit entries. To be part of the selection process for this category, which was called Best Foreign Language Film before 2020, requires a great deal of dedication. (Scroll down for the most up-to-date 2024 Oscars Best International Feature predictions.)

In the days following the deadline for submissions, the academy determines each film’s eligibility. Then the several hundred academy members who serve on the International Feature screening committee are divided into groups and required to watch all their submissions over a six-week period that ends in early December. Their top 15 vote-getters will make it to the next round. That list of semi-finalists will be revealed on December 21, 2023.

These 15 films will be made available to the entire academy membership who can cast ballots for the final five...

Screen is profiling every submission for best international feature at the 96th Academy Awards.

Entries for the 2024 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.

The 96th Academy Awards is set to take place on March 10, 2024 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture (over 40 minutes) produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50%) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.

Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between December 1, 2022, and October 31, 2023. The deadline...

by Nathaniel R

Since we last discussed the Best International Feature Film four more official submissions have been announced from Egypt, Nepal, Slovakia, and Ukraine which you can read about on those charts (click on the country names) with several more to follow since oft-nominated countries like Spain, Italy, France, and Sweden are all announcing in the next few days. Tonight though, one of my favourite topics: Norway! As longtime readers know I once lived there and was once fluent in Norwegian. Those days are long long gone but I still like to watch Norwegian movies and television and try to turn off the subtitles on occassion.

Norway has announced three finalists for their submission: Let the River Flow, A Happy Day, and Songs of Earth...

Hisham Zaman’s A Happy Day, Ole Giæver’s Let The River Flow and Margreth Olin’s Songs Of Earth have been shortlisted

Hisham Zaman’s A Happy Day, Ole Giæver’s Let The River Flow and Margreth Olin’s Songs Of Earth have been shortlisted to be the Norwegian entry for best international feature at the 96th Academy Awards.

A Happy Day centres around three teenagers longing to escape the refugee camp where they live in north Norway. It had its world premiere in Toronto’s Centrepiece strand and is produced by Zaman’s Snowfall Cinema in co-production with Zentropa Denmark and Rein Film.

As majestic in appearance as a “National Geographic” special or any episode of “Nova,” the opening shots of the semi-documentary “Songs of Earth” are quick to immediately showcase beautiful cinematography that’s as much a character as any of the several humans who materialize from time to time, both elements of the film that do their best to drive things forward and attempt to keep the onscreen action from slipping into a black hole of dull.

Continue reading ‘Songs Of Earth’ Review: A Beautiful, Overly Long Look At A Norwegian Life [TIFF] at The Playlist.

My Dox:award top pick for the Ekko jury grid I participated in at this year’s Cph:dox, Margreth Olin’s Songs of Earth, was also number one in my critic’s notebook for the doc most needing to be experienced on the big screen. In this palpably loving portrait of the veteran filmmaker’s elderly parents and the country that shaped them (and her), “Olin juxtaposes jaw-dropping, drone-captured images of the awe-inspiring Norwegian landscape with closeups of her dad’s bald pate, his tender hand on her mother’s back, as the environment and humankind become one”. Thus, it comes as little surprise […]

The post “Is There an Orchestra Playing in the Depths of the Glacier?”: Margreth Olin on Her TIFF-Debuting Documentary, Songs of Earth first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

My Dox:award top pick for the Ekko jury grid I participated in at this year’s Cph:dox, Margreth Olin’s Songs of Earth, was also number one in my critic’s notebook for the doc most needing to be experienced on the big screen. In this palpably loving portrait of the veteran filmmaker’s elderly parents and the country that shaped them (and her), “Olin juxtaposes jaw-dropping, drone-captured images of the awe-inspiring Norwegian landscape with closeups of her dad’s bald pate, his tender hand on her mother’s back, as the environment and humankind become one”. Thus, it comes as little surprise […]

The post “Is There an Orchestra Playing in the Depths of the Glacier?”: Margreth Olin on Her TIFF-Debuting Documentary, Songs of Earth first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Next Goal Wins (Taika Waititi, 2023).The lineup is being unveiled for the 2023 edition of the Toronto International Film Festival, starting with 60 selections from the Gala and Special Presentations programs. The festival takes place from September 7–17, 2023.Gala PRESENTATIONSConcrete Utopia (Um Tae-Hwa)Dumb Money (Craig Gillespie)Fair Play (Chloe Domont)Flora and Son (John Carney)Hate to Love: Nickelback (Leigh Brooks)Lee (Ellen Kuras)Next Goal Wins (Taika Waititi)Nyad (Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin)Punjab ’95 (Honey Trehan)Solo (Sophie Dupuis)The End We Start From (Mahalia Belo)The Movie Emperor (Ning Hao)The New Boy (Warwick Thornton) The Royal Hotel (Kitty Green)The Holdovers.Special Presentationsa Difficult Year (Éric Toledano, Olivier Nakache)A Normal Family (Hur Jin-ho)American Fiction (Cord Jefferson)Anatomy of a Fall (Justine Triet)Close to You (Dominic Savage)Days of Happiness (Chloé Robichaud)The Rescue (Daniela Goggi)Ezra (Tony Goldwyn)Fingernails (Christos Nikou)Four Daughters (Kaouther Ben Hania...