Sunday, June 28, 2020

CANNES 2020 OFFICIAL SELECTION

By José Alberto Hermosillo

The Pandemic severely affected the film festival circuit around the world. Cannes 2020 was not the exception. The organizers postponed and pushed the deadline to the limit - selecting more films, combining sections, and adapting the festival to the limitations of not having the stars and attendees physically.

In March, the festival directors announced they will postpone until July 2020. On early June, they unveiled the list with new categories suitable to this year's competition. Spike Lee is being asked to be the Jury Foreman for 2021. 

Having the festival this year is challenging, but the essential goal is to not let the dreams of the filmmakers, actors, producers, and distributors fade.

On this occasion, the glamorous Mediterranean  event is limited to virtual and online screenings and webinars.

The presidents of the festival, Pierre Lescure and Thierry Frémaux, announced the list of films of the official selections that will be part of Cannes 2020. 


The Faithful

The French Dispatch, Wes Anderson
Summer of 85, François Ozon
True Mothers, Naomi Kawase
Lover’s Rock, Steve McQueen
Mangrove, Steve McQueen
Another Round (Druk), Thomas Vinterberg
DNA (ADN), Maïwenn
Last Words, Jonathan Nossiter 
Heaven: To the Land of Happiness, Im Sang-soo
Forgotten Will Be (El olvido que seremos), Fernando Trueba
Peninsula (Bando), Sang-ho Yeon
In the Dusk (Sutemose), Sarunas Bartas
Home Front, (Des Hommes), Lucas Belvaux
The Real Thing, Koji Fukada

The Newcomers

Passion Simple, Danielle Arbid
A Good Man, Marie Castille Mention-Schaar
Love Affairs (Les choses qu’on dit, les choses qu’on fait), Emmanuel Mouret
Souad, Ayten Amin
Limbo, Ben Sharrock
Red Soil (Rouge), Farid Bentoumi
Sweat, Magnus Von Horn (Sweden)
February (Février), Kamen Kalev
Ammonite, Francis Lee
Un médecin de nuit, Elie Wajeman
Enfant terrible, Oskar Roehler
Nadia, Butterfly, Pascal Plante
Here We Are, Nir Bergman



Omnibus Film

Septet: The Story of Hong Kong, Ann Hui, Johnnie TO, Tsui Hark, Sammo Hung, Yuen Woo-Ping y Patrick Tam



The First Features

Falling, Viggo Mortensen
Pleasure, Ninja Thyberg
Slalom, Charlène Favier
Memory House (Casa de antiguedades), Joao Paulo Miranda Maria (Brazil)
Broken Keys (Fausse note), Jimmy Keyrouz
Ibrahim, Samir Guesmi
Beginning (Au commencement), Déa Kulumbegashvili
Gagarine, Fanny Liatard y Jérémy Trouilh
Vaurien, Peter Dourountzis
Garcon Chiffon, Nicolas Maury
Should the Wind Fall (Si le vent tombe), Nora Martirosyan
John and the Hole, Pascual Sisto
Spring Blossom (16 Printemps), Suzanne Lindon
Striding Into the Wind (Courir au gré du vent), WEI Shujun
The Death of Cinema and my Father Too (La Mort du cinéma et de mon père aussi), Dani Rosenberg

Documentary Films

En route pour le milliard (The Billion Road), Dieudo Hamadi
The Truffle Hunters, Michael Dweck et Gregory Kershaw
9 Jours a Raqqa, Xavier de Lauzanne

Comedy Films

My Donley, My Lover & I (Antonniete dans les cevennes), Caroline Vignal
Les deux Alfred, Bruno Podalydès
Un triomphe (The big hit), Emmanuel Courcol
L’origine du monde, Laurent Lafitte
Le discours, Laurent Tirard

Animated Films

Earwig and the Witch, (Aya To Majo) Gorô Miyazaki, Japan
Flee, Jonas Poher Rasmussen, Denmark, France, Sweden, Norway
Josep, Aurel, France
Soul, Pete Docter, USA.

Jose Alberto Hermosillo, film critic. Thierry Frémaux co-director of Cannes Film Festival.
At the Oscars 2020..

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Monday, June 15, 2020

OSCARS 2021 NEW KEY DATES

By José Alberto Hermosillo

Due to the extreme circumstances of the pandemic, closure of movie theaters, and adjustments to the “New Normal,” this morning the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced important new key dates for the Oscars 2021.

The new time-frame for an award eligibility is now from Jan 1st, 2020 to February 28th 2021. This means, producers, talent, and distributors will have more time to exhibit their films, campaigning, and conquer the vote of the Academy members.


Oscar. Photo: José Alberto Hermosillo. FestivalinLA ©2020

The Shortlist announcement is on Tuesday, February 9th, 2021.
The Nomination announcement is on Monday, March 15th, 2021.
The Oscar Night is on Sunday, April 25th, 2021

The Academy Museum Opening is scheduled for Friday, April 30th, 2021.
NEW DATE: SEPTEMBER 30TH, 2021
Academy Museum construction. Photo: José Alberto Hermosillo. FestivalinLA ©2018.

For the fourth time in history, the Academy delayed the Awards: In 1938, the Academy moved the ceremony days after the big floods of Los Angeles. In 1968, the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. also delayed the ceremony. In 1981, the homicide attempt against president Ronald Reagan moved the awards as well. Now, in 2021 the delay is because of the pandemic – closure of studios, productions, and movie theaters.

The new multicultural Board of Governors is taking important and transcendental actions regarding diversity and inclusion. Plus, the required participation to an annual Unconscious Bias Training for Governors, branch executive committee members, and Academy staff. The course is open to all the 9,000+ members. 

These critical changes and adjustments are necessary to benefit not only the Academy Awards, movies studios, or distribution companies, but also for everybody's safety, representation, and inclusion. 


Academy Key Dates. Photo Oscars ©2020


José Alberto Hermosillo, film critic at FestivalinLA ©2020