The Goa Spotlight News Portal
The million dollar question, that of What was the first; the egg or the chickenhas a symmetry with the Oscar and the Film Festivals.
Because although one (the Oscar) is “nurtured” by what the other (Festivals) offered, also at the time of the Academy Awards, the Festivals show off their chests, saying that the winning films went, first, through their selection committees and screens.
All taking into account that at the ceremony next Sunday, March 12, eight of the ten films nominated for best film had their debut, with great fanfare, and even awards, for the three most important film festivals, at the course of last year.
Cate Blanchett, in the candidate “Tár”, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival.
In May 2022 in Cannes they premiered Elvisby Baz Luhrmann Top Gun: Maverickby Joseph Kosinski, and The triangle of sadnessby Ruben Östlund, who ended up winning the Palme d’Or.
The first has 8 nominations – presumably Austin Butler wins for best leading actor, not by much over Brendan Fraser (The whalewho was in Venice), the second, with Tom Cruise, 6 –Variety puts her second in odds to win the Oscar, behind the favorite Everything everywhere at the same time-, and the third to three, all important statuettes: film, director and original script.
“Everything everywhere at the same time”, the one that did not go through any Class A Festival.
At the end of August and the beginning of September, through Venice, in whose Jury was the Argentine Mariano Cohn, in addition to the aforementioned The whalepassed tarby Todd Field -Cate Blanchett won the Volpi Cup for best actress- and the spirits of the islandfor which Colin Farrell won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor, and its director, Martin McDonagh, the Silver Lion for Best Screenplay.
And, always in chronological order, in Toronto in September three other candidates for the most important prize were screened for the first time: The Fabelmansby Steven Spielberg (7 Oscar nominations), No news at the frontby Edward Berger (9 nominations, plus best picture competes with Argentina, 1985in the category of best international film) and They speakby Sarah Polley (two nominations, best picture and best adapted screenplay).
“All Quiet on the Front” -which also competes with “Argentina, 1985” for the best international film- debuted in Toronto.
The exceptions to the rule
The only two that did not go through important international festivals are Everything everywhere at the same timefrom “The Daniels”, Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, and Avatar: The Path of Waterby James Cameron.
All the films premiered in theaters or by streaming in Argentina, with the exception of one, which has not yet had its commercial outlet in our country: They speak premieres on March 9, three days before the ceremony.
“Close”, another one that competes with the film by Santiago Mitre.
All this without counting closeby Lukas Dhont, and heyby Jerzy Skolimowski, who compete with Argentina, 1985They debuted in Cannes. And Santiago Miter’s own film had its world premiere at the Venice Mostra.
After the Academy Awards ceremony, two months later the wheel will begin to turn again, with the opening of the 76th edition of the Cannes Film Festival. And for that great event, at the most important film festival in the world, there is a date that has not yet been determined, but that Thierry Frémaux, its General Director, will have in a red circle, for the world premiere of Killers of the Flower Moonwith Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro and Jesse Plemons.
“Killers of the Flower Moon”, the new partnership between Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio, would be in Cannes in two months.
There is already another American production that, it seems, will have its first exhibition at the Grand Auditorium Louis Lumière: Indiana Jones and the call of fate, no longer directed by Spielberg, but by James Mangold. The premiere in the United States will be on June 30, so the film will be ready.
And another tank would be oppenheimerby Christopher Nolan. Who uncovered the scoop was Matthew Modine, a member of the massive cast, which also includes Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt and Matt Damon. Well the actor stranger things and Born to Kill tweeted a poster of the film with the hashtag #Cannes2023, and deleted it almost immediately…
Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” poster: another one going to the French Riviera?
And just as campaigning for an Oscar nomination or award can cost anywhere from $10,000 to $5,000,000, depending on how much you want or can spend on advertising, parties, and promotional trips, any top-tier American production that disembarking in Cannes, he knows that he will spend around US$ 1,000,000, even though the stay will be borne by the Festival.
Of course, that of the chicken or the egg could be resolved thinking that: the Oscar beats all the Festivals in terms of its longevity: it is going for its 95th ceremony, and Venice, the oldest, this year will have its 79th edition.
The important thing is that the cinema is celebrated, on both sides of the Atlantic with these events.
