Author: CWB News Department

Today, Tuesday December 17th, 2024, Academy awards annouced the shortlist for the Best International Film Oscar. Representing a kaleidoscope of various cultural perspectives, emotional depths and bold storytelling, these 15 films — selected from 85 eligible submissions — offer voters (and audiences) a rare opportunity to engage with global cinema. From the poetic minimalism of Latvia’s animated “Flow” to the audacious musical hybrid of France’s “Emilia Pérez,” this year’s slate will be among the most competitive in recent memory, especially since many of them stand a very good chance of landing additional nominations outside the category. Among the other prominent…

Newsflash: Iran has invaded the sleepy Canadian city of Winnipeg. Correction: Iranian cinema has actually invaded Winnipeg. Precision: Two Iranian movies that launched the nation onto the international film scene, Abbas Kiarostami’s Where Is the Friend’s House? (1987) and Jafar Panahi’s The White Balloon (1995), have somehow found their way into the capital of Manitoba. What exactly they’re doing there is never explained. Nor is it really the point of director Matthew Rankin’s bizarre and enchanting experimental comedy Universal Language, which picked up the first-ever audience award in Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight. Starring the director himself alongside a cast of Farsi-speaking locals both young and old, the film is…

In Iran’s Oscar Entry, In the Arms of a Tree, Kimia is about to divorce from Farid due to a strange illness, and this process has proceeded in a mutual respect and both are finalizing the divorce. Their two sons, unaware of their parents’ decision, live their normal lives and spend their days with great interest in each other until they face their parents’ decision: now the father wants to take one of the sons and the mother wants to take the other one. They have to prepare the children for this separation and start to teach them to be…

MELODY written, directed and produced by Behrouz Sebt Rasoul is 2025 Tajikistan’s Oscar Entry. Melody is a musician who teaches music to children with cancer. The children have a celebration at the end of autumn and ask Melody to compose a piece with the sounds of 30 birds for 30 kids with cancer. Melody goes to her fatherly village to record the sound of birds, where she encounters bird hunters. Helped by her mute servant Mengo who lives in her village house, Melody follows the birds. Here is diretor’s statement about MELODY: https://vimeo.com/1038793606 They manage to find only 20 birds…

Emilia Pérez leads the the nominations for the 2025 Golden Globes, which were unveiled live at a press conference at the Beverly Hilton on Monday morning. The film scored 10 noms, more than any other title in film or TV. That breaks the record previously held by a comedy or musical motion picture, surpassing Barbie, which scored a total of nine noms last year. Emilia Pérez was followed on the film side by The Brutalist with seven noms, Conclave with six, and Anora and The Substance with five each. The Bear leads the TV nominees with five total mentions, followed by Only Murders in the Building and Shogun with four each. Overall, Netflix leads all distributors with a total of…

Memories of a Burning Body is COSTA RICA’S OFFICIAL SUBMISSION FOR INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM written and directed by Antonella Sudasassi Furniss. Raised in a repressive era where sexuality was taboo, Ana, Patricia, and Mayela found their understanding of womanhood based on unspoken rules and implicit impositions. Now, their fearless voices incarnate in a single 65-year-old woman, who revisits a kaleidoscopic life of intertwined memories, secrets, and hidden desires. https://vimeo.com/1036626804 Costa Rican director Antonella Sudasassi Furniss, who rose to fame with her feature debut, Hormigas , which was presented in the Berlinale Forum, decided to delve into the private lives and sexuality of…

Semmelweis, the Hungarian Oscar Entry happens Vienna (1947. Ignác Semmelweis, the short-tempered but passionate Hungarian doctor delivers babies and carries out autopsies on a daily basis whilst looking for the cause of puerperal fever, the mysterious epidemic that decimates patients in the hospital. His boss prohibits him from conducting research into the subject and sends his right-hand man to cross him at every turn. He also threatens a young midwife, Emma Hoffmann, to spy on him. After a rocky start, the relationship between Semmelweis and Emma develops into a romance. When Semmelweis’s friend gets wounded mid-autopsy and dies with the…

FAMILY TIME is the official international feature film Oscar entry from Finland for the 97th Academy Awards from director Tia Kouvo.  A comedy-drama that captures the essence of what it means to come together with loved ones during the holidays, FAMILY TIME is a tragicomic study on family dynamics, loneliness and being together, and how we try to find connection, but don’t always succeed. Producers Jussi Rantamäki and Emilia Haukka are known for producing high-quality, critically acclaimed films, including the celebrated works of Juho Kuosmanen’s award-winning films that include “The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki” (2016) which…

Silvia Pinal, Mexico’s last great cinema diva, passed away at 93, leaving an indelible mark on Mexican film, television, and theater. Her six-decade career, marked by resilience and determination, transformed national culture, making her a beloved symbol of artistry and inspiration. Silvia Pinal was born in Guaymas, Sonora, on September 12, 1931. From humble beginnings in northern Mexico, she became a towering figure in Mexican cinema’s Golden Age. Her journey began in the 1940s when her talent and charisma caught the attention of filmmakers who recognized her potential to redefine Mexican cinema. Her international breakthrough came through a collaboration with…

The Oscar race this year is like herding cats. We’re in a middle of a transitionary period and who knows where it will all end up. The Golden Globe voters are voting right now. Their ballots are due December 4th. the film that feels buzzy at the moment is Wicked, and I imagine they can expect to do very well at the Globes. The Golden Globes now have six nominees in all film categories, making predicting easier, especially in a year like this one. I think I forgot about that the last time I wrote about the Golden Globes. Oh…