Members of the “CODA” team at the 94th annual Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on March 27, 2022. Pictured from left to right: producer Patrick Wachsberger, actor Eugenios Derbez, writer/director Siân Heder, actress Marlee Matlin, actor Troy Kotsur, actress Emilia Jones, actress Daniel Durant, actress Amy Forsyth, producer Philippe Rousselet and producer Fabrice Gianfereme. (Photo courtesy of ABC)
With three prizes, including Best Picture, Apple TV+’s drama “CODA” made Oscar history by being the first movie from a streaming service and the first movie with several deaf actors to win Best Picture. This historic victory happened at the 94th annual Academy Awards, which were presented at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on March 27, 2022. Regina Hall, Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes hosted the show, which was telecast in the U.S. on ABC. Eligible movies were those released in U.S. theaters between March 1 and December 31, 2021. The nominations and awards are voted for by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.
Troy Kotsur of “CODA” also made history by becoming the first deaf male actor to win an Oscar. Kotsur took the prize for Best Supporting Actor. Marlee Matlin, who was the first deaf actress to win an Oscar (Best Actress for 1986’s “Children of a Lesser God”), also starred in “CODA.” Kotsur and Matlin portray a married couple in “CODA,” an acronym for “child of dead adults.”
In “CODA,” a hearing teenager named Ruby Rossi (played by Emilia Jones) has parents named Frank and Jackie (played by Kotsur and Matlin) and an older brother named Leo (played by Daniel Durant), who are all deaf. Ruby has to decide if she will stay in their hometown of Gloucester, Massachusetts, to help in the family’s fishing business or pursue her dream of being a singer at Berklee College of Music.
“CODA” is a remake of the 2014 French film “La Famille Bélier,” thereby making “CODA” the second movie remake (after 2006’s “The Departed”) to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. Unlike “La Famille Bélier,” which cast hearing actors as deaf people, “CODA” had deaf cast members in the roles of deaf people. “CODA” won all three of the Oscars for which it was nominated. In addition to Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor, the Oscar haul for “CODA” included Best Adapted Screenplay. “CODA” director Siân Heder adapted the screenplay.
Warner Bros. Pictures’ sci-fi remake of “Dune” won six of its 10 Oscar nominations: Best Film Editing, Best Cinematography, Production Design, Best Sound, Best Original Score and Best Visual Effects. Netflix’s Western drama “The Power of the Dog” went into the ceremony with the most nominations (12) and ended up winning just one: Best Director, for Jane Campion. The only other movie to win more than one Oscar at the ceremony was Searchlight Pictures’ Tammy Faye Bakker biopic “The Eyes of Tammy Faye”: Jessica Chastain won Best Actress, and the movie won the prize for Best Makeup and Hairstyling.
Ariana DeBose, Troy Kotsur and Jessica Chastain at the 94th annual Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on March 27, 2022. (Photo courtesy of ABC)
Ariana DeBose became the first openly queer woman to win an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She won the prize for playing the role of Anita in the 2021 remake of “West Side Story,” which was DeBose’s acting debut in a feature film. It was the same role for which Rita Moreno won a history-making Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1961’s “West Side Story,” which made Moreno the first Latin person to win an Oscar. Moreno attended the Oscar ceremony in 2022, and she looked on with pride and joy when DeBose took the stage to accept the award.
Despite all the accolades during the show, it will probably be most remembered for an unscripted moment when “King Richard” star Will Smith went on stage and punched presenter Chris Rock in the face, after Rock made an insulting joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, looking like G.I. Jane because of her close-cropped, shaved head. Pinkett Smith went public in 2021 about shaving her head because she has alopecia, a condition which causes large clumps of hair on a head to fall out. Rock was on stage to present the award for Best Documentary Feature. According to Variety, Smith also yelled Rock after slapping him: “Keep my wife’s name out of your fucking mouth!”
This surprising altercation, which was followed by spurts of audio blocking and other technical interruptions to TV audiences, happened about 30 minutes before Smith won Best Actor for “King Richard,” in which he portrays Richard “Richie” Williams, the father and first tennis coach for tennis superstars Venus Williams and Serena Williams. Smith gave a tearful acceptance speech about protecting his family and being called to spread love.
Smith also said during the speech: “I want to apologize to the Academy. I want to apologize to all my fellow nominees. This is a beautiful moment and I’m not crying for winning an award. It’s not about winning an award for me. It’s about being able to shine a light on all of the people.” The Smith/Rock altercation is bound to be ranked as one of the most notorious moments in Oscar history.*
Other presenters at the show were Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Daniel Kaluuya, H.E.R., Josh Brolin, Jason Momoa, Wesley Snipes, Woody Harrelson, Rosie Perez, Jacob Elordi, Rachel Zegler, Tony Hawk, Kelly Slater, Shaun White, Stephanie Beatriz, Halle Bailey, Lily James and Naomi Scott, Naomi Scott, Tiffany Haddish, Simu Liu, Mila Kunis, Ruth E. Carter, Lupita Nyong’o, John Leguizamo, Jennifer Garner, Elliot Page J.K. Simmons, Shawn Mendes, Tracee Ellis Ross, Rami Malek, Tyler Perry, Jamie Lee Curtis, Bill Murray, Jill Scott, Sean Combs, Zoë Kravitz, Jake Gyllenhaal, Kevin Costner, Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman, John Travolta, Anthony Hopkins, Lady Gaga and Liza Minnelli.
There were also performances of four of the five songs competing in the Best Original Son category: Beyoncé opened the show with her Oscar-nominated “Be Alive” from “King Richard,” by performing the song at a tennis court in Compton, California, as a nod to where Venus Williams and Serena Williams got their start. Sebastián Yatra sang “Dos Oruguitas” from “Encanto.” Reba McEntire sang “Somehow You Do” from “Four Good Days.” Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell performed the title track to “No Time to Die,” which won the Oscar. Van Due to touring commitments, Morrison did not attend the ceremony to perform his Oscar-nominated song “Down to Joy.” Instead, there was a performance of the “Encanto” hit song “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” by members of the “Encanto” cast with a special guest appearance by Megan Thee Stallion.
*April 1, 2022 UPDATE: After much controversy and media coverage of Smith’s physical assault of Rock at this Oscar ceremony, Smith has resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science. Read the full story here.
*April 8, 2022 UPDATE: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced that it is banning Smith from all Academy events for 10 years. Read the full story here.
Here is the complete list of winners and nominations for the 2022 Academy Awards:
*=winner
Best Picture
“Belfast,” Laura Berwick, Kenneth Branagh, Becca Kovacik and Tamar Thomas, producers
“CODA,” Philippe Rousselet, Fabrice Gianfermi and Patrick Wachsberger, producers*
“Don’t Look Up,” Adam McKay and Kevin Messick, producers
“Drive My Car,” Teruhisa Yamamoto, producer
“Dune,” Mary Parent, Denis Villeneuve and Cale Boyter, producers
“King Richard,” Tim White, Trevor White and Will Smith, producers
“Licorice Pizza,” Sara Murphy, Adam Somner and Paul Thomas Anderson, producers
“Nightmare Alley,” Guillermo del Toro, J. Miles Dale and Bradley Cooper, producers
“The Power of the Dog,” Jane Campion, Tanya Seghatchian, Emile Sherman, Iain Canning and Roger Frappier, producers
“West Side Story,” Steven Spielberg and Kristie Macosko Krieger, producers
Best Director
Kenneth Branagh (“Belfast”)
Ryûsuke Hamaguchi (“Drive My Car”)
Paul Thomas Anderson (“Licorice Pizza”)
Jane Campion (“The Power of the Dog”)*
Steven Spielberg (“West Side Story”)
Best Actor in a Leading Role
Javier Bardem (“Being the Ricardos”)
Benedict Cumberbatch (“The Power of the Dog”)
Andrew Garfield (“Tick, Tick … Boom!”)
Will Smith (“King Richard”)*
Denzel Washington (“The Tragedy of Macbeth”)
Best Actress in a Leading Role
Jessica Chastain (“The Eyes of Tammy Faye”)*
Olivia Colman (“The Lost Daughter”)
Penélope Cruz (“Parallel Mothers”)
Nicole Kidman (“Being the Ricardos”)
Kristen Stewart (“Spencer”)
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Ciarán Hinds (“Belfast”)
Troy Kotsur (“CODA”)*
Jesse Plemons (“The Power of the Dog”)
J.K. Simmons (“Being the Ricardos”)
Kodi Smit-McPhee (“The Power of the Dog”)
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Jessie Buckley (“The Lost Daughter”)
Ariana DeBose (“West Side Story”)*
Judi Dench (“Belfast”)
Kirsten Dunst (“The Power of the Dog”)
Aunjanue Ellis (“King Richard”)
Best Adapted Screenplay
“CODA,” screenplay by Siân Heder*
“Drive My Car,” screenplay by Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Takamasa Oe
“Dune,” screenplay by Jon Spaihts and Denis Villeneuve and Eric Roth
“The Lost Daughter,” written by Maggie Gyllenhaal
“The Power of the Dog,” written by Jane Campion
Best Original Screenplay
“Belfast,” written by Kenneth Branagh*
“Don’t Look Up,” screenplay by Adam McKay; story by Adam McKay and David Sirota
“King Richard,” written by Zach Baylin
“Licorice Pizza,” written by Paul Thomas Anderson
“The Worst Person in the World,” written by Eskil Vogt, Joachim Trier
Best Cinematography
“Dune,” Greig Fraser*
“Nightmare Alley,” Dan Laustsen
“The Power of the Dog,” Ari Wegner
“The Tragedy of Macbeth,” Bruno Delbonnel
“West Side Story,” Janusz Kaminski
Best Film Editing
“Don’t Look Up,” Hank Corwin
“Dune,” Joe Walker*
“King Richard”, Pamela Martin
“The Power of the Dog,” Peter Sciberras
“Tick, Tick…Boom!” Myron Kerstein and Andrew Weisblum
Best Sound
“Belfast,” Denise Yarde, Simon Chase, James Mather and Niv Adiri
“Dune,” Mac Ruth, Mark Mangini, Theo Green, Doug Hemphill and Ron Bartlett*
“No Time to Die,” Simon Hayes, Oliver Tarney, James Harrison, Paul Massey and Mark Taylor
“The Power of the Dog,” Richard Flynn, Robert Mackenzie and Tara Webb
“West Side Story,” Tod A. Maitland, Gary Rydstrom, Brian Chumney, Andy Nelson and Shawn Murphy
Best Original Score
“Don’t Look Up,” Nicholas Britell
“Dune,” Hans Zimmer*
“Encanto,” Germaine Franco
“Parallel Mothers,” Alberto Iglesias
“The Power of the Dog,” Jonny Greenwood
Best Original Song
“Be Alive” from “King Richard,” music and lyric by Dixson and Beyoncé Knowles-Carter
“Dos Oruguitas” from “Encanto,” music and lyric by Lin-Manuel Miranda
“Down to Joy” from “Belfast,” music and lyric by Van Morrison
“No Time to Die” from “No Time to Die,” music and lyric by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell*
“Somehow You Do” from “Four Good Days,” music and lyric by Diane Warren
Best Animated Feature Film
“Encanto,” Jared Bush, Byron Howard, Yvett Merino and Clark Spencer*
“Flee,” Jonas Poher Rasmussen, Monica Hellström, Signe Byrge Sørensen and Charlotte De La Gournerie
“Luca,” Enrico Casarosa and Andrea Warren
“The Mitchells vs. the Machines,” Mike Rianda, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller and Kurt Albrecht
“Raya and the Last Dragon,” Don Hall, Carlos López Estrada, Osnat Shurer and Peter Del Vecho
Best International Feature Film
“Drive My Car” (Japan)*
“Flee” (Denmark)
“The Hand of God” (Italy)
“Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom” (Bhutan)
“The Worst Person in the World” (Norway)
Best Documentary Feature
“Ascension,” Jessica Kingdon, Kira Simon-Kennedy and Nathan Truesdell
“Attica,” Stanley Nelson and Traci A. Curry
“Flee,” Jonas Poher Rasmussen, Monica Hellström, Signe Byrge Sørensen and Charlotte De La Gournerie
“Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised),” Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, Joseph Patel, Robert Fyvolent and David Dinerstein*
“Writing With Fire,” Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
“Coming 2 America,” Mike Marino, Stacey Morris and Carla Farmer
“Cruella,” Nadia Stacey, Naomi Donne and Julia Vernon
“Dune,” Donald Mowat, Love Larson and Eva von Bahr
“The Eyes of Tammy Faye,” Linda Dowds, Stephanie Ingram and Justin Raleigh*
“House of Gucci,” Göran Lundström, Anna Carin Lock and Frederic Aspiras
Best Costume Design
“Cruella,” Jenny Beavan*
“Cyrano,” Massimo Cantini Parrini and Jacqueline Durran
“Dune,” Jacqueline West and Robert Morgan
“Nightmare Alley,” Luis Sequeira
“West Side Story,” Paul Tazewell
Best Production Design
“Dune,” production design: Patrice Vermette; set decoration: Zsuzsanna Sipos*
“Nightmare Alley,” production design: Tamara Deverell; set decoration: Shane Vieau
“The Power of the Dog,” production design: Grant Major; set decoration: Amber Richards
“The Tragedy of Macbeth,” production design: Stefan Dechant; set decoration: Nancy Haigh
“West Side Story,” production design: Adam Stockhausen; set decoration: Rena DeAngelo
Best Visual Effects
“Dune,” Paul Lambert, Tristan Myles, Brian Connor and Gerd Nefzer*
“Free Guy,” Swen Gillberg, Bryan Grill, Nikos Kalaitzidis and Dan Sudick
“No Time to Die,” Charlie Noble, Joel Green, Jonathan Fawkner and Chris Corbould
“Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” Christopher Townsend, Joe Farrell, Sean Noel Walker and Dan Oliver
“Spider-Man: No Way Home,” Kelly Port, Chris Waegner, Scott Edelstein and Dan Sudick
Best Documentary Short Subject
“Audible,” Matt Ogens and Geoff McLean
“Lead Me Home,” Pedro Kos and Jon Shenk
“The Queen of Basketball,” Ben Proudfoot*
“Three Songs for Benazir,” Elizabeth Mirzaei and Gulistan Mirzaei
“When We Were Bullies,” Jay Rosenblatt
Best Animated Short Film
“Affairs of the Art,” Joanna Quinn and Les Mills
“Bestia,” Hugo Covarrubias and Tevo Díaz
“Boxballet,” Anton Dyakov
“Robin Robin,” Dan Ojari and Mikey Please
“The Windshield Wiper,” Alberto Mielgo and Leo Sanchez*
Best Live-Action Short Film
“Ala Kachuu – Take and Run,” Maria Brendle and Nadine Lüchinger
“The Dress,” Tadeusz Łysiak and Maciej Ślesicki
“The Long Goodbye,” Aneil Karia and Riz Ahmed*
“On My Mind,” Martin Strange-Hansen and Kim Magnusson
Kodi Smit-McPhee and Benedict Cumberbatch in “The Power of the Dog” (Photo by Kirsty Griffin/Netflix)
Brendan Hunt, Jason Sudeikis and Brett Goldstein in “Ted Lasso” (Photo courtesy of Apple TV+)
With four prizes, including Best Picture, Netflix’s Western drama “The Power of the Dog” was the top winner at the 27th annual Critics Choice Awards, which were presented on March 13, 2022. Also winning four prizes, including Best Comedy Series, was Apple TV+’s soccer sitcom “Ted Lasso.” For the first time in Critics Choice Awards history, the show was held in two cities: in Los Angeles (at the Fairmont Century Plaza Hotel) and in London (at the Savoy Hotel), in order to accommodate attendees of the 2022 BAFTA Film Awards in London, which was held on the same night.
Taye Diggs and Nicole Byer hosted the 2022 Critics Choice Awards ceremony, which was televised in the U.S. on The CW and TBS. Eligible movies were those released in the U.S. in 2021. Eligible TV shows were those with new episodes that premiered in 2021. The Critics Choice Association nominates and votes for the awards.
“The Power of the Dog” director/screenwriter/producer Jane Campion at the 27th Annual Critics Choice Awards at Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles on March 13, 2022. (Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images for Critics Choice Association)
“The Power of the Dog,” which is about a dysfunctional rancher family in 1925 Montana, won the awards for Best Picture, Best Director (for Jane Campion), Best Adapted Screenplay (also won by Campion) and Best Cinematography (for Ari Wegner, the first woman to win in this Critics Choice Awards category). Focus Features’ Northern Ireland drama “Belfast” won three Critics Choice Awards: Best Original Screenplay (for Kenneth Branagh), Best Young Actor/Actress (for Jude Hill) and Best Acting Ensemble. Also winning three Critics Choice Awards was Warner Bros. Pictures’ sci-fi remake “Dune,” which took the prizes for Best Production Design, Best Visual Effects and Best Score.
In the TV categories, “Ted Lasso” won these four prizes: Best Comedy Series, Best Actor in a Comedy Series (for Jason Sudeikis), Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series (for Hannah Waddingham) and Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series (for Brett Goldstein). HBO’s “Succession” received three awards: Best Drama Series, Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (for Sarah Snook) and Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (for Kieran Culkin). TV shows that won two Critics Choice Awards each in 2022 were HBO’s “Mare of Easttown,” Netflix’s “Squid Game” and HBO’s “The White Lotus.”
“Ted Lasso” co-stars Juno Temple, Brett Goldstein and Hannah Waddington at the 27th Annual Critics Choice Awards at the Savoy Hotel in London on March 13, 2022. (Photo by Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images for Critics Choice Association)
In non-competitive prizes announced several weeks before the show, Halle Berry received the SeeHer Award (for advocacy of positive female representation on screen), while Billy Crystal was the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Presenters includes Ava DuVernay, Carey Mulligan, Jamie Dornan, Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Kristen Wiig, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Mandy Moore, Zoey Deutch, Joel McHale, Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, J.K. Simmons, Ray Romano, Ken Jeong, Alan Kim, Angelica Ross, Annie Mumolo, Dominique Jackson, Dylan O’Brien, Hailie Sahar, Indya Moore, Jacob Bertrand, Jung Ho-yeon, Kaci Walfall, Lee Jung-jae, Maria Bakalova, Mayim Bialik, Nasim Pedrad, Park Hae-soo, Ralph Macchio, Robin Thede, Los Angeles Rams Coach Sean McVay, Veronika Khomyn, Shawn Hatosy, Sonequa Martin-Green, Issa Rae and Jimmy Kimmel.
The following is the complete list of nominees and winners for the 2022 Critics Choice Awards:
*=winner
FILM
BEST PICTURE
Belfast
CODA
Don’t Look Up
Dune
King Richard
Licorice Pizza
Nightmare Alley
The Power of the Dog*
tick, tick…Boom!
West Side Story
BEST ACTOR
Nicolas Cage – Pig
Benedict Cumberbatch – The Power of the Dog
Peter Dinklage – Cyrano
Andrew Garfield – tick, tick…Boom!
Will Smith – King Richard*
Denzel Washington – The Tragedy of Macbeth
BEST ACTRESS
Jessica Chastain – The Eyes of Tammy Faye*
Olivia Colman – The Lost Daughter
Lady Gaga – House of Gucci
Alana Haim – Licorice Pizza
Nicole Kidman – Being the Ricardos
Kristen Stewart – Spencer
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Jamie Dornan – Belfast
Ciarán Hinds – Belfast
Troy Kotsur – CODA*
Jared Leto – House of Gucci
J.K. Simmons – Being the Ricardos
Kodi Smit-McPhee – The Power of the Dog
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Caitríona Balfe – Belfast
Ariana DeBose – West Side Story*
Ann Dowd – Mass
Kirsten Dunst – The Power of the Dog
Aunjanue Ellis – King Richard
Rita Moreno – West Side Story
BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS
Jude Hill – Belfast*
Cooper Hoffman – Licorice Pizza
Emilia Jones – CODA
Woody Norman – C’mon C’mon
Saniyya Sidney – King Richard
Rachel Zegler – West Side Story
BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
Belfast*
Don’t Look Up
The Harder They Fall
Licorice Pizza
The Power of the Dog
West Side Story
BEST DIRECTOR
Paul Thomas Anderson – Licorice Pizza
Kenneth Branagh – Belfast
Jane Campion – The Power of the Dog*
Guillermo del Toro – Nightmare Alley
Steven Spielberg – West Side Story
Denis Villeneuve – Dune
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Paul Thomas Anderson – Licorice Pizza
Zach Baylin – King Richard
Kenneth Branagh – Belfast*
Adam McKay, David Sirota – Don’t Look Up
Aaron Sorkin – Being the Ricardos
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Jane Campion – The Power of the Dog*
Maggie Gyllenhaal – The Lost Daughter
Siân Heder – CODA
Tony Kushner – West Side Story
Jon Spaihts, Denis Villeneuve, Eric Roth – Dune
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Bruno Delbonnel – The Tragedy of Macbeth
Greig Fraser – Dune
Janusz Kaminski – West Side Story
Dan Laustsen – Nightmare Alley
Ari Wegner – The Power of the Dog*
Haris Zambarloukos – Belfast
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Jim Clay, Claire Nia Richards – Belfast
Tamara Deverell, Shane Vieau – Nightmare Alley
Adam Stockhausen, Rena DeAngelo – The French Dispatch
Adam Stockhausen, Rena DeAngelo – West Side Story
Patrice Vermette, Zsuzsanna Sipos – Dune*
BEST EDITING
Sarah Broshar and Michael Kahn – West Side Story*
Úna Ní Dhonghaíle – Belfast
Andy Jurgensen – Licorice Pizza
Peter Sciberras – The Power of the Dog
Joe Walker – Dune
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Jenny Beavan – Cruella*
Luis Sequeira – Nightmare Alley
Paul Tazewell – West Side Story
Jacqueline West, Robert Morgan – Dune
Janty Yates – House of Gucci
BEST HAIR AND MAKEUP
Cruella
Dune
The Eyes of Tammy Faye*
House of Gucci
Nightmare Alley
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Dune*
The Matrix Resurrections
Nightmare Alley
No Time to Die
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
BEST COMEDY
Barb & Star Go to Vista Del Mar
Don’t Look Up
Free Guy
The French Dispatch
Licorice Pizza*
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Encanto
Flee
Luca
The Mitchells vs the Machines*
Raya and the Last Dragon
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
A Hero
Drive My Car*
Flee
The Hand of God
The Worst Person in the World
BEST SONG
Be Alive – King Richard
Dos Oruguitas – Encanto
Guns Go Bang – The Harder They Fall
Just Look Up – Don’t Look Up
No Time to Die – No Time to Die*
BEST SCORE
Nicholas Britell – Don’t Look Up
Jonny Greenwood – The Power of the Dog
Jonny Greenwood – Spencer
Nathan Johnson – Nightmare Alley
Hans Zimmer – Dune*
TELEVISION
BEST DRAMA SERIES
Evil (Paramount+)
For All Mankind (Apple TV+)
The Good Fight (Paramount+)
Pose (FX)
Squid Game (Netflix)
Succession (HBO)*
This Is Us (NBC)
Yellowjackets (Showtime)
BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Sterling K. Brown – This Is Us (NBC)
Mike Colter – Evil (Paramount+)
Brian Cox – Succession (HBO)
Lee Jung-jae – Squid Game (Netflix)*
Billy Porter – Pose (FX)
Jeremy Strong – Succession (HBO)
BEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Uzo Aduba – In Treatment (HBO)
Chiara Aurelia – Cruel Summer (Freeform)
Christine Baranski – The Good Fight (Paramount+)
Katja Herbers – Evil (Paramount+)
Melanie Lynskey – Yellowjackets (Showtime)*
MJ Rodriguez – Pose (FX)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Nicholas Braun – Succession (HBO)
Billy Crudup – The Morning Show (Apple TV+)
Kieran Culkin – Succession (HBO)*
Justin Hartley – This Is Us (NBC)
Matthew Macfadyen – Succession (HBO)
Mandy Patinkin – The Good Fight (Paramount+)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Andrea Martin – Evil (Paramount+)
Audra McDonald – The Good Fight (Paramount+)
Christine Lahti – Evil (Paramount+)
J. Smith-Cameron – Succession (HBO)
Sarah Snook – Succession (HBO)*
Susan Kelechi Watson – This Is Us (NBC)
BEST COMEDY SERIES
The Great (Hulu)
Hacks (HBO Max)
Insecure (HBO)
Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)
The Other Two (HBO Max)
Reservation Dogs (FX on Hulu)
Ted Lasso (Apple TV+)*
What We Do in the Shadows (FX)
BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Iain Armitage – Young Sheldon (CBS)
Nicholas Hoult – The Great (Hulu)
Steve Martin – Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)
Kayvan Novak – What We Do in the Shadows (FX)
Martin Short – Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)
Jason Sudeikis – Ted Lasso (Apple TV+)*
BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Elle Fanning – The Great (Hulu)
Renée Elise Goldsberry – Girls5eva (Peacock)
Selena Gomez – Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)
Sandra Oh – The Chair (Netflix)
Issa Rae – Insecure (HBO)
Jean Smart – Hacks (HBO Max)*
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Ncuti Gatwa – Sex Education (Netflix)
Brett Goldstein – Ted Lasso (Apple TV+)*
Harvey Guillén – What We Do in the Shadows (FX)
Brandon Scott Jones – Ghosts (CBS)
Ray Romano – Made for Love (HBO Max)
Bowen Yang – Saturday Night Live (NBC)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Hannah Einbinder – Hacks (HBO Max)
Kristin Chenoweth – Schmigadoon! (Apple TV+)
Molly Shannon – The Other Two (HBO Max)
Cecily Strong – Saturday Night Live (NBC)
Josie Totah – Saved By the Bell (Peacock)
Hannah Waddingham – Ted Lasso (Apple TV+)*
BEST LIMITED SERIES
Dopesick (Hulu)
Dr. Death (Peacock)
It’s a Sin (HBO Max)
Maid (Netflix)
Mare of Easttown (HBO)*
Midnight Mass (Netflix)
The Underground Railroad (Amazon Prime Video)
WandaVision (Disney+)
BEST MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Come From Away (Apple TV+)
List of a Lifetime (Lifetime)
The Map of Tiny Perfect Things (Amazon Prime Video)
Robin Roberts Presents: Mahalia (Lifetime)
Oslo (HBO)*
Zoey’s Extraordinary Christmas (The Roku Channel)
BEST ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Olly Alexander – It’s a Sin (HBO Max)
Paul Bettany – WandaVision (Disney+)
William Jackson Harper – Love Life (HBO Max)
Joshua Jackson – Dr. Death (Peacock)
Michael Keaton – Dopesick (Hulu)*
Hamish Linklater – Midnight Mass (Netflix)
BEST ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Danielle Brooks – Robin Roberts Presents: Mahalia (Lifetime)
Kodi Smit-McPhee and Benedict Cumberbatch in “The Power of the Dog” (Photo by Kirsty Griffin/Netflix)
Timothée Chalamet and Rebecca Ferguson in “Dune” (Photo by Chiabella James/Warner Bros. Pictures)
Netflix’s Western drama “The Power of the Dog” and Warner Bros. Pictures’ sci-fi remake “Dune” were the biggest winners at the 75th annual BAFTA Film Awards, which were presented at London’s Royal Albert Hall on March 13, 2022. Rebel Wilson hosted the ceremony, which was televised in the United Kingdom on BBC and in the U.S. on BBC America. Eligible films were those released in the United Kingdom in 2021.
“The Power of the Dog” took the prize for Best Film, while Jane Campion received the Best Director prize for helming “The Power of the Dog.” Meanwhile, “Dune” went into the ceremony with the most nominations (11) and ended up winning five BAFTA Film Awards: Best Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Production Design, Best Sound and Best Visual Effects.
Here is the complete list of winners and nominations for the 2022 BAFTA Film Awards:
*=winner
Best Film
“Belfast” “Don’t Look Up” “Dune” “Licorice Pizza” “The Power of the Dog”*
Outstanding British Film
“After Love” “Ali & Ava” “Belfast”* “Boiling Point” “Cyrano” “Everybody’s Talking About Jamie” “House of Gucci” “Last Night in Soho” “No Time to Die” “Passing”
Best Director
Aleem Khan, “After Love” Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, “Drive My Car” Audrey Diwan, “Happening Paul Thomas Anderson, “Licorice Pizza” Jane Campion, “The Power of the Dog”* Julia Ducournau, “Titane”
Best Leading Actor
Adeel Akhtar, “Ali & Ava” Mahershala Ali, “Swan Song” Benedict Cumberbatch, “The Power of the Dog” Leonardo DiCaprio, “Don’t Look Up” Stephen Graham, “Boiling Point” Will Smith, “King Richard”*
Best Leading Actress
Lady Gaga, “House of Gucci” Alana Haim, “Licorice Pizza” Emilia Jones, “CODA” Renate Reinsve, “The Worst Person in the World” Joanna Scanlan, “After Love”* Tessa Thompson, “Passing”
Best Supporting Actor
Mike Faist, “West Side Story” Ciarán Hinds, “Belfast” Troy Kotsur, “CODA”* Woody Norman, “C’mon C’mon” Jesse Plemons, “The Power of the Dog” Kodi Smit-McPhee, “The Power of the Dog”
Best Supporting Actress
Caitríona Balfe, “Belfast” Jessie Buckley, “The Lost Daughter” Ariana DeBose, “West Side Story”* Ann Dowd, “Mass” Aunjanue Ellis, “King Richard” Ruth Negga, “Passing”
Best Adapted Screenplay
“CODA,” Siân Heder* “Drive My Car,” Ryûsuke Hamaguchi “Dune,” Eric Roth, Jon Spaihts, Denis Villeneuve “The Lost Daughter,” Maggie Gyllenhaal “The Power of the Dog,” Jane Campion
Best Original Screenplay
“Being the Ricardos,” Aaron Sorkin “Belfast,” Kenneth Branagh “Don’t Look Up,” Adam McKay “King Richard,” Zach Baylin “Licorice Pizza,” Paul Thomas Anderson*
Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer
“After Love,” Aleem Khan (writer/director) “Boiling Point,” James Cummings (writer), Hester Ruoff (producer) [also written by Philip Barantini and produced by Bart Ruspoli] “The Harder They Fall” – Jeymes Samuel (writer/director) [also written by Boaz Yakin]* “Keyboard Fantasies” – Posy Dixon (writer/director), Liv Proctor (producer) “Passing” – Rebecca Hall (writer/director)
Original Score
“Being the Ricardos,” Daniel Pemberton “Don’t Look Up,” Nicholas Britell “Dune,” Hans Zimmer* “The French Dispatch,” Alexandre Desplat “The Power of the Dog,” Jonny Greenwood
Cinematography
“Dune,” Greig Fraser* “Nightmare Alley,” Dan Laustsen “No Time to Die,” Linus Sandgren “The Power of the Dog,” Ari Wegner “The Tragedy of Macbeth,” Bruno Delbonnel
Film Not in the English Language
“Drive My Car,” Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, Teruhisa Yamamoto* “The Hand of God,” Paolo Sorrentino, Lorenzo Mieli “Parallel Mothers,” Pedro Almodóvar, Agustín Almodóvar “Petite Maman,” Céline Sciamma, Bénédicte Couvreur “The Worst Person in the World,” Joachim Trier, Thomas Robsahm
Documentary
“Becoming Cousteau,” Liz Garbus, Dan Cogan “Cow,” Andrea Arnold, Kat Mansoor “Flee,” Jonas Poher Rasmussen, Monica Hellström “The Rescue,” Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin, John Battsek, P. J. Van Sandwijk “Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised),” Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, David Dinerstein, Robert Fyvolent, Joseph Patel*
Animated Film
“Encanto,” Jared Bush, Byron Howard, Yvett Merino, Clarke Spencer* “Flee,” Jonas Poher Rasmussen. Monica Hellström “Luca,” Enrico Casarosa, Andrea Warren “The Mitchells vs the Machines,” Mike Rianda, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller
Casting
“Boiling Point,” Carolyn Mcleod “Dune,” Francine Maisler “The Hand of God,” Massimo Appolloni, Annamaria Sambucco “King Richard,” Rich Delia, Avy Kaufman “West Side Story,” Cindy Tolan*
Production Design
“Cyrano,” Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer “Dune,” Patrice Vermette, Zsuzsanna Sipos* “The French Dispatch,” Adam Stockhausen, Rena Deangelo “Nightmare Alley,” Tamara Deverell, Shane Vieau “West Side Story,” Adam Stockhausen, Rena Deangelo
Best Costume Design
“Cruella,” Jenny Beavan* “Cyrano,” Massimo Cantini Parrini “Dune,” Robert Morgan, Jacqueline West “The French Dispatch,” Milena Canonero “Nightmare Alley,” Luis Sequeira
Best Make Up and Hair
“Cruella,” Nadia Stacey, Naomi Donne “Cyrano,” Alessandro Bertolazzi, Siân Miller “Dune,” Love Larson, Donald Mowat “The Eyes of Tammy Faye,” Linda Dowds, Stephanie Ingram, Justin Raleigh* “House of Gucci,” Frederic Aspiras, Jane Carboni, Giuliano Mariana, Sarah Nicole Tanno
Best Editing
“Belfast,” Úna Ní Dhonghaíle “Dune,” Joe Walker “Licorice Pizza,” Andy Jurgensen “No Time to Die,” Tom Cross, Elliot Graham* “Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised),” Joshua L. Pearson
Best Sound
“Dune,” Mac Ruth, Mark Mangini, Doug Hemphill, Theo Green, Ron Bartlett* “Last Night in Soho,” Colin Nicolson, Julian Slater, Tim Cavagin, Dan Morgan “No Time to Die,” James Harrison, Simon Hayes, Paul Massey, Oliver Tarney, Mark Taylor “A Quiet Place Part II,” Erik Aadahl, Michael Barosky, Brandon Proctor, Ethan Van Der Ryn “West Side Story,” Brian Chumney, Tod Maitland, Andy Nelson, Gary Rydstrom
Best Visual Effects
“Dune,” Brian Connor, Paul Lambert, Tristan Myles, Gerd Nefzer* “Free Guy,” Swen Gillberg, Brian Grill, Nikos Kalaitzidis, Daniel Sudick “Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” Aharon Bourland, Sheena Duggal, Pier Lefebvre, Alessandro Ongaro “The Matrix Resurrections,” Tom Debenham, Hew J Evans, Dan Glass, J. D. Schwaim “No Time to Die,” Mark Bokowski, Chris Corbould, Joel Green, Charlie Noble
British Short Animation
“Affairs of the Art,” Joanna Quinn, Les Mills “Do Not Feed the Pigeons,” Jordi Morera* “Night of the Living Dread,” Ida Melum, Danielle Goff, Laura Jayne Tunbridge, Hannah Kelso
British Short Film
“The Black Cop,” Cherish Oteka* “Femme,” Sam H. Freeman, Ng Choon Ping, Sam Ritzenberg, Hayley Williams “The Palace,” Jo Prichard “Stuffed,” Theo Rhys, Joss Holden-rea “Three Meetings of the Extraordinary Committee,” Michael Woodward, Max Barron, Daniel Wheldon
Kodi Smit-McPhee and Benedict Cumberbatch in “The Power of the Dog” (Photo by Kirsty Griffin/Netflix)
With 12 nods, the Netflix drama “The Power of the Dog” is the top nominee for the 94th Annual Academy Awards, which will take place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on March 27, 2022. ABC will have the U.S. telecast of the show. The nominations were announced on February 8, 2022, by Tracee Ellis Ross and Leslie Jordan.
The nominations for “The Power of the Dog” are Best Picture; Best Actor (for Benedict Cumberbatch); Best Director (for Jane Campion); two nods for Best Supporting Actor (for Jesse Plemons and Kodi Smit-McPhee); Best Supporting Actress (for Kirsten Dunst); Best Adapted Screenplay; Best Film Editing; Best Cinematography; Best Production Design; Best Original Score; and Best Sound. The movie, which is set in 1925 Montana, is about a rancher family that is plagued by jealousy, toxic masculinity and homophobia. Dunst and Plemons are a couple in real life (and they portray a married couple in “The Power of the Dog”), so their nominations are a rare situation where a co-star couple received Oscar nominations for the same movie.
The other contenders for Best Picture are Focus Features’ “Belfast,” Apple Studios’ “CODA,” Netflix’s “Don’t Look Up,” Janus Films/Bitters End’s “Drive My Car,” Warner Bros. Pictures’ “Dune,” Warner Bros. Pictures’ “King Richard,” United Artists/Focus Features’ “Licorice Pizza,” Searchlight Pictures’ “Nightmare Alley” and 20th Century Studios’ “West Side Story.” The 2021 remake of “Dune” had the second-highest number of Oscar nominations this year (10 nods), followed by “Belfast” and “West Side Story,” which had seven nods each. (Click here to read Culture Mix’s reviews of all these movies that are nominated for Best Picture.)
The awards are voted for by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. For the 2022 ceremony, eligible movies were those released in the U.S. cinemas in 2021. As of 2022, the Academy is requiring the Best Picture category to have 10 nominees. From 2009 to 2021, the rule was that there could be five to 10 movies per year nominated for Best Picture.
Snubs and Surprises
Lady Gaga and Jared Leto in “House of Gucci” (Photo by Fabio Lovino/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc.)
It’s been an unpredictable awards season for the Best Actress category. Lady Gaga of MGM/United Artists’ “House of Gucci” has been getting nominated at every major award ceremony for movies—except for the Academy Awards, where she was widely predicted to get a nomination. Meanwhile, Kristen Stewart of Neon’s “Spencer” was chosen by many awards pundits as an early frontrunner for a Best Actress Oscar, but Stewart’s performance in “Spencer” ultimately failed to get nominations at the Screen Actors Guild Awards and the BAFTA Film Awards—two major award shows that often indicate who will be Oscar winners and Oscar nominees. Despite those snubs, Stewart scored her first Oscar nomination for “Spencer,” when many awards pundits counted her out of the Oscar race because of the SAG and BAFTA snubs. Stewart’s nomination for Best Actress is the only Oscar nod for “Spencer.”
The category of Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress had a few snubs and surprises. Caitríona Balfe of “Belfast” was getting nominated at every major award show for movies—except for the Academy Awards. Instead, “Belfast” co-star Judi Dench got an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress, even though Dench was passed over in this category for “Belfast” at other major award shows. For “The Power of the Dog,” Best Supporting Actor nominee Smit-McPhee was widely predicted to get an Oscar nomination, but “Power of the Dog” co-star/Oscar nominee Plemons failed to get a Best Supporting Actor nod at other major awards shows, except for the BAFTAs. Meanwhile, Jared Leto of “House of Gucci” was shut out of an Oscar nomination for the Best Supporting Actor category for this movie. Leto has been nominated at other award shows for “House of Gucci,” which got an expected Oscar nomination for Best Makeup and Hairstyling that includes the much-talked-about prosthetic makeup that Leto wore in the movie. (It’s the only Oscar nod for “House of Gucci.”)
Movies that have been getting awards or nominations elsewhere were completely snubbed by the Academy Awards. They include the Netflix drama “Passing,” the Focus Features comedy “The French Dispatch,” the Netflix drama “The Harder They Fall” and the A24 drama “C’mon C’mon.” Movies that win the Academy Award for Best Picture always get a screenplay Oscar nomination too. That’s why “Nightmare Alley” and “West Side Story” (which are both remake films) have little or no chance to win Best Picture, since both movies failed to get Oscar nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay. In the category of Best Film Editing, “Belfast” and “West Side Story” were snubbed, even though both movies were widely predicted to get Oscar nods in that category. And although “Dune” earned a massive 10 Oscar nominations, one of them wasn’t for director Denis Villeneuve in the Best Director category, although he did get an expected Best Adapted Screenplay nod for co-writing the movie.
Some of the biggest surprise nominations came from international films. Neon’s Danish movie “Flee” (directed by Jonas Poher Rasmussen) made Oscar history for being the first movie to get Oscar nominations for Best International Feature Film, Best Animated Feature and Best Documentary Feature. While many pundits had floated the possibility that these three nominations would happen for “Flee,” many people predicted that “Flee” would get one or two Oscar nominations. “Flee” is an Afghan refugee’s first-hand account of his life, which is depicted in animated form. He currently lives in Denmark and used an alias in the movie to protect his privacy. Neon’s Norwegian drama “The Worst Person in the World” was expected to get a nomination for Best International Feature Film, but a surprise nomination came when the movie got an Oscar nod for Best Original Screenplay. “The Worst Person in the World” was written by Joachim Trier (the movie’s director) and Eskil Vogt.
Diversity and Inclusion
Aunjanue Ellis, Mikayla Bartholomew, Will Smith, Saniyya Sidney, Demi Singleton and Daniele Lawson in “King Richard” (Photo by Chiabella James/Warner Bros. Pictures)
“The Power of the Dog” director Campion made Academy Awards history, by becoming the first woman to get two Oscar nominations for Best Director. She was previously nominated for 1993’s “The Piano,” but lost the award to “Schindler’s List” director Steven Spielberg. It’s a rematch of sorts for Campion and “West Side Story” director Spielberg, since they’re both nominated again for Best Director in the same year. In another male-dominated category (Best Cinematography), Ari Wegner of “The Power of the Dog” became the second woman ever to get an Oscar nomination for Best Cinematography. The first woman to break this Best Cinematography gender barrier was Rachel Morrison, who was nominated for another Netflix period drama: 2017’s “Mudbound.”
Racial diversity is in every actor/actress category at 2022 Academy Awards, except for Best Supporting Actor. Black people are represented the most with “King Richard,” which has six nominations: Best Picture; Best Actor (for Will Smith); Best Supporting Actress (for Aunjanue Ellis); Best Original Screenplay; Best Film Editing; and Best Original Song (for Beyoncé’s “Be Alive”). “King Richard” is a biopic about Richard “Richie” Williams, the father and early coach of tennis superstars Venus Williams and Serena Williams.
Two African American-oriented films were nominated for Best Documentary Feature this year: Showtime’s “Attica” (directed by Stanley Nelson and Traci A. Curry) and Searchlight Pictures’ “Summer of Soul (…Or, The Revolution Could Not Be Televised”), directed by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson. Meanwhile, Denzel Washington scored his 10th Oscar nomination: Best Actor, for A24/Apple TV+’s “The Tragedy of Macbeth,” making him the most Oscar-nominated African American in Academy Awards history. Nine of his Oscar nominations are for acting, while one nomination is a Best Picture nod for being a producer of 2016’s “Fences.” Washington has won two Oscars: Best Actor (for 2001’s “Training Day”) and Best Supporting Actor (for 1989’s “Glory”).
Asians were represented the most with “Drive My Car,” a Japanese drama about a grieving widower who goes on a road trip with a young actress. “Drive My Car” earned four Oscar nods: Best Picture; Best Director (for Ryusuke Hamaguchi); Best Adapted Screenplay; and Best International Feature Film. As previously mentioned, “Flee” is about an Afghan refugee. Two other Asian-oriented movies were nominated for Best Documentary Feature: MTV Documentary Films’ “Ascension” (about consumerism in China) and Music Box Films’ “Writing With Fire” (about Indian female journalists). Chinese American director Jessica Kingdon is one of the nominees for “Ascension” while Indian American directors/producers Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh are nominated for “Writing With Fire.”
Disney’s “Raya and the Last Dragon,” which takes place in China and has an all-Asian cast, is nominated for Best Animated Feature, but none of the nominated producers and directors of the movie is Asian. Pakastani British entertainer Riz Ahmed, who got an Oscar nomination for Best Actor in 2021 for the Amazon Studios drama “Sound of Metal,” is nominated for an Oscar in 2022—this time, for being a producer of “The Long Goodbye,” which is nominated for Best Live-Action Short. Meanwhile, Indian American producer Joseph Patel is one of the Best Documentary Feature nominees for “Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised).”
Hispanic/Latino people nominated for Oscars this year included Oscar-winning spouses Javier Bardem of “Being the Ricardos” (Best Actor) and Penélope Cruz of “Parallel Mothers” (Best Actress); Guillermo del Toro (Best Picture), for being one of the producers of “Nightmare Alley”; “Parallel Mothers” composer Alberto Iglesias (Best Original Score); “Raya and the Last Dragon” co-director Carlos López Estrada (Best Animated Feature); and Ariana DeBose of “West Side Story” (Best Supporting Actress). DeBose, who is multiracial (Hispanic, African American and white) in real life, depicts a Puerto Rican in the 2021 remake of “West Side Story” and is the only cast member and the only person of color to get an Oscar nomination for the movie. “West Side Story” is a musical about racial tensions between white people and Puerto Ricans in early 1960s New York City.
Disney’s Colombian-oriented animated film “Encanto” picked up three nominations: Best Animated Feature (whose nominees includes Latina producer Yvett Marino); Best Original Song (for “Dos Oruguitas,” written by Lin-Manuel Miranda); and Best Original Score (for Germaine Franco, one of the few women ever nominated in this category). Meanwhile, there are Latino nominees in the short film categories: Best Animated Short nominees include writer/director Hugo Covarrubias and producer Tevo Díaz of “Bestia (Beast)” and writer/director Alberto Mielgo and producer Leo Sanchez of “The Windshield Wiper.” “Please Hold” director K.D. Dávila is nominated for Best Live-Action Short.
LGBTQ representation in the Oscar nominations can be found in the animated documentary “Flee” (whose subject is a gay Afghan refugee); Cruz’s queer character Janis Martínez Moreno in “Parallel Mothers” and Cumberbatch’s closeted gay character Phil Burbank in “The Power of the Dog.” In real life, Stewart of “Spencer” and DeBose of “West Side Story” identify as openly queer. The disabled community is represented by “CODA” (about a Massachusetts family of mostly deaf people), which got three nominations: Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (for real-life deaf actor Troy Kotsur); and Best Adapted Screenplay. Meanwhile, Native American director/producer Ben Proudfoot of “The Queen of Basketball” is nominated for Best Documentary Short.
Here is the complete list of nominations for the 2022 Academy Awards:
Best Picture
“Belfast,” Laura Berwick, Kenneth Branagh, Becca Kovacik and Tamar Thomas, producers
“CODA,” Philippe Rousselet, Fabrice Gianfermi and Patrick Wachsberger, producers
“Don’t Look Up,” Adam McKay and Kevin Messick, producers
“Drive My Car,” Teruhisa Yamamoto, producer
“Dune,” Mary Parent, Denis Villeneuve and Cale Boyter, producers
“King Richard,” Tim White, Trevor White and Will Smith, producers
“Licorice Pizza,” Sara Murphy, Adam Somner and Paul Thomas Anderson, producers
“Nightmare Alley,” Guillermo del Toro, J. Miles Dale and Bradley Cooper, producers
“The Power of the Dog,” Jane Campion, Tanya Seghatchian, Emile Sherman, Iain Canning and Roger Frappier, producers
“West Side Story,” Steven Spielberg and Kristie Macosko Krieger, producers
Best Director
Kenneth Branagh (“Belfast”)
Ryûsuke Hamaguchi (“Drive My Car”)
Paul Thomas Anderson (“Licorice Pizza”)
Jane Campion (“The Power of the Dog”)
Steven Spielberg (“West Side Story”)
Best Actor in a Leading Role
Javier Bardem (“Being the Ricardos”)
Benedict Cumberbatch (“The Power of the Dog”)
Andrew Garfield (“Tick, Tick … Boom!”)
Will Smith (“King Richard”)
Denzel Washington (“The Tragedy of Macbeth”)
Best Actress in a Leading Role
Jessica Chastain (“The Eyes of Tammy Faye”)
Olivia Colman (“The Lost Daughter”)
Penélope Cruz (“Parallel Mothers”)
Nicole Kidman (“Being the Ricardos”)
Kristen Stewart (“Spencer”)
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Ciarán Hinds (“Belfast”)
Troy Kotsur (“CODA”)
Jesse Plemons (“The Power of the Dog”)
J.K. Simmons (“Being the Ricardos”)
Kodi Smit-McPhee (“The Power of the Dog”)
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Jessie Buckley (“The Lost Daughter”)
Ariana DeBose (“West Side Story”)
Judi Dench (“Belfast”)
Kirsten Dunst (“The Power of the Dog”)
Aunjanue Ellis (“King Richard”)
Best Adapted Screenplay
“CODA,” screenplay by Siân Heder
“Drive My Car,” screenplay by Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Takamasa Oe
“Dune,” screenplay by Jon Spaihts and Denis Villeneuve and Eric Roth
“The Lost Daughter,” written by Maggie Gyllenhaal
“The Power of the Dog,” written by Jane Campion
Best Original Screenplay
“Belfast,” written by Kenneth Branagh
“Don’t Look Up,” screenplay by Adam McKay; story by Adam McKay and David Sirota
“King Richard,” written by Zach Baylin
“Licorice Pizza,” written by Paul Thomas Anderson
“The Worst Person in the World,” written by Eskil Vogt, Joachim Trier
Best Cinematography
“Dune,” Greig Fraser
“Nightmare Alley,” Dan Laustsen
“The Power of the Dog,” Ari Wegner
“The Tragedy of Macbeth,” Bruno Delbonnel
“West Side Story,” Janusz Kaminski
Best Film Editing
“Don’t Look Up,” Hank Corwin
“Dune,” Joe Walker
“King Richard”, Pamela Martin
“The Power of the Dog,” Peter Sciberras
“Tick, Tick…Boom!” Myron Kerstein and Andrew Weisblum
Best Sound
“Belfast,” Denise Yarde, Simon Chase, James Mather and Niv Adiri
“Dune,” Mac Ruth, Mark Mangini, Theo Green, Doug Hemphill and Ron Bartlett
“No Time to Die,” Simon Hayes, Oliver Tarney, James Harrison, Paul Massey and Mark Taylor
“The Power of the Dog,” Richard Flynn, Robert Mackenzie and Tara Webb
“West Side Story,” Tod A. Maitland, Gary Rydstrom, Brian Chumney, Andy Nelson and Shawn Murphy
Best Original Score
“Don’t Look Up,” Nicholas Britell
“Dune,” Hans Zimmer
“Encanto,” Germaine Franco
“Parallel Mothers,” Alberto Iglesias
“The Power of the Dog,” Jonny Greenwood
Best Original Song
“Be Alive” from “King Richard,” music and lyric by Dixson and Beyoncé Knowles-Carter
“Dos Oruguitas” from “Encanto,” music and lyric by Lin-Manuel Miranda
“Down to Joy” from “Belfast,” music and lyric by Van Morrison
“No Time To Die” from “No Time to Die,” music and lyric by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell
“Somehow You Do” from “Four Good Days,” music and lyric by Diane Warren
Best Animated Feature Film
“Encanto,” Jared Bush, Byron Howard, Yvett Merino and Clark Spencer
“Flee,” Jonas Poher Rasmussen, Monica Hellström, Signe Byrge Sørensen and Charlotte De La Gournerie
“Luca,” Enrico Casarosa and Andrea Warren
“The Mitchells vs. the Machines,” Mike Rianda, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller and Kurt Albrecht
“Raya and the Last Dragon,” Don Hall, Carlos López Estrada, Osnat Shurer and Peter Del Vecho
Best International Feature Film
“Drive My Car” (Japan)
“Flee” (Denmark)
“The Hand of God” (Italy)
“Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom” (Bhutan)
“The Worst Person in the World” (Norway)
Best Documentary Feature
“Ascension,” Jessica Kingdon, Kira Simon-Kennedy and Nathan Truesdell
“Attica,” Stanley Nelson and Traci A. Curry
“Flee,” Jonas Poher Rasmussen, Monica Hellström, Signe Byrge Sørensen and Charlotte De La Gournerie
“Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised),” Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, Joseph Patel, Robert Fyvolent and David Dinerstein
“Writing With Fire,” Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
“Coming 2 America,” Mike Marino, Stacey Morris and Carla Farmer
“Cruella,” Nadia Stacey, Naomi Donne and Julia Vernon
“Dune,” Donald Mowat, Love Larson and Eva von Bahr
“The Eyes of Tammy Faye,” Linda Dowds, Stephanie Ingram and Justin Raleigh
“House of Gucci,” Göran Lundström, Anna Carin Lock and Frederic Aspiras
Best Costume Design
“Cruella,” Jenny Beavan
“Cyrano,” Massimo Cantini Parrini and Jacqueline Durran
“Dune,” Jacqueline West and Robert Morgan
“Nightmare Alley,” Luis Sequeira
“West Side Story,” Paul Tazewell
Best Production Design
“Dune,” production design: Patrice Vermette; set decoration: Zsuzsanna Sipos
“Nightmare Alley,” production design: Tamara Deverell; set decoration: Shane Vieau
“The Power of the Dog,” production design: Grant Major; set decoration: Amber Richards
“The Tragedy of Macbeth,” production design: Stefan Dechant; set decoration: Nancy Haigh
“West Side Story,” production design: Adam Stockhausen; set decoration: Rena DeAngelo
Best Visual Effects
“Dune,” Paul Lambert, Tristan Myles, Brian Connor and Gerd Nefzer*
“Free Guy,” Swen Gillberg, Bryan Grill, Nikos Kalaitzidis and Dan Sudick
“No Time to Die,” Charlie Noble, Joel Green, Jonathan Fawkner and Chris Corbould
“Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” Christopher Townsend, Joe Farrell, Sean Noel Walker and Dan Oliver
“Spider-Man: No Way Home,” Kelly Port, Chris Waegner, Scott Edelstein and Dan Sudick
Best Documentary Short Subject
“Audible,” Matt Ogens and Geoff McLean
“Lead Me Home,” Pedro Kos and Jon Shenk
“The Queen of Basketball,” Ben Proudfoot
“Three Songs for Benazir,” Elizabeth Mirzaei and Gulistan Mirzaei
“When We Were Bullies,” Jay Rosenblatt
Best Animated Short Film
“Affairs of the Art,” Joanna Quinn and Les Mills
“Bestia,” Hugo Covarrubias and Tevo Díaz
“Boxballet,” Anton Dyakov
“Robin Robin,” Dan Ojari and Mikey Please
“The Windshield Wiper,” Alberto Mielgo and Leo Sanchez
Best Live-Action Short Film
“Ala Kachuu – Take and Run,” Maria Brendle and Nadine Lüchinger
“The Dress,” Tadeusz Łysiak and Maciej Ślesicki
“The Long Goodbye,” Aneil Karia and Riz Ahmed
“On My Mind,” Martin Strange-Hansen and Kim Magnusson
Rebecca Ferguson, Zendaya, Javier Bardem and Timothée Chalamet in “Dune” (Photo by Chiabella James/Warner Bros. Pictures/Legendary Pictures)
With 11 nominations, the 2021 remake of the sci-fi movie “Dune” is the top nominee for the 75th Annual EE British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Awards. The ceremony, hosted by Rebel Wilson, will take place at Royal Albert Hall in London on March 13, 2022. BBC televises the show in the United Kingdom, and BBC America televises the show in the United States. Eligible films were those released in the United Kingdom in 2021.
Warner Bros. Pictures’ “Dune” is nominated for Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Casting, Best Production Design, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Costume Design, Best Makeup and Hair, Best Sound and Best Visual Effects. “Dune” is a remake of 1984’s “Dune” and is based on the 1965 Frank Herbert novel of the same name. The cast of “Dune” includes Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Zendaya, Javier Bardem, Stellan Skarsgård, Josh Brolin, Charlotte Rampling and Jason Momoa.
Other movies with several BAFTA nominations include the Netflix drama “The Power of the Dog” (eight nods) and the Focus Features drama “Belfast” (six nods). Getting five nominations each are United Artists’ comedy/drama “Licorice Pizza” and 20th Century Studios’ “West Side Story” remake. All of these movies except for “West Side Story” are nominated for Best Film.
Snubs and Surprises
Kristen Stewart in “Spencer” (Photo courtesy of Neon)
Neon’s Princess Diana drama “Spencer” (directed by Pablo Larraín and starring Kristen Stewart) was completely shut out of the BAFTAs, by failing to get any nominations. The BAFTAs also snubbed Netflix’s Jonathan Larson biopic musical “Tick, Tick…Boom!” (directed by Lin-Manuel Miranda and starring Andrew Garfield), even though the movie has been racking up nominations at all other major award shows for movies. Also left out of the BAFTA final nominations list, despite being nominated at many other award shows, are Denzel Washington of A24’s “The Tragedy of Macbeth,” Olivia Colman of Netflix’s “The Lost Daughter,” Jessica Chastain of Searchlight Pictures’ “The Eyes of Tammy Faye,” Nicole Kidman of Amazon’s “Being the Ricardos” and Kirsten Dunst of “The Power of the Dog.”
And even though “Dune” and “Belfast” got several BAFTA nominations this year, Best Director was not one of them. However, as expected “Dune” director Denis Villenueve and “Belfast” director Kenneth Branagh did get screenplay nominations for their respective movies. Surprises in the Best Director category include Audrey Diwan for “Happening” and Julia Ducournau for “Titane,” because those movies did not get any other BAFTA nominations.
Altitude Films’ drama “Ali & Ava,” BBC Films’ drama “After Love” and Vertigo Releasing’s drama “Boiling Point,” which are all nominated for Best British Film, edged out some expected contenders in other categories. “After Love” director Aleem Khan is a nominee for Best Director, while “After Love” star Joanna Scanlan is nominated for Best Actress. In the Best Actor category, the nominees include “Ali & Ava” co-star Adeel Akhtar and “Boiling Point” star Stephen Graham.
Here is the complete list of nominations for the 2022 BAFTA Film Awards:
Best Film
“Belfast” “Don’t Look Up” “Dune” “Licorice Pizza” “The Power of the Dog”
Outstanding British Film
“After Love” “Ali & Ava” “Belfast” “Boiling Point” “Cyrano” “Everybody’s Talking About Jamie” “House of Gucci” “Last Night in Soho” “No Time to Die” “Passing”
Best Director
Aleem Khan, “After Love” Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, “Drive My Car” Audrey Diwan, “Happening Paul Thomas Anderson, “Licorice Pizza” Jane Campion, “The Power of the Dog” Julia Ducournau, “Titane”
Best Leading Actor
Adeel Akhtar, “Ali & Ava” Mahershala Ali, “Swan Song” Benedict Cumberbatch, “The Power of the Dog” Leonardo DiCaprio, “Don’t Look Up” Stephen Graham, “Boiling Point” Will Smith, “King Richard”
Best Leading Actress
Lady Gaga, “House of Gucci” Alana Haim, “Licorice Pizza” Emilia Jones, “CODA” Renate Reinsve, “The Worst Person in the World” Joanna Scanlan, “After Love” Tessa Thompson, “Passing”
Best Supporting Actor
Mike Faist, “West Side Story” Ciarán Hinds, “Belfast” Troy Kotsur, “CODA” Woody Norman, “C’mon C’mon” Jesse Plemons, “The Power of the Dog” Kodi Smit-McPhee, “The Power of the Dog”
Best Supporting Actress
Caitríona Balfe, “Belfast” Jessie Buckley, “The Lost Daughter” Ariana DeBose, “West Side Story” Ann Dowd, “Mass” Aunjanue Ellis, “King Richard” Ruth Negga, “Passing”
Best Adapted Screenplay
“CODA,” Siân Heder “Drive My Car,” Ryûsuke Hamaguchi “Dune,” Eric Roth, Jon Spaihts, Denis Villeneuve “The Lost Daughter,” Maggie Gyllenhaal “The Power of the Dog,” Jane Campion
Best Original Screenplay
“Being the Ricardos,” Aaron Sorkin “Belfast,” Kenneth Branagh “Don’t Look Up,” Adam McKay “King Richard,” Zach Baylin “Licorice Pizza,” Paul Thomas Anderson
Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer
“After Love,” Aleem Khan (writer/director) “Boiling Point,” James Cummings (writer), Hester Ruoff (producer) [also written by Philip Barantini and produced by Bart Ruspoli] “The Harder They Fall” – Jeymes Samuel (writer/director) [also written by Boaz Yakin] “Keyboard Fantasies” – Posy Dixon (writer/director), Liv Proctor (producer) “Passing” – Rebecca Hall (writer/director)
Original Score
“Being the Ricardos,” Daniel Pemberton “Don’t Look Up,” Nicholas Britell “Dune,” Hans Zimmer “The French Dispatch,” Alexandre Desplat “The Power of the Dog,” Jonny Greenwood
Cinematography
“Dune,” Greig Fraser “Nightmare Alley,” Dan Laustsen “No Time to Die,” Linus Sandgren “The Power of the Dog,” Ari Wegner “The Tragedy of Macbeth,” Bruno Delbonnel
Film Not in the English Language
“Drive My Car,” Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, Teruhisa Yamamoto “The Hand of God,” Paolo Sorrentino, Lorenzo Mieli “Parallel Mothers,” Pedro Almodóvar, Agustín Almodóvar “Petite Maman,” Céline Sciamma, Bénédicte Couvreur “The Worst Person in the World,” Joachim Trier, Thomas Robsahm
Documentary
“Becoming Cousteau,” Liz Garbus, Dan Cogan “Cow,” Andrea Arnold, Kat Mansoor “Flee,” Jonas Poher Rasmussen, Monica Hellström “The Rescue,” Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin, John Battsek, P. J. Van Sandwijk “Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised),” Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, David Dinerstein, Robert Fyvolent, Joseph Patel
Animated Film
“Encanto,” Jared Bush, Byron Howard, Yvett Merino, Clarke Spencer “Flee,” Jonas Poher Rasmussen. Monica Hellström “Luca,” Enrico Casarosa, Andrea Warren “The Mitchells vs the Machines,” Mike Rianda, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller
Casting
“Boiling Point,” Carolyn Mcleod “Dune,” Francine Maisler “The Hand of God,” Massimo Appolloni, Annamaria Sambucco “King Richard,” Rich Delia, Avy Kaufman “West Side Story,” Cindy Tolan
Production Design
“Cyrano,” Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer “Dune,” Patrice Vermette, Zsuzsanna Sipos “The French Dispatch,” Adam Stockhausen, Rena Deangelo “Nightmare Alley,” Tamara Deverell, Shane Vieau “West Side Story,” Adam Stockhausen, Rena Deangelo
Best Costume Design
“Cruella,” Jenny Beavan “Cyrano,” Massimo Cantini Parrini “Dune,” Robert Morgan, Jacqueline West “The French Dispatch,” Milena Canonero “Nightmare Alley,” Luis Sequeira
Best Make Up and Hair
“Cruella,” Nadia Stacey, Naomi Donne “Cyrano,” Alessandro Bertolazzi, Siân Miller “Dune,” Love Larson, Donald Mowat “The Eyes of Tammy Faye,” Linda Dowds, Stephanie Ingram, Justin Raleigh “House of Gucci,” Frederic Aspiras, Jane Carboni, Giuliano Mariana, Sarah Nicole Tanno
Best Editing
“Belfast,” Úna Ní Dhonghaíle “Dune,” Joe Walker “Licorice Pizza,” Andy Jurgensen “No Time to Die,” Tom Cross, Elliot Graham “Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised),” Joshua L. Pearson
Best Sound
“Dune,” Mac Ruth, Mark Mangini, Doug Hemphill, Theo Green, Ron Bartlett “Last Night in Soho,” Colin Nicolson, Julian Slater, Tim Cavagin, Dan Morgan “No Time to Die,” James Harrison, Simon Hayes, Paul Massey, Oliver Tarney, Mark Taylor “A Quiet Place Part II,” Erik Aadahl, Michael Barosky, Brandon Proctor, Ethan Van Der Ryn “West Side Story,” Brian Chumney, Tod Maitland, Andy Nelson, Gary Rydstrom
Best Visual Effects
“Dune,” Brian Connor, Paul Lambert, Tristan Myles, Gerd Nefzer “Free Guy,” Swen Gillberg, Brian Grill, Nikos Kalaitzidis, Daniel Sudick “Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” Aharon Bourland, Sheena Duggal, Pier Lefebvre, Alessandro Ongaro “The Matrix Resurrections,” Tom Debenham, Hew J Evans, Dan Glass, J. D. Schwaim “No Time to Die,” Mark Bokowski, Chris Corbould, Joel Green, Charlie Noble
British Short Animation
“Affairs of the Art,” Joanna Quinn, Les Mills “Do Not Feed the Pigeons,” Jordi Morera “Night of the Living Dread,” Ida Melum, Danielle Goff, Laura Jayne Tunbridge, Hannah Kelso
British Short Film
“The Black Cop,” Cherish Oteka “Femme,” Sam H. Freeman, Ng Choon Ping, Sam Ritzenberg, Hayley Williams “The Palace,” Jo Prichard “Stuffed,” Theo Rhys, Joss Holden-rea “Three Meetings of the Extraordinary Committee,” Michael Woodward, Max Barron, Daniel Wheldon
Kodi Smit-McPhee and Benedict Cumberbatch in “The Power of the Dog” (Photo by Kirsty Griffin/Netflix)
Ansel Elgort and Rachel Zegler in “West Side Story” (Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios)
With three awards each, the Netflix drama “The Power of the Dog,” 20th Century Studios’ musical remake “West Side Story” and HBO’s drama series “Succession” won the most prizes at the 79th annual Golden Globe Awards. The private ceremony—which took place in Los Angeles on January 9, 2022—was not televised or webcast, and the news media were not invited to cover the event. Instead, winners were announced on the official Golden Globes Twitter account.
“The Power of the Dog” took the prizes for Best Motion Picture – Drama; Best Director (for Jane Campion); and Best Supporting Actor (for Kodi Smit-McPhee). The Golden Globe Awards for “West Side Story” were Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy; Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy (for Rachel Zegler); and Best Supporting Actress (for Ariana DeBose).
“Succession” won Golden Globes for Best Television Series – Drama; Best Actor in a Television Series – Drama (for Jeremy Strong); and Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television (for Sarah Snook).
“The Power of the Dog” and Focus Features’ drama “Belfast” led the nominations with seven nods each. “Belfast” ended up winning just one Golden Globe Award: Best Screenplay. In the TV categories, “Succession” was the top TV nominee, with five nods, including Best Drama Series.
The non-profit Hollywood Foreign Press Association votes for the Golden Globe nominations and awards. As previously reported, NBC dropped the Golden Globe Awards telecast in 2022, because of controversies over the HFPA’s lack of racial diversity and because of how the HFPA handles funds and gifting that its members receive for HPFA-related things. Up until August 2021, the HFPA did not have a black person as a member for 20 years.
The HFPA (which currently has about 100 members) has also come under fire for questionable spending and for its members accepting lavish gifts from studios that wanted to get HFPA members to vote for whatever the studios were pitching. The HFPA has since changed its leadership, modified its gifting/funding policies, and added more people of color to its membership, including a few black people. However, it remains to be seen if the HFPA and the Golden Globe Awards can fully recover from their very tarnished reputation.
Here is the complete list of winners and nominees for the 2022 Golden Globe Awards:
*=winner
MOVIES
Best Motion Picture – Drama “Belfast” (Focus Features) “CODA” (Apple TV+) “Dune” (Warner Bros. Pictures) “King Richard” (Warner Bros. Pictures) “The Power of the Dog” (Netflix)*
Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy “Cyrano” (MGM) “Don’t Look Up” (Netflix) “Licorice Pizza” (MGM/United Artists Releasing) “Tick, Tick … Boom!” (Netflix) “West Side Story” (20th Century Studios)*
Best Director Kenneth Branagh (“Belfast”) Jane Campion (“The Power of the Dog”)* Maggie Gyllenhaal (“The Lost Daughter”) Steven Spielberg (“West Side Story”) Denis Villeneuve (“Dune”)
Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama Mahershala Ali (“Swan Song”) Javier Bardem (“Being the Ricardos”) Benedict Cumberbatch (“The Power of the Dog”) Will Smith (“King Richard”)* Denzel Washington (“The Tragedy of Macbeth”)
Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy Leonardo DiCaprio (“Don’t Look Up”) Peter Dinklage (“Cyrano”) Andrew Garfield (“Tick, Tick … Boom!”)* Cooper Hoffman (“Licorice Pizza”) Anthony Ramos (“In the Heights”)
Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama Jessica Chastain (“The Eyes of Tammy Faye”) Olivia Colman (“The Lost Daughter”) Nicole Kidman (“Being the Ricardos”)* Lady Gaga (“House of Gucci”) Kristen Stewart (“Spencer”)
Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy Marion Cotillard (“Annette”) Alana Haim (“Licorice Pizza”) Jennifer Lawrence (“Don’t Look Up”) Emma Stone (“Cruella”) Rachel Zegler (“West Side Story”)*
Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture Ben Affleck (“The Tender Bar”) Jamie Dornan (“Belfast”) Ciarán Hinds (“Belfast”) Troy Kotsur (“CODA”) Kodi Smit-McPhee (“The Power of the Dog”)*
Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture Caitríona Balfe (“Belfast”) Ariana DeBose (“West Side Story”)* Kirsten Dunst (“The Power of the Dog”) Aunjanue Ellis (“King Richard”) Ruth Negga (“Passing”)
Best Screenplay Paul Thomas Anderson, “Licorice Pizza” Kenneth Branagh, “Belfast”* Jane Campion, “The Power of the Dog” Adam McKay, “Don’t Look Up” Aaron Sorkin, “Being the Ricardos”
Best Original Score Alexandre Desplat, “The French Dispatch” Germaine Franco, “Encanto” Jonny Greenwood, “The Power of the Dog” Alberto Iglesias, “Parallel Mothers” Hans Zimmer, “Dune”*
Best Original Song “Be Alive” from “King Richard,” written by Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, Dixson “Dos Orugitas” from “Encanto,” written by Lin-Manuel Miranda “No Time to Die” from “No Time to Die,” written by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell* “Down to Joy” from “Belfast,” written by Van Morrison “Here I Am (Singing My Way Home)” from “Respect,” written by Jamie Alexander Hartman, Jennifer Hudson and Carole King
Best Animated Film “Encanto” (Walt Disney Pictures)* “Flee” (Neon) “Luca” (Pixar) “My Sunny Maad” (Aerofilms) “Raya and the Last Dragon” (Walt Disney Pictures)
Best Foreign Language Film “Compartment No. 6” (Sony Pictures Classics) “Drive My Car” (Janus Films)* “The Hand of God” (Netflix) “A Hero” (Amazon Studios) “Parallel Mothers” (Sony Pictures Classics)
TELEVISION
Best Television Series – Drama “Lupin” (Netflix) “The Morning Show” (Apple TV+) “Pose” (FX) “Squid Game” (Netflix) “Succession” (HBO)*
Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy “The Great” (Hulu) “Hacks” (HBO Max)* “Only Murders in the Building” (Hulu) “Reservation Dogs” (FX on Hulu) “Ted Lasso” (Apple TV+)
Best Actor in a Television Series – Drama Brian Cox, “Succession” Lee Jung-jae, “Squid Game” Billy Porter, “Pose” Jeremy Strong, “Succession”* Omar Sy, “Lupin”
Best Actress in a Television Series – Drama Uzo Aduba, “In Treatment” Jennifer Aniston, “The Morning Show” Christine Baranski, “The Good Fight” Elisabeth Moss, “The Handmaid’s Tale” Mj Rodriguez, “Pose”*
Best Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy Anthony Anderson, “Black-ish” Nicholas Hoult, “The Great” Steve Martin, “Only Murders in the Building” Martin Short, “Only Murders in the Building” Jason Sudeikis, “Ted Lasso”*
Best Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy Hannah Einbinder, “Hacks” Elle Fanning, “The Great” Issa Rae, “Insecure” Tracee Ellis Ross, “Black-ish” Jean Smart, “Hacks”*
Best Television Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television “Dopesick” (Hulu) “Impeachment: American Crime Story” (FX) “Maid” (Netflix) “Mare of Easttown” (HBO) “The Underground Railroad” (Amazon Prime Video)*
Best Actor in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television Paul Bettany, “WandaVision” Oscar Isaac, “Scenes From a Marriage” Michael Keaton, “Dopesick”* Ewan McGregor, “Halston” Tahar Rahim, “The Serpent”
Best Actress in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television Jessica Chastain, “Scenes From a Marriage” Cynthia Erivo, “Genius: Aretha” Elizabeth Olsen, “WandaVision” Margaret Qualley, “Maid” Kate Winslet, “Mare of Easttown”*
Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television Kieran Culkin, “Succession” Billy Crudup, “The Morning Show” Mark Duplass, “The Morning Show” Brett Goldstein, “Ted Lasso” Oh Yeong-su, “Squid Game”*
Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television Jennifer Coolidge, “White Lotus” Kaitlyn Dever, “Dopesick” Andie MacDowell, “Maid” Sarah Snook, “Succession”* Hannah Waddingham, “Ted Lasso”
Pictured in front row: Caitríona Balfe, Jamie Dornan, Judi Dench, Jude Hill and Lewis McAskie in “Belfast” (Photo by Rob Youngson/Focus Features)
Kodi Smit-McPhee and Benedict Cumberbatch in “The Power of the Dog” (Photo by Kirsty Griffin/Netflix)
With seven nominations each (including Best Motion Picture – Drama), Focus Features’ “Belfast” and Netflix’s “The Power of the Dog” are the leading nominees for the 79th annual Golden Globe Awards. In the TV categories, HBO’s “Succession” leads the pack, with five nods, including Best Drama Series. Winners will be announced in a ceremony or a press conference that will not be televised globally (but will be announced on the Internet) on January 9, 2022.
The non-profit Hollywood Foreign Press Association votes for the Golden Globe nominations and awards. As previously reported, NBC has dropped the Golden Globe Awards telecast in 2022, because of controversies over the HFPA’s lack of racial diversity and because of how the HFPA handles funds and gifting that its members receive for HPFA-related things. Up until August 2021, the HFPA did not have a black person as a member for 20 years.
The HFPA (which currently has about 100 members) has also come under fire for questionable spending and for its members accepting lavish gifts from studios that wanted to get HFPA members to vote for whatever the studios were pitching. The HFPA has since changed its leadership, modified its gifting/funding policies, and added more people of color to its membership, including a few black people. However, it remains to be seen if the HFPA and the Golden Globe Awards can fully recover from their very tarnished reputation.
Here is the complete list of nominations for the 2022 Golden Globe Awards:
MOVIES
Best Motion Picture – Drama “Belfast” (Focus Features) “CODA” (Apple TV+) “Dune” (Warner Bros. Pictures) “King Richard” (Warner Bros. Pictures) “The Power of the Dog” (Netflix)
Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy “Cyrano” (MGM) “Don’t Look Up” (Netflix) “Licorice Pizza” (MGM/United Artists Releasing) “Tick, Tick … Boom!” (Netflix) “West Side Story” (20th Century Studios)
Best Director Kenneth Branagh (“Belfast”) Jane Campion (“The Power of the Dog”) Maggie Gyllenhaal (“The Lost Daughter”) Steven Spielberg (“West Side Story”) Denis Villeneuve (“Dune”)
Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama Mahershala Ali (“Swan Song”) Javier Bardem (“Being the Ricardos”) Benedict Cumberbatch (“The Power of the Dog”) Will Smith (“King Richard”) Denzel Washington (“The Tragedy of Macbeth”)
Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy Leonardo DiCaprio (“Don’t Look Up”) Peter Dinklage (“Cyrano”) Andrew Garfield (“Tick, Tick … Boom!”) Cooper Hoffman (“Licorice Pizza”) Anthony Ramos (“In the Heights”)
Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama Jessica Chastain (“The Eyes of Tammy Faye”) Olivia Colman (“The Lost Daughter”) Nicole Kidman (“Being the Ricardos”) Lady Gaga (“House of Gucci”) Kristen Stewart (“Spencer”)
Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy Marion Cotillard (“Annette”) Alana Haim (“Licorice Pizza”) Jennifer Lawrence (“Don’t Look Up”) Emma Stone (“Cruella”) Rachel Zegler (“West Side Story”)
Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture Ben Affleck (“The Tender Bar”) Jamie Dornan (“Belfast”) Ciarán Hinds (“Belfast”) Troy Kotsur (“CODA”) Kodi Smit-McPhee (“The Power of the Dog”)
Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture Caitríona Balfe (“Belfast”) Ariana DeBose (“West Side Story”) Kirsten Dunst (“The Power of the Dog”) Aunjanue Ellis (“King Richard”) Ruth Negga (“Passing”)
Best Screenplay Paul Thomas Anderson, “Licorice Pizza” Kenneth Branagh, “Belfast” Jane Campion, “The Power of the Dog” Adam McKay, “Don’t Look Up” Aaron Sorkin, “Being the Ricardos”
Best Original Score Alexandre Desplat, “The French Dispatch” Germaine Franco, “Encanto” Jonny Greenwood, “The Power of the Dog” Alberto Iglesias, “Parallel Mothers” Hans Zimmer, “Dune”
Best Original Song “Be Alive” from “King Richard,” written by Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, Dixson “Dos Orugitas” from “Encanto,” written by Lin-Manuel Miranda “No Time to Die” from “No Time to Die,” written by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell “Down to Joy” from “Belfast,” written by Van Morrison “Here I Am (Singing My Way Home)” from “Respect,” written by Jamie Alexander Hartman, Jennifer Hudson and Carole King
Best Animated Film “Encanto” (Walt Disney Pictures) “Flee” (Neon) “Luca” (Pixar) “My Sunny Maad” (Aerofilms) “Raya and the Last Dragon” (Walt Disney Pictures)
Best Foreign Language Film “Compartment No. 6” (Sony Pictures Classics) “Drive My Car” (Janus Films) “The Hand of God” (Netflix) “A Hero” (Amazon Studios) “Parallel Mothers” (Sony Pictures Classics)
TELEVISION
Best Television Series – Drama “Lupin” (Netflix) “The Morning Show” (Apple TV+) “Pose” (FX) “Squid Game” (Netflix) “Succession” (HBO)
Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy “The Great” (Hulu) “Hacks” (HBO Max) “Only Murders in the Building” (Hulu) “Reservation Dogs” (FX on Hulu) “Ted Lasso” (Apple TV+)
Best Actor in a Television Series – Drama Brian Cox, “Succession” Lee Jung-jae, “Squid Game” Billy Porter, “Pose” Jeremy Strong, “Succession” Omar Sy, “Lupin”
Best Actress in a Television Series – Drama Uzo Aduba, “In Treatment” Jennifer Aniston, “The Morning Show” Christine Baranski, “The Good Fight” Elisabeth Moss, “The Handmaid’s Tale” Mj Rodriguez, “Pose”
Best Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy Anthony Anderson, “Black-ish” Nicholas Hoult, “The Great” Steve Martin, “Only Murders in the Building” Martin Short, “Only Murders in the Building” Jason Sudeikis, “Ted Lasso”
Best Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy Hannah Einbinder, “Hacks” Elle Fanning, “The Great” Issa Rae, “Insecure” Tracee Ellis Ross, “Black-ish” Jean Smart, “Hacks”
Best Television Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television “Dopesick” (Hulu) “Impeachment: American Crime Story” (FX) “Maid” (Netflix) “Mare of Easttown” (HBO) “The Underground Railroad” (Amazon Prime Video)
Best Actor in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television Paul Bettany, “WandaVision” Oscar Isaac, “Scenes From a Marriage” Michael Keaton, “Dopesick” Ewan McGregor, “Halston” Tahar Rahim, “The Serpent”
Best Actress in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television Jessica Chastain, “Scenes From a Marriage” Cynthia Erivo, “Genius: Aretha” Elizabeth Olsen, “WandaVision” Margaret Qualley, “Maid” Kate Winslet, “Mare of Easttown”
Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television Kieran Culkin, “Succession” Billy Crudup, “The Morning Show” Mark Duplass, “The Morning Show” Brett Goldstein, “Ted Lasso” Oh Yeong-su, “Squid Game”
Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television Jennifer Coolidge, “White Lotus” Kaitlyn Dever, “Dopesick” Andie MacDowell, “Maid” Sarah Snook, “Succession” Hannah Waddingham, “Ted Lasso”
Culture Representation: Taking place in Montana in 1925, the dramatic film “The Power of the Dog” features an all-white cast of characters representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.
Culture Clash: A bullying rancher, who is secretly gay and who comes from a wealthy family, tries to make life miserable for his younger brother’s new wife and her young adult son from a previous marriage.
Culture Audience: “The Power of the Dog” will appeal primarily to fans of star Benedict Cumberbatch, filmmaker Jane Campion and well-made Westerns where the challenges are more psychological than physical.
Jesse Plemons and Kirsten Dunst in “The Power of the Dog” (Photo by Kirsty Griffin/Netflix)
“The Power of the Dog” gives an unflinching and riveting portrait of toxic masculinity, homophobia and family tensions. Even though the movie is set in 1925 Montana, the themes are universal and timeless. Written and directed by Jane Campion (who adapted the movie from Thomas Savage’s 1967 novel of the same name), “The Power of the Dog” is a masterfully made film on every level. Many parts of the movie are not easy to watch, but unless you have a heart of stone or only want to watch mindless junk movies, it’s nearly impossible not to be affected in some way after seeing “The Power of the Dog.”
The story of “The Power of the Dog” essentially centers on four people, who end up being caught up in a maelstrom of mistrust and hard feelings. There are varying degrees of love and fear that drive the motives behind these characters’ actions and words. The four characters who are the focus of the story are:
Phil Burbank (played by Benedict Cumberbatch), the aggressive alpha male rancher, who seems ultra-skilled at almost everything except staying in a healthy and loving relationship.
George Burbank (played by Jesse Plemons), Phil’s mild-mannered younger brother, who is the opposite of Phil in almost every way.
Rose Gordon (played by Kirsten Dunst), the widow restaurateur who becomes of one the targets of Phil’s scorn, especially after Rose marries George.
Peter Gordon (played by Kodi Smit-McPhee), the sensitive, young adult son from Rose’s first marriage, who also gets Phil’s wrath because Peter is unapologetically effeminate.
Many other characters come and go in “The Power of the Dog,” but the most interesting and best parts of the movie are about the four main characters. Campion (who is also one of the movie’s producers) wisely pared down the “Power of the Dog” novel by choosing the parts that have the most cinematic impact. If everything in the book had been adapted to the screen, the “The Power of the Dog” would’ve been a miniseries, not a feature-length movie.
Still, the deliberately slow pacing in the beginning of the movie might be a bit of a turnoff to people with short attention spans. The first third of the movie takes place before Rose and George get married. She’s the sole owner/manager of a small eatery called the Red Mill restaurant, which is her only source of income since her first husband, Dr. John Gordon, passed away. Dr. Gordon was a loving husband and father, by all accounts. Peter helps out at the restaurant as a waiter/busboy.
Phil (who is in his mid-40s) and George (who’s in his early-to-mid 30s) come from a wealthy rancher family and live together on the family’s expansive ranch property in Montana. (“The Power of the Dog” was actually filmed in New Zealand.) Their parents are both deceased. Phil (a never-married bachelor) is in charge of the ranch, where he shows off his cowboy skills to his underlings. Phil oversees the ranch’s day-to-day manual operations, while the better-educated George handles the ranch’s business affairs. But if push came to shove, everyone knows that Phil is really the boss of the ranch.
Phil isn’t just talented at ranch responsibilities. He also plays the banjo, which he learned how to play with ease and speed beyond what the average person would be able to do. Later in the movie, Phil uses his banjo playing as a weapon to emotionally torment Rose. Because Phil is so multi-talented and has a charismatic side (he’s well-known for enrapturing people with his storytelling), he gets away with a lot of appalling things with people who seem to both admire and fear him.
Rose and Peter (who’s in his early 20s) are still grieving over the loss of Dr. Gordon, but they do what they can to survive in an often-harsh world. They experience some of this harshness when Phil and his rancher cronies come into the restaurant and put their toxic masculinity on full display. Phil is a bully who likes to taunt and insult people he thinks are vulnerable, just so he can feel superior to them.
Phil makes obnoxious and cruel comments to Rose and Peter while he’s a customer at the restaurant. Phil’s rancher buddies just laugh and do nothing to stop Phil. These weak-willed enablers often join in on Phil’s bullying. One day, at the restaurant, Phil’s bad behavior becomes potentially dangerous, when he deliberately sets fire to a bouquet of paper flowers that’s on display on the restaurant table. The fire doesn’t spread to cause any significant damage. However, this arson is the first sign that Phil has destructive tendencies.
During this restaurant meal, Phil leads a group toast to his deceased best friend Bronco Henry, who died in 1904 at the age of 50. Bronco Henry (who is not seen in flashbacks) is described as a mentor to Phil. As time goes on, there’s a pivotal scene in the movie that reveals that Bronco Henry was more than a best friend/mentor to Phil. It’s the scene that reveals that Phil is gay and in the closet about his true sexuality. It’s left open to intepretation if Phil and Bronco Henry had a sexual relationship, but it’s clear from this scene that Phil was in love with Bronco Henry.
Until that scene happens, the movie drops big hints that Phil’s homophobia is masking his own self-hatred about being gay. The biggest indication is in how Phil zeroes in on Peter for Phil’s worst bullying. Peter, who is shy and very intelligent, is contemplating going to medical school. He has no interest in a job that would require athletic prowess. Therefore, Phil delights in calling Peter a “sissy” and other derogatory names so that Phil can let it be known to everyone that he thinks Peter is probably gay.
Peter’s sexuality is not identified or defined in “The Power of the Dog,” because Peter doesn’t state what his sexuality is, and he doesn’t show interest in dating anyone at this point in his life. Peter is definitely a “mama’s boy” though, and his mother is very protective of him. Having an annoying and homophobic customer who comes into the restaurant is one thing. Having him become part of Peter’s family is another.
And so, it’s with growing dread that Peter (who does voiceover narration in the movie) notices that Phil’s younger brother George has taken a romantic interest in Peter’s lonely mother Rose. George is very smitten with Rose. The feeling isn’t mutual, but she likes George enough to entertain his amorous attention.
There’s an ulterior motive for Rose to consider marrying George: She needs money to pay for Peter’s medical school fees. Her restaurant is also struggling, and she wouldn’t have to work outside the home anymore if she married this wealthy rancher. Rose appreciates that George is kind to her, but she doesn’t have the same romantic passion for him that he does for her. She’s also living in an era when a woman’s financial stability depends largely on what kind of man she marries.
Peter isn’t the only one who doesn’t really want Rose to marry George. Phil tries to discourage George from marrying Rose. During a private conversation between the two brothers, Phil reminds George that they’ve had fun together when they visit prostitutes. Phil also warns George about not being seduced into paying the “nancy boy’s” medical school fees. George is undeterred in his pursuit of Rose because he’s truly in love with her.
Under these circumstances, it doesn’t take Rose long to decide she’s going to marry George. Rose and George have a whirlwind courtship, they get married, and she and Peter move to the Burbank family ranch. It’s during this life transition that things start to get ugly for Rose and Peter. George is often away on business, so he’s at first oblivious to what goes on at the ranch when he’s not there. And he’s sometimes clueless about the trouble that’s brewing, even when he’s at the ranch.
Because of George’s trusting nature, he lives life in an open and transparent way. By contrast, Phil is very secretive and highly manipulative. Phil sees life almost like a chess game where he always has to end up as the winner. George tends to dismiss the bad things that he hears about Phil, partly because Phil is his only sibling (and closest living relative) and partly because George likes to think that all people are essentially good.
Rose is a talented piano player, but Phil is the type of egomaniac who can’t stand the thought of anyone outshining him in any talent, especially in his own home. And so, one of the more fascinating aspects of the movie plays out, when Phil engages in psychological warfare with Rose, by using the music he plays on the banjo, how he plays it, and when he plays it. The marriage of Rose and George also threatens the closeness that Phil and George once had but is now changed because most of George’s attention is now on Rose, not Phil.
You also don’t have to be a psychiatrist to see that Phil is also jealous of George because George has found love and is with a spouse who makes him happy. It’s something that Phil knows he can never experience as a gay man, when homosexuality is forbidden in every way in this 1925 society. Over time, Rose starts to care deeply for George, and that makes Phil even more jealous.
A warning to viewers who are sensitive about seeing animal abuse depicted in movies: There’s a shocking and disturbing scene where Phil takes out his anger by brutally and repeatedly punching a horse. This act of animal cruelty is not entirely shown on camera, but the sound effects are sickening. And there are other scenes of horses being mistreated when Phil and his ranch workers use rough methods to “break” a horse in training. (There’s a disclaimer in the movie’s end credits that confirms that no animals were harmed in the making of this movie.)
People who abuse animals usually abuse other people too. Needless to say, Phil tries to make Peter’s life a living hell at the ranch. And when Peter temporarily goes away to attend medical school, Rose gets the brunt of Phil’s animosity. While on a break from medical school, Peter comes back to the ranch to visit. Rose is shocked and fearful when Phil suddenly starts treating Peter like a protégé.
Even though Phil has stopped overtly bullying Peter, Rose is suspicious that Phil’s sudden transformation into being a “nice mentor” is all an act, and that Phil is setting up Peter for something sinister. Rose confides in George about her suspicions, but George doesn’t really know what to think. Peter seems happy and grateful that Phil is no longer bullying him. The movie delivers a knockout punch to audiences in showing how all of this turmoil is resolved.
All of the cast members give terrific performances, but the biggest standouts are Cumberbatch, Dunst and Smit-McPhee. Dunst and Plemons are a couple in real life, and they have an easy chemistry together. Where things really get really shaken with unease is in how Phil, Rose and Peter navigate their relationships with each other in this very uncomfortable blended family situation.
Rose and Phil predictably don’t get along with each other. But what Dunst portrays so well is being emtionally knocked-off balance when she sees that Phil and Peter, who could easily be enemies, are now starting to become close to each other and could possibly become friends. Phil knows that Peter is the person whom Rose loves the most, so what better way to disturb Rose than to gain the loyalty and trust of Peter?
It’s easy to see why Rose would feel emotionally betrayed by Peter too. Peter is starting to assert his independence, so he seems to want to ignore his mother’s increasing apprehension that Phil does not have good intentions for Peter. The tension is ramped up even more in scenes where Peter and Phil spend time alone together. As the hard-to-read Peter, Smit-McPhee probably has the most diffcult character to play because Peter doesn’t express his emotions as easily as the other main characters.
Cumberbatch gives one of the best performances of his career as the ruthless and complicated Phil. This character is by no means an “anti-hero”—he’s a villain, through and through. But the movie can inspire thoughtful discussions over how much homophobia plays a role in Phil’s deep-seated hatred and bitterness. If Phil had been able to live his life openly as a gay man, would he still be a jerk? That question is definitely open to debate.
It’s one of the many aspects of Campion’s version of “The Power of the Dog” that make it intriguing cinematic art. The movie does not offer easy answers and weaves a rich-enough tapestry in the story that’s open to interpretation. The movie’s cinematography, production design and musical score enhance the film’s ability to be both hypnotic and suspenseful. It’s easy to see why Campion won the Best Director prize at the 2021 Venice International Film Festival, where “The Power of the Dog” had its world premiere. The movie also screened at other prestigious film festivals in 2021, such as the Toronto International Film Festival and the New York Film Festival.
“The Power of the Dog” gets its title from Psalm 22:20 in the Bible: “Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog.” In the movie, a mountain range can be seen from the ranch, and the characters talk about how the mountain has a specific rock formation that resembles a dog, if looked at in a certain way. Phil represents any toxic force that threatens to ruin someone’s life. And the powerful message of the movie is that you can either fear this toxicity and look away, or you can look at it directly and confront it head-on.
Netflix released “The Power of the Dog” in select U.S. cinemas on November 17, 2021, and on Netflix on December 1, 2021.
Benedict Cumberbatch in “The Power of the Dog” (Photo by Kirsty Griffin/Netflix)
The following is a press release from Film at Lincoln Center:
Film at Lincoln Center (FLC) announces the 32 films that comprise the Main Slate of the 59th New York Film Festival (NYFF), September 24 – October 10, 2021.
“Taken together, the movies in this year’s Main Slate are a reminder of cinema’s world-making possibilities,” said Dennis Lim, NYFF Director of Programming and chair of the Main Slate selection committee. “They open up new ways of seeing and feeling and thinking, and whether or not they refer to our uncertain present, they help us make sense of our moment. I’m in awe of the sheer range of voices, styles, ideas, and images contained in this lineup, which includes many returning filmmakers but also more new names than we’ve had in some time, and I’m eager to welcome audiences back to our cinemas to experience these films as live, communal events.”
This year’s Main Slate showcases films produced in 31 different countries, featuring new titles from renowned auteurs, exceptional work from directors making their NYFF debuts, and celebrated films from festivals worldwide, including Cannes prizewinners Julia Ducournau’s Titane, Nadav Lapid’s Ahed’s Knee, Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Memoria, and Joachim Trier’s The Worst Person in the World. Main Slate documentary selections include Todd Haynes’s archival cinematic collage, The Velvet Underground; Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s animated Flee, winner of the Sundance Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema Documentary; Avi Mograbi’s examination of Israel’s military occupation of Palestinian territories, The First 54 Years; and a portrait of Italian youth by a filmmaking collective consisting of Pietro Marcello (Martin Eden, NYFF57), Francesco Munzi (Black Souls), and Alice Rohrwacher (Happy as Lazzaro, NYFF56).
Appearing in the Main Slate for the first time are Alexandre Koberidze, Kira Kovalenko, Rebecca Hall, Panah Panahi, Jonas Poher Rasmussen, and Saul Williams and Anisia Uzeyman, as well as a number of alumni from other FLC festivals: Jonas Carpignano (ND/NF 2012), Ramon and Silvan Zürcher (ND/NF 2014), Radu Jude (NYJFF 2017 & 2018), Tatiana Huezo (HRWFF 2016), and Ducournau (Rendez-Vous with French Cinema 2017). Ryûsuke Hamaguchi returns to NYFF with two selections, Cannes prizewinner Drive My Car and Berlinale prizewinner Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy; Hong Sangsoo makes his 16th and 17th festival appearances with In Front of Your Face and Introduction; and other returning NYFF filmmakers include Paul Verhoeven, Mia Hansen-Løve, Michelangelo Frammartino, Bruno Dumont, Radu Muntean, Céline Sciamma, Joanna Hogg, and Gaspar Noé.
As previously announced, the NYFF59 Opening Night selection is Joel Coen’s The Tragedy of Macbeth, Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog is the Centerpiece, and Pedro Almodóvar’s Parallel Mothers will close the festival. Currents, Revivals, Spotlight, and Talks sections will be announced in the coming weeks.
NYFF59 will feature in-person screenings, as well as select outdoor and virtual events. In response to distributor and filmmaker partners and in light of festivals returning and theaters reopening across the country, NYFF will not offer virtual screenings for this year’s edition.
Proof of vaccination will be required for all staff, audiences, and filmmakers at NYFF59 venues. Further details about this process will be announced in the coming weeks. Additionally, NYFF59 will adhere to a comprehensive series of health and safety policies in coordination with Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and state and city medical experts, while adapting as necessary to the current health crisis. Visit filmlinc.org for more information.
The NYFF Main Slate selection committee, chaired by Dennis Lim, also includes Eugene Hernandez, Florence Almozini, K. Austin Collins, and Rachel Rosen. Sofia Tate is the NYFF Programming Coordinator, and Violeta Bava, Michelle Carey, Leo Goldsmith, Rachael Rakes, and Gina Telaroli serve as festival advisors. Matt Bolish is the Producer of NYFF.
Presented by Film at Lincoln Center, the New York Film Festival highlights the best in world cinema and takes place September 24 – October 10, 2021. An annual bellwether of the state of cinema that has shaped film culture since 1963, the festival continues an enduring tradition of introducing audiences to bold and remarkable works from celebrated filmmakers as well as fresh new talent.
Festival Passes are now on sale. NYFF59 tickets will go on sale to the general public on Tuesday, September 7 at noon ET, with early-access opportunities for FLC members and pass holders prior to this date. Save 15% on Contributor, Friend, Angel, and New Wave membership levels when you join online by August 16 using the promo code LOVEFILM. Learn more here. Support of the New York Film Festival benefits Film at Lincoln Center in its nonprofit mission to promote the art and craft of cinema.
Penélope Cruz in “Parallel Mothers” (Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures Releasing International)
The 59th New York Film Festival Main Slate
Opening Night
The Tragedy of Macbeth
Dir. Joel Coen
Centerpiece
The Power of the Dog
Dir. Jane Campion
Closing Night
Parallel Mothers
Dir. Pedro Almodóvar
A Chiara
Dir. Jonas Carpignano
Ahed’s Knee
Dir. Nadav Lapid
Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn
Dir. Radu Jude
Benedetta
Dir. Paul Verhoeven
Bergman Island
Dir. Mia Hansen-Løve
Il Buco
Dir. Michelangelo Frammartino
Drive My Car
Dir. Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
The First 54 Years
Dir. Avi Mograbi
Flee
Dir. Jonas Poher Rasmussen
France
Dir. Bruno Dumont
Futura
Dir. Pietro Marcello, Francesco Munzi, Alice Rohrwacher
The Girl and the Spider
Dir. Ramon and Silvan Zürcher
Hit the Road (Jadde Khaki)
Dir. Panah Panahi
In Front of Your Face
Dir. Hong Sangsoo
Întregalde
Dir. Radu Muntean
Introduction
Dir. Hong Sangsoo
Memoria
Dir. Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Neptune Frost
Dir. Saul Williams, Anisia Uzeyman
Passing
Dir. Rebecca Hall
Petite Maman
Dir. Céline Sciamma
Prayers for the Stolen
Dir. Tatiana Huezo
The Souvenir Part II
Dir. Joanna Hogg
Titane
Dir. Julia Ducournau
Unclenching the Fists
Dir. Kira Kovalenko
The Velvet Underground
Dir. Todd Haynes
Vortex
Dir. Gaspar Noé
What Do We See When We Look at the Sky
Dir. Alexandre Koberidze
Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy
Dir. Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
The Worst Person in the World
Dir. Joachim Trier
Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand in “The Tragedy of Macbeth (Photo courtesy of A24/Apple TV+)
Films & Descriptions
Opening Night
The Tragedy of Macbeth
Joel Coen, 2021, USA, 105m
World Premiere
A work of stark chiaroscuro and incantatory rage, Joel Coen’s boldly inventive visualization of The Scottish Play is an anguished film that stares, mouth agape, at a sorrowful world undone by blind greed and thoughtless ambition. In meticulously world-weary performances, a strikingly inward Denzel Washington is the man who would be king and an effortlessly Machiavellian Frances McDormand is his Lady, a couple driven to political assassination—and deranged by guilt—after the cunning prognostications of a trio of “weird sisters” (a virtuoso physical inhabitation by Kathryn Hunter). Though it echoes the forbidding visual designs—and aspect ratios—of Laurence Olivier’s classic 1940s Shakespeare adaptations, as well as the bloody medieval madness of Kurosawa’s Throne of Blood, Coen’s tale of sound and fury is entirely his own—and undoubtedly one for our moment, a frightening depiction of amoral political power-grabbing that, like its hero, ruthlessly barrels ahead into the inferno. An Apple/A24 release. Campari is the presenting partner of Opening Night.
Centerpiece
The Power of the Dog
Jane Campion, 2021, Australia/New Zealand, 127m
Jane Campion reaffirms her status as one of the world’s greatest—and most gratifyingly eccentric—filmmakers with this mesmerizing, psychologically rich variation on the American western. Adapted from a 1967 cult novel by Thomas Savage notoriously ahead of its time in depicting repressed sexuality, The Power of the Dog excavates the emotional torment experienced at a Montana cattle ranch in the 1920s. Here, melancholy young widow Rose (Kirsten Dunst) has come to live with her sensitive new husband, George (Jesse Plemons), though their lives are increasingly complicated by the erratic, potentially violent behavior of his sullen and bullying brother, Phil (Benedict Cumberbatch), whose mistrust of both Rose and her misfit son (Kodi Smit-McPhee) leads to tragic consequences. Mirroring the unpredictable story turns, Campion crafts a film of unexpected cadences and rhythms, and her daring is matched every step of the way by her extraordinary, fully immersed cast and a mercurial, destabilizing score by Jonny Greenwood. A Netflix release.
Closing Night
Parallel Mothers
Pedro Almodóvar, 2021, Spain
Spanish with English subtitles
North American Premiere
In this muted contemporary melodrama, two women, a generation apart, find themselves inextricably linked by their brief time together in a maternity ward. The circumstances that brought them to the Madrid hospital are quite different—one accidental, the other traumatic—and a secret, hiding the truth of the bond that connects these two, is a powerful story that tackles a deep trauma in Spanish history. Penélope Cruz’s Janis is a uniquely complex, flawed, but ultimately alluring lead character, who finds herself in a morally and emotionally treacherous situation. She’s viewed in contrast with Ana, radiantly portrayed by newcomer Milena Smit, a discovery who brings a palpable innocence, pain, and longing to this interwoven portrait of women and motherhood. These charismatic stars inhabit characters who are singular among those drawn by Almodóvar in a career defined by striking portraits of women. A Sony Pictures Classics release.
A Chiara
Jonas Carpignano, 2021, Italy, 120m
Italian with English subtitles
A rising star of a resurgent Italian cinema, Jonas Carpignano continues his deeply felt project of observing life in contemporary Calabria with this gripping character study of a teenager, Chiara (a revelatory Swamy Rotolo), who gradually comes to discover that her close-knit family is not all that it seems. Keeping his camera close to Chiara as she struggles to understand the difficult truth about her mysteriously missing father—and the crime syndicates that control her region—Carpignano has created an intimate, furiously paced drama that refuses to make its unlikely protagonist either a victim or a hero. A coming-of-age chronicle like no other, the virtuoso yet naturalistic A Chiara was awarded Best European Film in this year’s Directors’ Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival. A NEON release.
Ahed’s Knee
Nadav Lapid, 2021, France/Israel/Germany, 109m
Hebrew with English subtitles
U.S. Premiere
Israeli filmmaker Nadav Lapid shows no signs of slowing down in this shattering follow-up to his bat-out-of-hell Synonyms (NYFF57). A film of radical style and splenetic anger, Ahed’s Knee accompanies a celebrated but increasingly dissociated director (Avshalom Pollak) to a small town in the desert region of Arava for a screening of his latest film. Already anguished by the news of his mother’s fatal illness (Lapid’s film was made soon after the death of his own mother, who had worked as his editor for many years), he grows frustrated with a speech-restricting form he is encouraged to sign by a local Ministry of Culture worker (Nur Fibak). The confrontation ultimately sends him into a spiral of rage aimed at what he perceives as the censorship, hypocrisy, and violence of the Israeli government. This boldly shot and conceived work, which won the Grand Jury Prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, feels as though it has welled up from the depths of its maker’s soul. A Kino Lorber release.
Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn
Radu Jude, 2021, Romania/Luxembourg/Czech Republic/Croatia, 106m
Romanian with English subtitles
U.S. Premiere
The targets are wide, the satire is broad, and every hit lands and stings in Romanian filmmaker Radu Jude’s angry, gleefully graceless Golden Bear winner from this year’s Berlin Film Festival. Evoking the unsanitized provocations of the great Dušan Makavejev in his prime, Jude crafts an invigorating, infuriating film in three movements that grows in both power and absurdity, centering around the trials of a teacher (Katia Pascariu) at a prestigious Bucharest school whose life and job are upended when her husband accidentally uploads their private sex tape to the internet for all to see. Jude has no compunction about shocking and skewering in his quest to toy with contemporary society’s religious and political hypocrisy, connecting conservative puritanical outrage to an entire history of violence. A Magnolia Pictures release.
Benedetta
Paul Verhoeven, 2021, France/Netherlands, 127m
French with English subtitles
North American Premiere
Based on true events, Benedetta unearths the story of Benedetta Carlini, a 17th-century nun in Tuscany who believed she saw visions of Christ and engaged in a sexual relationship with a fellow sister at her abbey. Because this is a film by genre auteur par excellence Paul Verhoeven (whose movies include Robocop, Basic Instinct, andNYFF54 selection Elle), the result is anything but a reverent treatment of an odd footnote in Catholic European history. Forgoing the hallmarks of prestige cinema, this delirious, erotic, and violent melodrama is told with a boundless spirit for scandal, and unabashedly courts blasphemy as it unfolds its tale of religious hypocrisy. Wildly entertaining, and featuring standout performances from Virginie Efira as the title character and Charlotte Rampling as the stoic, conflicted Mother Abbess, Benedetta maintains both a feverish pitch and a fascinating ambiguity in its depiction of the miraculous and the mundane, the sacred and the profane. An IFC Films Release.
Bergman Island
Mia Hansen-Løve, 2021, France/Germany/Belgium/Sweden, 112m
English, French, and Swedish with English subtitles
A masterful blend of the personal and the meta-cinematic, Mia Hansen-Løve’s meditation on the reconciliation of love and the creative process is also delightful cinephile catnip. Vicky Krieps and Tim Roth star as Chris and Tony, married filmmakers who venture to the remote Swedish island of Fårö—where director Ingmar Bergman lived and made many of his masterpieces—as a writing retreat for their new projects. Both inspired and troubled by the isolation and history of the place, Chris gets lost in the lives of her new fictional creations (realized on screen by Mia Wasikowska and Anders Danielsen Lie) while also reckoning with the lines between reality and fantasy. A tribute to a film artist that never crosses over into idolatry, and a sneakily emotional portrait of an artist finding her individual voice, Bergman Island is one of Hansen-Løve’s most gently profound films. An IFC Films release.
Michelangelo Frammartino returns with his long-awaited first feature in a decade, following the unforgettable Le Quattro Volte. Another work of nearly wordless natural beauty that touches on the mystical, Il Buco offers a simple premise rich with visual and symbolic possibilities. Based on the true adventures of a group of young speleologists who in 1961 descended into a hole in the mountains of southern Italy’s Calabria region to explore what was then the third-deepest known cave on Earth, Frammartino’s film interweaves astonishingly captured images of this expedition with the solitary life of an elderly Calabrian shepherd who lives not far from the spelunking site. With the gentlest of strokes, Il Buco examines the unknown depths and mysteries of the universe, life and death, progress and tradition, and parallels two great voyages to the interior.
Drive My Car
Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, 2021, Japan, 179m
Japanese with English subtitles
U.S. Premiere
Inspired by a Haruki Murakami short story, Ryûsuke Hamaguchi spins an engrossing, rapturous epic about love and betrayal, grief and acceptance. With his characteristic emotional transparency, Hamaguchi charts the unexpected, complex relationships that theater actor-director Yûsuke Kafuku (Hidetoshi Nishijima) forges with a trio of people out of professional, physical, or psychological necessity: his wife, Oto (Reika Kirishima), with whom he shares an erotic bond forged in fantasy and storytelling; the mysterious actor Takatsuki (Masaki Okada), whom he’s drawn to by a sense of revenge as much as fascination; and, perhaps most mysteriously, Misaki (Tôko Miura), a plaintive young woman hired by a theater company, against his wishes, to be his chauffeur while he stages Uncle Vanya. Hamaguchi specializes in revelations of the heart, and Drive My Car—a beautiful melding of two distinct authorial sensibilities—consistently steers clear of the familiar in its characters’ journeys toward self-examination. Winner of Best Screenplay at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival.
The First 54 Years: An Abbreviated Manual for Military Occupation
Avi Mograbi, 2021, France/Finland/Israel/Germany, 110m
Hebrew and English with English subtitles
It has been 54 years since Israel began its official occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, following the 1967 Six-Day War. That history has been recounted elsewhere, but in his provocative and direct new documentary, Israeli filmmaker Avi Mograbi (Avenge But One of My Two Eyes, NYFF43) very specifically and pointedly asks what are the circumstances, logic, and day-to-day processes that allow the normalization of a military occupation. Though appearing on screen as the narrator, Mograbi cedes the floor to a litany of former soldiers who provide firsthand accounts of Israel’s multi-decade control of the region, expressing in collective incremental fashion how the minutiae of policy can create systematic dehumanization and irrevocable conflict.
Flee
Jonas Poher Rasmussen, 2021, Denmark/France/Sweden/Norway, 90m
Danish, English, Russian, Swedish, and Dari with English subtitles
From a young age, Amin’s life has been defined by escape. Forced to leave his home country of Afghanistan with his mother and siblings after the U.S.-supported mujahideen toppled the government, Amin relocated to Russia as an adolescent, only to take part in a dangerous migration to Western Europe as a teenager to break away from the harsh conditions of post-Soviet living. Now that Amin is planning to marry a man he met in his new homeland, Denmark, he begins to look back over his life, opening up about his past, his trauma, the truth about his family, and his acceptance of his own sexuality. Using animation as both an aesthetic choice and an ethical necessity (to hide Amin’s true identity), Danish filmmaker Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s documentary is an illuminating and heartrending true story about the importance of personal freedom in all its meanings. Grand Jury Prize winner in the World Cinema– Documentary section of this year’s Sundance Film Festival. A NEON release.
France
Bruno Dumont, 2021, France/Germany/Belgium/Italy, 133m
French with English subtitles
U.S. Premiere
Léa Seydoux brilliantly holds the center of Bruno Dumont’s unexpected, unsettling new film, which starts out as a satire of the contemporary news media before steadily spiraling out into something richer and darker. Never one to shy away from provoking his viewers, Dumont (The Life of Jesus, NYFF35) casts Seydoux as France de Meurs, a seemingly unflappable superstar TV journalist whose career, homelife, and psychological stability are shaken after she carelessly drives into a young delivery man on a busy Paris street. This accident triggers a series of self-reckonings, as well as a strange romance that proves impossible to shake. A film that teases at redemption while refusing to grant absolution, France is tragicomic and deliciously ambivalent—a very 21st-century treatment of the difficulty of maintaining identity in a corrosive culture. A Kino Lorber release.
Futura
Dir. Pietro Marcello, Francesco Munzi, Alice Rohrwacher, 2021, Italy, 110m
Italian with English subtitles
U.S. Premiere
Following in the footsteps of a long line of documentarians, a collective of three Italian filmmakers known for their politically acute cinema—Pietro Marcello (Martin Eden), Francesco Munzi (Black Souls), and Alice Rohrwacher (Happy as Lazzaro)—set out to interview a cross-section of their nation’s youth about their hopes, dreams, and fears for the future. With today’s political divisions, socioeconomic unease, overreliance on technology, and global weather crisis, the conversations they foster feel particularly urgent—these 15- to 20-year-olds together ask the implicit question: is there a future at all? At the same time, the intelligence, expressiveness, and foresight evinced by these teenagers in this moving and masterful film kindles a form of hope in itself.
The Girl and the Spider
Ramon and Silvan Zürcher, 2021, Switzerland, 98m
German with English subtitles
U.S. Premiere
Everything is in its right place, yet nothing is ever what or where it seems in this alternately droll and melancholy new film from the Zürcher brothers, whose The Strange Little Cat was one of the most striking and original debut features of recent years. Their latest charts a few days in the lives of two young people on the verge of change: Lisa (Liliane Amuat), who is in the process of moving into a new apartment, and her current roommate, Mara (Henriette Confurius), who’s staying behind. Though its setup is simple, the film—and the ambiguous relationship between the women—is anything but. The architectural precision of the filmmaking belies the inchoate longings and desires that appear to course through Lisa and Mara, as well as the various characters who come in and out of their homes. The Girl and the Spider is a minor-key symphony of inscrutable glances and irresolvable tensions. A Cinema Guild release.
Hit the Road
Panah Panahi, 2021, Iran, 93m
Persian with English subtitles
U.S. Premiere
The son of acclaimed, embattled Iranian master filmmaker Jafar Panahi, and co-editor of his father’s 3 Faces (NYFF56), makes a striking feature debut with this charming, sharp-witted, and ultimately deeply moving comic drama. Hit the Road takes the tradition of the Iranian road-trip movie and adds unexpected twists and turns. With a tone that’s satisfyingly hard to pin down, Panahi follows a family of four—two middle-aged parents and their two sons, one a taciturn adult, the other a garrulous, hyperactive six-year-old—as they drive across the Iranian countryside. Rather than rely on an episodic structure built around external encounters, Panahi keeps the focus on the psychological dynamics inside the car and at various stops along the way. The result is a film that gradually builds emotional momentum as it reveals the furtive purpose for their journey, and swings from comedy to tragedy en route with dexterity and force.
In Front of Your Face
Hong Sangsoo, 2021, South Korea, 85m
Korean with English subtitles
North American Premiere
After years of living abroad, a middle-aged former actress (Lee Hye-young) has returned to South Korea to reconnect with her past and perhaps make amends. Over the course of one day in Seoul, via various encounters—including with her younger sister; a shopkeeper who lives in her converted childhood home; and, finally, a well-known film director with whom she would like to make a comeback—we discover her resentments and regrets, her financial difficulties, and the big secret that’s keeping her aloof from the world. Both beguiling and oddly cleansing in its mix of the spiritual and the cynical, In Front of Your Face finds the endlessly prolific Hong Sangsoo in a particularly contemplative mood; it’s a film that somehow finds that life is at once full of grace and a sick joke. A Cinema Guild release.
Întregalde
Radu Muntean, 2021, Romania, 104m
Romanian with English subtitles
U.S. Premiere
In a gripping tale of best intentions gone wrong, leading Romanian filmmaker Radu Muntean (Tuesday, After Christmas, NYFF48) follows a trio of well-meaning aid workers from Bucharest on a food delivery mission to the rural hinterlands of the Întregalde area of Transylvania. Guided off the beaten path by an elderly villager looking for a local sawmill, they find themselves trapped in an unfamiliar, dangerous place and facing the outer limits of their goodwill for each other and for strangers. An inquiry into the contemporary humanitarian impulse that moves like a suspense thriller—but which never quite goes where you expect it to—Muntean’s film knowingly plays off and subverts conventions of both horror films and social realist drama.
Introduction
Hong Sangsoo, 2021, South Korea, 66m
Korean with English subtitles
North American Premiere
In the steady yet playful hands of Hong Sangsoo, even the simplest premise can become a puzzle box of unpredictable, poignant human behavior. There could be no better example of his casual mastery than this breezy yet complexly structured study of a group of characters—most crucially parents and their grown offspring—trying to relate to one another via a series of thwarted or stunted meetings and introductions, centered around a young man (Shin Seok-ho) on the cusp of adulthood, confused about his romantic relationships and professional goals. It’s a film that keeps opening up to the viewer through digressions and reversals, leading to one of Hong’s most amusingly unsettling soju-soaked outbursts. A Cinema Guild release.
Collective and personal ghosts hover over every frame of Memoria, somehow the grandest yet most becalmed of Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s works. Inspired by the Thai director’s own memories and those of people he encountered while traveling across Colombia, the film follows Jessica (a wholly immersed Tilda Swinton), an expat botanist visiting her hospitalized sister in Bogotá; while there, she becomes ever more disturbed by an abyssal sound that haunts her sleepless nights and bleary-eyed days, compelling her to seek help in identifying its origins. Thus begins a personal journey that’s also historical excavation, in a film of profound serenity that, like Jessica’s sound, lodges itself in the viewer’s brain as it traverses city and country, climaxing in an extraordinary extended encounter with a rural farmer that exists on a precipice between life and death. Winner of the Jury Prize at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival. A NEON release.
Neptune Frost
Saul Williams and Anisia Uzeyman, 2021, USA/Rwanda, 105m
U.S. Premiere
Multi-hyphenate, multidisciplinary artist Saul Williams brings his unique dynamism to this Afrofuturist vision, a sci-fi punk musical that’s a visually wondrous amalgamation of themes, ideas, and songs that Williams has explored in his work, notably his 2016 album MartyrLoserKing. Co-directed with his partner, the Rwandan-born artist Anisia Uzeyman, the film takes place amidst the hilltops of Burundi, where a collective of computer hackers emerges from within a coltan mining community, a result of the romance between a miner and an intersex runaway. Set between states of being—past and present, dream and waking life, colonized and free, male and female, memory and prescience—Neptune Frost is an invigorating and empowering direct download to the cerebral cortex and a call to reclaim technology for progressive political ends.
Passing
Rebecca Hall, 2021, USA, 98m
A cornerstone work of Harlem Renaissance literature, Nella Larsen’s 1929 novel Passing is adapted to the screen with exquisite craft and skill by writer-director Rebecca Hall, who envelops the viewer in a bygone period that remains tragically present. The film’s extraordinary anchors are Tessa Thompson and Ruth Negga, meticulous as middle-class Irene and Clare, reacquainted childhood friends whose lives have taken divergent paths. Clare has decided to “pass” as white to maintain her social standing, even hiding her identity from her racist white husband, John (Alexander Skarsgård); Irene, on the other hand, is married to a prominent Black doctor, Brian (André Holland), who is initially horrified at Clare’s choices. As the film progresses, and resentments and latent attractions bristle, Hall creates an increasingly claustrophobic world both constructed and destabilized by racism, identity performance, and sexual frustration, leading to a shocking conclusion. A Netflix release.
Petite Maman
Céline Sciamma, 2021, France, 72m
French with English subtitles
Following such singular inquiries into gender as Tomboy, Girlhood, and Portrait of a Lady on Fire (NYFF57), Céline Sciamma proves again that she’s among the most accomplished and unpredictable of all contemporary French filmmakers with the gentle yet richly emotional time-bender Petite Maman. Following the death of her grandmother, 8-year-old Nelly (Joséphine Sanz) accompanies her parents to her mother’s childhood home to begin the difficult process of sorting and removing its cherished objects. While exploring the nearby woods, Nelly encounters a neighbor her own age, with whom she finds she has a remarkable amount in common. Sciamma’s scrupulously constructed jewel uses the most delicate of touches to palpate profound ideas about grief, memory, and the past. A NEON release.
In a mountainous town in rural Mexico, young Ana lives with her mother, who works in the poppy fields harvesting opium. The region offers natural splendor and small pleasures for Ana and her two best friends, Maria and Paula, yet the area’s inhabitants are gripped by a fear that is for now incomprehensible to the girls: drug cartels rule the countryside, and they regularly kidnap teenage girls for trafficking, leaving their families bereft of hope or closure. In her delicately wrought yet devastating first fiction feature, adapted from the 2014 novel by Jennifer Clement, Tatiana Huezo charts Ana’s growth from childhood to adolescence, steeping viewers in both the lyrical beauty of youth and the creeping terror of adult reality. Huezo’s film features an extraordinary cast of young actors and intimate camerawork by Dariela Ludlow, breathing naturalism into a world of desperation and despair. A Netflix release.
The Souvenir Part II
Joanna Hogg, 2021, UK, 108m
North American Premiere
Grieving and depleted from the tragic end of a relationship with a boyfriend who had suffered from drug addiction, young Julie (Honor Swinton Byrne) summons the emotional and creative fortitude to forge ahead as a film student in 1980s London. Continuing the remarkable autobiographical saga she had begun in 2019’s The Souvenir, British director Joanna Hogg (a filmmaker of unceasing visual ingenuity and sociological specificity) fashions a gently meta-cinematic mirror image of part one, cutting to the quick in one surprising, enthralling idea after another. A film about finding one’s artistic inspiration and individuality that avoids every possible cliché, The Souvenir Part II is a bold conclusion to this story of unsentimental education, told with the filmmaker’s inimitable oblique poignancy, and featuring a mesmerizing supporting cast including Tilda Swinton, Harris Dickinson, Ariane Labed, Joe Alwyn, and a scene-stealing Richard Ayoade. An A24 release.
Titane
Julia Ducournau, 2021, France, 148m
French with English subtitles
U.S. Premiere
The winner of the 2021 Cannes Film Festival’s prestigious Palme d’Or, Titane is a thrillingly confident vision from Julia Ducournau that deposits the viewer directly into its director’s headspace. Moving with the logic of a dream—and often the force of a nightmare—the film begins as a kind of horror movie, with a series of shocking events perpetrated by Alexia (Agathe Rouselle, in a dynamic and daring breakthrough), a dancer with a titanium plate in her skull following a childhood car accident. However, once Alexia goes into hiding from the police, and is taken in by a grief-stricken firefighter (Vincent Lindon), Ducournau reveals her deployment of genre tropes to be as fluid and destabilizing as her mercurial main character. A feverish, violent, and frequently jaw-dropping ride, Titane nevertheless exposes the beating, fragile heart at its center as it questions our assumptions about gender, family, and love itself. A NEON release.
Unclenching the Fists
Kira Kovalenko, 2021, Russia, 97m
Ossetian with English subtitles
In a former mining town in North Ossetia, located in the Caucasus region of Southern Russia, Ada (Milana Aguzarova), a young woman infantilized by her family, chafes at the bonds of her suffocating home life. Traumatized both physically and emotionally by past events, Ada is kept in a state of near-servitude by her controlling father, while her obsessive younger brother leaves her with little breathing room. Her liberated older brother’s return and their father’s sudden illness point the way toward possible escape. A thrilling new talent, and a former student of the great filmmaker Alexander Sokurov, Kira Kovalenko won the Un Certain Regard prize at Cannes for this vivid, concentrated rendering of one woman’s desperate, almost bestial need for survival. A MUBI release.
The Velvet Underground
Todd Haynes, 2021, USA, 120m
Given the ingeniously imagined musical worlds of Velvet Goldmine and I’m Not There, it should come as no surprise that Todd Haynes’s documentary about the seminal band The Velvet Underground mirrors its members’ experimentation and formal innovation. Combining contemporary interviews and archival documentation with newscasts, advertisements, and a trove of avant-garde film from the era, Haynes constructs a vibrant cinematic collage that is as much about New York of the ’60s and ’70s as it is about the rise and fall of the group that has been called as influential as the Beatles. Filmed with the cooperation of surviving band members, this multifaceted portrait folds in an array of participants in the creative scene’s cultures and subcultures. Tracing influences and affinities both personal and artistic, Haynes unearths rich detail about Andy Warhol, The Factory, Nico, and others, adding vivid context and texture that never diminish the ultimate enigma of the band’s power. An Apple release.
Vortex
Gaspar Noé, 2021, France, 142m
French with English subtitles
Those accustomed to the boundary-pushing cinema of Gaspar Noé may take his latest film as his biggest shocker of all. Finding new depths of tenderness without forgoing the uncompromising fatalism that defines his work, Noé guides us through a handful of dark days in the lives of an elderly couple in Paris: a retired psychiatrist (Françoise Lebrun) and a writer (Dario Argento) working on a book about the intersection of cinema and dreams. Using a split-screen effect, Noé follows them around their cramped apartment, piled high with a lifetime of books and mementos, with two cameras—a bold aesthetic choice that both unites and isolates them. Noé leads the viewer into another downward spiral, but led by the astonishing performances of Lebrun, Argento, and Alex Lutz as their troubled grown son, he has created his most fragile and humane film yet.
What Do We See When We Look at the Sky?
Alexandre Koberidze, 2021, Georgia/Germany, 150m
Georgian with English subtitles
North American Premiere
Among contemporary cinema’s most exciting and distinctive new voices, Georgian director Alexandre Koberidze has created an intimate city symphony like no other with his latest film. Beginning as an off-kilter romance in which footballer Giorgi and pharmacist Lisa are brought together on the streets of Kutaisi by chance, only to have their dreams complicated when they become victims of an age-old curse, What Do We See When We Look at the Sky? continues to radically and pleasurably shape-shift. Ultimately it becomes a lovely portrait of an entire urban landscape and the preoccupations—and World Cup obsessions—of the people who live there. Koberidze has made an idiosyncratic epic out of passing glances that feels as free and fulsome as a fairy tale. A MUBI release.
Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy
Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, 2021, Japan, 121m
Japanese with English subtitles
U.S. Premiere
In this altogether delightful triptych of stories, Ryûsuke Hamaguchi (director of Asako I & II, NYFF56; and Drive My Car, playing in this year’s festival) again proves he’s one of contemporary cinema’s most agile dramatists of modern love and obsession. Whether charting the surprise revelation of a blossoming love triangle, a young couple’s revenge plot against an older teacher gone awry, or a case of mistaken romantic identity, Hamaguchi details the sudden reversals, power shifts, and role-playing that define relationships new and old. Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy is both ironic and tender, a lively and intricately woven work of imagination that questions whether fate or our own vanities decide our destinies. A Film Movement release.
The Worst Person in the World
Joachim Trier, 2021, Norway, 121m
Norwegian with English subtitles
U.S. Premiere
As proven in such exacting stories of lives on the edge as Reprise and Oslo, August 31, Norwegian director Joachim Trier is singularly adept at giving an invigorating modern twist to classically constructed character portraits. Trier catapults the viewer into the world of his most spellbinding protagonist yet: Julie, played by Cannes Best Actress winner Renate Reinsve, who’s the magnetic center of nearly every scene. After dropping out of pre-med, Julie must find new professional and romantic avenues as she navigates her twenties, juggling emotionally heavy relationships with two very different men (Trier regular Anders Danielsen Lie and engaging newcomer Herbert Nordrum). Fluidly told in 12 discrete chapters, Trier’s film elegantly depicts the precarity of identity and the mutability of happiness in our runaway contemporary world. A NEON release.
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