The pandemic, it seems clear, has left
independent cinema
face to face
in its most risky and even fierce version
against the irresistible rise of platforms.
That together with a bet on what has been called inclusion like never before: more women, more Asians and more blacks.
This could be the hasty recap of the Hollywood Academy nominations released at noon Monday by actors Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas.
Among the films with the most nominations
,
David Fincher's
'
Mank
'
stands out
,
with ten.
In this way, as in previous years by the hand of '
Roma
', by Alfonso Cuarón ', or'
The Irishman '
, by Martin Scorsese, Netflix once again presents its eternal candidacy for that
'urbe et orbi'
recognition
that it craves so much.
In an equitable distribution that one would say perfectly programmed so as not to snub anyone, up to
six productions share as many mentions.
Of those, '
Nomadland
', by Chloé Zhao, '
The father
', by Florian Zeller, and '
Minari
', by Lee Isaac Chung, belong to the group of
indies
by vocation.
On the opposite side, or simply next to it, '
The Chicago 7 Trial
', by Aaron Sorkin, '
Sound of metal'
, by Darius Marder, and
'Judas and the black messiah'
, by Shara King, would be on the side of those supported by a platform that are, in order,
Netflix again, Amazon and HBO.
Let's say that the luck of the times is settled with an almost offensive transparency in some nominations that reproduce what is simply happening.
In the same way, a cross-section could be applied with regard to the diversity that so worries the always white and very Anglo-Saxon Academy to the point of slightly modifying the selection rules.
Among those selected for best picture, there are
two Asians
(Zhoe and Chung),
two women
(again Zhao and Emerall Fennell, for
'A Promising Young
Woman
'
) and
a black director
(Shara King).
On the side of the white man who is past or almost 50 (the majority group of academics) would be Fincher, Sorkin, Zeller and Murder.
All this without forgetting that just after the films mentioned with six nominations, they would find
'A promising young woman
' and
'The mother of the blues
', by George C. Wolfe, both with five mentions;
and, a little further down, '
Una noche en Miami
', by Regina King, with three.
In other words, inclusion or diversity, as you like, remains and grows.
At this same wavelength, the major categories dedicated to interpreters would be found.
Never before has there been so much of everything and everyone.
Few doubt that Chadwick Boseman will win the Oscar posthumously, over Anthony Hopkins himself, thanks to his work on
'The Mother of Blues'
.
That of actress, yes, is reserved for Frances McDormand by
'Nomadland
'.
Be that as it may and, again like the Golden Globes and as in how many union competition held so far, everything indicates that the best placed is the film that has been winning everything.
We are talking about '
Nomadland
' which started out triumphing at the Venice Film Festival and continues to do so in an exultant and insulting way.
In Spain, it opens on Friday next week, by the way.
The attraction that the stories that take place in Hollywood always have for the narcissistic voters, that is the '
Mank
' that reconstructs the filming of
'Citizen Kane'
, walks right of possibilities in front of
the best possible portrait of the crisis in which we have been for a long time time
, since before the pandemic appeared on the horizon, that's Zhao's movie.
The director succeeds, between fabulation and reality and with the most classic tools of the '
western
', to reflect with a captivating precision the spirit of a time of disappearance;
a time that is at the same time the time of the cinema itself.
Let's say you take on the enormity of a huge Netflix production with the subtle recklessness of a giant movie.
Good fight.
With regard to the Spanish options, the most surprising and even slightly unfair is the non-appearance of
Pedro Almodóvar's
short film
'La voz humana
' on the definitive list.
A downturn, let's put it that way, partly offset by the presence of '
El agent mole
', by
Maite Alberdi,
among the documentaries.
It is a Chilean-Spanish production that was already among those mentioned to the Goya.
It is a documentary that takes place in a nursing home, but it is also a '
thriller
' and even a comedy;
a true miracle that has already triumphed at Sundance and San Sebastián, and it will surely do so next Friday when it opens in Spain.
The Oscars of the pandemic were delayed two months to try to avoid in part the impact of the coronavirus and will be held
on April 25
(February 28 was the original date).
The Academy announced today that the gala, whose format is still a mystery due to coronavirus restrictions, will be held from the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles - the usual stage of the Oscars - and from Union Station, the central station of the Californian city and a novelty this time
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
Know more
Netflix
U.S
theater
movie theater
culture
Oscar awards
The final interviewBernabé Rico: "Going to the Goya with a small film reduces the pressure"
Chadwick Boseman's recital that could (and should) win him the posthumous Oscar
CineVictoria Abril apologizes if it has "offended people who have lost their loved ones"
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