I'm in the middle of an international move so I don't think I'll be able to make a full slate of predictions....but here are my picks for the 24 countries of Eastern Europe:
1. Albania- “Waterdrop” Albania has had a quiet year and none of their major contenders have been released. Their submission could be any one of three upcoming films....but only if one or more of them gets a domestic release before September 30...and time is running out. Two of these are directors who have picked before- Robert Budina’s “Waterdrop” and Florenc Papas’ “Luna Park”...and they're joined by Pluton Vasi’s Mother Teresa film, “Dancing with the Shadows”. On the off chance that they all premiere in time, I give the edge to “Luna Park” (which I predicted last year) co-starring local star Nik Xhelilaj who rarely makes movies in Albania anymore. It’s about a mother and son facing civil unrest in the 1990s, which is a dramatically interesting subject. But an imminent release seems unlikely so I predict corruption drama “Waterdrop” is picked. However, it’s possible none of them will premiere, whereupon they’ll have to choose between two documentaries about Albanian cinema (“Cinema is Magic” and “Bekim Fehmiu”) and migrant drama “Okarina”, about a Kosovar family in the UK, which already have screened.
2. Armenia- “Yasha & Leonid Brezhnev” Armenia
celebrated its first-ever Oscar shortlist spot last year for the charming
“Amerikatsi”, which won Best Picture at the 2024 National Film Awards. However,
it lost Best Director and Best Screenplay to “Yasha & Leonid Brezhnev”, a
tragicomedy-drama about 1970s Soviet Armenia. So, I see that as the
frontrunner, especially in a year where there were no Armenian features in the
Main Competition at their national film festival (“Yasha” appeared at a
festival sidebar). Armenia makes a lot
of documentaries and has selected docs for the Oscars twice. So, it’s possible
they could send “1489”, about an MIA soldier because it won the 2023
International Documentary Festival Rotterdam, or “There Was, There Was Not”, by
an Armenian-American director (like “Amerikatsi”) following the lives of four
women in Nagorno-Karabakh before and after the 2023 war. If they premiere in
time, upcoming dramas “Light Drops” (about the Communist era) or “Revival”
(co-starring Armand Assante and Maia Morgenstern) could contend as well.
3. Azerbaijan- “Maryam” Azerbaijan has a fairly small
film industry and they’ve sent nine films since entering the Oscar race for the
first time in 2007 (53% of the time). Despite a number of Azerbaijani films at
film festivals, their last submission was a 50-minute documentary about
architecture that looked like a film you’d see playing on a loop at a museum,
rather than in a cinema. Last year, they didn’t enter at all. This year, I’m
predicting they send “Maryam”. Director Elchin Musaoglu was submitted in 2014
for “Nabat”, which is probably the closest Azerbaijan has ever come to making the Oscar shortlist. The film also has a U.S. connection since it follows an Azerbaijan
woman who leaves her comfortable life in the USA to take care of her ailing
father in her small, home village. They also have “Sermon to the Birds”, but
prolific young director Hilal Baydarov has never been chosen before and
“Sermon” has been less successful with critics than his other films.
4. Belarus- “Under the Grey Sky” Belarus returned to the Oscar competition from 2018-2020 but hasn’t sent any films since their allies in Russia began boycotting the Oscars in 2022 over the invasion of Ukraine Harmless filmmaking comedy “Kinoshniki” was the only local feature at the national Listapad Film Festival. I’m sure they won’t send anything. If they somehow manage to form a selection committee in exile (Syria was allowed to do this once), then Polish co-production “Under the Grey Sky” and documentary “Motherland”, both of which have Belarusian directors, would be great choices.
5. Bosnia-Herzegovina- “My Late Summer” Danis Tanovic
won the Oscar for “No Man’s Land” and Bosnia has sent three (out of four) of his subsequent Bosnian films to the Oscars (In 2021, I was shocked when they selected competent
but unmemorable drama “White Fortress” instead of Tanovic’s “Not So Friendly
Neighborhood Affair”). So, with “My Late Summer” selected as the
Opening Film at the 2024 Sarajevo Film Festival, that has automatically made
Tanovic the frontrunner. “My Late Summer” is a dramedy about a woman visiting
her extended family on a remote island, in order to help settle a family
inheritance battle. Unlikely: Croatian co-production “Bosnian Pot”, premiered
at last year’s Sarajevo Film Festival and I think it’s eligible this year….but the
director is Croatian and it will be hard to beat Tanovic.
6. Bulgaria- “Windless” I think Bulgaria will be
choosing between two grim dramas, both of which highlight how so many Bulgarians see their future
abroad- “Windless” (Karlovy Vary) is about a migrant returning home to his
economically depressed village; “Dyad”, which tied the brilliant “Blaga’s
Lessons” for Best Bulgarian Film at last year’s Golden Rose Film Festival, is about a 16-year old girl trying to find a way to join her estranged mother in
the USA. “Windless” is brand-new but its director was unexpectedly snubbed
recently (for “German Lessons”) and it seems to have better reviews so that’s
my pick. Three other options: “The Shameless” (Cannes), a lesbian drama made in
India by a Bulgarian director, “Plague” set during the medieval Black Plague and made by a previously submitted director, and “Trap”, about a
village plagued by a killer boar and nuclear waste. Out of the running:
“Triumph”, starring Maria Bakalova, will premiere at the Toronto Film Festival but I don't expect it to get a cinematic release until next year; “The
Black Sea”, about a black New Yorker stranded in Bulgarian, looks like it has
too much English. Bulgaria won’t want to be disqualified again like in 2022.
7. Croatia-“Frka” For the past 25 years, every Croatian Oscar submission has been featured at the country’s national Pula Film Festival,
although they don’t necessarily pick one of the big winners (In 2020, for the
first time ever, they picked a movie that hadn’t won any awards at all). This year,
there were eleven Croatian features at Pula. There were also three films from
last year that got released in this Oscar eligibility year....that makes a total of 14
films. The big winner this year at Pula was “Celebration”, an abstract village
drama set over two decades of Croatian history from 1926-1945. It won most of
the main awards, including Best Picture, Critics Poll, Actor and Screenplay,
but finished dead last among audience scores. Also winning major awards this
year were period romance “The Holy Family” (Audience Award) and documentary
“Our Children” (Best Director). I imagine they’ll also consider political
thriller “Wrath of God”, comedy-thriller “Frka” (which almost won the Audience
Award...though it finished last with critics), and relationship/domestic
violence drama “Only When I Laugh” (Best Actress, Pula 2023). A very dark horse:
“Bigger than Trauma” won Best Picture at Pula 2023...but was seemingly never
released in cinemas. My prediction: the Croatian Academy usually chooses
something with a dark sense of humor so I’m predicting a surprise win for gonzo
thriller “Frka” which is likely to appeal to Western audiences more than the various films about Croatian culture and history. “Celebration” did so well at Pula and is so clearly the favorite that I have them in a very, very close second place, followed by “Holy
Family”, “Wrath of God” and “Only When I Laugh”.
8. Czech Republic- “Waves” Once a favorite with Oscar, the Czech
Republic hasn’t been nominated in 20 years. During that time, they did manage to make the shortlist twice…but they were for films that weren’t actually well-liked by anyone (“Painted Bird” and “Charlatan”). For the past five years, the Czechs have
selected historical dramas highlighting various eras in Czech history; four of
these were biopics. In my opinion, only “Il Boemo” was actually a dramatically
interesting film. So, considering their record, the obvious choice for Czech Republic would be
“Waves”, another historical drama, this time focused on Czechoslovakian
journalists during the Soviet invasion following the 1968
Prague Spring. Reviews have been good and it won the Audience Award at the
Karlovy Vary Film Festival, the country’s major film festival. But I miss the
eccentric, naughty sense of humor the Czechs used to bring to this category, so
I’m secretly hoping for dark horse “She Came at Night”, a subtle horror-comedy
about a visiting mother-in-law. It just won Best Director at the Czech Lions, over last year’s submission
“Brothers”. But I know this is highly
unlikely and I currently have the film ranked a distant fourth in the Czech
race. The more likely alternates are family reunion drama “Our Lovely Pig
Slaughter” (which won a Jury Prize at Karlovy Vary) and Oscar nominee Jan
Hřebejk’s new “fake news” comedy, “State of Emergency”. Rounding out the
Top Five: Alzheimer’s family dramedy “Waltzing Matilda”. “I’m Not Everything I
Want To Be”, a B&W documentary about the Prague Spring, was the only Czech
film at a major festival this year but the Czechs have never picked a doc, and
it doesn’t look particularly interesting.
9. Estonia- “Lioness” In a quiet year, I’m fully expecting
that Estonia will go with last-minute release “Lioness”, a thriller about a
brilliant doctor who is also an absent mother, and her relationship with her
delinquent 15-year old daughter. It’s set to premiere in late September, it’s
made by a previously submitted director and Estonia doesn’t have a whole lot of
other choices. If for some reason that movie doesn’t turn out to be very good
(and it looks very good), then this will probably go to period romance “Life
and Love”. Two movies that had high expectations last year- wacky kung fu
comedy “Invisible Fight” (Locarno 2023) and abstract drama “8 Views of Lake
Biwa” (Rotterdam)- probably won’t be selected…but they do have their fans. Rounding
out the Top 6 are two documentaries: “Vertical Money”, a about capitalism and
nature, and “Who Am I Smiling For?”, about a mother with cancer.
10. Georgia- “April” “Panopticon”, a disturbing
coming-of-age drama about a creepy, sexually deviant youth living with his
ultra-religious family, looked to be the automatic frontrunner for Georgia. It
got good reviews at Karlovy Vary, and there were no other obvious choices, other
than “Lotto” (aka “Drawing Lots”) which was the surprise winner of Best
Georgian Film at the 2023 Tbilisi Film Festival. But then Dea
Kulumbegashvili’s upcoming abortion drama “April” was selected as the only
Eastern European film in the Main Competition of Venice 2024.
Kulumbegashvili got great reviews for “Beginning” (which I didn’t like) and Georgia submitted it to the Oscars in 2020. Venice outranks Karlovy Vary and I think if “April”
(aka “Those Who Find Me”) gets good reviews, it’s in. Two other dark horses are
in post-production with no release date: Aleksandre Koberidze’s “Dry Leaf” and Ana
Urushadze’s acting drama “Supporting Role”. Urushadze was selected once before and
Koberidze was the hot favorite for “What Do We See When We Look at the Sky?”. I
expect those two will be eligible next year.
11. Hungary- “Semmelweis” Last year, I predicted Hungary
would pick “Semmelweis”, a 19th century historical drama about a
doctor trying to find a cure for a fever plaguing Viennese babies. The film was
directed by Lajos Koltai who probably came close to an Oscar nomination in 2006 for
“Fateless”. The release date for "Semmelweis" was delayed slightly and since that time it has swept the 2024
Hungarian Film Awards, winning Best Picture, Director and four other awards. So,
I think it’s safe. Other options (in order)- #2- “Without Air” sounds a bit
like “Teachers Lounge” and is about a teacher whose life is turned upside-down by a
parent’s ridiculous complaint, #3- “Pelikan Blue”, an animated documentary
about Hungary in the 1990s that has gotten quite strong reviews…but Hungary
picked an animated film last year….#4- “Raw Material”, about a village
disrupted by a film team, and #5- “Kix”, a well-reviewed skateboarding
documentary. Unknown quantity: “Lesson Learned”, which is due to premiere in
competition at Locarno. I think “Semmelweis” is way ahead, but I would love to
see “Without Air” picked instead.
12. Kosovo- “Phantom Youth” Kosovo made the unusual
decision not to send a film last year despite receiving four submissions,
including Tallinn Black Nights First Feature winner “The Land Within”. This was
especially surprising because Kosovo is usually obsessed with proving its
nationhood, since Serbia has continued to prevent full international
recognition of Kosovo's independence since 2008. I believe Kosovo will return this year with “Phantom Youth” (Venice Horizons 2023), a
well-reviewed coming-of-age drama about two Kosovar women who leave their small
town to study in the capital. It's directed by 23-year old French-Kosovar actress
Luana Bajrami.
13. Latvia- “Maria’s Silence” While last year was pretty
dreadful for Latvia (“My Freedom” was one of the weakest entries of last
year….and couldn’t even manage a Best Picture nomination at Latvia’s small
National Film Awards) this year looks to be competitive. For now, this looks
like a two-way race between “A Postcard from Rome”, which won Best Picture at
the Latvian Film Awards, and Berlinale Forum prize winner “Maria’s Silence”. I
would much prefer they chose “Postcard”, a gentle comedy-drama about an elderly
couple trying to pay for a trip to Italy before the husband’s Alzheimers gets
worse. But for the past decade, the Latvian Academy has shown that they like their
films grim and dramatic and focused on serious subjects like war and Communism.
So, “Maria’s Silence”, about an actress faced with a moral dilemma during
Communist times, appears to be the
frontrunner. Latvia also had an acclaimed animated film (“Flow”) at Cannes Un
Certain Regard…Two documentaries – “Eastern Front” (about the war in Ukraine)
and “Everything Will Be Alright” (about a 90-year old female war veteran)-
could also surprise, although Latvia doesn’t like docs as much as its two
Baltic neighbors. But not so fast….two big long-delayed films by Latvia’s
leading directors could potentially see the light of day this year- rock band
drama “Jumprava- The Happening” and Latvian independence drama “In the Land
That Sings” were meant to premiere last year but now have no release date on
the books. For now, “Maria” is still the frontrunner but “In the Land That
Sings” is sure to be selected the year that it’s finally released.
14. Lithuania- “Five and a Half Love Stories in An Apartment
in Vilnius, Lithuania” Vying for the year’s most awkward title, “Love
Stories” (Tallinn Black Nights) follows five love stories in an AirBnB in the
Lithuanian capital, deftly mixing a variety of genres and languages. It was
nominated for almost every award at this year’s Lithuanian Film Awards though
it lost most to last year’s submission, “Slow”. Lithuania frequently sends
documentaries so “Bogdanas Longs to Stay” (about a juvenile detention center)
and “The Mammoth Hunt” (about a lost Soviet film showing Lithuanian cultural
opposition to Communist rule) could also be selected. It was also recently announced
that Lithuania has two new films in the Main Competition at Locarno 2024 (there
are only 17 films, so that’s quite an impressive feat)- “Drowning Dry”, about a family
vacation that goes tragically wrong, and “Toxic”, about the dangers of
modeling. “Drowning Dry” looks like it has a lot of potential if they can get it into
cinemas by September 30.
15. Macedonia- “The Business of Pleasure” Macedonia has
one of the more confusing races in the region, mostly because I can’t find
release dates for most of their contenders. For now, I’m penciling in human
trafficking drama “Business of Pleasure” which has gotten mixed reviews but
also an international distribution deal and “The Love Room”, a documentary
about two women who visit their imprisoned partners in jail for conjugal
visits. Both of them premiered at festivals in mid-2023….so their eligibility
will depend on whether they got a domestic release in Macedonia after November
1st, 2023. If they’re not
eligible, Macedonia may choose a last-minute release (possibly from the Manaki
Brothers Film Festival in late September). Dark horses: Teona Strugar
Mitevska’s terminal illness documentary “21 Days Until the End of the World”
and action-comedy “Kill the Children First”. Or they may skip the competition
for lack of suitable contenders, like in 2017.
16. Moldova- “Man Without A Lifeline” Moldova had a
wide-open race last year with four films to choose from, which bodes well for
them staying in the competition permanently. This year looks much the same, with a few
well-regarded films that would represent the national cinema of this small, former Soviet republic well…even if they don’t really have a chance to get an actual Oscar nomination. If they want to emulate Ukraine’s Oscar-winning “20 Days in
Mariupol”, they could select documentary “Shadow of War”, about a group of
Moldovan filmmakers who travel to neighboring Ukraine to document the war. If
they believe in the importance of film festivals, they’ll pick supernatural
Antichrist drama “The Alienated”, which had its premiere at Karlovy Vary. “Man
Without A Lifeline” won some minor awards in the USA for its story of a
scientist imprisoned during the Communist era. Also in the mix: Paralympic drama “Kretsul”
and comedy-drama “Alive in Mo.” Interestingly, four out of five are directed or
co-directed by women. I think the fact that “Alienated” and “Kretsul” are
directed by Russians - not a good look - will hurt their chances, opening the
door for “Man Without A Lifeline” to be selected. I expect the Karlovy Vary
label will propel “The Alienated” into second place with “Shadows” in third.
17. Montenegro- “Forever Hold Your Peace” Tiny Montenegro
has sent a film to the Oscars all but one year since their Oscar debut in 2013
(they received no submissions in 2017). This year, they’re almost certain to
send messy Balkan wedding comedy “Forever Hold Your Peace”, which would make Ivan
Marinovic the first Montenegrin director to be selected twice. However, it’s
not a sure thing because oft-delayed “The Tower of Strength” (aka “Face of
Honour” and “Children”) may finally come out this year. It’s a baity period drama
set during WWII about a Christian child who begs a Muslim neighbor to
save his life after his family is murdered, putting that entire family’s lives
at risk and posing them with a grave moral dilemma. Less likely: comedy-drama
“The Supermarket” and documentary “Once Upon A Family”.
18. Poland- “Under the Volcano” Poland is probably the most difficult country to predict
because they have a huge film industry, but at least half of their contenders
will premiere in September at the Gdynia National Film Festival. In
alphabetical order, I see the four main contenders for Poland are: “Minghun”, a
movie about grief in which a Polish father and his Chinese father-in-law mourn
the loss of his daughter, “People”, about the Russian invasion of Ukraine
through the eyes of a group of brave Ukrainian women, “Scarborn”, an 18th century
action epic about fighting the Russians which won Best Picture at the 2023
Gdynia Film Festival (over “The Peasants”) and “Under the Volcano”, about a
Ukrainian family on vacation who are unable to return home when war breaks out.
Poland has a good record in this category (3 nominations in six years….and it
probably would have been four if they picked “Green Border” last year) so they
definitely want to be nominated. As of today, only “Scarborn” has been screened
for critics so it’s impossible to know. Both films about Ukraine have Polish
directors so they’re eligible. I’ve heard seen mixed reviews for the buzzy
“Minghun” on Letterboxd which makes me think that they may choose one of the
others. For now, I’m pencilling in “Under the Volcano” but I’m not
confident….with “Scarborn” in second place. I see a lot of people predicting
Cannes Palme d’or nominee “Girl with the Needle” and transgender drama “Woman
of…” but I don’t think they’re eligible. “Girl” is almost entirely Danish (with
a few Polish crew) while “Woman of…” was shortlisted by Poland last year even
though its eventual release date was this year. So I think they’re both out.
19. Romania- “Three Kilometres to the End of the World” For such an important country, Romania really only has two realistic choices….so it’s looking like a fierce competition of Berlin vs. Cannes. This is going to be a really difficult choice between two dramas about discrimination and prejudice- “Holy Week” takes place in 1900 Romania and focuses on anti-Semitism and revenge at a village inn; “Three Kilometers to the End of the World”, which was in the Main Competition at Cannes, is an LGBT drama about a young man whose conservative family learns he is gay after he is the victim of a brutal hate crime. Both got good reviews and were made by relatively new directors. I’m predicting “Three Kilometres” but this is really 50-50, especially since both were just selected for the 9-film Sarajevo Competition lineup….The Romanian Academy has picked daring movies before (remember the opening scene of “Bad Luck Banging”?) so I don’t expect they’ll be turned off by the gay themes. If they go for a shock surprise nominee (which happened two years ago), they could consider “Familiar” (by Golden Bear winner Calin Peter Netzer, who directed “Child’s Pose”), “Warboy”, a WWII youth drama, or documentary “Between Revolutions”. But I’m pretty sure it will be one of the two frontrunners.
20. Russia- “The Alien” Once again, I have no expectations
that Russia will send a film. After they invaded Ukraine in 2022, killing or
wounding half a million people and destabilizing Europe, they disbanded their
Oscars committee claiming the West was disrespecting them (?!). But I am proud that
the placeholder film I picked for Russia last year (“Pravednik”) went on to win
Best Picture at the 2024 Russian Nika Awards, making me feel good about my
predictive abilities. Russian cinema has mostly been uninvited from
international film festivals and they’ve been churning out a lot of light
entertainment this year. If they send a film (which they won’t) I expect it
would be the apolitical “The Alien”, which was the only Russian film in
competition at the Moscow International Film Festival. It’s a well-reviewed
drama about an eccentric village man obsessed with alien life. They also likely
would have considered WWII village drama “Black Tapes” about village men who
convince the local postmen to stop sending notices that relatives have died in the war, India
co-production “We Should Make Movies About Love”, or “Anna’s Feelings”, another
sci-fi alien drama, this time by previously submitted director Anna Melikyan. It
would be interesting if AMPAS approved a committee-in-exile that could consider
Aleksandr Sokurov’s latest film - the surreal fantasy “Fairytale” - which won Best
Picture from the Russian Guild of Film Critics despite being banned…or indie
drama “Dolomite and Ash”, about journalists investigating Soviet era
atrocities.
21. Serbia- “The Great Tram Robbery” So, Serbia makes
great movies. And the Serbian Academy makes terrible choices. In the past five
years, they have selected three nationalist movies about Serbian history that
probably went over the heads of many Oscar viewers, ignoring critically
acclaimed dramas that were expected to contend for a nomination, like “Father”
and “Guardians of the Formula”. They also tend to select directors in their 50s
and 60s. (only Petar Ristovski was from the younger generation, but he’s the
son of respected retired actor/director Lazar Ristovski). So, that’s why I’m
picking 1920’s expensive epic historical film “The Great Tram Robbery” (aka “God
Be With Us”) by 77-year old Slobodan Slijan, who was an important director
during the Communist era. It’s the sort of big-budget, pretty-looking film the
Serbian Academy loves and that American audiences don’t. In second place, I
have “The Erl-King” (by 67-67-year old Goran Radovanovic) about a family under
siege by the NATO bombing of Belgrade in the 1990s. It represented Serbia at
the Moscow International Film Festival, and Radovanovic represented Serbia for
another nationalist film (Enclave) in 2015. But it’s possible Serbia could go
arthouse- they did in 2021- and that means they could select “That’s It For
Today” (aka “Enough for Now”), a warmly received rural drama that won Best
Serbian Film at FEST 2024 in Belgrade. Rounding out the Top 5 options for
Serbia: “Russian Consul”, another nationalist historical drama about the
origins of the Serbia-Kosovo conflict and dark horse “Lost Country”. Cannes
2023 drama “Lost Country” is a moral dilemma drama of the sort that the Balkan
countries do so well (a young son realizes his mother is part of the genocidal
Milosevic government), and it was one of the favorites to rep Serbia last year.
It wasn’t selected by the film ended up changing its release date so it may
be eligible this year. But it’s critical perspective of Serbian nationalism
may mean the committee just doesn’t like its message. I’d love for them to
consider something a bit wackier like comedy “Lilacs” or horror-drama “The
Working Class to Hell” both of which were among the four Serbian films featured
at FEST….but I’d say it’s unlikely. Unknown quantity: Serbia has two new films
that were just announced for the 9-film competition in Sarajevo, including “Mother
Mara”, directed and starring a well-known Serbian actress as a woman who meets
a mysterious man while grieving the loss of her son. The other, migrant drama “Dwelling
Among the Gods”, is the story of an Afghan woman and is unlikely to rep Serbia.
22. Slovakia- “The Hungarian Dressmaker” Slovakia appears
to have a fairly easy decision this year. Iveta Grofova’s “Hungarian
Dressmaker” was the only majority Slovak production at Karlovy Vary (the
premier festival for both Czech and Slovak films) and Grofova was selected once
before in 2012. The film is about an ethnic Hungarian woman hiding a Jewish boy
from the Nazis during WWII…which recalls Slovakia’s long-ago Oscar win for “The Shop
on Main Street”. Slovakia hasn’t selected a film helmed by a woman in over a
decade so this would be a victory for equality as well. Slovakia has made some
surprising decisions in the past so upcoming crime drama “Miki” could contend
if it gets really great reviews after its August release. Slovakia likes
documentaries (they picked docudramas two of the past three years) so “Andy
Warhol: The American Dream” could also be the one (Warhol was of Slovak
descent). Period dramas “Whirlwind” and “The
Dormant Account” are by previously submitted directors but don’t have reviews
good enough to defeat the “Dressmaker”.
23. Slovenia- “Family Therapy” Slovenia usually sends an intimate drama to the Oscars and this year I expect that will be “Family
Therapy” (Tribeca, Sarajevo), a social satire about a wealthy Slovenian
family. This would be the third go-round for Sonja Prosenc (after "The Tree" and "History of Love") and this is supposed to be her best film yet. In second place, I have the upcoming “The Lost Son”
about two brothers- one a good cop, and the other a criminal. Round out the Top
5: “Wake Me”, about an amnesiac visiting his brother (it won Best Fiction
Feature at the 2023 Slovenian Vesna Awards); “Role Model”, a family drama about
a lonely teen, his alcoholic mother and a mysterious neighbor; and “Body” a
dull-looking documentary filmed over the course of 20 years, about a women fighting an
autoimmune illness. Dark horses include Janez Burger’s new thriller “Observing”
(he’s been selected three times), coming-of-age drama “Fantasy” and docudrama
“Pero”.
24. Ukraine- “Porcelain War” Wow….Ukraine won its first
Oscar last year (“20 Days in Mariupol” won Best Documentary and was deservingly
shortlisted in this category as well). Despite the war, cinemas remain open and
the country Kyiv hosted Ukraine’s International Film Festival (usually in
Odessa) in July 2024. It’s an incredibly competitive year for Ukraine with nearly
two dozen documentaries and fiction features in play, and no frontrunner. I’ve
no idea which one they’ll pick. However, since Ukraine’s top foreign policy
priority is to drum up international support for the war efforts, I think
they’ll pick another documentary….and their best option seems to be Sundance
Documentary winner “Porcelain War”, about three artists who continue to
document daily Ukrainian life after Russia’s invasion. It’s topical,
well-reviewed and proved to resonate with U.S. audiences. If they want a
fiction feature, it will probably be “Grey Bees” about two middle-aged
neighbors trying to stay alive in the Donbass, on the war’s frontlines. It just
won Best Ukrainian Film at the national film festival. The documentary
runner-ups (in order): “Intercepted” (Berlinale 2024), “The Invasion” (Cannes
2024), which hasn’t gotten the best reviews but is directed by acclaimed
director Sergei Loznitsa, and “In the Rearview”, which would be a frontrunner
if the director wasn’t Polish. The fiction runner-ups: family drama “Stepne”
(Locarno 2023), LGBT comedy “Lessons of Tolerance” (which Western critics don’t
seem to like), “The Editorial Office” (Sarajevo), and “How is Katia?”. Slava
Ukraini!
