Good news for Spanish-speaking cinema: Sirat And Christmas crib They are paving the way for the Oscars. This Tuesday, December 16, at 11 a.m., the Hollywood Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the mother of the Oscars, announced the list of foreign films which will compete for the golden statuette next March. Among the 15 chosen, there are both the Spanish Siratdirected by Oliver Laxe, like Argentina Christmas cribby actress and filmmaker Dolores Fonzi. Among them, the final five nominees will emerge on January 22. Sirat goes a long way, as it’s also nominated for four others: best soundtrack, best sound, best cinematography and best foundryfrom the first year of this application. The Spanish animated short film The ghost of the fifthon Francisco de Goya, is also among the preselected short films.
Sirat And Christmas crib They will have some tough competitors along the way. The Spanish actress had already been nominated for the Golden Globes, but not Argentina. In its category, a total of 86 films from the same number of countries, one more than last year, managed to pass the first phase (compliance with the formal conditions, in fact) to get here. They had to be produced outside the United States, last more than 40 minutes, and have a language other than English in at least 50% of their footage. Now, the remaining 15, besides the two Spanish speakers, The secret agent (Brazil), a simple accident (France), Falling sound (Germany), Confined at home (India), Kohuko (Japan), Hind’s voice (Tunisia), No Other Choice (South Korea), The left-handed girl (Taiwan), Late post (Swiss), Sentimental value (Norway), The President’s Cake (Iraq), All that’s left for you (Jordan) and Palestine 36 (Palestine).
Leticia Cristi, producer of the Argentine film, explains to EL PAÍS a few minutes after her pre-application that they were “happy, happy”. “Pride of this history and of our cinema,” he declared. Christmas crib tells a true story, that of a young woman from San Miguel de Tucumán who finds herself in prison for an abortion, considered a crime, and trapped by an unjust judicial network from which she cannot escape. His lawyer, activist Soledad Deza, is played by director Dolores Fonzi.
It is in the groups that the Spaniard and the Argentinian would enter between the call shortlistand maybe Laxe’s film would get even more nominations, but reaching five was a lot to ask. The Academy thus demonstrates that the film about a father and his son who go on a party in the desert in search of their eldest daughter was very popular in Hollywood. In an interview with EL PAÍS on Tuesday morning, on the occasion of the inauguration of an installation at the Reina Sofía Museum in Madrid, Laxe said he was “a blessed filmmaker”: “I’m enjoying it.”
“In cinema we give ourselves a lot of awards, don’t we? Almost too much,” the director said during the conference at the Madrid museum. “And at the same time, it’s also a very beautiful moment. There is recognition of a film which, since Cannes, has won us the respect of all world cinematography. Everywhere we go. In the United States, I receive messages from very high. People are aware of the cinematographic and industrial feat that we have achieved. It’s a very against-the-grain film. And very authentic and very unique. And about the Oscars. I think we’ll pass the test, but getting there is a gigantic achievement for the type of cinema this is. Sirat. I am a sculptor, I neither believe nor see myself with the Oscar. “I don’t plan for that moment.”
The short film The ghost of the fifth is directed, co-produced and co-written by Madrilenian James Castillo and his production company Martirio Films. Premiered at the Tribeca festival in June, it deals with Goya’s final days, when in 1819 he retired to the so-called Quinta del Sordo and fell ill. In 17 minutes, we tell how the painter is tormented by visits from ghosts from the past and how, inspired by them, he decides to create his black paintings. The production features the vocals of Maribel Verdú.
In these pre-applications, the 20 pre-selected soundtracks, the 15 feature-length documentaries, the 15 short documentaries and the 15 animated short films were also announced. We also already know the 10 who will compete for the Oscar in the makeup and hairstyling categories, the 16 for photography, the 10 for visual effects, the 10 for best sound, the 20 for the best soundtrack and the 15 for the best songs. All of them constitute the basis of the five which will remain in each of their categories.
In the rest of the categories, Another of the productions with Latin touches that stands out is the Frankenstein by Guillermo del Toro. The film starring Oscar Isaac and Jacob Elordi is nominated for best makeup and hairstyling, but also for best foundryfor best cinematography, for best sound, for best visual effects and for best music.
This year, the category of foundrycreated in February 2024. The people preselected for this, in addition to Sirat And Frankensteinare Hamnet, Marty Supreme, One Battle After Another, The Secret Agent, Sentimental Value, Sinners, Weapons and the second part of Wicked. This award does not reward the entire cast, but rather the director of the film. foundry.
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