The Challenges of Ava DuVernay, Chinonye Chukwu and Mati Diop To Nigerian Female Filmmakers
The most accomplished black female filmmaker is without dispute, Ava Marie DuVernay, the outstanding award winning African American film director, producer and screenwriter. She won the directing award in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival for her second feature film "Middle of Nowhere", becoming the first black woman to win the award. For her work on "Selma" (2014), DuVernay became the first black woman to be nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Director and also the first black female director to have her film nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. In 2017, she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for her film, "13th" (2016).
Following in her trail blazers' status are NIgerian born Chinonye Chukwu, the first black woman to win the Grand Jury Prize for U.S. Dramatic Competition, on January 27, 2019 at Sundance and the French Senegalese Filmmaker, Mati Diop who became the first black woman to make the Official Selection of the 2019 annual Cannes Film Festival in the competition for the Palme d'Or for her directorial debut feature "Atlantics" that won the Grand Prix.
DuVernay, Chukwu and Diop are highly intellectual and philosophical filmmakers who are psychologically nuanced. They are as good as the best male directors in cinema and a big challenge to other black female filmmakers. But do we have Nigerian female filmmakers of the same intellectual calibre with them in Nigeria and the Diaspora? Yes, we have. But they are few; including the most accomplished, Ngozi Onwurah, whose "Welcome II the Terrordome" in 1995 became the first film directed by a Black British woman to receive a UK theatrical release; Branwen Okpako; Chika Anadu; Michelle Bello; Mildred Okwo and Tope Oshin.
Ngozi Onwurah
Branwen Okpako
Mildred Okwo
Tope Oshin.
The challenges of those I mentioned who work in Nollywood are several, including the scarcity of good production designers and good actors who understand English grammar for enunciation and interpretation of characters. Majority of the actors in Nollywood and Kannywood cannot act. They just want to belong to the glitz and razzmatazz of the popularity of movie stars. These fundamental challenges have negatively impacted on the overall ratings of Nigerian movies. I have seen many examples of amateurish actors in Nigerian movies by very good filmmakers.
I look forward to seeing these ambitious Nigerian female filmmakers making groundbreaking films with cheers all the way to the top from Cannes to the Oscars.
"The Hand of God" (Italian: È stata la mano di Dio), the 2021 Italian drama film written, directed, and produced by Academy Award winner, Paolo Sorrentino is affirmatively one of the best films of the year.
The Cinematography should get a nomination at the 94th Academy Awards for Daria D'Antonio.
It competed for the Golden Lion at the 78th Venice International Film Festival where it won the Grand Jury Prize.
It is the Italian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards.
The Story:
In 1980s Naples, young Fabietto pursues his love for football as family tragedy strikes, shaping his uncertain but promising future as a filmmaker.
"The Hand of God" is a story full of unexpected joys, such as the arrival of football legend Diego Maradona, and an equally unexpected tragedy. Fate plays its part, joy and tragedy intertwine, and Fabietto's future is set in motion. Sorrentino returns to his hometown to tell his most personal story, a tale of fate and family, sports and cinema, love and loss.
Starring:Filippo Scotti, Toni Servillo, Teresa Saponangelo
My Verdict: It will get up to 4 nominations at the 94th Academy Awards for the Best International Feature Film, Best Cinematography, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay.
Distributed by Netflix Release date 2 September 2021 (Venice) 24 November 2021 Running time 130 minutes
Definitely one of the top 10 must see movies on my Top Watch List of 2021.
In 1970, Algeria became the first country in the Arab world to win an #Oscar in the Best Foreign Film category with the Algerian-French production “Z” directed by Costa Gavras.
“Héliopolis", Algeria's entry for the Best International Feature Film category of the 94th Annual Academy Awards is a very powerful historical drama about the Algerian revolution, directed by Djaafar Gacem.
Synopsis:
In Guelma, Victory in Europe Day is a life-altering event for one Algerian family: French troops are about to commit a massacre against Algerian civilians.
In Guelma, which was once called Heliopolis in ancient times, the daily life of an Algerian family takes its usual course. But on May 8, 1945, the day the end of World War II was announced, demonstrations by the Algerian people against the French colonial power and for the country’s independence took place, which were bloodily suppressed by the French army and French settler militias. The event went down in history as the Sétif and Guelma massacre.
"Héliopolis" is a masterpiece in motion picture and will end up a classic in the history of filmmaking in Algeria and the rest of the Arab world.
French is the best language of motion picture.
I predict "Héliopolis" making it to the final nominees for the Best International Feature Film, Best Picture and the Best Original Screenplay.. But I don't know if it can win the second Oscar for Algeria, because of the outstanding films by the other countries competing for the Best International Feature Film award.
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Heliopolis is also the title of an Egyptian film produced in 2009 directed by Ahmad Abdalla.
- By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima,
Publisher/Editor,
NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® Series @247 NIGERIA @247nigrria on Twitter
Mo Abudu and Chioma Ude Have the Best International PR for Nollywood
Mo Abudu, the Founder and CEO of the EbonyLife Group and Chioma Ude, the Founder and CEO of the annual Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF) have the best international public relations profiles for Nollywood and the Nigerian film industry.
Both of them understand the importance and significance of international public relations for the promotion of Nollywood as a global brand of the Nigerian film industry. And that is why both of them are the most recognised and have been attracting international partnerships with the leading film and TV entertainment companies in the world, including Netflix, Sony Pictures and Disney.
Mo was the first to gain international recognition with the influential Hollywood Reporter calling her Africa's answer to Oprah Winfrey and named her among Hollywood Reporter's MIPCOM's 25 Most Powerful Women in Global TV.
Then the highly esteemed Forbes magazine named her Africa's Most Successful Woman.
In 2021, She was selected to become a Voting Member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) for the annual Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars.
Her international honours within 11 years have been really groundbreaking as a trailblazer for Nigerian women in the global entertainment industry.
Forbes Africa recognised Mo Abudu as the first African woman to own a Pan-Africa TV channel in 2013; Entrepreneur of the Year award by Women Week in New York in 2014; appointed a Director of the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences responsible for staging the annual International Emmy Awards.and later appointed her as the first African Chair of the 47th annual International Emmy Awards Gala, held in New York on Monday November 25, 2019; named on the Power list 2018 of UK's top 100 most influential people of African and Caribbean descent; the first African to be awarded the MIPTV's 2019 Médailles d'Honneur, in Cannes, France; named in the Powerlist 2020 of the Top 100 most influential people in the UK of African/African-Caribbean descent and featured in the Greatest Blacks Ever: Top 100 Blacks Who Changed the World for (Peace: Progress: Prosperity).
Mo did not receive all the accolades of her outstanding achievements overnight. She started with her "Moments with Mo" on TV like the Oprah Winfrey Show that inspired her as she told the New York Times in her recent most comprehensive interview last week.
She talked about her influential family backgrounds, childhood dreams, education and top flight professional career as brand ambassador for AVON Cosmetics for the African market; HR consultant with Atlas Recruitment Consultancy firm in the UK; the Starform Group; Head of HR for Arthur Andersen and HR & Training for ExxonMobil. She was the Founder of Vic Lawrence & Associates Limited.
Her passion for the film and TV entertainment industry is powered by her vision to excel, succeed and triumph in spite of the economic and societal challenges of Nigeria in competition with the best in the world.
Chioma Ude has paid her dues before she became the first Nigerian woman to be in Variety's Annual International Women’s Impact Report for 2020
Before, Chioma became a trailblazer for Nollywood, she has been an Amazon in Corporate Nigeria as the Managing Director and CEO of JATA Logistics Ltd. Then she invested in the blossoming Nollywood as she co-organised and co-hosted the successful 6th ION International Film Festival (IONIFF) (a touring festival originating from Hollywood) in 2009 in Port Harcourt, Rivers State with the organizing committee of experts, including Peace Anyiam-Osigwe the founder and CEO of the annual AMAA Awards, Caterina Bortolussi, the co-producer of ION International Film Festival, Soledad Grognett, Ilaria Chessa, June Givanni, Alessandra Speciale and Celine Loader. Then the following year, 2010, she founded and organised the first edition of the annual Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF) in December and she has made it the numero uno of film festivals in Nigeria and West Africa.
She has invested her resources and quality time on the international profile of the film festival as I reported in my widely circulated "AFRIFF International Film Festival Brings Hollywood-Style Glitz and Glamour To Lagos"
AFRIFF has awarded scholarships for international courses in filmmaking and film studies in America and France.
In 2019, Chioma became the Co-Founder and Group CEO of Envivo Communications Limited, a multifaceted convergence of the entertainment industry, educational developments and technological applications for the fintech Industry.
Envivo launched the nVivo TV, a
free video on demand streaming platform that offers diverse content from the best content providers in the world.
By their visionary leadership, Mo Abudu and Chioma Ude have shown us the Big Picture of Nollywood of the future as one of the most dynamic creative developments in the global entertainment industry of the 21st century.
Netflix is Improving the Quality of Nollywood To World Class Standards
#Netflix is actually helping #Nollywood to improve the quality of film and TV productions in the Nigerian film industry.
But MultiChoice is still accepting substandard movies from #Nollywood for the Africa Magic. They come cheap for as low as US$1200 per movie.
The producers say being seen on #DStv is an achievement and Netflix is their ultimate dream. Making it to Netflix is like winning an #Oscar to Nollywood filmmakers.
Netflix should only accept Nollywoood or #Kannywood movies with Dolby Atmos or DTS:X, because it would boost the quality of the sound in the film and TV productions.
Your sound begins from writing the screenplay: from the first draft and not the copy and paste soundtracks during the post production which is the common practice in Nollywood.
Using Dolby Vision is not rocket science.
If Nollywood wants to improve on the quality of productions to qualify for the official selections of top international film festivals and nominations for the Academy Awards, Nigerian filmmakers have to use the same benchmarks for international productions as their counterparts and peers in the leading film Industries in the world.
And I am still waiting for the first Nigerian movie with Dolby Vision.
Nigeria is Still Far Behind South Africa in Film and TV Productions
South Africa has the biggest film industry in Africa, followed by Egypt and Morocco in terms revenues in international film distribution and acquisition.
From the Academy Award winning "Tsotsi" of 2005 directed by Gavin Wood that grossed more than US$11 million from a budget of US$3 million to "District 9" of 2009 directed by Neill Blomkamp that had four nominations for the #Oscars. The film made more than US$210 million from a budget of US$30 million.
There are several other outstanding South African films of global success.
In spite of the popularity of sociocultural phenomenon of Nollywood, the first indie film industry in Africa ranked as the second largest film industry in the world after the Bollywood of India and ahead of Hollywood in the quantity of movies produced annually, we are still waiting for a Nigerian film that can make up to US$5 million from the box office or qualify for nominations at the Academy Awards, Cannes Film Festival, Venice Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and Berlin International Film Festival.
When it comes to TV, of course the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is more advanced than the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), both in content, programming and administrative management in structure and manpower. Without Multichoice in Nigeria, both the local public and private TV stations are lagging behind South African TV stations. The private TV stations in Nigeria don't produce enough programmes and the programmes are often running without any proper programming. And the programmes have discordant audio caused by bad audio boards or incompetent audio engineers.
No need to discuss the quality of the TV productions with bad sound.
They have badly produced local movies, documentaries and reality TV shows, because of low budgets and insufficient revenues to produce or buy premium content. So, they resort to having cheap content of low quality.
There are more entertainment on some Nigerian blogs than the local private TV channels in Nigeria. And they even compete for bragging rights to winning local TV awards with programmes that cannot be sold internationally.
If you have been bingewatching Nollywood movies, you would have seen that majority of the Actresses are competing to look like the actresses in Bollywood and Hollywood in makeup, hairstyles and haute couture on the red carpets. They want to be fair and light skinned and with wavy long hairs. They are the most influential models who have made a "staggering 77% of women in Nigeria to use skin-lightening products. The skincare and cosmetics industry is taking advantage of their craze for lighter skin according to a report by the United Nations published on https//www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/april-2019-july-2019/paying-high-price-skin-bleaching
Many of the young women in Nollywood and the Nigerian society want to look as fair and pretty as the celebrated Nollywood actresses like Monalisa Chinda, Tonto Dikeh and Mercy Aigbe. And so they bleach the skin to boost their self-esteem and egos among their peers.
The actors (both male and female) say there is a rule of thumb preference for fair and light skinned people in the entertainment industry for decades in Hollywood, Bollywood and Nollywood.
The controversial #OscarsSoWhite campaign years ago on the predominantly white nominees with the exclusion of filmmakers of colour made the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to come up with programs and rules to favour diversity in the film industry and campaign against racism. But colorism is in fact worse than racism, because "Colorism is the practice of favoring lighter skin over darker skin by people of the same race and tribe. The preference for lighter skin can be seen within any racial or ethnic background. Such as preference for Asians and Africans of fair and light complexion in the film industry. You can see the preference in over 90 percent of the movies, TV series and music videos.
Colourism is encouraging skin bleaching and the popularity of skin lightening creams, lotions and pills which the World Health Organization (WHO) is warning about the harmful side effects of dangerous consequences, including dermatitis (skin irritation), blue-black discolouration, skin cancer and even blindness.
- By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima,
Publisher/Editor,
NOLLYWOOD MIRROR®Series.
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The movie poster won Best Poster of the Year by IMP Awards in 2021.
Promising Young Woman is a 2020 black comedy thriller film written, produced, and directed by Emerald Fennell (in her feature directorial debut). The film stars Carey Mulligan as a young woman seeking to avenge the death oft her best friend who was a rape victim. It also features Bo Burnham, Alison Brie, Clancy Brown, Jennifer Coolidge, Laverne Cox, and Connie Britton in supporting roles.
Promising Young Woman had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 25, 2020, and was theatrically released in the United States on December 25, 2020, by Focus Features. It received positive reviews from critics, with praise directed at its screenplay, direction, and Mulligan's performance, and grossed $15 million worldwide. The film won the Best Original Screenplay at the 93rd Academy Awards, with additional nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress (Mulligan) and Best Film Editing. Fennell also won Best Original Screenplay at the Critics' Choice Awards, Writers' Guild Awards and British Academy Film Awards.
"Annette" by Leos Carax is an awesome poetic romantic musical drama that is going to become an all time classic in modern cinema.
The cinematography by Caroline Champetier is awesome in poetic imagery of impressionism.
Adam Driver as "Henry McHenry" and Marion Cotillard as "Ann Defrasnoux" were outstanding in unforgettable performances of their iconic characters of two famous entertainers who became starstruck lovers in Los Angeles, the entertainment capital of the world.
Synopsis:
Present-day Los Angeles. Henry is an outspoken stand-up comedian, Ann a world-famous singer. They’re a happy celebrity couple, living life in the glare of the spotlight, but their world is turned upside-down by the birth of their first child, Annette, a mysterious little girl with an exceptional destiny.
The opening film of the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival is most likely going to win the Palme d'Or.
I look forward to seeing it nominated for the Best Picture and other Oscars at the next Academy Awards of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), in 2022.
Discover the best award winning movies, TV series, documentaries and reality TV shows on Vuulr.
Vuulr is the global online content marketplace for premium Film & TV content rights, connecting distributors and buyers of content worldwide.
Vuulr has listed 135,000 hours of content in more than 60 genres and 70 languages on Vuulr.
Sellers on the online entertainment content marketplace include Sony, Legendary Television, Gaumont, Televisa, Viacom 18, CNN, Caracol, as well as indies creators.
Registered buyers include The Walt Disney Company, Viacom International Media Networks, Turner International Asia Pacific, BBC, Super RTL, Public Media Co Vietnam, Astro, MX Player, UKTV and SBS amongst others.
The company said that licensing transactions on its platform close in 10 days on an average.
Films rights sold on Vuulr included Academy Awards winners.
Emerald Fennell accepts the Oscar® for Original Screenplay during the live ABC Telecast of The 93rd Oscars® at Union Station in Los Angeles, CA on Sunday, April 25, 2021.
credit: Todd Wawrychuk / A.M.P.A.S.
http://photos.presslist.oscars.org/listanevent.php?events=2426.
ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Riz Ahmed, Sound of Metal
Chadwick Boseman, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Anthony Hopkins, The Father
Gary Oldman, Mank
Steven Yeun, Minari
ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Viola Davis, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Andra Day, The United States vs. Billie Holiday
Vanessa Kirby, Pieces of a Woman
Frances McDormand, Nomadland
Carey Mulligan, Promising Young Woman
BEST PICTURE
The Father, David Parfitt, Jean-Louis Livi and Philippe Carcassonne, Producers
Judas and the Black Messiah, Shaka King, Charles D. King and Ryan Coogler, Producers
Mank, Ceán Chaffin, Eric Roth and Douglas Urbanski, Producers
Minari, Christina Oh, Producer
Nomadland, Frances McDormand, Peter Spears, Mollye Asher, Dan Janvey and Chloé Zhao, Producers
Promising Young Woman, Ben Browning, Ashley Fox, Emerald Fennell and Josey McNamara, Producers
Sound of Metal, Bert Hamelinck and Sacha Ben Harroche, Producers
The Trial of the Chicago 7, Marc Platt and Stuart Besser, Producers
MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG)
“Fight for You,” from Judas and the Black Messiah; Music by H.E.R. and Dernst Emile II; Lyric by H.E.R. and Tiara Thomas
“Hear My Voice,” from The Trial of the Chicago 7; Music by Daniel Pemberton; Lyric by Daniel Pemberton and Celeste Waite
“Husavik,” from Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga; Music and Lyric by Savan Kotecha, Fat Max Gsus and Rickard Göransson
“Io Si (Seen),” from The Life Ahead (La Vita Davanti a Se); Music by Diane Warren; Lyric by Diane Warren and Laura Pausini
“Speak Now,” from One Night in Miami...; Music and Lyric by Leslie Odom, Jr. and Sam Ashworth
MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE)
Da 5 Bloods, Terence Blanchard
Mank, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
Minari, Emile Mosseri
News of the World, James Newton Howard
Soul, Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross and Jon Batiste
JEAN HERSHOT HUMANITARIAN AWARD
Tyler Perry
FILM EDITING
Yorgos Lamprinos, The Father
Chloé Zhao, Nomadland
Frédéric Thoraval, Promising Young Woman
Mikkel E. G. Nielsen, Sound of Metal
Alan Baumgarten, The Trial of the Chicago 7
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Judas and the Black Messiah, Sean Bobbitt
Mank, Erik Messerschmidt
News of the World, Dariusz Wolski
Nomadland, Joshua James Richards
The Trial of the Chicago 7, Phedon Papamichael
PRODUCTION DESIGN
The Father, Production Design: Peter Francis; Set Decoration: Cathy Featherstone
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Production Design: Mark Ricker; Set Decoration: Karen O'Hara and Diana Stoughton
Mank, Production Design: Donald Graham Burt; Set Decoration: Jan Pascale
News of the World, Production Design: David Crank; Set Decoration: Elizabeth Keenan
Tenet, Production Design: Nathan Crowley; Set Decoration: Kathy Lucas
ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Maria Bakalova, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
Glenn Close, Hillbilly Elegy
Olivia Colman, The Father
Amanda Seyfried, Mank
Yuh-Jung Youn, Minari
VISUAL EFFECTS
Love and Monsters, Matt Sloan, Genevieve Camilleri, Matt Everitt and Brian Cox
The Midnight Sky, Matthew Kasmir, Christopher Lawrence, Max Solomon and David Watkins
Mulan, Sean Faden, Anders Langlands, Seth Maury and Steve Ingram
The One and Only Ivan, Nick Davis, Greg Fisher, Ben Jones and Santiago Colomo Martinez
Tenet, Andrew Jackson, David Lee, Andrew Lockley and Scott Fisher
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Collective, Alexander Nanau and Bianca Oana
Crip Camp, Nicole Newnham, Jim LeBrecht and Sara Bolder
The Mole Agent, Maite Alberdi and Marcela Santibáñez
My Octopus Teacher, Pippa Ehrlich, James Reed and Craig Foster
DOCUMENTARY (SHORT SUBJECT)
Colette, Anthony Giacchino and Alice Doyard
A Concerto Is a Conversation, Ben Proudfoot and Kris Bowers
Do Not Split, Anders Hammer and Charlotte Cook
Hunger Ward, Skye Fitzgerald and Michael Scheuerman
A Love Song for Latasha, Sophia Nahli Allison and Janice Duncan
ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Onward, Dan Scanlon and Kori Rae
Over the Moon, Glen Keane, Gennie Rim and Peilin Chou
A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon, Richard Phelan, Will Becher and Paul Kewley
Soul, Pete Docter and Dana Murray
Wolfwalkers, Tomm Moore, Ross Stewart, Paul Young and Stéphan Roelants
SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)
Burrow, Madeline Sharafian and Michael Capbarat
Genius Loci, Adrien Mérigeau and Amaury Ovise
If Anything Happens I Love You, Will McCormack and Michael Govier
Opera, Erick Oh
Yes-People, Gísli Darri Halldórsson and Arnar Gunnarsson
SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)
Feeling Through, Doug Roland and Susan Ruzenski
The Letter Room, Elvira Lind and Sofia Sondervan
The Present, Farah Nabulsi and Ossama Bawardi
Two Distant Strangers, Travon Free and Martin Desmond Roe
White Eye, Tomer Shushan and Shira Hochman
SOUND
Greyhound, Warren Shaw, Michael Minkler, Beau Borders and David Wyman
Mank, Ren Klyce, Jeremy Molod, David Parker, Nathan Nance and Drew Kunin
News of the World, Oliver Tarney, Mike Prestwood Smith, William Miller and John Pritchett
Soul, Ren Klyce, Coya Elliott and David Parker
Sound of Metal, Nicolas Becker, Jaime Baksht, Michellee Couttolenc, Carlos Cortés and Phillip Bladh
DIRECTING
Thomas Vinterberg, Another Round
David Fincher, Mank
Lee Isaac Chung, Minari
Chloé Zhao, Nomadland
Emerald Fennell, Promising Young Woman
COSTUME DESIGN
Emma, Alexandra Byrne
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Ann Roth
Mank, Trish Summerville
Mulan, Bina Daigeler
Pinocchio, Massimo Cantini Parrini
MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
Emma, Marese Langan, Laura Allen and Claudia Stolze
Hillbilly Elegy, Eryn Krueger Mekash, Matthew Mungle and Patricia Dehaney
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Sergio Lopez-Rivera, Mia Neal and Jamika Wilson
Mank, Gigi Williams, Kimberley Spiteri and Colleen LaBaff
Pinocchio, Mark Coulier, Dalia Colli and Francesco Pegoretti
ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Sacha Baron Cohen, The Trial of the Chicago 7
Daniel Kaluuya, Judas and the Black Messiah
Leslie Odom, Jr., One Night in Miami...
Paul Raci, Sound of Metal
LaKeith Stanfield, Judas and the Black Messiah
INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM
Another Round, Denmark
Better Days, Hong Kong
Collective, Romania
The Man Who Sold His Skin, Tunisia
Quo Vadis, Aida? Bosnia and Herzegovina
WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY)
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, Screenplay by Sacha Baron Cohen & Anthony Hines & Dan Swimer & Peter Baynham & Erica Rivinoja & Dan Mazer & Jena Friedman & Lee Kern; Story by Sacha Baron Cohen & Anthony Hines & Dan Swimer & Nina Pedrad
The Father, Screenplay by Christopher Hampton and Florian Zeller
Nomadland, Written for the screen by Chloé Zhao
One Night in Miami…, Screenplay by Kemp Powers
The White Tiger, Written for the screen by Ramin Bahrani
WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY)
Judas and the Black Messiah, Screenplay by Will Berson & Shaka King; Story by Will Berson & Shaka King and Kenny Lucas & Keith Lucas
Minari, Written by Lee Isaac Chung
Promising Young Woman, Written by Emerald Fennell
Sound of Metal, Screenplay by Darius Marder & Abraham Marder; Story by Darius Marder & Derek Cianfrance
The Trial of the Chicago 7, Written by Aaron Sorkin
The 2021 Oscars ceremony begins at 8pm ET Sunday April 25, on ABC, broadcasting live from both Union Station and the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. ABC is extending its coverage of the 2021 Oscars with a pre-show beginning at 6:30pm ET (“Oscars: Into the Spotlight,” hosted by Ariana Debose and Lil Rel Howery) and a post-show airing after the Oscars ceremony (“Oscars: After Dark,” with Colman Domingo and Andrew Rannells).
All three programs — “Oscars: Into the Spotlight,” “The Oscars,” and “Oscars: After Dark” — will be available to watch live via ABC.COM and the ABC app, although you will have to provide a cable subscriber log-in in order to access the live stream. Viewers without cable can tune-in by subscribing to a variety of platforms that carry ABC, including Hulu + Live TV, YouTubeTV, AT&T TV, and FuboTV.
Sir Philip Anthony HopkinsCBE deserves the #Oscar for Best Actor for his astonishing leading role of "Anthony" in Florian Zeller's "The Father".
A classic psychopathethic drama on dementia.
The Synopsis:
Almost 80, mischievous, caustic, and defiantly living alone, Anthony rejects each and every hired caretaker that his daughter, Anne (Olivia Colman), lovingly introduces. Anne is desperate for help. She can’t make daily visits anymore, and Anthony’s grip on reality is unraveling. Given the ebb and flow of his memory, how much of his own identity and past can he cling to? Anne grieves the loss of her father as he lives and breathes before her—but doesn’t she have the right to live her own life?
I had an usual dream before dawn in which I saw documents like a brochure and passport on my bed in the room of a hotel or a guest house. I saw "Bong" written on the brochure slightly overlapping the passport. The scene faded in a flash. Then another scene appeared and I was meeting with Bong Joon-ho in the lobby of a venue for an event.
Bong is the famous South Korean filmmaker of critically acclaimed films, including his directorial debut film, "Barking Dogs Never Bite" (2000), "Memories of Murder (2003), and the record making "Parasite" (2019), the highest-grossing South Korean film in history; the first South Korean film to win the highly coveted Palme d'Or of the 2019 annual Cannes Film Festival, @festivaldecannes in France and the first South Korean film to receive nominations for the #Oscars; and at the 92nd Academy Awards won the: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best International Feature Film. "Parasite" is the first non-English language film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.
It won the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film and the BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language, and became the first non-English language film to win the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.
Why did I dream of travelling and meeting Bong Joon-ho?Are we going to meet for international awards or international co-production?
One of my unusual stories which I think Bong can direct the film adaptation is "Hysterics" about sin, insanity and redemption. A surrealistic drama of unforeseen circumstances that resulted in the encounter of a monk with an insane prostitute in a brothel. But how did a Roman Catholic monk end up in a brothel of drunkards, gamblers and prostitutes?
