This year's foreign Oscar race reflects a growingly global medium

Posted by · 6:15 am · September 20th, 2012

Certain strong contenders would not have been eligible a few years ago.

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'The Artist' (what else?) takes top honors at César Awards

Posted by · 3:08 pm · February 24th, 2012

“The Artist,” unsurprisingly enough, was the big winner at the César Awards, France’s answer to the Oscars — but not everything went the Oscar frontrunner’s way, as Jean Dujardin was upset in the Best Actor race.

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'The Artist' isn't top dog in César Award noms

Posted by · 6:25 am · January 27th, 2012

It may be the first French frontrunner in the history of the Academy Awards, but on home turf, “The Artist” had to settle for third place in the César Award nominations. Another Cannes prizewinner, law-enforcement drama “Polisse,” leads with 13 nods.

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Round-up: The dogs have their day

Posted by · 8:00 am · January 20th, 2012

Also: Defending Channing Tatum, and remembering failed Oscar grabs

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Predicting the foreign-language Oscar shortlist

Posted by · 6:42 pm · January 17th, 2012

Tomorrow, the Academy announces a shortlist of nine contenders for the Best Foreign Language Oscar — we take a look at what they might be.

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Bottled up: the best films of 2011

Posted by · 7:28 am · December 12th, 2011

With the year winding to a close, it’s time to showcase the 10 best films of 2011. If you heard Friday’s podcast, you know. If you didn’t, dig in.

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'The Artist' among contenders for Louis Delluc Prize

Posted by · 9:56 am · November 24th, 2011

It’s not often that the Louis Delluc Prize overlaps with the Best Picture Oscar race, but Michel Hazanavicius’s “The Artist” has been shortlisted for what is arguably the most prestigious trophy in French cinema.

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'Melancholia' rules European Film Award nods

Posted by · 5:09 am · November 7th, 2011

Lars von Trier’s “Melancholia” is a sophisticated choice of film to lead Europe’s alternative to the Oscars — but a middlebrow mindset prevails elsewhere.

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Handicapping the foreign-language Oscar race

Posted by · 4:18 pm · October 31st, 2011

We rank the films likeliest to show up in the ever-unpredictable Best Foreign Language Film race.

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More US festival awards for 'The Artist' and Olivia Colman

Posted by · 10:55 am · October 17th, 2011

Buzzy Oscar contender “The Artist” added to its trophy cabinet with wins at both the Chicago and Hamptons International Film Festivals last year, while under-the-radar Best Actress hopeful Olivia Colman took a prize for “Tyrannosaur.”

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The Long Shot: Foreign exchange

Posted by · 5:42 pm · October 13th, 2011

This year, however, the stage has been set for the Academy to make more relevant choices than usual in the often-derided Best Foreign Language Film category. The list of 63 contenders announced today includes many critically beloved festival hits, but will voters take the bait?

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Joshua Marston DQ'd (again) as foreign-language Oscar list hits 60

Posted by · 2:07 am · October 10th, 2011

American director Joshua Marston’s film “The Forgiveness of Blood” has been disqualified as Albania’s Best Foreign Language Film Oscar submission for not being sufficiently homegrown — the same fate endured by Marston’s 2004 debut “Maria Full of Grace.”

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59 films vying for foreign-language Oscar

Posted by · 2:40 pm · October 5th, 2011

With the deadline having passed two days ago, our list of submissions for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar is complete — and at 59 films, it’s down considerably from the last couple of years, when as many as 67 titles were put forward for consideration. Turkey’s entry, Cannes prizewinner “Once Upon a Time in Anatolia,” heads the list of late entries.

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Reviewing NYFF across space and time

Posted by · 10:22 am · October 3rd, 2011

We may not be attending the New York Film Festival, here’s a round-up of the festival titles we’ve already seen and reviewed at In Contention, including such films as “The Artist,” “The Descendants,” “A Separation” and “Carnage.”

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