Seventh Row is a nonprofit Canadian film criticism publication and publishing house. We're dedicated to helping you expand your horizons by curating the best socially progressive films from around the world and helping you think deeply about them. This newsletter is run by Seventh Row (http://seventh-row.com) but features exclusive content not found on the website.
How the Oscars affect the international films you hear about
|
Hello Reader, Even if you don’t care about the Oscars, what’s considered Oscar-worthy deeply impacts what films you hear about. Because arthouse and international distributors divide films into two categories: movies they think can win Oscars and movies that can’t. Oscar movies get massive marketing budgets, come out in the fall, and screen for months. So you hear about them. The rest get dumped in the spring and summer, and they might not even tell the press the films exist, no matter how good the movies are. More international films are being allowed into the Oscars, but it’s still a pretty narrow set. And what’s considered Oscar-worthy comes down to marketing. Did it premiere at the right festival? Did it get seen by the right people? Can you pitch the movie as a high concept in one sentence that makes you go ‘ooh’? Today’s episode is the first in a two-part series about the Oscars’ impact on what movies you hear about and can easily see featuring C.J. Prince of Acquired Cinema. Today, we talk about how and why the Oscars have become a little more international and a little more interesting in the last few years and how that affects what movies you hear about. Next time, we’ll talk about international and arthouse movies that aren’t Oscar hopefuls, even though they may have mainstream appeal. What differentiates these films? And what films can you look forward to this spring and summer? Episode 160: How the Oscars affect the international films you hear aboutHappy watching/listening! Alex P.S. I'm planning to offer a series of themed film workshops in the spring. I'd love your feedback! Please fill out this quick survey (4 minutes, 4-5 questions) to let me know which ones you're interested in joining.
|
Seventh Row
Seventh Row is a nonprofit Canadian film criticism publication and publishing house. We're dedicated to helping you expand your horizons by curating the best socially progressive films from around the world and helping you think deeply about them. This newsletter is run by Seventh Row (http://seventh-row.com) but features exclusive content not found on the website.
Some films change every time you rewatch them — not because they shift, but because you do. The mark of a great film is that it can meet you again — and offer more. Not just because your perspective has changed, but because the film is rich enough to hold what you couldn’t yet see. This year marks the tenth anniversary of Andrew Haigh’s 45 Years — and we’re celebrating it on the podcast because it’s one of the best films of the century. I’ve watched it at least once a year over the past...
Hello Reader, This week on the podcast, I’m digging into Celine Song’s new film, Materialists, which asks: Is love enough when money is tight? It’s got plenty going for it (that cast! that blocking!), but also tiptoes around the class and money dynamics it sets up. In this episode, I get into where it works, where it falls short, and how it stacks up next to films and shows that explore similar territory (Gossip Girl, Mansfield Park, and more). A few spoilers ahead, especially when I get into...
Hello Reader, What do a British political thriller, an Indigenous Canadian documentary, and a queer South African drama have in common? Honestly… I wasn’t sure at first either. I programmed them inside Reel Ruminators because they were different: crossing genres, continents, and perspectives. And yet, in hindsight, I realized they were all circling some of the same big questions. Watching and thinking about one film changed how I watched and thought about the others. And I have an inkling...