Los Angeles Honors The Zone of Interest

Posted on December 10, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA), which is one of the bigger critical associations, has announced their picks for the best of 2023! For best picture, they picked The Zone of Interest, which should boost the film’s chances in the Oscar race.

Here are the winners from Los Angeles:

Best Film
Winner: THE ZONE OF INTEREST
Runner-Up: OPPENHEIMER

Best Foreign Film
Winner: ANATOMY OF A FALL
Runner-Up: TOTEM

Best Director
Winner: Jonathan Glazer – THE ZONE OF INTEREST
Runner-Up: Yorgos Lanthimos – POOR THINGS

Best Documentary Film
Winner: MENUS-PLAISIRS — LES TROISGROS
Runner-Up: THE ETERNAL MEMORY

Best Screenplay
Winner: Andrew Haigh – ALL OF US STRANGERS
Runner-Up: Samy Burch – MAY DECEMBER

Best Leading Performance
Winners: Sandra Hüller – ANATOMY OF A FALL & THE ZONE OF INTEREST & Emma Stone – POOR THINGS
Runners-Up: Andrew Scott – ALL OF US STRANGERS & Jeffrey Wright – AMERICAN FICTION

Best Supporting Performer
Winners: Rachel McAdams – ARE YOU THERE GOD? IT’S ME, MARGARET. & Da’Vine Joy Randolph – THE HOLDOVERS
Runners-Up: Lily Gladstone – KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON & Ryan Gosling – BARBIE

Best Animated Film
Winner: THE BOY AND THE HERON
Runner-Up: ROBOT DREAMS

Best Editing
Winner: Laurent Sénéchal – ANATOMY OF A FALL
Runner-Up: Jonathan Alberts – ALL OF US STRANGERS

Best Production Design
Winner: Sarah Greenwood – BARBIE
Runner-Up: Shona Heath & James Price – POOR THINGS

Best Music/Score
Winner: Mica Levi – THE ZONE OF INTEREST (With special recognition of the contribution of sound designer Johnnie Burn)
Runner-Up: Mark Ronson & Andrew Wyatt – BARBIE

Best Cinematography
Winner: Robbie Ryan – POOR THINGS
Runner-Up: Rodrigo Prieto – BARBIE & KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON

New Generation
Celine Song – PAST LIVES

Douglas Edwards Experimental Film
Wang Bing – YOUTH (SPRING)

Here’s What’s Coming To The 2023 Cannes Film Festival

Posted on April 13, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The initial line-up for the 2023 Cannes Film Festival was announced today. Usually, films are added (and occasionally even withdrawn) after the initial announcement so this list will probably be added to in the days and weeks to come:

COMPETITION:

Club Zero, Jessica Hausner
Asteroid City, Wes Anderson
The Zone of Interest, Jonathan Glazer
Fallen Leaves, Aki Kaurismaki
Les Filles D’Olfa (Four Daughters), Kaouther Ben Hania
Anatomie D’une Chute, Justine Triet
Monster, Kore-eda Hirokazu
Il Sol Dell’Avvenire, Nanni Moretti,
La Chimera, Alice Rohrwacher,
About Dry Grasses, Nuri Bilge Ceylan,
L’Ete Dernier, Catherine Breillat,
The Passion of Dodin Bouffant, Tran Anh Hung,
Rapito, Marco Bellocchio,
May December, Todd Haynes,
Firebrand, Karim Ainouz,
The Old Oak, Ken Loach,
Perfect Days, Wim Wenders,
Banel Et Adama, Ramata-Toulaye Sy,
Jeunesse, Wang Bing,

OUT OF COMPETITION:

Killers of the Flower Moon, Martin Scorsese
The Idol, Sam Levinson
Cobweb, Kim Jee-woon
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, James Mangold
Jeanne du Barry, Maiwenn

MIDNIGHT SCREENINGS:

Omar la Fraise, Elias Belkeddar
Kennedy,” Anurag Kashyap
Acide, Just Philippot

SPECIAL SCREENINGS:

Retratos Fantasmas (Pictures of Ghosts), Kleber Mendonca Filho
Anselm, Wim Wenders
Occupied City, Steve McQueen
Man in Black, Wang Bing

CANNES PREMIERE:

Le Temps D’Aimer, Katell Quillevere,
Cerrar Los Ojos, Victor Erice,
Bonnard, Pierre et Marthe, Martin Provost,
Kubi, Takeshi Kitano

For Oscar watchers, the big news is probably that both Asteroid City and Killers of The Flower Moon will be premiering at Cannes. Asteroid City is the latest from Wes Anderson and, to be honest, I have my doubts about it as an Oscar contender. The trailer indicates that it’s very, very quirky. While Anderson did receive some Oscar recognition for Grand Budapest Hotel, a good deal of that film’s success was due to Ralph Fiennes’s lead performance. Fieness kept Grand Budapest rooted in a stylized reality. I’m not sure if anyone in the cast of Asteroid City is going to perform the same duty. If Asteroid City is going to become an Oscar contender, a good showing at Cannes would definitely help.

As for Killers of the Flower Moon, it’s being shown out of competition. I can understand the logic. With all of the high expectations that come along with being Martin Scorsese’s latest film (as well as being the first Scorsese film to feature both De Niro and Di Caprio), it’s best not to run the risk of being snubbed by the unpredictable Cannes jury. The last thing anyone wants is for the narrative to shift from “sure-fire contender” to “late career disappointment.”

The Cannes Film Festival runs from May 16th to May 27th!