THE CURRENT STATE OF THE RACE
DECEMBER 7, 2022
DECEMBER 7, 2022
(Italy, Denmark, Spain)
The Palm Springs International Film Festival has announced their lineup for 2024. This year there will be 40 official International Feature submissions playing at the festival. They always pick the strongest entries in this year's Academy Awards race. The films playing this year are the following:
● 20 Days in Mariupol (Ukraine) Director Mstyslav Chernov
● About Dry Grasses (Turkey) Director Nuri Bilge Ceylan
● Behind the Haystacks (Greece) Director Asimina Proedrou
● Blaga’s Lessons (Bulgaria) Director Stephan Komandarev
● Brothers (Czech Republic) Director Tomáš Mašín
● The Burdened (Yemen) Director Amr Gamal
● Bye Bye Tiberias (Palestine) Director Lina Soualem
● City of Wind (Mongolia) Director Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir
● Concrete Utopia (South Korea) Director Um Tae-Hwa
● The Delinquents (Argentina) Director Rodrigo Moreno
● Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World (Romania) Director Radu Jude
● Fallen Leaves (Finland) Director Aki Kaurismäki
● Four Daughters (Tunisia) Director Kaouther Ben Hania
● Godland (Iceland) Director Hlynur Pálmason
● Goodbye Julia (Sudan) Director Mohamed Kordofani
● Housekeeping for Beginners (North Macedonia) Director Goran Stolevski
● In Flames (Pakistan) Director Zarrar Kahn
● Inshallah A Boy (Jordan) Director Amjad Al Rasheed
● The Captain (Italy) Director Matteo Garrone
● The Missing (Philippines) Director Carl Joseph E. Papa
● The Monk and the Gun (Bhutan) Director Pawo Choyning Dorji
● The Mother of All Lies (Morocco) Director Asmae El Moudir
● Opponent (Sweden) Director Milad Alami
● The Peasants (Poland) Director DK Welchman, Hugh Welchman
● Perfect Days (Japan) Director Wim Wenders
● The Promised Land (Denmark) Director Nikolaj Arcel
● The Settlers (Chile) Director Felipe Gálvez
● Seven Blessings (Israel) Director Ayelet Menahemi
● Shayda (Australia) Director Noora Niasari
● Sira (Burkina Faso ) Director Apolline Traoré
● Smoke Sauna Sisterhood (Estonia) Director Anna Hints
● Society of the Snow (Spain) Director J.A. Bayona
● Songs of Earth (Norway) Director Margreth Olin
● Sweet Dreams (Netherlands) Director Ena Sendijarević
● The Taste of Things (France) Director Tr N Anh Hùng
● The Teacher’s Lounge (Germany) Director İlker Çatak
● Tiger Stripes (Malaysia) Director Amanda Nell Eu
● Tótem (Mexico) Director Lila Avilés
● Vera (Austria) Director Tizza Covi, Rainer Frimmel
● The Zone of Interest (United Kingdom) Director Jonathan Glazer
Most of the prominent films have been selected for the festival. The biggest omissions seem to be Slow (Lithuania), Mami Wata (Nigeria), Banel and Adama (Senegal), Pictures of Ghosts (Brazil), and Omen (Belgium).
What makes this festival so important is that they usually predict all 15 of the shortlisted films. So, it is safe to assume that of these 40 films, 14 of them, at minimum, will be shortlisted on December 21st.
Now, let's take a look at which films debuted at either Cannes, Venice or Toronto. Last year, 13 of the shortlisted films debuted at one of these festivals. Let's take a look at which of these 40 films have debuted at one of these prestigious film festivals:
● About Dry Grasses (Turkey) - Cannes
● Bye Bye Tiberias (Palestine) - Venice
● City of Wind (Mongolia) - Venice
● The Delinquents (Argentina) - Cannes
● Fallen Leaves (Finland) - Cannes
● Four Daughters (Tunisia) - Cannes
● Godland (Iceland) - Cannes
● Goodbye Julia (Sudan) - Cannes
● Housekeeping for Beginners - Venice
● In Flames (Pakistan) - Cannes
● Inshallah A Boy (Jordan) - Cannes
● The Captain (Italy) - Venice
● The Monk and the Gun (Bhutan) - Toronto/Telluride
● The Mother of All Lies (Morocco) - Venice
● The Peasants (Poland) - Toronto
● Perfect Days (Japan) - Cannes
● The Promised Land (Denmark) - Venice
● The Settlers (Chile) - Cannes
● Society of the Snow (Spain) - Venice
● The Taste of Things (France) - Cannes
● Tiger Stripes (Malaysia) - Cannes
● Vera (Austria) - Venice
● The Zone of Interest (United Kingdom) - Cannes
That's 23 films.
Now Letterboxd usually predicts around 10 or so from their list of the top 15 rated films. So far, this year, these 17 films have a rating of 3.8 or higher:
● 20 Days in Mariupol (Ukraine)
● About Dry Grasses (Turkey)
● Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World (Romania)
● Fallen Leaves (Finland)
● Four Daughters (Tunisia)
● Godland (Iceland)
● The Peasants (Poland)
● Perfect Days (Japan)
● Pictures of Ghosts (Brazil)
● The Promised Land (Denmark)
● Slow (Lithuania)
● Smoke Sauna Sisterhood (Estonia)
● Society of the Snow (Spain)
● The Taste of Things (France)
● The Teacher’s Lounge (Germany)
● Tótem (Mexico)
● The Zone of Interest (United Kingdom)
All of these films are playing at Palm Springs except for Pictures of Ghosts and Slow.
Now let's take a look at which films are playing at Palm Springs, debuted at one of the top festivals, and are at the top of Letterboxd:
● About Dry Grasses (Turkey)
● Fallen Leaves (Finland)
● Four Daughters (Tunisia)
● Godland (Iceland)
● The Peasants (Poland)
● Perfect Days (Japan)
● The Promised Land (Denmark)
● Society of the Snow (Spain)
● The Taste of Things (France)
● The Zone of Interest (United Kingdom)
These 10 films are looking extremely solid at the moment.
These two films also debuted at one of the top film festivals:
● The Captain (Italy)
● The Monk and the Gun (Bhutan)
If we had to pick three more films, we would pick the following:
● 20 Days in Mariupol (Ukraine)
● The Teachers' Lounge (Germany)
● Totem (Mexico)
There are just too many incredible films to choose from and it's so difficult to choose which of the films will be shortlisted. But for right now, we're thinking it will be the following:
● 20 Days in Mariupol (Ukraine) Director Mstyslav Chernov
● About Dry Grasses (Turkey) Director Nuri Bilge Ceylan
● Behind the Haystacks (Greece) Director Asimina Proedrou
● Blaga’s Lessons (Bulgaria) Director Stephan Komandarev
● Brothers (Czech Republic) Director Tomáš Mašín
● The Burdened (Yemen) Director Amr Gamal
● Bye Bye Tiberias (Palestine) Director Lina Soualem
● City of Wind (Mongolia) Director Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir
● Concrete Utopia (South Korea) Director Um Tae-Hwa
● The Delinquents (Argentina) Director Rodrigo Moreno
● Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World (Romania) Director Radu Jude
● Fallen Leaves (Finland) Director Aki Kaurismäki
● Four Daughters (Tunisia) Director Kaouther Ben Hania
● Godland (Iceland) Director Hlynur Pálmason
● Goodbye Julia (Sudan) Director Mohamed Kordofani
● Housekeeping for Beginners (North Macedonia) Director Goran Stolevski
● In Flames (Pakistan) Director Zarrar Kahn
● Inshallah A Boy (Jordan) Director Amjad Al Rasheed
● The Captain (Italy) Director Matteo Garrone
● The Missing (Philippines) Director Carl Joseph E. Papa
● The Monk and the Gun (Bhutan) Director Pawo Choyning Dorji
● The Mother of All Lies (Morocco) Director Asmae El Moudir
● Opponent (Sweden) Director Milad Alami
● The Peasants (Poland) Director DK Welchman, Hugh Welchman
● Perfect Days (Japan) Director Wim Wenders
● The Promised Land (Denmark) Director Nikolaj Arcel
● The Settlers (Chile) Director Felipe Gálvez
● Seven Blessings (Israel) Director Ayelet Menahemi
● Shayda (Australia) Director Noora Niasari
● Sira (Burkina Faso ) Director Apolline Traoré
● Smoke Sauna Sisterhood (Estonia) Director Anna Hints
● Society of the Snow (Spain) Director J.A. Bayona
● Songs of Earth (Norway) Director Margreth Olin
● Sweet Dreams (Netherlands) Director Ena Sendijarević
● The Taste of Things (France) Director Tr N Anh Hùng
● The Teacher’s Lounge (Germany) Director İlker Çatak
● Tiger Stripes (Malaysia) Director Amanda Nell Eu
● Tótem (Mexico) Director Lila Avilés
● Vera (Austria) Director Tizza Covi, Rainer Frimmel
● The Zone of Interest (United Kingdom) Director Jonathan Glazer
Most of the prominent films have been selected for the festival. The biggest omissions seem to be Slow (Lithuania), Mami Wata (Nigeria), Banel and Adama (Senegal), Pictures of Ghosts (Brazil), and Omen (Belgium).
What makes this festival so important is that they usually predict all 15 of the shortlisted films. So, it is safe to assume that of these 40 films, 14 of them, at minimum, will be shortlisted on December 21st.
Now, let's take a look at which films debuted at either Cannes, Venice or Toronto. Last year, 13 of the shortlisted films debuted at one of these festivals. Let's take a look at which of these 40 films have debuted at one of these prestigious film festivals:
● About Dry Grasses (Turkey) - Cannes
● Bye Bye Tiberias (Palestine) - Venice
● City of Wind (Mongolia) - Venice
● The Delinquents (Argentina) - Cannes
● Fallen Leaves (Finland) - Cannes
● Four Daughters (Tunisia) - Cannes
● Godland (Iceland) - Cannes
● Goodbye Julia (Sudan) - Cannes
● Housekeeping for Beginners - Venice
● In Flames (Pakistan) - Cannes
● Inshallah A Boy (Jordan) - Cannes
● The Captain (Italy) - Venice
● The Monk and the Gun (Bhutan) - Toronto/Telluride
● The Mother of All Lies (Morocco) - Venice
● The Peasants (Poland) - Toronto
● Perfect Days (Japan) - Cannes
● The Promised Land (Denmark) - Venice
● The Settlers (Chile) - Cannes
● Society of the Snow (Spain) - Venice
● The Taste of Things (France) - Cannes
● Tiger Stripes (Malaysia) - Cannes
● Vera (Austria) - Venice
● The Zone of Interest (United Kingdom) - Cannes
That's 23 films.
Now Letterboxd usually predicts around 10 or so from their list of the top 15 rated films. So far, this year, these 17 films have a rating of 3.8 or higher:
● 20 Days in Mariupol (Ukraine)
● About Dry Grasses (Turkey)
● Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World (Romania)
● Fallen Leaves (Finland)
● Four Daughters (Tunisia)
● Godland (Iceland)
● The Peasants (Poland)
● Perfect Days (Japan)
● Pictures of Ghosts (Brazil)
● The Promised Land (Denmark)
● Slow (Lithuania)
● Smoke Sauna Sisterhood (Estonia)
● Society of the Snow (Spain)
● The Taste of Things (France)
● The Teacher’s Lounge (Germany)
● Tótem (Mexico)
● The Zone of Interest (United Kingdom)
All of these films are playing at Palm Springs except for Pictures of Ghosts and Slow.
Now let's take a look at which films are playing at Palm Springs, debuted at one of the top festivals, and are at the top of Letterboxd:
● About Dry Grasses (Turkey)
● Fallen Leaves (Finland)
● Four Daughters (Tunisia)
● Godland (Iceland)
● The Peasants (Poland)
● Perfect Days (Japan)
● The Promised Land (Denmark)
● Society of the Snow (Spain)
● The Taste of Things (France)
● The Zone of Interest (United Kingdom)
These 10 films are looking extremely solid at the moment.
These two films also debuted at one of the top film festivals:
● The Captain (Italy)
● The Monk and the Gun (Bhutan)
If we had to pick three more films, we would pick the following:
● 20 Days in Mariupol (Ukraine)
● The Teachers' Lounge (Germany)
● Totem (Mexico)
There are just too many incredible films to choose from and it's so difficult to choose which of the films will be shortlisted. But for right now, we're thinking it will be the following:
The Monk and the Gun - Bhutan
The Promised Land - Denmark
Fallen Leaves - Finland
The Taste of Things - France
The Teachers' Lounge - Germany
Godland - Iceland
The Captain - Italy
Perfect Days - Japan
Totem - Mexico
The Peasants - Poland
Society of the Snow - Spain
Four Daughters - Tunisia
About Dry Grasses - Turkey
20 Days in Mariupol - Ukraine
The Zone of Interest - United Kingdom
The Promised Land - Denmark
Fallen Leaves - Finland
The Taste of Things - France
The Teachers' Lounge - Germany
Godland - Iceland
The Captain - Italy
Perfect Days - Japan
Totem - Mexico
The Peasants - Poland
Society of the Snow - Spain
Four Daughters - Tunisia
About Dry Grasses - Turkey
20 Days in Mariupol - Ukraine
The Zone of Interest - United Kingdom
So of these 15 predicted films, all 15 are playing at Palm Springs, 12 of them debuted at one of the top film festivals, 13 of them are part of the highest rated films on Letterboxd.
That was a lot of information. Let's see how the race changes in the upcoming weeks.
That was a lot of information. Let's see how the race changes in the upcoming weeks.