The American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced the Oscar shortlists, i.e. the titles of films that have a chance to be nominated for the prestigious award. We saw paintings from ten categories that impressed the members of the Academy. The Polish candidate for , the film “” by DK Welchman and Hugh Welchman, was not on any of the shortlists. The creators were counting on, among other things, a nomination in the “best international film” category, but here – there were no surprises – emphasizes Katarzyna Czajka-Kominiarczuk, known as Zwierz Popkulturalny, in an interview with Gazeta.pl.
Oscars 2024. We know the shortlists in 10 categories. The Academy skipped “Peasants”
– Among the nominated productions, we will find films that have already been awarded at festivals – the French “The Taste of Things” (in Polish cinemas as “Bulion i inne passions”), the British “The Zone of Interest”, the Finnish “Fallen Leaves”, the Japanese “Perfect Days ” – these are films that received distinctions in Cannes. It is worth noting here that “The Zone of Interest” is a film whose photos were taken by Łukasz Żal – says the blogger.
Academy members selected candidates for Oscar nominations from entries from 88 countries. Czajka-Kominiarczuk emphasizes that this is an extremely difficult task that also resulted in non-obvious choices. – The list included a film from Bhutan – “The Monk and the Gun” – and the Armenian production “Amerikatsi” – this can be explained, at least in part, by the presence of American threads in these films. “Undoubtedly, such an element brings mainly American members of the Academy closer to cinematography even the most distant from the United States,” the journalist notes.
– This year’s list is interesting because it includes both films from large cinematography recognized as the pillars of the international Oscars – i.e. from Germany, France and Japan – as well as less obvious candidates – from Morocco, Tunisia, little Iceland and the above-mentioned Bhutan. It is also worth noting that the production includes an absolutely moving Ukrainian documentary about Mariupol – he adds. We are talking about a powerful documentary by Mstislav Chernov. “20 Days in Mariupol”, which won the audience award for “best foreign documentary” at the Sundance festival and two Critics Choice Documentary awards.
“The Peasants” did not lose its chance for an Oscar. There were also other Polish artists in the mix
Why wasn’t “Chłopi” on the Oscar shortlist? Czajka-Kominiarczuk points out that the film faced very strong and diverse competition. In addition, the Polish Oscar candidate may not have had as universal a message as we think. – Perhaps we overestimated the power of the new film adaptation of Reymont’s novel. While for a Polish viewer or reader the new “Peasants” was a breakthrough, for many viewers unfamiliar with Polish prose the story itself may seem mainly a simple melodrama taking place in a small community. Referring to Polish painting may not work as well as referring to Van Gogh’s paintings, widely recognized all over the world – notes a well-known blogger.
– Polish cinema has had a great Oscar run in recent years – we are used to nominations and awards. It’s time to give the remaining 80 cinematographies around the world a chance – notes Zwierz Popkulturalny and reassures fans of Polish productions. “Peasants” still have a chance to be nominated for an Oscar for “best animation.”
However, the prognosis on this issue is ambiguous. The animated animation by DK Welchman and Hugh Welchman has already been awarded an Oscar in this category. This happened in 2018, when “Loving Vincent” received the award from the Academy, and this may be both a good and a bad sign for our candidate this year.
The award for the 2017 animation is a signal that the Academy appreciated the innovative technique used in the production, and at the same time, with the premiere of “Loving Vincent”, each subsequent title produced in this way (even despite improvements) ceases to be groundbreaking and surprising in this respect.
However, the lack of “Peasants” on the Oscar shortlists does not mean that Poles have no chance of winning the award. – The long list of documents includes the Polish documentary “From Where To?” directed by Maciej Hamel, about the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. These shortlists are also full of Polish threads and the lack of “Peasants” should not deprive us of the feeling that we are still there – concludes Katarzyna Czajka-Kominiarczuk.
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
