And the Award Goes to…
It’s that time of year again. The days are getting shorter, leaves are falling and the weather is getting colder. In Hollywood, the film industry is preparing to unleash an onslaught of Oscar hopefuls in theaters this winter with new films from industry pros like Steven Spielberg, Quentin Tarantino, and Peter Jackson entering the fray. Even the most casual filmgoer will have noticed the shift from large-scale, big budget blockbusters to smaller, more high-minded dramatic pictures in their local multiplexes these last few months. It’s awards season and 2012 looks to be one of the busiest seasons yet.
Look no further than this year’s crop of potential Best Foreign Language film nominees. In October, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences released a list of 71 different countries that have submitted films for consideration to be nominated. This list sets a record, marking the largest number of countries to ever submit. This is a huge deal, not just for the countries that submitted but also for the international filmmaking community as a whole. Over the past few years we have seen a seismic shift in the impact of international film in the U.S. More and more foreign films are being released here each year, with hundreds of films receiving either limited or nationwide release in 2012 alone.
We at Lara Media are big film fans and it’s always exciting to see a large number of languages and cultures represented on the big screen. Last month our friends at the Latin American Film Festival screened over half a dozen new Latin films that “showcased perspectives of Latin American culture.” (www.pdxlaff.org). Today I wanted to look back at some of the most influential Spanish-language films to be released in the past few years and to look forward at new films that will be arriving on our shores in the coming months.
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