Foreign Language Oscar Submissions V
March: Foreign Language Oscar Submissions V, FLMTQ Releases 282-286
During the month of March Filmatique presents Foreign Language Oscar Submissions V, a collection of films from Romania, Poland, Kazakhstan, North Macedonia, and Turkey—nations that have rarely, if ever, been nominated for the award.
Călin Peter Netzer's Golden Bear-winning Child's Pose is a riveting class commentary set in contemporary Romania; Małgorzata Szumowska and Michał Englert's Never Gonna Snow Again weaves an elliptical, magical-realist journey of a Ukrainian masseur and his misadventures within a well-to-do Polish gated community. Akan Satayev's The Road to Mother and Milčho Mančhevski's Willow offer resonant perspectives on motherhood in decades-spanning narratives set in Kazakhstan and North Macedonia, respectively. Turkish master Nuri Bilge Ceylan's Palme d'Or-winning Winter Sleep lingers in the latent class tensions and family disaffections that collide at a remote hotel in Cappadocia.
In the 64 years since the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film has existed, only 28 nations have ever been represented onstage. Kazakhstan has submitted 12 films to the Oscars since gaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991—the nation was nominated for the first and only time, in 2007, for Sergei Bodrov's Mongol. Poland won the prize once, for Paweł Pawlikowski's Ida (2014); Romania has never won, its first nomination occurring last year with Alexander Nanau's Collective. North Macedonia has been nominated twice, for Milčho Mančhevski's previous film Before the Rain and Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov's Honeyland. Nuri Bilge Ceylan's Three Monkeys made the December shortlist in 2008—to date, Turkey has never been nominated.
Probing themes of social class, motherhood, and war, Filmatique's Foreign Language Oscar Submissions V series seeks to present a more diverse and expansive vision of international cinema by celebrating films from underrepresented nations.
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Child's Pose, Călin Peter Netzer (2013)
Child's Pose, Călin Peter Netzer / Romania, 2013
Cornelia has earned a living. A successful architect in Bucharest, she is also estranged from her son Barbu, a state of affairs she ascribes to Barbu's girlfriend. Despite all the luxuries her success has afforded him, Barbu seemingly wants nothing to do with his mother. When he is involved in a tragic car accident, striking and killing a young peasant boy, Cornelia will do whatever it takes to keep Barbu out of jail and, ultimately, win back his love.
A chilling portrait of obsession, corruption, and the logical limits of motherly care, Child's Pose immerses the spectator in the ambiguous ethics of the Eastern European bourgeoisie. Cãlin Peter Netzer's third feature premiered at BFI London, Karvloy Vary, and the Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the Golden Bear for Best Film. Child's Pose was the official Romanian entry to the 86th Academy Awards, but was not nominated.
Never Gonna Snow Again, Małgorzata Szumowska & Michał Englert (2020)
Never Gonna Snow Again, Małgorzata Szumowska & Michał Englert / Poland-Germany-Netherlands, 2020
Zhenia arrives from the East with barely a suitcase, a folding massage bed draped over his shoulder. Navigating a series of highway underpasses to the Polish immigration office, he declares his intention to stay. Zhenia may or may not have magical abilities—after stamping his residence permit himself, he is soon embedded in a suburban gated community. Despite the shiny veneer of these wealthy residents' lives, they harbor untold sadness, secrets and longing. Something about Zhenia's hands heals these icy figures, who never bother to inquire of his wellbeing or enigmatic past.
A beguiling, atmospheric tale of a Ukrainian migrant in Eastern Europe, Never Gonna Snow Again touches upon themes of immigration and climate change in a spellbinding social satire. From prolific Romanian director Małgorzata Szumowska (Mug, Body, The Other Lamb) and frequent collaborator Michał Englert, Never Gonna Snow Again premiered at Camerimage, Telluride, Göteborg, and the Venice International Film Festival, where it won a Special Mention. Never Gonna Snow Again was Poland's official submission to the 93rd Academy Awards. It was not nominated.
The Road to Mother, Akan Satayev (2016)
The Road to Mother, Akan Satayev / Kazakhstan-Belarus, 2016
1922. A boy, Ilyas, is born to a nomadic family in the Kazakh steps. Some years later, soldiers arrive to enforce Soviet the policy of collective farming, polarizing the community among those who welcome change, and those who don't. Ilyas's family divides among these fault lines; in a fit of violence Ilyas is kidnapped and separated from his mother. Over the course of several decades, both mother and son seek to find each other once more.
A sweeping historical drama, The Road to Mother depicts several chapters of Kazakh history through an intimate story of war, famine, collectivization, and maternal love. Akan Satayev's seventh feature premiered at Moscow, the New York Eurasian Film Festival, and the Eurasian Bridge Festival in Crimea. The Road to Mother was Kazakhstan's official submission to the 90th Academy Awards, but was not nominated.
Willow, Milčho Mančhevski (2019)
Willow, Milčho Mančhevski / Republic of Macedonia-Hungary-Belgium, 2019
Donka and her husband Milan live in a medieval village, having been married for five years. Despite their overwhelming wish to conceive, they have not been able to. In a moment of desperation, they turn to an old woman who will help them bear many children, but only if she gives them their firstborn. Many years later, in present-day Macedonia, Branko and Rodna meet in unexpected circumstances, and fall in love—they, too, cannot conceive, and thus turn to IVF. Having faced the same challenges, Rodna's sister adopts a five-year old boy. But in all these cases, good fortune is easily reversed.
Filmed in a resplendent cinematographic style and featuring naturalistic performances from its ensemble cast of characters, Willow traces the universal resonances of a series of interlocking stories in which women yearn to become mothers. Milčho Mančhevski's sixth feature premiered at Rome, Tallinn, Sarajevo and Raindance, where it won Best Director. Willow was North Macedonia's submission for the 93rd Academy Awards, but it was not nominated.
Winter Sleep, Nuri Bilge Ceylan (2014)