The Filmic 5: Awards Edition!
Your Weekly Film Superlatives By Critic and Film Scholar Jack Hanley
I. Award Moment That Made Me Cheer This Week
It is well known that I have ALWAYS fostered a love/hate relationship with Award Shows in general- and the Oscars IN PARTICULAR. Indeed, I used to author a yearly column promoting the Independent Spirit Awards as my recommended alternative to the Academy Awards. (And in terms of films and filmmaker discovery for those not as immersed in cinematic deconstruction, I STILL DO.)
In that vein, as I sat down to watch my annual tradition of the celebration of the best of Independent cinema, I was literally on my feet to experience the Best Director win by one of MY long-time beloved auteurs, Sean Baker. Then I heard his acceptance speech...
As a filmmaker who worked alongside my co-director Chris Leising on an independent documentary film that took SO MANY years, so many fundraisers, and so many nights and weekends for us to complete after work (we had mortgages and young daughters at the time), I cannot begin to tell you what his declaration meant to us- and to EVERY indie filmmaker out there trying to have their voices- and stories- heard. I'll let you experience it for yourself...and THANK YOU, Sean- from all of us.
II. Awards Journalism I Loved This Week
While I may champion cinema on the international level, I still always have a soft spot for "home". I am a long-time fan of Denver Post critic and journalist John Wenzel, and his recent interview piece on Oscar Best Director hopeful (and former fellow Coloradoan Brady Corbet) was a wonderful read. Check it out HERE.
While I will be thrilled by a win for ANY of the Best Director nominees tonight, I have a hunch that the next time Brady heads back to the Centennial State, he just might be bringing along a small, golden friend.
III. Script Read That Delighted Me This Week
I think it will be a deserved Oscar tonight for Best Adapted Screenplay nominee Peter Straughan for his clever and marvelous script for CONCLAVE. Thanks to our friends at Deadline and their "Read the Screenplay" program, you can experience it for yourself HERE.
Imagine how thrilled I was then to discover that our friends at Film Independent staged a LIVE reading of this gem of a screenplay featuring some of my favorite comedic actors. (I mean, who BETTER suited to present a script centered on the backroom, back-stabbing gossip gab of the ultimate gaggle of "mean girls"?)
Edward Berger, director of Academy Award-winning All Quiet on the Western Front, and writer Peter Straughan bring their award-winning film to life with an outstanding cast, including Ayo Edebiri (The Bear), B.J. Novak (The Office), Brett Goldstein (Ted Lasso), Lionel Boyce (The Bear), Cooper Koch (Monsters), Josh Gad (Book of Mormon), Jason Mantzoukas (Big Mouth), Patton Oswalt (Young Adult) and Eugenio Derbez (CODA), along with the film’s Golden Globe-winning screenwriter Peter Straughan as narrator. Enjoy!
IV. Guide To What Great Films To Revisit AFTER The Oscars
Ok- so the year that was 2024 in cinema is officially over. What do I watch next? The Sight & Sound poll of the Greatest Films Of All Time is a brilliant place to start. The poll MATTERS because it remains the closest thing cinema has to a canonical ranking of the greatest films ever made—even when we all fight furiously over the rankings.
Conducted every ten years since 1952, the poll carries critical weight because it surveys critics, filmmakers, and scholars rather than relying on popular consensus or box office success- AND serves as a snapshot of the ongoing battles of cinematic discourse—between canonization and revisionism, between auteurism and collective storytelling, between Hollywood dominance and global cinema. It is, ultimately, a subjective argument rather than a definitive verdict, but one that has come to shape WHICH films are restored, taught, and reconsidered. Get on this list in 2025 to revitalize YOUR filmic education.
EXPLORE THE LIST BY CLICKING HERE!
V. Oscar Ballot Predictions I Am Pushing This Week
I am thrilled that one of my favorite cinematic co-conspirators of all time (and my co-host of our film podcast Blindspotting: A Film Discovery Podcast) joined me in a Oscar Ballot showdown for the ages!
Please enjoy our annual Academy Awards Ballot Showdown to find out who WILL WIN, who SHOULD WIN, and our choices for the ACTUAL BEST films and performances of 2024. CLICK HERE TO DOMINATE YOUR OSCAR BALLOT!
And should you have the stomach for it, you can discover more film deconstruction with Scott and Jack via their pod BLINDSPOTTING: A FILM DISCOVERY PODCAST in which two dear friends and Film Festival colleagues attempt to bridge the gaps of their long-distance relationship and their own film educations through a screening and discussion project of the gap films that have thus far eluded their journey of cinematic discovery.
That's all for this week- ENJOY THE OSCARS!
Jack Hanley is a Boulder-based film scholar, podcaster, and critic. He is a programmer with the Chicago Underground Film Festival and Boulder International Film Festival. He is one-half of Blindspotting: A Film Discovery Podcast and Flicker with Jack and Scott on YouTube. Find him at Kinophilia on Medium and at HanleyOnFilm.com