The Venice Film Festival has been a staple location in the Award’s Circuit Round-Up, usually coming in at the back half of the season. The difference this year? A nationwide pandemic that shut down Cannes and Telluride this year. Last week’s Venice Film Festival marks the first international industry event for Films in 2020 and the winners and nominees pave a way to the unprecedented 2021 Oscars.
The film that made the biggest splash at this year’s festival was Chloé Zhao’s “Nomadland” starring Francis McDormand. The film was awarded the highest price at Venice, The Golden Lion which is the first time a woman director has won the prize since 2010 with Sofia Coppola’s “Somewhere.”
In “Nomadland” we follow a group of poverty-stricken adults that have congregated together to create their own form of community. The newly formed tribe of people gather together and travel from place to place, picking up odds and end jobs. Set against the backdrop of the American Southwest, we follow Fern (McDormand) a former teacher in a deserted city in Nevada after a factory closure sends the town into ruins.
Outside of the festival, the only scenes from the film that have been released are from the quick Teaser Trailer that dropped last week where we see Fern wandering through the commune with the other nomads. Just from these brief thirty seconds, we can see the wide-scale sweeping nature of the cinematography which is no doubt going to be nominated at the 2021 Oscars. Other considerations coming out of the film include Zhao for Best Director, McDormand for Best Actress and potential for Best Picture.
Teaser Trailer for Nomadland - Coming to Theaters in December
"Nomadland" is due out December 2021.
The second film to keep an eye on is “Pieces of a Woman” which after premiering at Venice to rave reviews, has been snatched up by Netflix and is looking at a Fall release on the streaming site. The film debuted this past week to critical acclaim and Vanessa Kirby who plays the lead, was awarded Volpi Cup at the Festival for Best Actress. This win and acquisition means that Kirby is a definite Awards contender for the Academy Awards Best Actress. Kirby is best known for her portrayal as Princess Margaret in the early seasons of "The Crown".
The film “Pieces of a Woman”, directed by Kornél Mundruczó in his first English language film, centers around a young couple, grappling with the sudden and destructive loss of their newborn baby. Vanessa Kirby who plays Martha and Shia LaBeouf as her husband Sean, begin on an emotional journey after the loss of their baby.
Clip from "Pieces of a Woman" - Coming Soon to Netflix.
Keep a look out for both films slated for a 2020 release, they will be in the Awards conversation for the 2021 Academy Awards.
And that's the sitch.
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