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“The best antidote for a bad election is a good movie,” Richard M. Nixon once proclaimed, and for many filmgoers this week Conclave helped blot out the political noise. A papal thriller with a shock ending, Conclave’s impact again raises the question of whether serious adult fare can again command a strong market niche.

The setting of Conclave is itself a departure: The Pope is dead. The Vatican’s prayerfully powerful College of Cardinals is locked in its sanctorum, weathering intrigues about a potential new leader.

Directed by Edward Berger (All Quiet on the Western Front), a regally robed cardinal, Ralph Fiennes, struggles to sustain calm in the face of sexual and political challenges raised by Stanley Tucci and John Lithgow, among others.

The Focus Features unit of Comcast once provided a major dent in...

Konstantin Stanislavski, the father of modern acting, famously said, “There are no small parts, only small actors.” Isabella Rossellini speaks to this quote with determined ferocity.

Rossellini’s captivating seven-minute, 51-second appearance in Edward Berger’s 120-minute religious thriller “Conclave” could be enough to earn the veteran actor the first Oscar nomination of her career.

Portraying Sister Agnes, a nun who quietly maneuvers within the Catholic Church’s power struggles as it faces the monumental task of selecting a new pope, Rossellini’s restrained yet powerful turn is generating awards buzz for supporting actress. While some Oscar pundits may question if her limited screen time will be a hurdle, her role aligns perfectly with the original intent of the supporting categories, established at the 9th Academy Awards in 1936 to recognize impactful, secondary performances.

Read: You can see all Academy Award predictions in all 23 categories on one page on the Variety Awards Circuit: Oscars.

Updated with latest: The Palm Springs Film Festival has set Adrien Brody for its 2025 Desert Palm Achievement Award, Actor, for his “career best” turn in The Brutalist, and Conclave is set for its Ensemble Performance Award. The latter will be presented to stars Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, and Lucian Msamati.

“In The Brutalist, Adrien Brody delivers a stunning performance as architect László Toth following his escape to America to rebuild his life, having been forced to flee Europe at the end of the war. Brody’s mesmerizing portrayal showcases the depth of human dignity in the face of incredible suffering,” festival Chairman Nachhattar Singh Chandi said.

“Conclave is a thought-provoking drama, one which delivers edge-of-your-seat suspense by way of its outstanding ensemble of actors including Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Lucian Msamati and Isabella Rossellini,” Chandi said. “Together, they deliver powerful and multi-layered performances in Edward Berger...

Director Edward Berger‘s award-winning last film, “All’s Quiet on the Western Front,” recounting the horrors of war, but the battles waged in his latest film, “Conclave,” are of a far more subtle nature, though perhaps equally treacherous. For Berger, though, both films are connected by a personal motivation.

“I need to feel that I have something to say with this movie and that I connect to it, that it comes from within me, that I know why I’m getting up in the morning,” he tells Gold Derby. “That’s the main thing. I need to know why am I making this movie, who am I making it for, and why am I making it now…. That’s what drives me.”

“Conclave,” which is currently among the top five films predicted to be nominated for Best Picture, along with other categories, is a thrilling drama starring Ralph Fiennes as Cardinal Lawrence,...

Model, actor and animal behaviorist Isabella Rossellini has no regrets. At the golden age of 72, the child of actress Ingrid Bergman and Italian director Roberto Rossellini has learned her fair share of lessons during her five decades-long career. Now, in Edward Berger’s papal whodunnit Conclave, Rossellini transfers that resilience to Sister Agnes, a primarily silent yet intimidating nun tasked with caring for the cardinals as they meet to elect a new Pope after the former one dies under mysterious circumstances. As the candidates, marshaled by Cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes), backstab and clandestinely strategize, Sister Agnes holds crucial information.

Deadline: You’ve had so many varied roles in your long career. What made you want to be a part of this one?

Isabella Rossellini: The script was a page-turner. I read it several times, especially the ending. It is a very surprising ending that I found very moving because...

Bei der Verleihung des Ensemblepreises werden die Hauptdarsteller von Edward Bergers „Konklave“ auf dem Palm Springs International Film Festival erwartet.

Das Ensemble von Edward Bergers „Konklave“ (hier unsere Spot-Besprechung), der am 21. November in den deutschen Kinos startet, wird am 3. Januar beim Palm Springs International Film Festival (2. bis 13. Januar) mit dem Ensemblepreis ausgezeichnet.

Wie das Festival jetzt bekannt gegeben hat werden die Darsteller Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, Isabella Rossellini, John Lithgow und Lucian Msamati zur Preisverleihung erwartet.

„‚Konklave‘ ist ein nachdenklich stimmendes Drama, das durch sein hervorragendes Schauspielerensemble, darunter Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Lucian Msamati und Isabella Rossellini, für Spannung sorgt. Gemeinsam liefern sie in Edward Bergers Film kraftvolle und vielschichtige Darbietungen, die das Publikum in dieser Preisverleihungssaison in ihren Bann ziehen werden. Für die brillanten und fesselnden Charakterisierungen dieser Schauspieler verleihen wir ‚Konclave‘ den diesjährigen Ensemble-Performance-Preis“, erklärt “, so der Vorsitzende des Palm Springs International Film Festival, Nachhattar Singh Chandi.

The Palm Springs International Film Awards will honor Edward Berger’s Catholic drama “Conclave” with the ensemble performance award on Jan. 3 at the Palm Springs International Film Festival, which runs from Jan. 2-13.

Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, Isabella Rossellini, John Lithgow, and Lucian Msamati are expected to be on hand to accept the award.

“’Conclave’ is a thought-provoking drama, one which delivers edge-of-your-seat suspense by way of its outstanding ensemble of actors including Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Lucian Msamati and Isabella Rossellini,” said festival chairman Nachhattar Singh Chandi. “Together, they deliver powerful and multi-layered performances in Edward Berger’s film that will mesmerize audiences throughout this award season. For these actors’ brilliant and captivating characterizations, we present ‘Conclave’ with this year’s ensemble performance award.”

“Conclave,” based on the 2016 novel by Robert Harris, follows Thomas Lawrence (Fiennes), a Cardinal of waning faith who must lead the selection of...

There’s a new frontrunner in Gold Derby’s Oscar odds for Best Actor: Adrien Brody (“The Brutalist”). The American actor has officially broken his tie with Ralph Fiennes (“Conclave”) to claim the No. 1 position on our chart at the upcoming 2025 Oscars. Of course, it’s still quite early in this awards season, and things could keep changing as our experts, editors, and users continue to update their predictions.

Brody plays László Tóth, a Hungarian-Jewish architect and Holocaust survivor, who emigrates to the United States in the 1940s in the hopes of achieving the American Dream. While László is waiting for his wife (Felicity Jones) to join him, he starts working with his cousin (Alessandro Nivola) at a furniture store, and he eventually comes into contact with a wealthy industrialist (Guy Pearce). The A24 fictional drama is directed by Brady Corbet, and is written by Corbet and Mona Fastvold.

To date,...

Andras Hamori, the Hungarian film and television producer whose credits included Atom Egoyan’s The Sweet Hereafter, István Szabó’s Sunshine and David Cronenberg’s eXistenZ, has died. He was 71.

Hamori died Sept. 2 in Budapest after a long illness that prevented him from working in recent years, his friend Mia Taylor announced.

Hamori, who worked out of Toronto early in his career and was a partner in Alliance Entertainment, also guided the cult horror classic The Gate (1987), starring Stephen Dorff in his first major role; Stephen Frears’ Chéri (2009), starring Michelle Pfeiffer; and the 2014 History Channel miniseries Houdini, starring Adrien Brody.

The Sweet Hereafter (1997), which earned Egoyan Oscar nominations for best director and adapted screenplay, revolved around a school bus accident in a Canadian town that killed 14 children.

Sunshine (1999) told the story of several generations of a Jewish family set against the backdrop of Hungarian history. It starred Ralph Fiennes, was...

Ralph Fiennes stars as Odysseus in the upcoming drama The Return, a new take on Homer’s Odyssey. Trailer here!

Ralph Fiennes will soon star in Conclave, the Vatican-set drama in which he struggles to juggle conspiracy and politicking during a papal election. That film comes courtesy of All Quiet On The Western Front's Edward Berger and lands in UK cinemas on the 29th of November. Fiennes takes the lead in a very starry ensemble.

If that’s not enough Ralph Fiennes looking intense and careworn for you then fear not, because December will bring you more in The Return. It’s a new take on Homer’s Odyssey, the ancient Greek epic poem that is one of the oldest works of literature in the world.

The film is set to take on the part of the tale where Odysseus, now a veteran of the Trojan War, returns to find...

If the 2025 Oscars nominations were announced today, what would Gold Derby predict as the nominees and winners? Since our predictions center opened on July 1, 2024, more than 5,500 people have made their forecasts in 18 top categories. So who’s out front to claim these golden trophies, according to the Gold Derby Oscar predictions 2025?

Below, see a snapshot in time of our racetrack odds for the 97th Academy Awards, updated on November 11, 2024. See how the odds and rankings have changed over time by examining our previous Oscar snapshots on July 3, July 9, July 16, July 23, July 29, August 6, August 19, August 28, September 11, September 19, September 23, September 30, October 7, October 14, October 22, October 28, and November 4.

Now expected to receive a nomination since the last update: “Wicked” in Best Picture, Marianne Jean-Baptiste (“Hard Truths”) in Best Actress, and both “September 5” and “The Substance” in Best Original Screenplay.

See Make your Oscar predictions right now — it’s fun and easy!

Gold Derby’s...

Since his nearly half-decade-old, internationally co-produced “Nowhere Special,” Uberto Pasolini has returned to the director’s chair with “The Return.” Retelling the Greek epic Homer’s “The Odyssey,” the story tells of Odysseus, who, upon returning, realizes things are not the same as when he left twenty years ago for the Trojan War. Now, both his wife and son are in danger, and it is up to him to confront it all and save his family.

Continue reading ‘The Return’ Trailer: Ralph Fiennes All-Star Historical Film Hits Theaters December 2024 at The Playlist.

"If I were free, I'd fight for what was mine. I'd fight for my people." Bleecker Street FIlms has revealed an official trailer for The Return, a brand new take on the The Odyssey story from Italian filmmaker Uberto Pasolini. This film skipped Venice and ended up premiering at the Toronto & Chicago Film Festivals this fall, with a US release now set for December in theaters. Based on the classic story written by Homer. After 20 years Odysseus finally returns to Ithaca, where he finds his wife held prisoner by suitors vying to be king and his son facing death at their hands. To win back his family and all he has lost, Odysseus must rediscover his strength and fight back. The film reunites actors Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche 30 years after their Academy Award winning triumph in The English Patient. The cast also includes Charlie Plummer, Marwan Kenzari, Claudio Santamaria,...

With his acclaimed drama Nowhere Special finally getting a U.S. release this past summer, four years after its premiere, Uberto Pasolini is now back with his next feature. The Return, which reunites the powerhouse duo of Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche, is an adaptation of Homer’s Odyssey. Following a TIFF world premiere, Bleecker Street will release it in theaters on December 6 and now the first trailer has arrived.

Here’s the synopsis: “After 20 years away, Odysseus (Fiennes) washes up on the shores of Ithaca, haggard and unrecognizable. The King has returned from the Trojan War, but much has changed in his kingdom. His beloved wife Penelope (Binoche) is a prisoner in her own home, hounded by suitors vying to be king. Their son Telemachus faces death at the hands of these suitors, who see him as merely an obstacle to their pursuit of the kingdom. Odysseus has also...

Ralph Fiennes may be turning heads this awards season for his buzzy performance as Cardinal Lawrence in “Conclave,” but the two-time Academy Award nominee is showing off a different set of skills in epic saga “The Return.”

Fiennes stars as the iconic hero Odysseus in the TIFF-selected feature, which is co-written, directed, and produced by Uberto Pasolini, who previously moved viewers to tears this year with “Nowhere Special.” Juliette Binoche plays Odysseus’ wife Penelope, who has to protect the throne in the aftermath of the Trojan War.

The official synopsis reads: “After 20 years away, Odysseus (Fiennes) washes up on the shores of Ithaca, haggard and unrecognizable. The King has returned from the Trojan War, but much has changed in his kingdom. His beloved wife Penelope (Binoche) is a prisoner in her own home, hounded by suitors vying to be king. Their son Telemachus faces death at the hands of these suitors,...

Palestinian director Scandar Copti’s Happy Holidays has won the Golden Alexander-Theo Angelopoulos prize for best film at the 65th Thessaloniki International Film Festival, which ran from October 31-November 10.

The family drama centring on an Arab-speaking Israeli family premiered earlier this year in Venice’s Horizons strand, winning best screenplay. Copti had previously won the best film and screenplay prizes at Thessaloniki in 2009 for his Academy Award nominated Ajami.

The Silver Alexander for best director went to Belgian Leonardo van Dijl for his debut feature Julie Keeps Quiet, winner of the Sacd award in Cannes Critics’ Week sidebar.

The jury of the international competition,...

“Venom: The Last Dance” topped the box office for the third consecutive weekend, while the faith-based Christmas comedy “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” led all newcomers during another slow frame at local theaters.

According to Sunday estimates, “Venom 3” grossed $16.2 million over the weekend, good for $114.8 million in North America since its debut last month. The final entry in the Tom Hardy Spider-man spin-off franchise has grossed close to $400 million worldwide so far and has at least another weekend to grab significant cash from mainstream moviegoers before “Wicked” and “Gladiator II” hit theaters on November 22.

“The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” was the runner-up film according to estimates, with $11.1 million. Released by Lionsgate, the film stars Judy Greer and Lauren Graham and focuses on a family of juvenile delinquent siblings who wind up starring in the town Christmas pageant. Its based on the book by Barbara Robinson.

In third place was A24’s “Heretic” with $11 million.

“Venom: The Last Dance” is looming over the domestic box office in its third weekend of release. The third and final installment in Sony’s comic book trilogy has added $16.2 million from 3,905 North American theaters, down 37% from the prior frame and enough to lead over two newcomers, A24’s horror thriller “Heretic” and Lionsgate’s family friendly “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.”

Although those new releases weren’t able to topple “Venom 3” from No. 1, they opened on the higher end of expectations, thanks to word-of-mouth and the otherwise desolate movie theater landscape. Hollywood mostly avoided the post-election weekend out of concern that people wouldn’t be paying attention to anything other than the presidential race. As a result, overall domestic box office revenues remain down more than 11% from 2023 and nearly 27% from 2019, according to Comscore.

“Heretic,” featuring “Notting Hill” star Hugh Grant playing against type as a villain, notched third place with $11 million from 3,221 venues.

“Conclave” costume designer Lisy Christl made some changes to the vestments worn by the Catholic cardinals, whose look in real life is quickly recognizable, to bring them to the screen. The first change: the fabric. Christl opted for a heavier wool than what is used in the real-life clothing.

The other big modification was to the standard red. For the film, Christl explains, “I went to a costume house in Rome, and they gave me an original robe. I showed it to [director] Edward Berger and our Dp (Stéphane Fontaine) and said, ‘If you look at this for two hours, it might be difficult on your eyes.’” Christl, who was nominated for an Oscar in 2012 for “Anonymous,” looked at older robes dating back to the 15th century through the 1960s and noted they were darker. She chose that darker shade because it would read better on camera.

The film, currently in theaters,...

The Oscar-tipped papal saga, starring Ralph Fiennes, offers all the thrills of an election … without the grim reality

Given, well … everything this week, you could be forgiven for never wanting to think about an election again. Which makes Conclave, a tense drama about the methodical, furtive, ruthless process of electing a new pope, sound like a tough sell for those reeling from the fact that over half the country voted for Donald Trump again. The film, starring Ralph Fiennes as the cardinal tasked with overseeing the sequestered voting bloc, embeds with the rarefied, insular elite of a storied and embattled institution – the Vatican – ostensibly concerned with the future of said institution. And its subjects are, fittingly, highly fallible men prone to bouts of detrimental self-interest, particularly in the power struggle of choosing a new leader.

And yet, this is movie I’ve been telling people to see this week, as...

‘La Habitación de al Lado’ encabeza las nominaciones y Karla Sofía Gascón opta al premio a la Mejor Actriz. © Warner Bros| Elástica Films | DeAPlaneta

Ya se conocen las nominaciones a la 37ª edición de los Premios del Cine Europeo (Efa), y España está de enhorabuena: La habitación de al lado, de Pedro Almodóvar encabeza las nominaciones (junto a Emilia Pérez) y la española Karla Sofía Gascón se encuentra nominada a la Mejor Actriz. Además, las películas animadas españolas El sueño de la sultana y Dispararon al pianista se llevan dos nominaciones cada una. Los ganadores de los premios se anunciarán el 7 de diciembre de 2024. Aquí está la lista de nominados:

Mejor PELÍCULA Europea

Bye Bye Tiberias

Dahomey

Emilia Pérez

Flow

In Limbo

Living Large

No Other Land

Savages

Soundtrack to a Coup D’Etat

El sueño de la sultana

La habitación de al lado

The Seed of the Sacred Fig...

“The Return” is a new mythic historical feature, directed by Uberto Pasolini, starring Ralph Fiennes, Charlie Plummer, Juliette Binoche, Edward Bond and John Collee, releasing December 6, 2024 in theaters:

“…20 years after being washed up on the shores of Ithaca, ‘Odysseus’ finally returns home. But much has changed for this King’s kingdom since he left to fight in the ‘Trojan War’.

“His beloved wife ‘Penelope’ is now a prisoner in her own home, hounded by her many ambitious suitors to choose a new husband, a new king…”

Click the images to enlarge…...

After her recent Tony-winning turn in the play “Prima Facie” and finally bringing Jeff Nichols’ “The Bikeriders” into theaters after a late-act distributor switcheroo last year, British star Jodie Comer is keeping very busy indeed. The Emmy-winning “Killing Eve” star will next appear in a pair of hot new films from lauded directors, but before that, she was on hand at this year’s Scad Savannah Film Festival to accept the fest’s Etoile Award.

As part of the honor, Comer spent an hour last Sunday morning talking through her career (so far) in front of a rapt and excited crowd at the Scad Museum of Art. The chat was moderated by yours truly, and the generous Comer happily and astutely unpacked her work, how she got here, and what’s next. And, yes, that includes teasing two big film projects she has on the horizon.

Over the summer, she...

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Ana de Armas is a brilliant and beautiful actor and she has proven her acting chops time and time again by giving several brilliant performances in recent years. She even added James Bond to the growing list of films. The Cuban actress is fluent in both Spanish and English and she has made a great career for herself in Hollywood by working with brilliant directors and actors. So, if you also love Armas’ brilliant performances and want to see more of her here are the 7 best movies starring Ana de Armas you can watch right now.

7. Ghosted (Apple TV+) Credit – Apple TV+

Ghosted is a romantic comedy spy action-adventure film directed by Dexter Fletcher from a screenplay co-written by Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, Chris McKenna, and Erik Sommers. The 2023 film follows Cole who falls head over heels for...

When director Paolo Sorrentino’s hit series The Young Pope debuted in 2016, it took the Vatican a year to grudgingly bless his imagined and occasionally blasphemous portrayal of the pope. Not so for Sorrentino’s latest film Parthenope, which has gotten an early thumbs-down from Italy’s Catholic Church.

That has only seemed to pique interest in the film, driving it to the top of the box office here for Italian films since its release in theaters last month.

Set in Sorrentino’s native Naples, the film is a lush meditation on beauty, love and death, drawn from the Greek myth of the siren Parthenope, who throws herself into the sea after she fails to entice Odysseus with her song. Parthenope is closely affiliated with Naples, such that the city is sometimes called “Partenope” and its people “Partenopei” in Italian.

The film is by no means about the church, but toward the end,...

Historically, Netflix has typically been the biggest bidder in the room, ready to throw down some serious cash to acquire whichever project they have in their sights, but that could be changing. According to Variety, Netflix offered Emerald Fennell (Saltburn) a whopping $150 million for her upcoming adaptation of Emily Brontë’s classic novel Wuthering Heights, but she turned it down.

Instead, Fennell took a $80 million offer from Warner Bros., which reportedly “shocked” Netflix as they “had outbid [every other studio] for so long.” The reason comes down to Fennell wanting a theatrical release for the film, which Warner Bros. fully supports, promising a wide release and a full marketing campaign. “Netflix has the biggest number of subscribers and scale, so they can afford to play the game that they’re playing,” said Eric Handler, an analyst at Roth Capital Partners. “But there’s a growing contingent of directors and movie stars who are saying,...

Conclave Box Office (North America): Crosses A Significant Mark (Photo Credit – Instagram)

Ralph Fiennes-led mystery thriller Conclave, directed by Edward Berger, is helping to keep exhibitors’ faces bright. It had a relatively limited release but has now passed a significant mark at the North American box office. Scroll below for the deets.

It is competing with big movies like Venom: The Last Dance and The Wild Robot, which have more theatre counts, yet it is securing a spot in the domestic top five. It is performing better than Joker 2, and its reported budget is ten times less than Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga’s movie. Some critics even called Ralph’s thriller flick one of the best films of this year.

According to BoxOfficeReport.com, Ralph Fiennes’s starrer Conclave collected more than half a million dollars on Monday. Although it witnessed a dip of 28%, the film...

Here’s the latest episode of The Filmmakers Podcast, part of the podcast roster here on Nerdly. If you haven’t heard the show yet, you can check out previous episodes on the official podcast site, whilst we’ll be featuring each and every new episode as it premieres.

For those unfamiliar with the series, The Filmmakers Podcast is a podcast about how to make films from micro-budget indie films to bigger-budget studio films and everything in between. Our hosts Giles Alderson, Dom Lenoir, Dan Richardson, Andrew Rodger and Cristian James talk about how to get films made, how to actually make them and how to try not to f… it up in their very humble opinion. Guests will come on and chat about their filmmaking experiences from directors, writers, producers and screenwriters, to actors, cinematographers and distributors.

The Filmmaker’s Podcast #422: Conclave – A Screenwriting Superclass with Oscar Nominated...

French sales Other Angle (“A Little Something Extra”) has boarded “Ph-1,” a tech-driven political thriller starring Mark Kassen, Abubakar Salim, Dina Shihabi, Vinessa Shaw and Jesse L. Martin.

An actor-filmmaker, Kassen directed the movie from a script he co-wrote with Cheryl Guerriero. Kassen produced the movie alongside Iliana Nikolic under his production banner Like Minded Entertainment.

“Ph-1” follows a politician with a promising future who is trapped in his luxurious penthouse by a remote captor and is forced to witness his life destroyed by social and conventional media. He embarks on a journey to escape the premise while also struggling to uncover who framed him and why.

An actor-turned-filmmaker, Kassen previously directed “Puncture” starring Chris Evans, and “Bernard and Doris” starring Ralph Fiennes and Susan Sarandon for HBO, as well Evans’s “Before We Go.”

Now completed, “Ph-1” has a contemporary resonance, Kassen said, because “we are reliving the cultural landscape of the 1970’s.

“Anora” has remained Gold Derby’s predictions front-runner to win Best Picture at the 2025 Oscars for several months now, but the runner-up position has kept our awards pundits on their toes. In fact, there is now a three-way tie for second place, as “Emilia Perez,” “The Brutalist,” and “Conclave” all have the same odds of 17/2, compared to “Anora’s” leading 15/2 odds. Note that the Oscar odds will continue to change as our Experts from major media outlets, our website staff Editors, and our Users keep making or updating their predictions.

Sean Baker‘s “Anora” stars Mikey Madison as the titular Brooklyn stripper who gets married to a Russian oligarch (Mark Eydelshteyn). Its Oscar chances received a major boost earlier this year when it won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. The dramedy has the support of these 14 Oscar Experts: Anne Thompson (Indiewire), Cole Jaeger (The Oscar Expert...

To say the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has become more international in recent years doesn’t quite paint a full enough picture of how tastes have changed. More accurately, the Academy has become more European, so when awards bodies like the British Independent Film Awards or the European Film Awards announce their nominations, take note.

The film that arguably got the biggest show of support from both parties is documentary “No Other Land,” directed by a Palestinian-Israeli collective, chronicling Israel’s destructive occupation of the West Bank’s Masafer Yatta, all before the events of October 7, 2023. While it’s been a mainstay at fall film festivals from Telluride to Toronto to New York after first winning Best Documentary at the Berlinale, “No Other Land” has been entirely self-distributed. Already without studio support, the film lacks the backing of celebrities the way “To Kill a Tiger” (another film...

[Editor’s note: This article contains spoilers for “Conclave.”]

Tucked in a warehouse in the Cinecittá complex in Rome is something you’d otherwise need to pay 20€ to see in person: The largest film studio in Europe has a collection of painted flats that, when brought together, create a replica of the Sistine Chapel. For “Conclave” production designer Suzie Davies, however, replicating Vatican environments was never the end goal. It was only the beginning.

For one thing, Davies wanted to tweak the layout of the chapel (and the painted flattage she was able to swipe from that warehouse) so that the film’s Sistine Chapel would feel more political. That meant adjusting the seating for the College of Cardinals so they faced each other, like some twisted, gilt session of Congress. “We built up to 10 meters, and then the other 10 meters is a set extension. But our painters painted a good chunk of it, and they’re extraordinary,...

The 37th European Film Awards, which take place annually in the lakeside Swiss city of Lucerne, have unveiled their nominations for 2024. Unsurprisingly, the list is led by French director Jacques Audiard’s Spanish-language cartel musical “Emilia Pérez” with four nominations including European Film and Best Actress for Karla Sofia Gascón. Surprisingly, Audiard, previously a five-time Efa nominee, has never won a prize from the European Film Academy, which boasts more than 5,000 members across the continent. Getting a boost is Mohammad Rasoulof’s Iranian family thriller “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” with three nominations including European Film. It’s Germany’s submission for the International Feature Oscar this year due to its dominantly European production despite filming in secret in banished director Rasoulof’s home country.

European Film Award staple Pedro Almodóvar’s Venice Golden Lion winner “The Room Next Door” notched four noms including European Film, Director, Actress for Tilda Swinton,...

Jacques Audiard‘s “Emilia Pérez” and Pedro Almodóvar‘s “The Room Next Door” topped Tuesday’s 37th European Film Awards nominations with four apiece.

Both are up for Best European Film, Best European Director, and Best European Screenwriter prizes, while their leads, Karla Sofía Gascón in “Emilia Pérez” and Tilda Swinton in “The Room Next Door,” will face off in Best European Actress.

Mohammad Rasoulof‘s “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” nabbed three nominations for film, director, and screenwriter. Coralie Fargeat‘s word-of-mouth hit “The Substance” scored two bids for film and screenwriter honors.

For the first time, films nominated for Best European Documentary and Best Animated Feature Film are eligible in the Best European Film category, leading to an expanded list of 15 nominees. Also making the cut for the top prize are Italy’s Oscar entry “Vermiglio,” Senegal’s entry “Dahomey,” and Latvia’s entry and animated film “Flow.

Neben der deutschen Oscareinreichung können sich auch Lars Eidinger, Franz Rogowski und Soleen Yusefs „Sieger sein“ Hoffnungen auf eine Auszeichnung bei den European Film Awards machen.

In einem Nominierungsvideo sind heute die Nominierungen in den Hauptkategorien für die Verleihung der European Film Awards am 7. Dezember in Luzern bekannt gegeben worden.

Insgesamt dreimal nominiert wurde Mohammad Rasoulofs „Die Saat des heiligen Feigenbaums“. Die deutsche Oscareinreichung wurde in der Kategorie European Film, in der in diesem Jahr erstmals auch Filme aus den Kategorien European Documentary und European Animated Feature berücksichtigt wurden, Rasoulof in den Kategorien European Director und European Screenwriter.

In der Kategorie European Actor konkurrieren die deutschen Schauspieler Franz Rogowski („Bird“) und Lars Eidinger („Sterben“) miteinander um einen European Film Award.

Für den European Film Award in der Kategorie Young Audience Award nominiert ist Soleen Yousefs „Sieger sein“.

Die Nominierungen im Überblick:

European Film:

• „Bye Bye Tiberias (Regie: Lina Soualem)

• „Dahomey...

Emilia Pérez and The Room Next Door have emerged as the front-runners for the European Film Awards 2024, with four nominations apiece.

The nominations for the main categories of this year’s awards, which take place on December 7 in Lucerne, were announced this morning by the European Film Academy.

Scroll down for full list of nominations

Fifteen features compete for the best European film prize, up from five last year. This follows a recent rule change which means that films shortlisted for the best documentary and animation categories can also compete in the section.

Emilia Pérez is nominated in the best European film category,...

The European Film Awards has broadened the scope of its prestigious Best European Film category for this year’s ceremony. Documentaries and animated features will now be eligible to compete alongside traditional narrative films for the top honor.

This change is reflected in the nominations announced ahead of the December 7 ceremony in Lucerne, Switzerland. A record 15 films are nominated in the expanded Best European Film category, representing a variety of storytelling formats. This includes narrative films like “Emilia Pérez” and “The Substance,” documentaries such as Mati Diop’s “Dahomey” and Lina Soualem’s “Bye Bye Tiberias,” as well as the animated film “Flow” by Gints Zilbalodis.

The directing category also highlights both established names and newcomers. Past winner Pedro Almodóvar received a nomination for “The Room Next Door,” alongside Jacques Audiard for “Emilia Pérez,” Andrea Arnold for “Bird,” Mohammad Rasoulof for “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” and Maura Delpero for “Vermiglio.

The nominees for this year’s European Film Awards have been unveiled, with “Emilia Pérez,” “The Substance” and “The Room Next Door” all up for best European film.

Movies also in the running for the ceremony’s top award — which was expanded this year to documentaries and animated features — include Lina Soualem’s “Bye Bye Tiberias”; Mati Diop’s “Dahomey”; Gints Zilbalodis’ “Flow”; Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Basel Adra and Hamdan Balla’s “No Other Land”; Mohammad Rasoulof’s “The Seed of the Sacred Fig”; and Maura Delpero’s “Vermiglio.”

“Emilia Pérez” and “The Substance” lead the nominees overall, with each film scoring four respective nominations. The winners will be revealed during an awards ceremony on Dec. 7 in Lucerne, Switzerland.

See all the nominees below.

European Film

“Bye Bye Tiberias” — documentary film, directed by Lina Soualem, produced by Jean-Marie Nizan, Guillaume Malandrin and Ossama Bawardi

“Dahomey” — documentary film, directed by Mati Diop,...

The Substance by Coralie Fargeat, Emilia Pérez by Jacques Audiard, The Room Next Door by Pedro Almodóvar, and The Seed of the Sacred Fig by Mohammad Rasoulof are among the nominees for the 2024 European Film Awards (EFAs), organizers unveiled on Tuesday.

Emilia Pérez and The Room Next Door earned four noms each, including for best European film and best director. Sacred Fig is up for the best film, best director, and best screenwriter prizes. The Substance is in the running for the best film and best screenwriter honors.

In the best actress race, Emilia Pérez star Karla Sofía Gascón faces Renate Reinsve, Tilda Swinton for her role in The Room Next Door, and The Girl With the Needle actresses Trine Dyrholm and Vic Carmen Sonne. For The Girl With the Needle, Magnus von Horn and Line Langebek are also nominated in the best screenwriter category.

Queer star Daniel Craig and...

Producer Michael Jackman has done it all.

He has 35 years of experience in all aspects of motion pictures. Most recently he’s produced “Conclave,” a papal thriller starring Ralph Fiennes that looks to be a big awards contender this season. But before that, he was EVP of physical production and post at FilmNation Entertainment. While there, he worked on movies like “Arrival,” “Greyhound” and “The Good Nurse.”

He started as a Pa and over the years oversaw the construction and operations of a state-of-the-art, 45,000-square-foot post-production facility for Ronald O. Perelman’s Deluxe Entertainment in the heart of New York City; served as senior vice president of post-production at the Weinstein Company and Dimension Films, working on post-production for over 40 films; and supervised several Oscar-nominated films including “Gangs of New York” and “The Aviator,” and was associate producer on Michel Gondry’s “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.”

TheWrap spoke...

If the 2025 Oscars nominations were announced today, what would Gold Derby predict as the nominees and winners? Since our predictions center opened on July 1, 2024, more than 5,300 people have made their forecasts in 18 top categories. So who’s out front to claim these golden trophies, according to the Gold Derby Oscar predictions 2025?

Below, see a snapshot in time of our racetrack odds for the 97th Academy Awards, updated on November 4, 2024. See how the odds and rankings have changed over time by examining our previous Oscar snapshots on July 3, July 9, July 16, July 23, July 29, August 6, August 19, August 28, September 11, September 19, September 23, September 30, October 7, October 14, October 22, and October 28.

Now expected to receive a nomination since the last update: “Wicked” in Best Sound. It’s no doubt being buoyed by the positive reactions from those who saw early screenings of Universal’s film adaptation of the classic Broadway musical.

See Make your Oscar predictions right now — it’s fun and easy!

The independent film fall festival love affair with moviegoers continues with A Real Pain posting the year’s third best per screen average. Anora continues its standout run as does Conclave. The Ralph Fiennes-starring Vatican thriller is no. 4 at the box office in week 2. A24’s We Live In Time is no. 6.

Searchlight Pictures’ A Real Pain debuted to $240k at just 4 theaters for a $60k PSA, in the top three for 2024 after Kinds Of Kindness earlier in the year (also from Searchlight) and Anora, from Neon last month. The comedy written and directed by Eisenberg stars The Social Network star with Succession’s Kieran Culkin as cantankerous cousins exploring their family roots on a road trip in Poland. Won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award for Best Screenplay at its Sundance premiere.

Neon’s Anora by Sean Baker is pushing $1.9 million over the three days on 253 screens in...

“Venom: The Last Dance” topped the box office again as newcomer “Here,” a fantasy drama that uses AI so Tom Hanks and Robin Wright can play younger (and older) versions of themselves, fizzled in its debut.

“Here,” which was produced and financed by Miramax and distributed by Sony, opened in fifth place with $5 million from 2,647 North American theaters. The film, which reunites the “Forrest Gump” co-stars with their director Robert Zemeckis, follows the inhabitants of a single house over the course of 100 years — allowing Hanks and Wright to portray teenagers and octogenarians across 105 minutes thanks to de-aging technology. Critics and audiences rejected the movie with a 36% on Rotten Tomatoes and “B-” grade on CinemaScore. So, word-of-mouth may not help bolster attention for “Here” in its box office run. The movie cost $45 million and needs a long life in theaters to justify that price tag.

Hanks has been a massive big screen draw over the years,...

Returning to Greece with the historical drama “The Return” proved an emotional affair for Juliette Binoche, Ralph Fiennes and director-producer Uberto Pasolini. “Meeting this dream, this need inside Uberto and his passion for the story… We were really moved,” said Binoche before bursting into tears alongside her co-star and director at the film’s press conference at the Thessaloniki Film Festival.

“It was moving because that is what you wish for as an actor,” continued Binoche with a quavering voice, while a visibly teary-eyed Pasolini sat alongside her. “We know how difficult it is [to get a film made]. When we had [Pasolini] go home with the hard drives he could work with and complete this wish, it felt like we were okay. We’re okay.”

“The Return,” based on Homer’s ancient Greek poem “Odyssey,” is a passion project 30 years in the making for the “Still Life” and “Nowhere Special” director, best known as the...

Editor’s Note: The following story contains major spoilers for the movie “Conclave,” now in theaters.

British screenwriter and playwright Peter Straughan is likely looking at a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar nomination for “Conclave,” the gorgeous and engrossing papal thriller starring Ralph Fiennes. The actor plays a Vatican cardinal tasked with overseeing the selection of a new pope after the current one dies — and Straughan and Oscar-winning director Edward Berger (“All Quiet on the Western Front”) turn what looks like a conventional, Oscar-baiting awards play into a gossipy, bitchy crowdpleaser where the cardinals hit the vapes and spread secrets about one another.

“Conclave” is an extremely faithful adaptation of Robert Harris’s compact 2016 novel, with only some names and personages reshuffled for the film version. Cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) is a man of dignity dealing with four main candidates for a new pope. There’s Bellini (Stanley Tucci), brazenly liberal...

Veteran actors Juliette Binoche and Ralph Fiennes exchanged teary-eyed tributes as they picked up honorary career achievement awards this evening at the Thessaloniki Film Festival in Greece.

The veteran duo are two of the headline guests this year in Thessaloniki, and they were presented with the festival’s honorary Golden Alexander award for their respective bodies of work, which now includes three collaborations.

“I’m very grateful and honored to be here with this woman. I’m very grateful for the opportunity to talk about Juliette,” Fiennes told the crowd in Greece. “I want to thank Juliette because working with her is a dream. She is an extraordinary artist to spend your time with. She’s a great woman. She channels a very unusual and unique energy. She’s inspirational to work with. She gives in a way that I have not experienced with any other actor.”

At this point Fiennes began to tear up,...

Actor Hugh Grant is diversifying his filmography with his upcoming horror film, Heretic. As a result, Grant is busy promoting the upcoming film and appeared in an interview where he discussed his past career as a romantic lead and bringing the same charm to the horror genre. At the same time, Grant reflected on his rivalry with actor Ralph Fiennes.

Hugh Grant will next appear in the horror film Heretic (Credit: Jimmy Kimmel Live | YouTube).

The Harry Potter star is known for his performance as Lord Voldemort in the hit fantasy franchise but has also delivered powerful dramatic performances. Grant admitted to seeing Fiennes as a rival in their early days but has since grown to admire the actor’s prowess in diverse roles. Here is what Grant had to say about his rivalry with Fiennes and his new movie Heretic.

Hugh Grant Discussed His Rivalry With Harry Potter Star...

Will the Oscars answer “Conclave’s” prayers?

Edward Berger’s mystery thriller has been one of the buzziest films to emerge from the fall festivals. Adapted from Robert Harris’ 2016 novel, the film premiered at Telluride, where it received raves from attendees. Since then, its awards prospects have grown, especially following its Audience Award wins at the Mill Valley and Middleburg fests. Those regional accolades helped propel future best picture nominees such as “American Fiction” (2023) and “Belfast” (2021) and best picture winner “Green Book” (2018). “Conclave” has popular appeal, but will its religious themes be an advantage or a potential hurdle in the Oscar race?

Read: You can see all Academy Award predictions in all 23 categories on one page on the Variety Awards Circuit.

Rossellini with “Conclave” director Edward Berger

Films that explore issues of faith, and the Catholic Church’s tangled history, have long held a unique place in Hollywood. Critics, and sometimes audiences,...

At the Cannes Film Festival six years ago, British producer Tessa Ross arranged a meeting with an emerging German-born filmmaker named Edward Berger. Ross — the Oscar-winning force behind 12 Years a Slave, Slumdog Millionaire and The Zone of Interest — had fallen in love with Berger’s British historical miniseries Patrick Melrose and wanted to work with him. She proposed several projects — she won’t say which — but none took.

Pondering her options back in London, Ross hit on it: Conclave, an adaptation of Robert Harris’ novel to which she controlled the rights. The story told of the infighting, scandals and crises of faith at the Vatican after the pope’s unexpected death — a compelling if hardly uncontroversial yarn. Enchanted by a first draft from Oscar-nominated screenwriter Peter Straughan (of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy fame), Berger soon said yes to the story of the world’s most secretive and sacred election.

Conclave...

The 65th Thessaloniki Film Festival kicked off on October 31st with a mission to use film as a tool for exploring complex social and political issues. Festival director Orestis Andreadakis said movies can help audiences understand real-world challenges like war, climate change, and the rise of extremism.

The opening night film was “Maria,” a biopic about Greek opera singer Maria Callas starring Angelina Jolie. The festival will close with Joshua Oppenheimer’s dystopian musical “The End.” Andreadakis said the lineup features films that provide meaningful commentary on contemporary global themes.

One highlight is a tribute program called “We, the Monsters,” curated by former Berlin and Locarno director Carlo Chatrian. It examines how filmmakers have depicted society’s fears through monstrous imagery and stories of marginalized groups. Andreadakis noted this can reveal humanity’s potential for inhumane acts within political systems and individual actions.

The 11-day festival will screen 252 feature films...