Oscar is coming: will Russian films appear among its nominees?

Despite Mikhalkov’s refusal to nominate our film for consideration by the American Film Academy, surprises are possible

The Academy Awards Gala will take place in Los Angeles on March 12, 2023. Until November 15, 2022, the Oscar commissions from different countries should decide and nominate their applicants.

After Nikita Mikhalkov’s statement about his refusal to participate in the nomination, which he made without the consent of Pavel Chukhrai, who heads the Russian Oscar Committee, everything crumbled in our cinematic kingdom like a house of cards. But surprises are possible, as was the case with the animated “Box Ballet” by Anton Dyakov and other films.

After Pavel Chukhrai, Nikolai Dostal, Andrey Zvyagintsev, Sergei Bodrov and other filmmakers, whose number we do not know for sure, left the Oscar commission, it is difficult to say how many people survived in its ranks.

All the activities of this organization are shrouded in a veil of secrecy, since it was created in the bosom of the Mikhalkov Film Academy, where he is a king and a god. Aleksey Uchitel tried to resolve the situation, urged his colleagues to get together and discuss the state of affairs, but was not heard. Mikhalkov, for sure, is glad that everything turned out this way. Let everyone now think that the Oscars Commission has self-liquidated.

The Russian long list included 122 films. Among them, it would be difficult to nominate a successful contender for getting into the American short list in the nomination “Best International Film”, since our films this year were denied the right to participate in the main world festivals.

For example, Austria nominated the historical drama Corsage by Marie Kreuzer, which participated in the Un Certain Regard program of the Cannes Film Festival. The performer of the role of the Austrian Empress Elisabeth of Bavaria – the amazing Luxembourg actress Vicky Krips – was awarded the Best Actress award there.

And the picture itself is unusual, with a modern vision of a difficult historical moment. 40-year-old Empress Elisabeth of Bavaria is unusually good, she has a discreet, special beauty. In many ways, she was ahead of her time, surprised her contemporaries with her independence, the desire to constantly lose weight, stick to a diet. She had a 51-centimeter waist, ate almost nothing, was always tightly pulled into a corset. The scenes of his lacing are separate numbers of the film.

At lavish receptions, only a couple of the thinnest orange rings lay on Elizabeth’s plate. She was an excellent and fearless rider. She covered her face like a mask with a dense veil, creating a feeling of a masquerade.

She did not hide her feelings and affections. She had a difficult relationship with her husband, and she found him an 18-year-old passion to relieve the tension that had arisen. Elizabeth herself was fond of non-standard men. Even the children told her that it was indecent.

Sometimes American academics present surprises, and unexpected applicants appear in the nominations, regardless of the decision of the local Oscar commissions. Last year, films made by Russian directors in other countries were presented in the documentary category. These are “Gunda” by Viktor Kosakovsky, made by him in Norway, and the American film “Welcome to Chechnya” by David France, the producer and cameraman of which was our Askold Kurov, who used, almost like Scorsese, face-swapping technology. He also made his own film, Novaya, about the life of Novaya Gazeta, which competed at the Window on Europe festival in Vyborg. And recently he continued the topic.

His full-length film “This message was created and distributed …” tells what happened after its editor-in-chief Dmitry Muratov received the Nobel Prize, and how very young journalists were among foreign agents. The film also tells about the activities of “Memorial” (recognized as a foreign agent and liquidated by decision of the Ministry of Justice), recently awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. It is likely that the tape may be among the Oscar nominees.