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2025 BAM Award Nominations

Posted on by bernardovillela

Last year I purposely delayed my BAM Award nominations to keep in step with Oscars. Those nominations being delayed due to the devastating wildfires allowed me to deliberate further and, frankly, be a little lazier. This year the delay was all my own as I have been acclimating to life following a liver transplant.

Best Picture

28 Years Later

Bring Her Back

Hamnet

I’m Still Here (Ainda Estou Aqui)

Nickel Boys

One Battle After Another

Relay

Sinners

Weapons

Young Hearts

Most Overlooked Picture

Bring Them Down

Freaky Tales

Relay

The Surfer

Young Hearts

Best Director

Paul Thomas Anderson One Battle After Another

Danny Boyle 28 Years Later

Ryan Coogler Sinners

Zach Cregger Weapons

Walter Salles I’m Still Here (Ainda Estou Aqui)

Best Editing

Tony Cranstoun The Surfer

Geoff Lamb Bring Her Back

Jon Harris 28 Years Later

Andy Jurgensen One Battle After Another

Michael P. Shawver Sinners

Best Foreign Language Film

Not Awarded

Best Actress

Jessie Buckley Hamnet

Jodie Comer 28 Years Later

Sally Hawkins Bring Her Back

Fernanda Montenegro Vitória

Fernanda Torres I’m Still Here (Ainda Estou Aqui)

Best Actor

Tom Basden The Ballad of Wallis Island

Leonardo DiCaprio One Battle After Another

Michael B. Jordan Sinners

John Lithgow The Rule of Jenny Pen

Josh O’Connor Wake Up Dead Man

Best Supporting Actress

Glenn Close Wake Up Dead Man

Ariana Grande Wicked For Good

Amy Madigan Weapons

Mia Sara The Life of Chuck

Teyana Taylor One Battle After Another

Best Supporting Actor

Miles Caton Sinners

Ralph Fiennes 28 Years Later

Benicio Del Toro One Battle After Another

Tim Key The Ballad of Wallis Island

Delroy Lindo Sinners

Best Performance by a Young Actress in a Leading Role

Julia Butters Freakier Friday

Bodhi Rae Breathnach Hamnet

Ana Sophia Heger She Rides Shotgun

Madeleine McGraw The Black Phone 2

Sora Wong Bring Her Back

Helena Zengel The Legend of Ochi

Best Performance by a Young Actor in a Leading Role

Benjamin Evan Ainsworth Everything’s Going to be Great

Isaac Amendoim Chico Bento e a Goiabeira Maraviosa

Billy Barratt Bring Her Back

Christian Convery The Monkey

Lou Goosens Young Hearts

Alfie Williams 28 Years Later

Best Performance by a Young Actress in a Supporting Role

Trinity Jo-Li Bliss Avatar: Fire and Ash

Anna Julia Dias Chico Bento e a Goiabeira Maraviosa

Olivia Lynes Hamnet

Violet McGraw The Life of Chuck

Audrina Miranda Jurassic World: Rebirth

Lorena de Oliveira Chico Bento e a Goiabeira Maraviosa

Best Performance by a Young Actor in a Supporting Role

Benjamin Chivers Fountain of Youth

Jacobi Jupe Hamnet

Miguel Mora Black Phone 2

Benjamin Pajak The Life of Chuck

Jonah Wren Phillips Bring Her Back

Marius De Saeger Young Hearts

Best Cast

28 Years Later

Bring Her Back

One Battle After Another

Hamnet

Sinners

Best Youth Ensemble

Chico Bento e a Goiabera Maraviosa

Hamnet

Bring Her Back

Young Hearts

The Legend of Ochi

Weapons

Best Cinematography

Autumn Durald Arkapaw Sinners

Michael Bauman One Battle After Another

Jomo Fray Nickel Boys

Radek Ladczuk The Surfer

Stephen Soderbergh Presence

Best Art Direction

Dan Clay, Ewa Galak, Carsom McColl, and Gareth Pugh 28 Years Later

Vanessa Cerne, Michael Bell, and Max Nadilo Bring Her Back

Florencia Martin, Alex Max Cahn, Albert Cisneros, and May Mitchell One Battle After Another

Hannah Beachler, Jonathan Cappel, Timotheus Davis, and Jesse Rosenthal Sinners

Rick Heinrichs, Jim Barr, Dean Clegg, Kate Suzanne Hunter, Chloe Kletsa, Hugh McClelland and Quinn Robinson Wake Up Dead Man

Best Original Screenplay

Ryan Coogler Sinners

Zach Cregger Weapons

Alex Garland 28 Years Later

Rian Johnson Wake Up Deadman

Phillipou Brothers Bring Her Back

Best Adapted Screenplay

Chloé Zhao, Maggie O’Farrell Hamnet

Murilo Hauser, Heitor Lorega, Marcelo Rubens Paiva I’m Still Here (Ainda Estou Aqui)

RaMell Ross, Joslyn Barnes, Colson Whitehead Nickel Boys

Paul Thomas Anderson, Thomas Pynchon One Battle After Another

JT Mollner, Stephen King The Long Walk

Best Costume Design

Leticia Barbieri Chico Bento e a Goiabera Maraviosa

Ruth E. Carter Sinners

Carson McColl, Gareth Pugh 28 Years Later

Deborah L. Scott Avatar: Fire and Ash

Malgosia Turzanksa Hamnet

Best Visual Effects

28 Years Later

Avatar: Fire and Ash

Bring Her Back

The Legend of Ochi

Sinners

Best Sound Editing and Mixing

Bring Her Back

F1

One Battle After Another

Sinners

Weapons

Best Hair and Makeup

28 Years Later

Bring Her Back

The Toxic Avenger

Hamnet

Sinners

Best Score

Ludwig Goränsson Sinners

The Newton Brothers The Life of Chuck

Francois Tétaz The Surfer

Cornel Wilczek Bring Her Back

Young Fathers 28 Years Later

Best Song

“Steve’s Lava Chicken” Jack Black A Minecraft Movie

“Morning Evening” Tom Basden & Carey Mulligan The Ballad of Wallis Island

“I Lied to You” Miles Caton Sinners

“Joy” The Pocket Queen The Life of Chuck

“Happy Together” Susanna Hoffs & Rufus Wainwright The Roses

Best Soundtrack

The Ballad of Wallis Island

Caught Stealing

Heads of State

I’m Still Here (Ainda Estou Aqui)

Sinners

Best Documentary 

Not Awarded

Robert Downey, Jr. Entertainer of the Year Award

TBA

Ingmar Bergman Lifetime Achievement Award

TBA

Neutron Star Award

TBA

Special Jury Awards

TBA

Film Discoveries: 2020

Posted on by bernardovillela

Introduction

This is an idea I first saw on Rupert Pupkin Speaks wherein he lists his favorite “new-to-me” titles of the prior year. My viewings were down in general in 2020 overall (rewatching sitcoms and watching sports when they resumed in ghostly stadiums got me through it) but there were things worth noting, even things that were not brand new. Some are rather short and can be viewed in their entirety below. There are few selections that come from varied eras to be found.

During the pandemic years, and a little after that, I neglected to post these. I did one for 2023 and will now make up for the years I missed.

The Prince and the Pauper (1920)

This was an offering from Grapevine Video, as one of the oldest adaptations of a story I’ve seen many versions of this one was a must-see especially considering it was directed by Alexander Korda before he emigrated to Hollywood.

Witches (1990)

This was a film that somehow slipped through the cracks during my childhood. I’d heard of it off and on and eventually it became a title I could not longer avoid. And it proved to be an entertaining and unhinged eighties oddity.

Dawson City: Frozen Time (2016)

I wrote about this film for the 2020 O Canada Blogathon. If you like what you read there Kino Lorber has made the full documentary available on their YouTube channel.

September (1990)

This was a title I picked up as part of Twilight Time’s clearance sale following their announcement that they were ceasing operations. Woody Allen‘s dramatic works are often overlooked and this was one of the ones I had yet to see. When he worked with Mia Farrow the works were a notch better, when there were other regulars like Dianne Weist involved they got even better.

Paganini Horror (1989)

I’d not heard of Paganini Horror before it was released by Severin Films. But the combination of the iconic violinist and composer and giallo was too good to pass up, and the score alone makes this film worth watching.

Mini-Review: Love Me Forever or Never (Eu Sei Que Eu Vou Te Amar) (1986)

Posted on by bernardovillela

This film is not currently available on any streaming platform.

Fernanda Torres, is now a it more well-known in the US after having earned an Oscar nomination for I’m Still Here (Ainda Estou Aqui) last year. However, when she was younger she was the first the first Brazilian woman (or woman from any Latin American country) to win Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival. She tied with Barbara Sukowa and was very worthy of the honor.

Writer/Director Arnaldo Jabor refers to this film as a sort of psychological playground. It is a that a a minimalist drama experimenting in negative fill an quite nearly stagebound and focused on two actors. However, the intensity and proximity to the actors is a trick that only film can pull off.

Music Video Monday: Stan – Eminem

Posted on by bernardovillela

The cultural impact of Eminem’s “Stan” is already indelible what with the word becoming synonymous with obsessive fandom, even being added to the dictionary. However, while that cultural artifact comes from a misapropriation of the intent of the song, the music, lyrics, and video still stand as a tremendous fusion of creative power. One of the rare 21st century tracks to even offer an extended video that expands on the story of the song, and stars Devon Sawa when he was in the midst of making some of his most popular works. Enjoy!

Short Film Saturday: The Censored Eleven

Posted on by bernardovillela

I don’t believe I was fully aware of the Censored Eleven before now. I have previously discussed some Looney Tunes being pulled by specific cable providers as is the case with Hillbilly Hare, but these films are of older vintage and have been kept mostly out of circulation by the studio itself. They haven’t even been presented recently with their now (in)famous disclaimer.

These shorts stand out not die to an off-color intended-for-adults comment here or there, but because they’re thematically racist and problematic to varying degrees, even more so than their propaganda films.

As such I modified my original intention of posting these films over the course of three months as many people will not have an appetite to watch more than a few.

Most of these shorts are available in one convenient Internet Archive playlist (linked to below). The Internet Archive swaps out Hallelujah Land for a Bosko title. The shorts do get increasingly more difficult to watch, so buyer beware. Hallelujah Land is one of the tamest titles of the bucnch and the one I saw first.

These films also made worse when you consider Warners released about one of these a year in a short period of time.

Censored Eleven playlist.

By Any Means Necessary: Arkaader

Posted on by bernardovillela

This year I intended to start profiling national film archives that host a lot of great content online at the start of the year as part of my long-inactive By Any Means Necessary series. More than halfway through the year, I am finally doing it.

This idea started late in ’24 when I started noticing how many countries had such sites and I started perusing and bookmarking them.

Even before Conan’s Estonia joke at the Oscars, I’d seen some films on their site. As this archive is less likely to be well-known I’ll spotlight it today.

Today is Võidupüha, an Estonian holiday, which commemorates their victory over Latvia in the Battle of Cēsis. So I am featuring Arkaader, a joint project of the Estonian Film Institute and National Archives of Estonia, to host many historical films online; short and feature, narrative and documentary. Many of the films are free-to-stream. Others are available to rent for a small fee.

Any of the places I feature will have plenty of places to explore, due to the fact that they’re more likely to be dialogue-free I recommend starting with this curated list of animated shorts. There are also music video and experimental films. Most of the films typically have subtitles.