March 18, 2021

WIFF’s Weekend Watch List — 03/19

The 2021 Academy Awards are just over 5 weeks away, and that means it’s time to catch up on the nominated films you haven’t…

The 2021 Academy Awards are just over 5 weeks away, and that means it’s time to catch up on the nominated films you haven’t seen yet!

Check out some of our past picks below.

SOUND OF METAL

Nominations Include:

Best Picture
Best Actor, Riz Ahmed
Best Supporting Actor, Paul Raci
Best Original Screenplay, Derek Cianfrance, Abraham Marder, Darius Marder
Best Film Editing
Best Sound

Ruben is a drummer and one half of the duo Blackgammon along with his singer girlfriend Lou. A former drug addict, he is sober for four years. Suddenly, he begins to lose his hearing. His sponsor makes him go meet Joe, who leads a deaf community. With help from them, Ruben struggles to accept his situation.

Watch on iTunes

Watch on YouTube

MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM

Nominations Include:

Best Actor, Chadwick Boseman
Best Actress, Viola Davis
Best Costume Design
Best Makeup & Hairstyling
Best Production Design

Tensions rise when trailblazing blues singer Ma Rainey and her band gather at a recording studio in Chicago in 1927.

Watch on Netflix

COLLECTIVE

Nominations Include:

Best International Feature Film
Best Documentary

Journalists uncover health care fraud in the wake of a deadly nightclub fire in Bucharest, Romania, in 2015.

Watch on Netflix

Watch on iTunes

SACHA BARON COHEN

An extremely versatile performer and writer, Sacha Baron Cohen received two Oscar nominations: one for his dramatic performance in THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7, and another for his screenplay adaptation of BORAT SUBSEQUENT MOVIEFILM. This is an unusually unique achievement, for an unusually unique talent.

THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7

Nominations Include:

Best Picture
Best Supporting Actor, Sacha Baron Cohen
Best Original Screenplay, Aaron Sorkin
Best Cinematography, Phedon Papamichael
Best Film Editing
Best Original Song, “Hear My Voice”

The film is based on the infamous 1969 trial of seven defendants charged by the federal government with conspiracy and more, arising from the countercultural protests in Chicago at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. The trial transfixed the nation and sparked a conversation about mayhem intended to undermine the U.S. government.

Watch on Netflix

BORAT SUBSEQUENT MOVIEFILM

Nominations Include:

Best Supporting Actress, Maria Bakalova
Best Adapted Screenplay, Sacha Baron Cohen & Co-Writers

Released from prison for bringing shame to his country, Kazakh funnyman Borat risks life and limb when he returns to America with his 15-year-old daughter.

Watch on Amazon Prime