For over ten years now I’ve had a sacred mission, one that’s both dumb but funnily educational, but I take it rather seriously. The rules are simple, by the the the Oscar ceremony is on, I’m trying – and, succeeding! – to watch each and every Oscar contender in every categy (except Original Song, which I consider to be there solely for entertainment purposes).
Preparing for the run I try to keep my eyes on several sites that predict Oscars, so by the time the nominees are announced – usually about a month and a half before the ceremony – I’m already hitting the ground running. This year, it’s 23rd of January when they announce the nominees, and 11th of March for the ceremony.
I’ve so far seen Barbie, The Holdovers, Killers of the Flower Moon, Maestro, Oppenheimer, Rustin, The Boy and the Heron, Napoleon, Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret and The Creator that are likely competing for the feature film Oscars in different categories, and 20 Days In Mariupol and American Symphony that will likely be contending for the Documentary Feature. The one category I always find the most interesting one is the International Features, and this year I’m especially interested, as it seems Finland is getting a nomination for Aki Kaurismäki’s Fallen Leaves, which I ranked the best film of 2024 anyway. I also try to check out the short films as much as possible, although sometimes those are harder to find that the features – for this year, I’ve seen The Wonderful Life of Henry Sugar, The After, The Last Repair Shop and Deciding Vote.
Without really knowing the final list of contenders, it’s still quite clear there’s quite a lot to see in the coming two months, but luckily I don’t have an ongoing shoot or anything else obstructing my mission, so I’m sure I’ll succeed.
Other than that, we’ve been having a pretty harsh winter here in Finland this year, but I for one welcome the beautiful snow and fresh air. Walking around Lauttasaari, enjoying the winter and relaxing playing Baldur’s Gate 3 has been my beginning of the year, and while I suspect (hope!) it’s getting quite a bit busier as the year goes along, I’m happy to be able to kick back and take care of my place and my mental and physical health for a bit before the madness starts again.
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