4 North A and
Beyond Noh. Maybe that’s just because this community has long been partial to a hermetic existence.
This year’s Oscar-qualifying shorts offer a mildly accurate overview of the international festival circuit during the last couple of years (some of them debuted in 2019). Since the big-studio films are going to get oodles of promotion and attention, let’s focus on a handful and a half of lesser-known films (in no particular order) that Academy voters should take some time to consider.
Altötting — Andreas Hykade (Germany/Canada/Portugal)
A young boy becomes obsessed with the Virgin Mary — but then he discovers her devastating secret. This story about love, faith, mortality, and shattered illusions fuses scenes of quiet, spacious minimalism with flourishes of opulent beauty to craft a timeless and emotional story of lost innocence.