Tag Archives: Academy Awards

News: Top 5 Stories For April 26, 2021 (Reuters)

Five stories to know for April 26: Academy Awards 2021, vaccinated Americans to visit Europe, India COVID cases and the sunken Indonesian submarine.

1. ‘Nomadland’ won the Oscar award for best picture and its director Chloe Zhao made history winning the best director. She is the first Asian woman and only the second woman ever to take home the prize. Britain’s Anthony Hopkins won the best actor trophy for his role as a man battling dementia in “The Father.” The Oscar had been widely expected to go to the late Chadwick Boseman for his final film, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.”

2. Following one of the most consequential court cases in recent U.S. history, Hollywood wasted no time in reflecting on the state of race relations and police use of force at the Oscars.

3. Summer travel to Europe could be on the horizon for vaccinated Americans. Ursula von der Leyen said the continent will ease existing travel restrictions.

4. India: COVID-19 cases hit a record for a fifth day, as countries including Britain, Germany and the United States pledged to send urgent medical aid.

5. A missing Indonesian submarine has been found, broken into at least three parts, at the bottom of the Bali Sea.

Great Scenes In Cinema: “Soaring Over Kenya” From “Out Of Africa” (1985)

Denys Finch (Robert Redford) takes Karen Blixen (Meryl Streep) flying over Kenya’s Great Rift Valley in his Gipsy Moth biplane in this breathtaking sequence from Out of Africa, winner of seven Academy Awards including Best Picture.

The most acclaimed motion picture of 1985 stars Robert Redford and Meryl Streep in one of the screen’s great epic romances. Directed by Oscar® winner Sydney Pollack, Out of Africa is the fascinating true story of Karen Blixen, a strong-willed woman who, with her philandering husband (Klaus Maria Brandauer), runs a coffee plantation in Kenya, circa 1914. To her astonishment, she soon discovers herself falling in love with the land, its people and a mysterious white hunter (Redford). The masterfully crafted, breathtakingly produced story of love and loss earned Oscars® for Best Picture, Director, Screenplay (based on material from another medium), Cinematography, Original Score, Art Direction (Set Decoration) and Sound.

Cast: Meryl Streep, Robert Redford, Klaus Maria Brandauer, Michael Kitchen, Malick Bowens, Michael Gough, Suzanna Hamilton, Rachel Kempson, Graham Crowden, Leslie Phillips, Shane Rimmer

Produced By: Kim Jorgensen, Sydney Pollack

Directed By: Sydney Pollack

Top Documentaries: “Honeyland” Is An “Oscar Game-Changer” (NY Times)

The film… “is nothing less than a found epic, a real-life environmental allegory and, not least, a stinging comedy about the age-old problem of inconsiderate neighbors.”

“Honeyland” is the first film to be nominated for best documentary and best international feature (the category formerly known as best foreign-language film). It follows Hatidze Muratova, a middle-aged beekeeper whose peaceful life in the North Macedonian countryside is disrupted when a chaotic family moves in next door.

The movie premiered at the Sundance Film Festival last year and came out on top with three awards, including the grand jury prize for documentary in the world cinema showcase.

From a New York Times online review