Chiltern Film Society - February 2020

Gongs Galore!

It’s award season in the film world. On the 9th of February, the biggest gongs are handed out: the 92nd Academy Awards, aka the Oscars. As usual, the evening will be filled with shocked winners, tears will be flowing (as much as the champagne) and some people will no doubt leave empty-handed and ever-so-slightly bitter. Don’t forget the surprise of Green Book winning Best Picture last year, to the dismay of many-a-critic…

(I haven’t actually seen it, so it’s not for me to comment on the winner, worthy or not!)

But the Film Society’s next presentation was nominated for an Oscar in the Best Foreign Film category, yet, sadly, lost out to Netflix’s Roma. Capernaum is a Lebanese film, showing at The Elgiva on Wednesday 26th February. It is about a boy struggling against all the odds in modern-day Beirut - shot on a budget of $4m, it has achieved 33 other acclaimed awards, with a further 38 nominations…

Who needs an Oscar anyway...?!

Directed by Nadine Labaki, it is based on a true story where a boy sues his own parents for neglect. ‘Capernaum’ means ‘Chaos’.

We follow this on Wednesday 4th March with Leave No Trace - a tense American drama about trying to live ‘off the grid’ without technology. What happens when the modern world catches up with you? Directed by Debra Granik, this film has won 17 awards and received an astonishing 87 further nominations (so far).

Whatever you do this month, make some time to visit the cinema or watch a film on TV - and enjoy your film-viewing experiences!