Last Updated on February 11, 2022, 10:17 PM | Published: February 11, 2022
OKLAHOMA CITY (Free Press) — With this week’s announcement of nominations for the 94th annual Academy Awards, every, film circle and internet message board has been abuzz with thoughts and opinions galore, ranging from pleasant surprise to outright anger over what the Academy did or did not recognize.
But is there really anything more to this conversation than the drama of competition among the rich and famous? Do the endless ceremonies and statuettes actually amount to anything meaningful or positive within the artistic world of film, or is it all just expensive studio marketing?
According to the people behind the scenes, either managing the small, artistically minded theaters, or just starting to carve out a niche for themselves behind the camera, what matters much more than who wins on Oscar Night is paying attention to the films that get recognized throughout awards season, and from where that recognition comes.
Independent Spirit
“What I’ve noticed lately is people in my circles instead focusing on things like the Independent Spirit Awards,” said Sean Peel, Theater Manager for OKC’s Rodeo Cinema. “As somebody who works at a small, independent theater, the films represented there seem to be more the films we show and talk about on a daily basis. It’s wonderful to see films like ‘Holler,’ ‘Cryptozoo,’ ‘Shiva Baby,’ and ‘Wild Indian’ getting the recognition they deserve.”
With even major, nationwide theater chains still struggling to turn profits during the ongoing pandemic era, and with an apparent majority of larger, studio-funded projects now aiming for streaming success, it’s been the truly creative, left-field, small-scale productions that have provided a backbone for independent and art-house theaters.
The kinds of movies they rely on are more often much too small, and far too underfunded to compete with the million-dollar awards campaigns usually needed to secure nominations at the Oscars, but fans and theater managers alike know their worth.
“These smaller films are what kept independent cinema alive during 2021,” Peel said.
“Foot in the Door”
“It can be a dream crusher for some and critical stepping stones for others,” said longtime former OKC resident, and current upstart, LA-based filmmaker Christy Price.
Like Peel, she isn’t especially concerned with the Academy Awards, preferring to focus more on the awards and festival competitions that focus primarily on young and independent films and their makers.
“Being fairly new to the industry, I feel the awards do matter,” Price said. “The industry is flooded with people trying to get their foot in the door, and in order to obtain these awards, you have a lot of criteria to meet, which helps guide most filmmakers during the process. There are the exceptions to the rather formulaic system and that, I think, gives hope to those that want to break the mold and master their own style.”
That drive for the little extra recognition and interest that comes from awards success is already a familiar track for Price, whose work with filmmaking partner Daniel Vidal Perez and Petri Productions has been gathering accolades over the past year. The goal, she said, isn’t glory or bragging rights, but just the chance to get your work seen and to be given the opportunities to make more.
“Typically, the judges are professionals in the industry and if you keep putting your name in the hat and build off the previous feedback, you are bound to get noticed,” Price said. “If you create content and don’t put it in front of the right people, the odds are not in your favor. You would be depending on algorithms and trends to get noticed by the right people on social media or random platforms. It’s not impossible, but more difficult.”
Greater Recognition
Ultimately, the hope with all the awards and ad nauseam “best of” lists every year is that more eyes and ears will be turned to deserving films that would otherwise be overlooked or ignored by the masses. More often than not, those tend to be international and foreign-language projects.
Since the pointed and critical “Oscars So White” backlash of 2015, the Academy has reportedly made major strides to ensure that minority-led and international movies receive better consideration and recognition among the nominations and the nominating body itself. These efforts have resulted in particularly high-level awards consideration for Asian-led films like the Oklahoma-produced “Minari,” and even a Best Picture win for modern satirical masterpiece “Parasite,” which went on to massive financial success that would seem almost impossible if not for its awards buzz.
This has been a particularly welcome development for cinema scholar and foreign-film fanatic Lisa Broad, Head of Film Programming at Oklahoma City Museum of Art’s Noble Theater.
“’Drive My Car’ getting a Best Picture nomination was definitely the highlight of this year’s announcement for me!” Broad said about the surprising inclusion of the three-hour Japanese epic drama among the contenders for the Oscar’s highest honor. “It’s been exciting to see Oscar voters embrace international cinema more and more over the past few years.”
The film had a small screening run at OKCMOA last year, and the local response was proof that Middle-American audiences can resonate deeply with the kinds of films not often found at the major multiplexes.
“’Drive My Car’ was one of OKCMOA’s most popular recent films,” Broad said. “I think it resonates with audiences like ours because it can be appreciated on so many different levels. It combines meticulous craft and profound ideas about art and performance with deeply empathetic characters and universal themes of love and loss. It’s a complex, multilayered film that gives us a lot to think about, but it’s emotionally powerful as well.”
Now that it’s been tagged as a Best Picture contender, it’s likely that “Drive My Car” will begin making appearances at bigger theater chains all across the country, bringing greater recognition to writer/director Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, and hopefully greater appreciation to international cinema in general. That’s the potential good that all of these film awards can do, especially one as high-profile as the Oscars.
But it raises the question: If “Drive My Car” is the exception to the rule of small, independent, and international films being ignored, then what kind of cinematic gems might you be missing?
Better keep an eye on the indie theaters, art-houses, and local film festivals to find out.
Feature photo credit: Flickr :: Prayitno :: CC BY 2.0
Brett Fieldcamp has been covering arts, entertainment, news, housing, and culture in Oklahoma for nearly 15 years, writing for several local and state publications. He’s also a musician and songwriter and holds a certification as Specialist of Spirits from The Society of Wine Educators.
