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Netflix adds mayhem and mirth this week, with a sprinkling of sports and sentiment for good measure. As usual, there's something for everyone this week in the debuting titles on your favorite streaming service.

For those of you that observe Easter, I hope you have a wonderful day. Just be sure to find every last one of those Easter eggs you hid under the couch. For those that don't celebrate, you have all those half-price chocolate bunnies, Cadbury creme eggs, and assorted candies to fill your larder until next year.

And as my daughter wisely pointed out years ago, the Reese's peanut butter eggs have the highest ratio of peanut butter filling to chocolate of all varieties. Do not waste this opportunity!

In the meantime, we have a dozen actual movies and shows coming to us this week. Good thing, too, as we're losing some great shows this week. No Hard Feelings,...

I hope you’re happy, Netflix, because now I want to raise a baby pangolin, and I probably won’t be alone. Which will be a challenge, given that it requires relocating to South Africa and signing up as a “Volunteer Pangolin Walker.” That job title is not one you often hear in a documentary, but it’s assigned here to Gareth Thomas, the human co-star of Pippa Ehrlich’s Pangolin: Kulu’s Journey. The My Octopus Teacher director delivers a variation on the formula of that 2021 Oscar winner, tracing the process by which a man seeking a more meaningful life finds it through extensive interaction with a generally antisocial animal.

Ehrlich’s new feature shares both strengths and weaknesses with the earlier doc. It eschews dry zoological study in favor of an engaging personal approach, but it can feel emotionally manipulative, its sentimentality amplified by a soundtrack featuring stirring African instrumentation and vocals.

"He changed the way I saw the world." Look at this super adorable little guy! Amazingly unique creatures. Netflix has revealed an official trailer for an animal documentary film titled Pangolin: Kulu's Journey, made by filmmaker Pippa Ehrlich. She previously co-directed the Academy Award-winning documentary film My Octopus Teacher, which I was a huge fan of when it originally premiered in 2020. This new doc is about a guy rescuing a baby pangolin and the challenge of releasing him back into the wild. Set for release streaming on Netflix starting in April in just a month from now. A man discovers a new purpose in his life helping rescue a stolen baby pangolin, one of the most trafficked animals in the world, in South Africa. He dedicates himself to rehabilitating the endangered animal for release back into the wild. The doc Pangolin: Kulu's Journey is a poignant exploration of the connection...

Pangolins, the small, scaly mammals found in Asia and Africa, may look unassuming, but they’re among the most poached and trafficked animals on the planet. In a new documentary coming April 21, Academy Award–winning director Pippa Ehrlich of My Octopus Teacher tells the story of one such pangolin in Pangolin: Kulu’s Journey.

The film follows a man who finds new purpose when he helps rescue a baby pangolin, Kulu, in a sting operation in South Africa. He leaves the city and embarks on a heartfelt mission to rehabilitate and prepare the vulnerable animal for a life of freedom in the wild. Pangolin: Kulu’s Journey offers a poignant exploration of the connection between humans and the creatures we share our world with.

The journey begins on Netflix on April 21, 2025.

Meet Kulu and get a glimpse of his story in the trailer at the top of the page.

Netflix produced its first non-documentary feature in 2015. It was called Beasts of No Nation, and it was fine. However, the film did not get nominated for an Academy Award. Lots has changed in the last decade.

Your favorite streamer often gets nominated for major awards each year. 2025 is no different. Emilia Pérez has 13 nominations alone, including one for Best Picture. So far, Netflix has yet to get a win in that category, and Emilia Pérez is not the favorite this year, either.

In fact, Netflix has also almost been entirely shut out of wins in the acting categories. Only Laura Dern won, and that was for Best Supporting Actress in 2020. But the streamer does do well in some other categories. Those might not be part of the Big 6, but when it comes to documentaries, Netflix knows what it is doing. Just see below, and you'll know.

The 2025 Oscars will be held on Sunday,...

On Thursday, Netflix revealed its full 2025 film slate. The lineup includes long-awaited sequels, high profile originals, future Oscar contenders, and much more.

The biggest new announcements in the slate include the formal announcement of Jay Kelly, three-time Academy Award nominee Noah Baumbach‘s latest film, a “heartbreaking comedy” featuring George Clooney and Adam Sandler in the large ensemble cast; Eddie, a biographical documentary about one of Hollywood’s most elusive stars, Eddie Murphy; and a Charles Manson documentary from Academy Award winner Errol Morris.

These titles join previously announced films including the third installment in Rian Johnson‘s Daniel Craig-led mystery franchise, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery; Guillermo del Toro‘s adaptation of Frankenstein starring Oscar Isaac and Jacob Elordi; and an as-yet-untitled thriller from Best Director winner Kathryn Bigelow, her first film in eight years.

The full list starting with February’s releases is below.

Prepare for some captivating documentaries and docuseries from Netflix this year. The streamer announced during its Next on Netflix event that it will be premiering new projects about the Manson murders, Osama Bin Laden, the Titan submarine implosion and Hurricane Katrina, just to name a few of its upcoming buzzy docs.

The first major new documentary release is a big one. The documentary film “Chaos: The Manson Murders” will premiere on March 7. From legendary filmmaker Errol Morris, who previously released “The Thin Blue Line” and “The Fog of War,” little is known about this project other than its subject matter. The film is likely based on Tom O’Neill’s “Chaos: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties.” Morris, Robert Fernandez and Steven Hathaway serve as producers.

That will then be followed by “American Manhunt: Osama Bin Laden,” which will premiere on March 10. The upcoming docuseries offers...

Netflix has shared new information and materials on four feature docs premiering on the streamer this year: Air Force Elite: Thunderbirds, Chaos: The Manson Murders, Titan, and Pangolin: Kulu’s Journey.

Both newly announced titles, Chaos: The Manson Murders and Pangolin were dated for release on March 7 and April 21, respectively. Chaos had no logline attached — though the title leaves little to the imagination, as to the film’s subject. The film is directed by Academy Award winner Errol Morris (The Thin Blue Line), who also produced alongside Robert Fernandez and Steven Hathaway.

Meanwhile, Pangolin: Kulu’s Journey is said to tell the story of a man who finds new purpose when he helps rescue a baby pangolin, one of the most trafficked animals in the world, in a sting operation in South Africa. As the doc’s subject leaves the city, he embarks on a heartfelt mission to rehabilitate and...

The Redford Center, one of the few U.S.-based nonprofits dedicated solely to environmental impact filmmaking, has selected 13 films to receive funding, marking a significant expansion of the organization’s grants program with an increase in the number of projects and funding amount.

The international cohort of films, selected for “high impact potential and unique solutions-based themes,” will each receive $25k to support the completion of the projects and to advance their impact efforts and goals.

The Redford Center received more than 500 applications from 67 countries, marking the most expansive and globally diverse open call in the org’s history, demonstrating, it said, the overwhelming presence of impact-driven independent films and the striking gap of funding and support currently offered by the film industry.

The Center was established in direct response to a lack of support available and is a central pillar of work that the Redford Center’s late...

Limonero Films has picked up world rights to distribute environmental documentary “Wild Coast Warriors,” which launches at Mipdoc.

The film aims to raise awareness of the plight of small coastal communities on South Africa’s Wild Coast, who are standing up to the oil and gas industry. It follows a David vs. Goliath court-case against Shell, which halted oil and gas exploration, winning protection for the community, the ocean and the local culture.

“Wild Coast Warriors” was directed by Nick Chevallier and Leigh Wood, who also was co-editor. Guido Zanghi was senior editor and co-director. The cinematographer was Warren Smart, who was topside cinematographer on Oscar winner “My Octopus Teacher.” “Wild Coast Warriors” is produced by Chevallier for Contemporary Film Productions. The executive producer is Gary Janks.

Pippa Ehrlich, director of “My Octopus Teacher,” said “Wild Coast Warriors” was “a critical story about the power of community advocacy, and a...

Julia Louis-Dreyfus is taking on her most sinister co-star yet: death itself.

The actress, who recently starred in the A24 indie “You Hurt My Feelings,” plays a grieving mother in another A24 film, the upcoming “Tuesday.” Written and directed by Daina O. Pusić, “Tuesday” centers on a parent (Louis-Dreyfus) and her teenage daughter (Lola Petticrew) as they confront Death when it arrives in the form of an astonishing talking parrot. The film marks Pusić’s directorial debut.

In the trailer, Louis-Dreyfus’ character tries to connect with her ailing daughter while discussing modern dating. However, she can’t see the bird that her daughter speaks with as she is ushered to the other side. The film is a BBC Films co-production.

Louis-Dreyfus previously shut down rumors of a possible “Seinfeld” reunion and is set to appear in the continued phase of the MCU after making her debut in “Falcon and the Winter Soldier” Disney+ series.

Oscar-winning “My Octopus Teacher” documentarian Pippa Ehrlich is one of the voices behind a surprise A24 doc, streaming quietly on Prime Video since Friday, January 12.

Titled “My Mercury,” the film follows then-28-year-old conservationist Yves Chesselet, who sheds the comforts of modern living to relocate to the remote Mercury Island off the coast of Namibia. Chesselet is determined to bring 15,000 seals off the island and have Mercury Island solely be home to the critically endangered seabirds of the South Atlantic.

Chesselet’s sister Joelle Chesselet directed the documentary, with Ehrlich co-directing. Joelle said in a press statement, “My brother’s island saga has held me spellbound for three decades, challenging me to do justice to his tale of exhilaration, courage, positive masculinity and sacrifice. This journey has matured into what I see as a parable for our times, chronicling an intimate account of a re-wilding experiment and then zooming out to the choices we,...

AC Independent, Anonymous Content’s new sales and finance division, is set to introduce Pippa Ehrlich’s anticipated follow-up to her Oscar-winning “My Octopus Teacher,” as well as Walter Salles’ “Sócrates,” to buyers at the Berlin Film Festival.

Ehrlich’s untitled new project and Salles’ “Sócrates” are part of AC Independent’s robust slate of documentary features from celebrated filmmakers.

In her upcoming project, Ehrlich will shed light on the secretive and endangered world of pangolins, a species viewed as mythological creatures. When Stevie, a baby pangolin, is rescued from death at the hands of poachers in Johannesburg, an investment manager pivots his life to become the animal’s caretaker, teaching him to trust the world again and, in doing so, rediscovers his own purpose. Hand-reared until his release back into the wild, Stevie takes Gareth into his dragon world and together they find freedom and healing in the wild.

This year’s Oscar race for documentary feature, as every other year, includes films made by veteran directors. Oscar-win- ner Laura Poitras (“All the Beauty and the Bloodshed”), Primetime Emmy nominee Ryan White (“Good Night Oppy”) and two-time Sundance grand jury prize winner Ondi Timoner (“Last Flight Home”) are among the seasoned helmers vying for a spot on the documentary shortlist, released Dec. 21.

But alongside the vets are a slew of directors who are relatively new to the scene with docs that are garnering praise and plenty of hardware. Those helmers include Sara Dosa (“Fire of Love’’), Edward Buckles Jr. (“Katrina Babies’’) Isabel Castro (“Mija”), Daniel Roher (“Navalny”) and Alex Pritz (“The Territory’’).

It’s never easy being new to the game, but if you’re a documentary filmmaker it can have its advantages, especially come Oscar season. The old guard continuously welcomes newcomers with open arms. Proof is in the past decade of winners,...

In the past decade, the inclusion of streaming services in the documentary market has made it increasingly harder for smaller docus struggling with funding to break into the nonfiction feature Oscar race. But in spite of the deep pockets they are up against, a number of cash-strapped docs inevitably make it onto the shortlist every year. This year was no exception.

Jessica Beshir’s “Faya Dayi”, Camilla Nielsson’s “President” (Greenwich Entertainment) and Sushmit Ghosh and Rintu Thomas’ “Writing with Fire” (Music Box Films) are three films on this year’s feature doc shortlist that are up against competitors with multi-million-dollar campaign budgets being paid by media and tech conglomerates including Apple, Netflix, ViacomCBS, the Walt Disney Co. and WarnerMedia.

As the field narrows and lobbying and marketing takeover, it’s clear that money and brand recognition are key factors in the race for Oscar gold, which makes “Faya Dayi,...

Anonymous Content has enlisted Nicholas Shumaker, a longtime producer and former talent agent at UTA, and Kimberly Carver, a veteran manager and TV producer, to join the company’s literary department. Both will work as managers and producers.

Anonymous Content CEO, Dawn Olmstead, said: “Kimberly and Nick have such an incredible passion and commitment to finding creators and artists that not only have authentic voices but that also are the meaningful voices of the future.”

Olmstead said both executives have “tremendous reputations in the entertainment industry, on a global scale,” and that “their fierce dedication to elevating their clients through authentic opportunities is both admirable and unshakeable.”

Shumaker spent the last six years at the UTA Independent Film Group working out of their New York office. During his tenure, Shumaker worked on packaging, financing, and the sales for a variety of international director-driven titles, including the Oscar-winning film “Call Me By Your Name,...

Chicago – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Scott Thompson on Wbgr-fm, reviewing the new film “My Octopus Teacher.” The film just won Best Documentary feature at the 2021 Oscars, and is currently streaming on Netflix.

Rating: 4.0/5.0

The story is essentially about filmmaker Craig Foster, at the point of burnout, returning to his native roots in South Africa near Cape Town to rejuvenate. He begins snorkeling in the Atlantic Ocean, within the cold water kelp forests near the coastline. An extraordinary incident occurs when he encounters an Octopus, and then develops a quasi-friendship with her. Because Octupi only live for one year, the friendship is experienced through that time period, in her environment, expertly put together by directors Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed.

“My Octopus Teacher” is currently streaming on Netflix. Featuring Craig Foster. Written and directed by Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed. Rated “G”

Click here...

Chloé Zhao becomes only second woman in history to win best director

Oscar favourite Nomadland and UK talent triumphed at the 93rd Academy Awards on Sunday (April 25) as the most protracted season, and one shaped by the pandemic, came to an end.

Searchlight Pictures’ Nomadland was named best picture and also scored wins for Asian American best director Chloé Zhao – who became the first woman of colour and only the second woman in history to win the award after Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker in 2010 – and lead actress Frances McDormand, who competed in a particularly close contest.

McDormand fought...

Australia is toasting its newest Academy Award winner in Andrew Jackson, recognised as part of the visual effects team on Christopher Nolan’s Tenet.

The UK-based visual effects supervisor joined colleagues David Lee and Andrew Lockley in London while Scott Fisher accepted the Visual Effects Oscar on behalf of the group at a subdued ceremony in Los Angeles.

They beat out Australia’s other hope in the category – Love and Monsters‘ Matt Sloan, Genevieve Camilleri, Matt Everitt, and Brian Cox – as well as teams from George Clooney’s Midnight Sky, Nick Caro’s Mulan, and Thea Sharrock’s The One and Only Ivan.

It’s the first win and second nomination for Jackson, who was part of VFX team for Mad Max: Fury Road that lost out to Ex Machina in 2016.

The unprecedented impact of the pandemic on the film industry was reflected in the 93rd Academy Awards, which featured...

Seventy women representing a record 76 Oscar nominations translated to a record number of female wins Sunday with 17 awards, beating a previous high of 15 set in 2019 and running the gamut from Best Director and Best Picture to Original Screenplay, Animated Film and Original Song.

The 2019 Oscars, for films out in 2018, had the same number of women winners but fewer awards. Two of the nominees, Chloé Zhao and Frances McDormand took home two awards each — all for Nomadland. This year’s awards were also more prominent. Winners from both years included the two acting awards.

“What an incredible night full of firsts for women,” said Kirsten Schaffer, executive director of Women In Film, LA, calling the night “a great celebration of talent and an inspiration for all of the women who work in the screen industries especially those behind the camera.”

“Fifteen women won 17 awards tonight with the first time for Black women in hair and makeup,...

The 93rd annual Academy Awards were handed out tonight, and in a departure from Oscar history, the Best Picture category was not saved for last. Instead, Searchlight’s Nomadland went home with the night’s marquee prize, and its star Frances McDormand took Best Actress, hours after the film’s Chloé Zhao made history as the first woman of color to win Best Director.

Anthony Hopkins won Best Actor for The Father in something of an upset over the late Chadwick Boseman of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.

2021 Oscar Winners Backstage — Photo Gallery

Nomadland was the only three-time winner at the ceremony, with The Father, Judas and the Black Messiah, Mank, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Sound of Metal and Soul as the other multiple winners.

On the studio side, Netflix more than doubled up on the competition with seven wins — two each for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and Mank,...

Netflix had a big night at the Oscars, bringing home a total of seven total trophies — leading all studios — although the streamer failed to grab the prize in the best picture category and came up empty in the acting categories.

Netflix had come into Sunday night with 36 nominations, far more than any other studio.

The company’s wins at the 93rd Academy Awards included two Oscars for David Fincher’s “Mank,” the most-nominated film this year with 10 nods, for cinematography (for Erik Messerschmidt) and production design (for Donald Graham Burt and Jan Pascale).

“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” adapted from the play by August Wilson, also picked up two Oscars: for makeup and hairstyling (with Mia Neal and Jamika Wilson the first Black women to win in the category alongside Sergio Lopez-Rivera) and costume design (Ann Roth). Chadwick Boseman was widely considered the favorite to win a posthumous best actor Oscar...

Chloé Zhao takes home two prizes, for directing and producing “Nomadland”

Women roared at the 93rd Academy Awards on Sunday, picking up a record 17 trophies — the most in Oscar history. With 30 male winners this year, that means women earned 36% of the statuettes handed out in the 23 competitive categories.

This year’s prizes topped last year when one third of the 39 winners were women — and 2019, when 15 of the 54 winners were women (or 27.8%). and “Nomandland” Best Director winner Chloe Zhao were part of the five-person producing team on the film, along with Mollye Asher.

Other wins for women outside the acting category included:

• Emerald Fennell, for her original screenplay “Promising Young Woman”

• Mia Neal and Jamika Wilson, who became the first Black women to win for best makeup and hairstyling, for “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”

• H.E.R. and lyricist Tiara Thomas for their original song “Fight for You” for “Judas and the Black Messiah”

• Dana Murray,...

My Octopus Teacher wrapped its tentacles around the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, corralling a win for Netflix in that category for the second year in a row and third time in the last four years.

It also brought a rare victory to an African film of any kind—producer and subject Craig Foster is South African, as is one of the two directors, Pippa Ehrlich; fellow director James Reed is British.

“We want to thank Netflix for enabling us to share our story with the world and then our incredible Octopus team, whose arms stretched across the planet, from South Africa to Amsterdam, to the U.K., to the U.S.,” Ehrlich said as she accepted the award.

The film tells the story of Foster, a filmmaker and naturalist, and the cephalopod he befriended while diving off the coast of South Africa on a daily basis for a year.

Film about human-octopus bonding in an undersea kelp forest takes the top documentary prize at the Academy Awards

My Octopus Teacher, the heartwarming story of a human-octopus friendship, has won the Oscar for best documentary at the 93rd Academy Awards, which are taking place in Los Angeles.

Directed by Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed, My Octopus Teacher follows film-maker and diver Craig Foster as he explores an underwater kelp forest near Cape Town, South Africa. Foster appears to bond with an octopus he encounters living in the area.

Sunday night’s Oscar ceremony was historic in more ways than one, making the 441-day wait for the 93rd Academy Awards well worth it.

“The Father” star Anthony Hopkins nabbed actor, Frances McDormand (“Nomadland”) took home the actress prize, Daniel Kaluuya (“Judas and the Black Messiah”) won for supporting actor and “Minari’s” Yuh-Jung Youn claimed supporting actress, becoming the first Korean actor to do so. Nine actors of color earned Academy Award nominations — an Oscar record for diversity in those categories — but only two won. Additionally, more women were nominated in 2021 than in any previous year.

“Nomadland’s” Chloé Zhao made history as well, becoming the second woman and the first woman of color to win an Oscar for directing. The film also won best picture.

Unlike other awards shows during the Covid-19 pandemic, Hollywood’s biggest night was held in person, and televised live on ABC from the...

Eddie award winner Palm Springs

After a big win at the SAG Awards earlier this month, The Trial Of The Chicago 7 has scored another hit at the Golden Eddies, proving itself to be a film that filmmakers can really get behind. Palm Springs, meanwhile, took home the award for Best Edited Feature Film (Comedy).

In a ceremony with contributions from Jodie Foster, Riz Ahmed, Carey Mulligan and more, there was also a special tribute to Spike Lee, led by Leslie Odom Jr. The 64-year-old director was awarded the Ace Golden Eddie Filmmaker of the Year award for his contributions to cinema.

Those film award winners in full:-

Best Edited Feature Film (Dramatic) The Trial Of The Chicago 7 - Alan Baumgarten, Ace

Best Edited Feature Film (Comedy) Palm Springs - Matthew Friedman, Ace and Andrew Dickler

Best Edited Animated Feature Film Soul - Kevin Nolting, Ace

Best Edited Documentary (Feature...

“The Trial of the Chicago 7” got a big boost in its bid for Best Editing at the Oscars with a win at the Ace Golden Eddie Awards on April 17. It prevailed in the drama race at these awards bestowed by American Cinema Editors over two of its Oscar rivals — “Nomadland” and “Sound of Metal” — as well as “Mank” and “Minari.”

Another of the Oscar nominees, “Promising Young Woman,” lost the comedy/musical category to “Palm Springs.” The other contenders in that race were “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm,” “I Care a Lot” and “On the Rocks.”

Oscar watchers were sure to be watching Saturday’s virtual ceremony. These kudos have previewed of the 18 out of the last 30 Best Picture winners and a whopping 22 of the last 30 Film Editing Oscar champs. Not surprisingly, the Golden Eddies are also prescient when it comes to predicting the five Film Editing Oscar slots. Four of...

Editor Alan Baumgarten’s work on Aaron Sorkin’s drama “The Trial of the Chicago 7″ topped the American Cinema Editors Awards in a virtual ceremony.

Baumgarten beat out competition from “Sound of Metal,” “Mank,” “Minari” and “Nomadland.”

In other categories, Pixar’s “Soul” continued to collect awards, winning best edited animated feature, while “Palm Springs” won best edited feature film comedy. The Oscar-nominated documentary “My Octopus Teacher” won best edited documentary feature.

Director Spike Lee was honored with the Ace Golden Eddie Filmmaker of the Year Award, recognizing a filmmaker who exemplifies distinguished achievement in the art and business of film. Editors and co-stars who had collaborated with Lee over the years including Barry Alexander Brown, Ace; Adam Gough, Ace; Nancy Novak, Ace, Jodie Foster, Riz Ahmed and Sam Pollard all celebrated Lee in a tribute video.

Double Oscar nominee Leslie Odom Jr. shared: “When I was a little boy,...

Updated with full list of winners: Netflix’s Aaron Sorkin drama The Trial of the Chicago 7 won the marquee Best Edited Feature Film (Dramatic) honor Saturday to cap the American Cinema Editors’ 71st annual Ace Eddie Awards.

Alan Baumgarten, Ace, edited the pic, about the unrest around the 1968 Democratic National Convention. It puts him and the film in frontrunner status in the Best Film Editing Oscar race, where it is competing against fellow Ace nominees Nomadland and Sound of Metal along with Promising Young Woman and The Father.

Baumgarten in his virtual acceptance speech thanked Sorkin for his “enthusiasm for editing — it was a pleasure to collaborate with you.” He also thanks his wife, with a nod to the pandemic: “I think myself, and as everybody understands, I brought the work home literally — thank you for your patience and understanding.”

Chicago 7 is up for six Oscars this year including Best Picture.

“The Trial of the Chicago 7” and “Palm Springs” have been named the best-edited films of 2020 by the American Cinema Editors, whose 71st annual Ace Eddie Awards took place in a virtual ceremony on Saturday afternoon.

“Chicago 7,” which is nominated for the film-editing Oscar along with “The Father,” “Nomadland,” “Promising Young Woman” and “Sound of Metal,” won in the Best Edited Feature Film (Dramatic) category. “Palm Springs” won in the comedy category.

Since 2000, when Ace splits its film award into separate drama and comedy categories, one of its winners has gone on to win the Oscar for Best Film Editing 15 times in 21 years. All but one of those wins have come in the drama category.

“Soul” won the award for animated film, while “My Octopus Teacher” took the prize in the documentary category.

In the television categories, winners included “Schitt’s Creek,” “Ted Lasso,” “Better Call Saul,” “Ozark” and “The Queen’s Gambit.

The American Cinema Editors guild, which hands out its awards on April 17, has a good track record as a preview of the Oscar winner for Best Picture (18 out of the last 30) and a great one for forecasting who will win the Film Editing Oscar (22 of the last 30). Not surprisingly, it is also fairly prescient when it comes to predicting the five Film Editing Oscar slots. Four of this year’s Academy Awards nominees contend for this cutting prize; “The Father” was snubbed by the American Cinema Editors.

The Ace Eddie Awards divide their prizes for editing between dramas and comedies/musicals. Oscar nominees “Nomadland,” “Sound of Metal and “The Trial of the Chicago 7” contend here in the drama race, which is rounded out by “Mank” and “Minari.” Facing off on the comedy side against Oscar nominee “Promising Young Woman” are “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm,” “I Care a Lot,” “On the Rocks” and “Palm Springs.

There’s a chase scene in My Octopus Teacher as suspenseful as anything in a Hollywood thriller. The film’s heroine, a tentacled cephalopod, is being pursued by a pajama shark through a kelp forest off the tip of South Africa.

She jets, weaves, inks the waters like Bond expelling smoke from his Aston Martin, dives for shelter, then encrusts herself in a makeshift armor of discarded shells. The aggressive predator latches onto the balled-up octopus, spinning in a frenzied death roll, but can’t penetrate the shells. Then something even more remarkable happens—the octopus seeks protection in the most ingenious way, by attaching herself to the back of the shark so the marauder can’t attack her.

“She’s got the upper hand,” says Craig Foster, the human subject of the film—the male lead, so to speak. “The shark’s been completely outwitted.”

The scene is so...

“Time” director Garrett Bradley says she doesn’t refer to the people she works with as “subjects,” nor does she view their shared experience as “access.” And for the other filmmakers nominated for Oscars for this year’s Best Documentary Feature race, that issue of trust was key in getting all of their films to the screen.

As part of a panel discussion Tuesday for TheWrap Screening Series, all five nominated directors shared their stories of how they came to make their films and developed trust in their subjects, whether they were activists, investigative journalists or a wild cephalopod in the ocean.

TheWrap’s Sharon Waxman spoke with “Time” director Garrett Bradley, “Collective” director Alexander Nanau, “Crip Camp” co-director Nicole Newnham, “My Octopus Teacher” co-director Pippa Ehrlich and “The Mole Agent” director Maite Alberdi. Not only are all five films drastically different in tone and subject matter, the filmmakers themselves...

One of the oddest relationships you’ll see on screen this year is the one between South African filmmaker and diver Craig Foster and the octopus he befriended while diving in the Great African Sea Forest. That’s the relationship at the heart of the documentary “My Octopus Teacher,” which won the British Academy Film Award on Sunday and is nominated for an Oscar in the Best Documentary Feature category.

The Netflix film is based around footage shot by Foster during the year and a half he spent observing and interacting with a female octopus during daily dives he says he made to rekindle his connection with the natural world. Additional material was shot by co-director Pippa Ehrlich in the astounding underwater landscape that was close to Foster’s house in South Africa. Co-director James Reed shot and conducted extensive interviews with Foster that form the spine of the narrative.

It was 11 years ago that South African filmmaker Craig Foster’s life changed forever. While free diving in an underwater kelp forest in False Bay near Cape Town, he encountered a courageous, inquisitive young female octopus. For the next year, he went every day to win her trust as he chronicled her life on film and the two formed a strong bond as he learned about the delicacy of life and the humanity’s link to nature. Anyone who has seen “My Octopus Teacher,” the documentary chronicling their relationship, has been moved by their story.

The Netflix film, which won the PGA Award, is up for Best Documentary Feature at the Oscars. Recently, the American Cinematheque held a Zoom conversation between Oscar-winning filmmakers Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin (“Free Solo”) and “My Octopus Teacher” directors Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed.

“The film was a massive collaboration with a team that’s all over the world,...

The BAFTAs are a crucial marker in the Oscar race, because there’s an actual overlap between the British Academy and Oscar voters. But the outcome of this weekend’s BAFTA races, split into two virtual awards presentations, was less predictive than usual. That’s because while the British contingent of Oscar voters dominates the increasingly international Academy, in order to combat #BAFTAsSoWhite this year, juries weighed in on the directing and acting categories, nominating a record 24 first-timers. This meant that not only were several Oscar-nominated players not competing, but that any American nominees that survived the always British-leaning BAFTAs were stronger than ever.

Landing seven nominations was a sign of strength for “Nomadland” (Searchlight), which went on to win four, including Best Film, Cinematography (British Joshua James Richards), Director (Chloé Zhao), and Actress Frances McDormand, notching her second BAFTA win after “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.” However, the American...

The BAFTAs are a crucial marker in the Oscar race, because there’s an actual overlap between the British Academy and Oscar voters. But the outcome of this weekend’s BAFTA races, split into two virtual awards presentations, was less predictive than usual. That’s because while the British contingent of Oscar voters dominates the increasingly international Academy, in order to combat #BAFTAsSoWhite this year, juries weighed in on the directing and acting categories, nominating a record 24 first-timers. This meant that not only were several Oscar-nominated players not competing, but that any American nominees that survived the always British-leaning BAFTAs were stronger than ever.

Landing seven nominations was a sign of strength for “Nomadland” (Searchlight), which went on to win four, including Best Film, Cinematography (British Joshua James Richards), Director (Chloé Zhao), and Actress Frances McDormand, notching her second BAFTA win after “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.” However, the American...

It’s been a strange year, but cinema endures. The 2021 British Academy Film and Television Awards took place at the Royal Albert Hall on the 11th of April, 2021. In a first in BAFTA history, four women have been nominated in the Director category, including Nomadland director Chloe Zhao, Sarah Gavron for Rocks, and Shannon Murphy for Babyteeth. Other notable nominees include Promising Young Woman, The Trial of the Chicago 7, The Father, Saint Maud and Minari. It is a diverse line up, and a very unusual time but the red carpets are rolling out, even if they are in living rooms around the world.

Yesterday director Ang Lee was entered into the BAFTA Fellowship, and Noel Clarke was awarded the Outstanding British Contribution to cinema. This evening Edith Bowman and Dermot O’Leary hosted the awards and it was a delight to see Yun-Jung Youn’s incredible win for her role in Minari.

Today’s show is being broadcast with a time delay on BBC One at 19:00 UK time.

The Bafta Film Awards 2021 main show is taking place today (April 11) from London’s Royal Albert Hall.

Scroll down for latest winners

An audience will not be present and winners will receive their awards virtually due to ongoing Covid-19 restrictions.

For the first time, the awards are being handed out across two nights. Saturday’s ceremony (April 10) focused on the craft awards.

Today’s show started at 16:15pm UK time, and is being broadcast with a time delay on BBC One starting...

The 73rd annual Directors Guild of America Awards kicked off on Saturday evening. The awards honored the best directing in film and television of the past year.

This year, nominees Lee Isaac Chung for “Minari,” Emerald Fennell for “Promising Young Woman,” David Fincher for “Mank,” Aaron Sorkin for “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” and Chloé Zhao for “Nomadland” vied for the top directorial prize for film, with Zhao winning.

On the TV side, “The Queen’s Gambit,” “Homeland,” and “The Flight Attendant” won the major prizes, shaking up the race as we head into Emmys season.

The DGA prize is often considered a bellwether for the Best Director Oscar. Recent DGA winners that went on to repeat at the Academy Awards include Alfonso Cuarón for “Roma,” Guillermo del Toro for “The Shape of Water,” Damien Chazelle for “La La Land,” and Alejandro G. Iñárritu for both “The Revenant” and “Birdman...

The 73rd Directors Guild of America Awards took place on Saturday, April 10 in a virtual ceremony. These kudos honored the best helmers of the year in film and television, as voted on by more than 18,000 members of the directing guild. The all-important DGA feature film nominees were Chloe Zhao (“Nomadland”), Lee Isaac Chung (“Minari”), David Fincher (“Mank”), Emerald Fennell (“Promising Young Woman”) and Aaron Sorkin (“The Trial of the Chicago 7”). Scroll down for the full winners list in three film and eight TV categories.

The DGA’s feature film category is one of the most telling bellwethers for the Best Director Oscar. The guild and the academy have only disagreed eight times over the past seven decades, including last year when Sam Mendes (“1917”) won the DGA but Bong Joon Ho (“Parasite”) claimed the Oscar. Will this year’s guild winner follow the path of so many prior champs?...

Exclusive: WME has signed James Reed, the co-writer and director behind My Octopus Teacher, Netflix’s first original documentary from South Africa that is up for the Best Documentary Feature Oscar. It follows Foster as he free-dives in a cold underwater kelp forest in South Africa and develops a relationship with a wild common octopus and documents a year in the unusual friendship.

The pic debuted in September last year and has since won more than 20 international awards, including the Wildscreen Golden Panda, Jackson Hole’s Grand Teton, the IDA’s Pare Lorentz, and a PGA Award. Reed is nominated for the Oscar alongside co-director Pippa Ehrlich and producer-narrator Craig Foster. Also, Reed and Ehrlich picked up DGA Award nom for Outstanding Directorial Achievement In Documentaries.

Reed’s other credits include writing and directing the 2017 docu, Rise of The Warrior Apes, which he produced with Keo Films for Discovery. He...

When the 73rd Directors Guild of America Awards take place on April 10, look for some of the big winners to be Chloe Zhao (“Nomadland”), Regina King (“One Night in Miami”) and David France (“Welcome to Chechnya”). These kudos honor the best helmers of the year in film and television, as voted on by more than 18,000 members of the directing guild. Scroll down to see Gold Derby’s predictions in seven categories listed in order of their racetrack odds, with projected winners highlighted in gold.

Our 2021 DGA Awards odds are based on the combined forecasts of 1,600 Gold Derby readers, including Experts we’ve polled from major media outlets, Editors who cover awards year-round for this website, Top 24 Users who did the best predicting last year’s winners, All-Star Users who had the best prediction scores over the last two years, and the mass of Users who make up our biggest predictions bloc.

Many of your friends have seen “My Octopus Teacher,” which registered frequently among the top 10 movies on Netflix in the U.S., Israel, South Africa, and Australia. Until it proved a global hit, Netflix didn’t intend to push this sleeper pickup for Oscar contention. The movie never played festivals and was barely reviewed when it was released in September 2020. Today, otherwise disengaged Academy voters are now singing its praises.

In order to vote in a category, voters are supposed to see all the contenders (ballots are due April 20). The discerning (and increasingly international) documentary branch voted the South African “My Octopus Teacher” into the final five nominees — unusual for such an accessible and manipulative heart-tugger. Now, an Oscar win for the Critics Choice, IDA, and PGA-winner (and DGA and BAFTA nominee) seems like a foregone conclusion.

Why? During lockdown viewers watched freediver Craig Foster take his daily constitutional in...

Many of your friends have seen “My Octopus Teacher,” which registered frequently among the top 10 movies on Netflix in the U.S., Israel, South Africa, and Australia. Until it proved a global hit, Netflix didn’t intend to push this sleeper pickup for Oscar contention. The movie never played festivals and was barely reviewed when it was released in September 2020. Today, otherwise disengaged Academy voters are now singing its praises.

In order to vote in a category, voters are supposed to see all the contenders (ballots are due April 20). The discerning (and increasingly international) documentary branch voted the South African “My Octopus Teacher” into the final five nominees — unusual for such an accessible and manipulative heart-tugger. Now, an Oscar win for the Critics Choice, IDA, and PGA-winner (and DGA and BAFTA nominee) seems like a foregone conclusion.

Why? During lockdown viewers watched freediver Craig Foster take his daily constitutional in...

Pippa Ehrlich, director, co-writer and editor of the Oscar-nominated documentary “My Octopus Teacher,” has signed with UTA for representation in all areas.

“My Octopus Teacher” follows producer-narrator Craig Foster as he free-dives in a cold underwater kelp forest in South Africa and develops a relationship with a wild common octopus and documents a year in the unusual (and beautiful) friendship. The hit nature documentary, Netflix’s first original doc from South Africa, also marked Ehrlich’s directorial debut.

The film debuted to critical acclaim in September 2020, and has since won more than 20 international awards, including the prestigious Wildscreen Golden Panda, Jackson Hole’s Grand Teton, the IDA’s Pare Lorentz and a PGA Award.

Ehrlich is nominated for the Academy Award for best documentary feature alongside co-director James Reed and Foster. Ehrlich and Reed are also nominated for a DGA Award for outstanding directorial achievement in documentaries. Ehrlich is also...

After spending time with Craig Foster, going through the footage he had captured of an octopus in a kelp forest off the coast of South Africa and assembling it into the movie that would eventually become “My Octopus Teacher,” Pippa Ehrlich sensed that something wasn’t right with the film. “We reached a point where we had a cut that we were happy with but something just wasn’t quite working. We had a feeling it was about the voice of the film which at that point was a voiceover,” Ehrlich tells us in our recent webchat (watch the exclusive video above). That was when the executive producer brought in James Reed to help. Reed went down to South Africa and interviewed Foster over three days and both he and Ehrlich knew they had discovered what the film had been lacking. “It was the most interesting conversation I’ve ever had in my life.

Shakespeare warned to “beware the Ides of March,” but the 15th brought glad tidings to a select group of documentary feature filmmakers who earned coveted Oscar nominations.

Among them was Pippa Ehrlich, the South African-born director of the Netlix documentary My Octopus Teacher.

“I was surprised enough to jump about a meter and a half into the air,” Ehrlich tells Deadline of her reaction to the nomination. When we reached her she said she still didn’t quite have her feet on the ground. “I’m half way back down to Earth now. It’s been quite an afternoon.”

It was a similar feeling of elation for Romania’s Alexander Nanau, director of Collective, which earned nominations for both Documentary Feature and Best International Film.

“It was a bit like a football game, everybody jumping up,” Nanau says of watching the announcement live. “It’s the first time a Romanian...

Actor-producer Priyanka Chopra Jonas and singer, songwriter, and actor Nick Jonas announced the 93rd Oscars® nominations today (March 15), live from London, via a global live stream on Oscar.com, Oscars.org, the Academy’s digital platforms, an international satellite feed, and broadcast media.

Mank led the field with 10 nominations and becomes the seventh black-and-white film to be nominated for Costume Design and the seventeenth for Cinematography since separate categories for color and black-and-white films were merged in 1967. David Fincher’s film offers a vivid look at Hollywood in the 1930s when movie studios were at the height of their power and influence, and 100 million Americans went to the pictures every week.

Chopra Jonas and Jonas announced the nominees in 23 categories at 5:19 a.m. Pt. For a complete list of nominees, visit the official Oscars website, www.oscar.com.

Academy members from each of the 17 branches vote to determine the...