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War is hell, and so are war films that dont quite hit the mark. Over the past decade, in the wake of the 100th anniversary of the start of World War I, the film industry around the world has been flush with fresh takes on trench warfare and acts of individual heroism across Europe and abroad. From the United Kingdom's Academy Award-winning 1917 to Germany's Academy Award-winning remake of All Quiet on the Western Front, to Frances lesser-known Au revoir l-haut (See You Up There) and Latvias Dvseu putenis (Blizzard of Souls), it has been thrilling to see each country bring their own history to this tragic war through the film lens. Julien Hayet-Kerknawi brings the Dutch experience during the war to his sophomoric feature film The Last Frontto an extent.

Magnolia Pictures International has acquired worldwide rights, including U.S. sales rights, to “Neon Spring” by writer-director Matīss Kaža (“One Ticket Please”).

The film will have its world premiere at the Edinburgh International Film Festival on Aug. 15.

Set to strobe lights and a techno soundtrack, “Neon Spring” chronicles two months in the life of Laine, a college girl from a middle-class suburb in Latvia. As Laine’s father distances himself from his crumbling marriage and his family, Laine is unable to cope with the separation and discovers the edgy Riga party scene, where she falls in love with seasoned raver Gunda. Going from rave to rave, the girls journey into a drug-fueled underworld of anarchy, freedom and exploration.

Inspired by actual experiences of the filmmaker, the film is “an honest and authentic story that explores the complexity of young relationships and sexual discoveries, loneliness and escapism, without being didactic or preachy,...

Selected directors include Stephan Komandarev, Dzintars Dreibergs, Laetitia Dosch.

Stephen Komandarev, Dzintars Dreibergs and Laetitia Dosch are among the 18 directors whose projects have been selected for the 13th edition of the Les Arcs Coproductions Village.

The projects will compete for the €6,000 ArteKino International Prize.

Scroll down for the full list of projects

Bulgarian director Komandarev participates with Made In EU, a co-production between Bulgaria’s Argo Film and Germany’s 42Film. Komandarev has directed 10 previous features, including Directions, which debuted in Un Certain Regard at Cannes 2017.

Dreibergs attends with Escape Net, produced by Latvia’s Kultfilma. Dreibergs’ previous titles include Blizzard Of Souls,...

It was a bold move for Stefan Ruzowitzky (“The Counterfeiters” among many others) to conceive of a gritty Expressionist detective-thriller set in the aftermath of World War I, shot almost entirely on blue screen. Whether it’s also fully successful is open for debate. Thematically, the idea was to tackle the impotent rage of the Austro-Hungarian patriarchy whose fanatical belief in Emperor and Empire went up in smoke when the Armistice brushed aside the monarchy and reduced the territory to a state of near insignificance. With this context, the film foregrounds the story of a traumatized lieutenant returning to his duties as police inspector in Vienna just when an especially sadistic murderer is killing his former comrades.

Given all these elements, it’s not such a leap to envision a reawakening of Expressionism, at its cinematic height in 1919-1920, as an appropriate visual style. Ruzowitzky however isn’t content with its hermetic,...

Nearly all of Oscar’s 2020 original-song nominees are newcomers, while only two of this morning’s original-score nominees are new to the competition.

Veteran songwriter Diane Warren earned her 12th nomination for “Io Sì (Seen)” from “The Life Ahead,” shared with singer and co-lyricist Laura Pausini. She must be seen as the front-runner, as she has never won in over three decades of nominations; and she won the Golden Globe on Feb. 28.

Leslie Odom Jr., also nominated this morning for playing singer Sam Cooke in “One Night in Miami,” earned a second nomination as the writer of that film’s closing song, “Speak Now,” shared with Sam Ashworth.

All of the other song nominees are first-timers at the Academy Awards. British composer Daniel Pemberton received a nod for “Hear My Voice” for the film he scored, “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” shared with vocalist and co-writer Celeste.

H.E.R., fresh...

When Lolita Ritmanis was a little girl in Portland, Oregon, she didn’t even speak English. She spoke the native tongue of her parents, who fled the terrors of Communist Latvia in the years following World War II.

Now an Emmy-winning composer (and bilingual), she is on the Oscar shortlist for best original score for her rich orchestral and choral score for “Blizzard of Souls,” a World War I epic produced in her parents’ native country.

As Oscar voting begins today, Ritmanis is an admitted long shot for a nomination. But her win Tuesday night at the Society of Composers & Lyricists’ virtual ceremony, in the independent feature score category, ups her chances considerably. And a review of the past 20 years of Oscar score nominations reveals at least eight that contained “dark horse” nominees.

“It’s a huge cinematic break, coming from my parents’ homeland,” Ritmanis tells Variety, noting that she...

“Da 5 Bloods” Terence Blanchard, a Grammy-winning jazz musician who earned his first Oscar nomination two years ago for Spike Lee’s “BlacKkKlansman,” has an idea about how to boost diversity in Hollywood music — and give more talented women and musicians of color an opportunity to score films.

“What we should do is have blind auditions. Listen to some music and tell me if it was written by a woman or a person of color, because you would know much better than me,” Blanchard said during a panel of Oscar-shortlisted film composers as part of TheWrap’s Awards Screening Series. “For me…it’s not about gender and it’s not about race. It’s about who is bringing a unique voice to the project.”

Despite his own success in Hollywood, Blanchard believes that his race has sometimes hurt his job prospects. “I’ve had people who wanted to hire...

Variety's Awards Circuit is home to the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars from Film Awards Editor Clayton Davis. Following Academy Awards history, buzz, news, reviews and sources, the Oscar predictions are updated regularly with the current year's contenders in all categories. Variety's Awards Circuit Prediction schedule consists of four phases, running all year long: Draft, Pre-Season, Regular Season and Post Season. Eligibility calendar and dates of awards will determine how long each phase lasts and will be displayed next to revision date.

To see all the latest predictions, of all the categories, in one place, visit The Collective

Draft>>>Pre Season>>>Regular Season>>>Post Season

2021 Oscars Predictions:

Best Original Score

Updated: Mar. 4, 2021

Awards Prediction Commentary: There’s movement about but “News of the World” and “Soul” still look like the two favorites in the race. “Minari” and “The Midnight Sky” have the fresh take and familiarity this category goes for.

For much of her career, composer Lolita Ritmanis dreamed of tackling an “epic” Latvian film, in tribute to her heritage as a Latvian-American. In 2019, she finally was able to do so with Blizzard of Souls, penning deeply affecting music, which landed her on the Oscars’ shortlist for Best Original Score.

Directed by Dzintars Dreibergs, the adaptation of Aleksandrs Grīns’ 1934 novel of the same name centers on Arturs (Oto Brantevics), a 16-year-old who enlists as a rifleman in the Imperial Russian Army, going on to witness the horrors of World War I. For the historical drama, Ritmanis wrote 75 minutes’ worth of music, which would be performed by a full symphony orchestra and the award-winning State Choir Latvija.

Strangely, while Blizzard of Souls is exceptional on the whole, its score alone is what has resonated widely stateside. While the feature was selected as Latvia’s entry for Best International Feature Film, its...

It was definitely an evening of “soul” at the second annual Society of Composers & Lyricists Awards, as the Pixar film “Soul” and the Latvian film “Blizzard of Souls” took the top prizes for outstanding original scores for 2020 films.

The “Soul” composing trio of Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross and Jon Batiste won for outstanding original score for a studio film, their second such prize in 48 hours after winning the Golden Globe Sunday night. Should it maintain this momentum through other ceremonies in the weeks to come, “Soul” could be the film to beat at Oscar time.

Batiste, music director for TV’s “Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” contributed the jazz material for the story about an aspiring jazz pianist whose life is cut short by an accident. Reznor and Ross wrote the dramatic score. Reznor and Ross, who were also nominated this year for “Mank,” are best known for their Nine...

Just moments ago, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences revealed the total number of movies that are eligible to win their Best Picture prize. This time around, there are 366 films that are in contention to take the Oscar for Best Picture. That would be the largest number for the Academy in a half century, which is an interesting quirk, considering the expanded Academy Awards eligibility this year. The list is below, but it contains all of the expected flicks, as you might imagine. Now, we just have to wait a few more weeks and see which titles are nominated for Best Picture. Then, we can whittle this list down from 366 to something less than ten. Sit tight for that… Here are all 366 films eligible for this year’s Best Picture Oscar: Absent Now the Dead Accidental Luxuriance of the Translucent Watery Rebus Alberto and the Concrete Jungle All...

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Thursday revealed the 366 feature films that are eligible for consideration at the 93rd Oscars, which are set to air April 25 live on ABC.

The total number of films is up from last year’s 344 films in contention.

This year’s list was compiled based on tweaked eligibility rules implemented because of the coronavirus pandemic, which has pushed the ceremony to its latest date ever. For this year, feature films had to open by February 28 in a commercial motion picture theater for a seven-day qualifying run in at least one of six metro areas: Los Angeles County, New York City, the Bay Area, Chicago, Miami and Atlanta. Drive-in theaters open nightly were included as qualifying venues, as were films intended for theatrical release but because of the lockdown made available first via streaming, VOD service or other broadcast.

Today’s news comes...

Just when this awards season was starting to look like one that might be almost bereft of surprises, a few nominations and some shortlists have thrown some wild cards into the mix. And that’s added a small note of uncertainty to a year that badly needed one.

Granted, nothing earthshaking came out of last week’s Golden Globes and SAG nominations or this week’s Oscar shortlists in nine different categories. The Best Picture front runners are still the ones we’ve known about since the fall: “The Trial of the Chicago 7” and “Nomadland” and a handful of others.

But in small ways, some weirdness entered the race over the past week and a half. If you’d have asked me on Tuesday morning which films would receive the most notice on the Oscar shortlists — which cover original score, original song, makeup and hairstyling and visual effects, along with international feature,...

Of all the below-the-line categories at the Oscars, Best Original Score is the most difficult to predict early on due to the finicky nature of the music branch of the academy. Scores that sound like frontrunners are disqualified for a variety of reasons, from the number of credited composers to the amount of previously recorded music used. (Scroll down for the most up-to-date 2021 Oscar predictions for Best Original Score.)

Even when we know the players, it is still difficult to predict the eventual winner given the diversity of the recent champs. The epic orchestrations of Howard Shore‘s “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” (2002) and “Lotr: The Return of the King” (2004) sound nothing like A.H. Rahman‘s pulsating, Bombay-infused work on “Slumdog Millionaire” (2009), Alexander Desplat‘s whimsical tunes for “The Grand Budapest Hotel” (2015) or Hildur Guonadottir‘s pulsating rhythms in “Joker” (2020).

As with many of...

The Academy Awards’ shortlists are a blessing and a curse.

Blessing in that it truly helps awards strategists and publicists hone their efforts and marketing dollars toward a sampling of candidates in the final run-up to nominations. In the case of the Music Branch and the Original Score category, film scores typically are punished over quota rules, i.e. this year a film’s music needs to be composed of 60% of original score, versus 50% in prior years. Also, if any of the music was ever pre-conceived in another medium, not specifically written for the film, then forget it. You’re disqualified. For example, a bulk of Mark Orton’s haunting, folksy score from Alexander Payne’s 2013 feature Nebraska were from tracks the composer wrote previously, despite the cues’ electricity in the black-and-white dramedy starring Will Forte, Bruce Dern and June Squibb.

When it comes to the Academy’s Music Branch and how it qualifies scores,...

This year’s nine Oscar shortlists are voted on by five branches of the Academy — Music, Documentary, Animation and Shorts, VFX, and Makeup and Hairstyling — as well as the intrepid members from all over the world who were willing and able to watch online a minimum of a dozen qualifying international features. Reading the tea leaves of these shortlists reveals some strengths and weaknesses heading into the final round of voting for the final five nominations to be announced on March 15.

To state the obvious, voters made their selection from a wide range of smaller-scale movies, given that many of the studio blockbusters, from Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story” to Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune,” were pushed back due to the pandemic. Clearly, while stuck at home, many Academy voters were watching Netflix. That’s a huge advantage for “step one” on the road to an Oscar nomination: getting your movie seen.

This year’s nine Oscar shortlists are voted on by five branches of the Academy — Music, Documentary, Animation and Shorts, VFX, and Makeup and Hairstyling — as well as the intrepid members from all over the world who were willing and able to watch online a minimum of a dozen qualifying international features. Reading the tea leaves of these shortlists reveals some strengths and weaknesses heading into the final round of voting for the final five nominations to be announced on March 15.

To state the obvious, voters made their selection from a wide range of smaller-scale movies, given that many of the studio blockbusters, from Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story” to Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune,” were pushed back due to the pandemic. Clearly, while stuck at home, many Academy voters were watching Netflix. That’s a huge advantage for “step one” on the road to an Oscar nomination: getting your movie seen.

The academy released the 2021 Oscars shortlists in nine categories on Tuesday, February 9. The hopefuls in a wide range of races found out if they are remain in contention for the 93rd annual Academy Awards. Among these are the marquee categories for Best International Feature Film (which was pared down to 10 films from the 93 submitted) and Best Documentary Feature (which went from 238 to 15).

Both music awards – Best Original Song and Best Original Score — were winnowed down to just 15 contenders from upwards of 100 submissions apiece. The Best Makeup and Hairstyling and Best Visual Effects races as well as the three awards for shorts – animated, documentary and live-action — were culled from dozens of entries to 10 apiece.

Documentary Feature

Two hundred and thirty-eight films were eligible for consideration; there are 15 on the shortlist. Members of the Documentary Branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees. The films, listed in alphabetical order by title,...

The shortlists for the Academy Awards’ two music categories are out, and while there are few surprises among the 375-member music branch’s 15 choices for best original score, there’s a remarkable shift in the original song category: Nearly half of the 15 songs on that list emerged from narrative films or documentaries whose casts or subjects were predominantly Black.

Most of these songs had already been tagged as leading contenders, even though it was hardly a certainty they’d all make the shortlist. Among them: Janelle Monae’s “Turntables” from the voter-suppression doc “All In: The Fight for Democracy,” Mary J. Blige’s “See What You’ve Done” from the prison-sterilization documentary “Belly of the Beast,” John Legend’s “Never Break” from the young-actor doc “Giving Voice,” Leslie Odom Jr.’s “Speak Now” from “One Night in Miami,” H.E.R.’s “Fight for You” from “Judas and the Black Messiah” and...

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has released the shortlists in the Oscars race for Best Original Score and Best Original Song. “The Trial of the Chicago 7” has landed on both lists to advance in the awards race, as have songs and compositions from “Mulan” and “Minari.” And Sacha Baron Cohen’s satiric “Wuhan Flu” from “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” also made the cut.

Fifteen scores and songs were added to each respective shortlist from a whopping 136 eligible scores and a record 105 eligible songs. In the score category, other films to make the cut included “Tenet” by Ludwig Goransson, Terence Blanchard for “Da 5 Bloods,” Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for “Mank,” Alexandre Desplat for “The Midnight Sky” and James Newton Howard for “News of the World.”

The most surprising entry on the list of scores was Lolita Ritmanis’ work in the Latvian film “Blizzard of Souls.” Notable...

The road to the 2021 Academy Awards hit an important marker today with the announcement of nine shortlists for the following categories: International Feature Film, Documentary, Original Score, Original Song, Makeup and Hairstyling, Visual Effects, Live-Action Short Film, Documentary Short Subject, and Animated Short Film. Just as in previous years, members of the Academy will select from these reduced lists of contenders in each category the nominees for the 2021 Oscars. This year marked the third year in a row the Academy released nine of its shortlists on the same day.

The nominations for the 2021 Oscars will be announced Monday, March 15, ahead of the 93rd Academy Awards telecast on Sunday, April 25. The Academy pushed back the ceremony this year in the wake of the Covid pandemic. Films that were set for a theatrical release but headed to streaming and/or PVOD instead are eligible for Oscar consideration. The Oscar cutoff date for...

Music, score, visual effects, make-up and hairstyling, short film shortlists also unveiled.

The Academy has announced the 15 international and 15 documentary features that have made the cut as it unveiled nine Oscar shortlists on Tuesday (February 9).

Switzerland’s My Little Sister, Greece’s Apples and Poland’s Never Gonna Snow Again are notable absentees from an international list dominated by Europe with seven contenders, followed by Latin America on three, Africa and Asia on two apiece, and the Middle East with one.

In January the Academy expanded the international shortlist from 10 to 15, ruling that the international feature film preliminary committee would vote on the entire shortlist.

Music, score, visual effects, make-up and hairstyling, short film shortlists also unveiled.

The Academy has announced the 15 international and 15 documentary features that have made the cut as it unveiled nine Oscar shortlists on Tuesday (February 9).

Switzerland’s My Little Sister, Greece’s Apples and Poland’s Never Gonna Snow Again are notable absentees from an international list dominated by Europe with seven contenders, followed by Latin America on three, Africa and Asia on two apiece, and the Middle East with one.

In January the Academy expanded the international shortlist from 10 to 15, ruling that the international feature film preliminary committee would vote on the entire shortlist.

Music, score, visual effects, make-up and hairstyling, short film shortlists also unveiled.

The Academy has announced the 15 international features and 15 documentary shortlists that have made the cut as it unveiled nine Oscar shortlists on Tuesday (February 9).

Switzerland’s My Little Sister and Greece’s Apples are notable absentees from an international list dominated by Europe with seven contenders, followed by Latin America on three, Africa and Asia on two apiece, and the Middle East with one.

All shortlisted films proceed to the phase one voting stage that runs from March 5-9 prior to the nominations announcement on March 15. The 93rd...

For most of its history, Latvia's experience of war has been the same: elsewhere is Europe, other countries fall out, and then lots of soldiers march through it, casually killing Latvians as they go. For much the same reason, however, it's a valuable piece of territory - ease of access and its position between empires has given it abundant trade. This means it has usually been governed from afar by a more powerful country. Blizzard Of Souls reflects on how these scenarios played out during the First World War, and how it proudly - albeit temporarily - achieved sovereign independence.

The story centres on Arturs (Oto Brantevics), a young man who is content with his simple rural existence until burgeoning conflict claims the life of his mother. Eager to sign up and go get the bad guys, he tries to lie about his age and, when caught, is aided and abetted.

The team of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross leads all nominees for the second annual Society of Composers and Lyricists Awards, the organization of scorers and songwriters active in visual media.

The composing duo (who won an Oscar 10 years ago for “The Social Network” and an Emmy last year for “Watchmen”) received three nominations. They were cited for outstanding original score for a studio film for both their 2020 films, Netflix’s “Mank” and Disney-Pixar’s “Soul.” They share the “Soul” nod with composer Jon Batiste, who contributed the jazz threaded throughout the film.

Reznor and Ross received a third nomination, for outstanding original song for visual media, for their song “(If Only You Could) Save Me,” written for “Mank.”

Scl’s list is notable for the dominance of women composers in the category of outstanding original score for an independent film — three of the five nominees: Lolita Ritmanis for the...

As voting opens for the Oscar shortlists on Feb. 1, the picture is slowly coming into focus: Academy composers and songwriters are faced with one of the most diverse batches of scores they’ve ever heard.

The approximately 350 members of the Academy music branch are sifting through dozens of films to try and single out 15 scores and 15 songs worthy of placement on its shortlists, which will be revealed Feb. 9. These preliminary choices will be narrowed down to five final nominees in each category, to be announced March 15.

Best Original Score

It’s a surprisingly competitive year, making predictions even more difficult. But the music branch likes to reward familiar names, so look for such past winners as Alexandre Desplat (“Grand Budapest Hotel”) for his alternately melancholy and hopeful score for “The Midnight Sky”; Ludwig Göransson (“Black Panther”) for his propulsive, synth-orchestra hybrid for the intense spy thriller “Tenet”; and Howard Shore...

Shortlists to be announced on February 9.

The Academy on Thursday (January 28) published a list of 93 films eligible for international feature film Oscar category.

Algeria’s Heliopolis, about the brutal suppression by French colonial authorities of an uprising in 1945, is omitted from the list. Screen understands the national selection committee withdrew the submission.

There were also a record number of documentary submissions – 238 compared to the previous high of 170 – in light of amended eligibility rules this season due to the pandemic, and a reduced field of 27 animation contenders.

The shortlists will be announced on February 9. The 93rd annual Academy Awards are scheduled...

Songs or scores from “Soul,” “Minari,” “Tenet,” “News of the World,” “”Euphoria” and “The Queen’s Gambit” were among the winners Wednesday night at the 11th annual (and first virtual) Hollywood Music in Media Awards.

Breaking down categories by genre affords the HMMAs the opportunity to cast a wide net in its awards. Film-related trophies went to James Newton Howard for “News of the World,” for outstanding score in a feature film; Emile Mosseri for “Minari” in the independent film category; Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross and Jon Batiste for “Soul” as the outstanding animated film score; Ludwig Göransson’s work on “Tenet” for sci-fi/fantasy score; Benjamin Wallfisch’s “The Invisible Man” score in the horror division; and Steven Price for documentary score for Netflix’s “David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet.”

(Although it’s not yet certain how the Oscars will handle the different musical contributions of Batiste and Reznor/Ross for “Soul,...

Nigeria’s Oscar entry is screening from Jan 22, 3pm UK time.

Screen International has partnered with film market platform Archipel Market on an exclusive series of screenings focused on the international feature awards race.

This initiative is designed to enable each country to organise an event around their submission.

The first screenings in the programme are the Oscar entries for India (Jallikattu); Latvia (Blizzard Of Souls); Nigeria (The Milkmaid); and South Africa (Toorbos). More titles will be added during this year’s awards season.

The screenings are open to awards voters and industry professionals and will be available for 24 hours after the start time.

Film Movement president Michael Rosenberg, Loco Films head of sales Arnaud Godard announce acquisitions.

Film Movement has acquired US rights to Philipp Yuryev’s Venice Giornate degli Autori Director’s Award winner The Whaler Boy and Ivan Ostrochovsky’s Berlinale selection Servants (exclusive).

Both films are in the pipeline for 2021 theatrical releases followed by roll-out on home entertainment and digital platforms.

The Whaler Boy stars Vladimir Onokhov as Leshka, a 15-year-old whale hunter in the north eastern region of Russia who contemplates a perilous voyage across the on the Bering Strait to meet a girl he encounters on a webcam site.

The first titles are the Oscar entries for India, Latvia, Nigeria, and South Africa.

Screen International has partnered with film market Archipel Market on an exclusive series of screenings focused on the international feature awards race.

This initiative is designed to enable each country to organise an event around their submission.

The first screenings in the programme are the Oscar entries for India (Jallikattu); Latvia (Blizzard Of Souls); Nigeria (The Milkmaid); and South Africa (Toorbos). More titles will be added during this year’s awards season.

The screenings are open to awards voters and industry professionals and will be available...

Listen up Oscar fans and international cinema aficioniados. We'd been holding off on this three part deep dive into the list of titles vying for Best International Feature Film until the Academy's announcement. Sadly we hear through the grapevine that they're not actually making this list "official" until very late in January. In other words, less than two weeks after they announce the 90 plus titles, they'll be cutting most of them when the finalist list of ten is announced on February 9th. This is no way to treat the movies, giving them such a tiny window of "official" attention. So we're sharing the list of 93 titles (a record) now and doing our deep dive now... with the caveat that one or two titles might change in late January when the Academy makes this official. If things do change we'll republish the list and the articles then. If they don't, we can just link back.

Early January is rarely a time for exciting new releases, although this year is slightly different, as the Oscar window has shifted and streaming services offer up their awards contenders. This week, “Herself” and “Pieces of a Woman” make their way from limited theatrical runs to Amazon and Netflix, respectively. And over at Film Movement, Latvian foreign language submission “Blizzard of Souls” kicks off a weekly series of movies competing for the international feature Oscar.

Otherwise, the release calendar reflects the usual January doldrums, made all the more tepid by the lack of schlock horror movies and YA romantic weepies. It won’t surprise many to learn that theatrical releases are slim, although those willing to risk it can watch “CSI” veteran Gary Dourdan play an American war hero tasked with rescuing his pregnant wife from terrorists. By all reports, you don’t need to see this one to guess how it goes.

A naïve teenager comes of age amid the carnage of World War I’s Eastern Front in this propulsive adaptation of Aleksandrs Grins’ 1934 patriotic classic “Blizzard of Souls.” With its muscular direction by former documentarian Dzintars Dreibergs, atmospheric cinematography and careful attention to period detail, this account of a troop of Latvian Riflemen fighting first for the Russian Imperial Army against invading German forces and then for an independent Latvia should appeal to WWI buffs and fans of Sam Mendes’ “1917.” While not quite in the same league as Liviu Ciulei’s “Forest of the Hanged” or Stanley Kubrick’s “Paths of Glory,” Latvia’s Oscar submission — which set box office records in its native country — does contain a strong message about the futility of war.

After German forces kill his mother on the family farm, the not-quite-17-year-old schoolboy Arturs and his aging father (Martins Vilsons), a sharp-shooting former sergeant,...

The composers of ‘Little Women’, ‘Joker’ and ‘It Chapter Two’ scores also nominated.

The World Soundtrack Awards has unveiled the nominations for its 20th edition, which is set is to go ahead as a physical event as well as being streamed live and online for the first time.

Scroll down for full list of nominees

The nominees for the coveted Film Composer of the Year award include Alexandre Desplat (Little Women), Hildur Guðnadóttir (Joker), Thomas Newman (1917), Benjamin Wallfisch (It Chapter Two) and John Williams (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker).

The contenders were all Oscar-nominated earlier this year, with the...

"We'll come back soon." Parkland Ent. has released the official UK trailer for a World War I drama titled The Rifleman, from Latvian filmmaker Dzintars Dreibergs. This film also has the title Blizzard of Souls, and its adapted from a book which was originally banned in the Ussr; a story based on Aleksandrs Grins' own war experiences figghting in a Latvian battalion. A sixteen-year-old boy named Arturs enlists to fight in First World War as one of the first national battalions of Latvia, with dreams of becoming a hero. After surviving the brutalities of trench warfare and the loss of his family, he wonders if his efforts in battle were futile and if hope is only to be found in rebuilding a family and a home as Latvia itself is (re)born from the atrocities of war. Starring Oto Brantevics as Arturs, along with Raimonds Celms, Martins Vilsons, Jekabs Reinis,...

It is also putting three planned theatrical releases on hold until later in 2020.

UK distributor Parkland Entertainment has revealed plans to release a raft of new titles onto digital platforms early, including three new acquisitions, as cinemas remain closed nationwide due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Astronaut, starring Richard Dreyfuss, was set to be released on 65 screens on March 20 – three days before theatres shut their doors – but will now be available to rent and own from digital platforms on April 27.

Documentary Camino Skies will be released as a premium VOD title on Curzon Home Cinema from May 8, the original theatrical release date,...

A different point of view on the First World War told with the chilling truth of someone who has lived through combat and its shocking aftermath, Blizzard of Souls (Dveselu Putenis) derives its power from its strong, simple depiction of war seen through the eyes of an innocent 17-year-old soldier. In this it may be compared to Sam Mendes’ 1917, which was also based on eyewitness accounts of the war. The difference is that here the drama is underscored by evident, old-fashioned patriotism as the small Baltic country of Latvia tangles first with Russia and later the Soviet Union.

Adapted from ...

A different point of view on the First World War told with the chilling truth of someone who has lived through combat and its shocking aftermath, Blizzard of Souls (Dveselu Putenis) derives its power from its strong, simple depiction of war seen through the eyes of an innocent 17-year-old soldier. In this it may be compared to Sam Mendes’ 1917, which was also based on eyewitness accounts of the war. The difference is that here the drama is underscored by evident, old-fashioned patriotism as the small Baltic country of Latvia tangles first with Russia and later the Soviet Union.

Adapted from ...

The war drama hit Latvian cinemas on 8 November and has been seen by over 200,000 viewers. In the five weeks since its release on 8 November, Dzintars Dreibergs’ war drama Blizzard of Souls has become the most watched film in Latvia since the 1991 restoration of Latvian independence. The news was first reported by national film portals Uz kino and Kinopunkts. Blizzard of Souls has now been watched by 207,892 viewers in total. Dreibergs’ feature breaks the record previously established in 2007 by another independence-era epic, namely Aigars Grauba’s Defenders of Riga. That film revolved around the liberators of interwar Latvia in 1919 and was the most expensive domestic production at the time. Moreover, Cinevilla’s backlot was purposely built to host the shooting of Grauba’s film. The results achieved by Blizzard of Souls also make it the most successful film financed under the special centenary funding programme known as...