‘A Thousand Cuts,’ ‘Yellow Rose,’ ‘Lingua Franca’ eligible for Oscars Best Picture

Three films by women filmmakers with Filipino roots were deemed eligible for the 2020 Academy Awards. 

The documentary A Thousand Cuts by Ramona Diaz, Yellow Rose by Diane Paragas, and Lingua Franca by Isabel Sandoval are 3 of 366 films eligible for the plum prize from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, which released the list, the number of eligible films this year is the longest in 50 years.

A Thousand Cuts, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2020, follows Rappler’s Maria Ressa and tackles attacks against the media under the Duterte administration.

Yellow Rose, Paragas’ directorial debut, stars Eva Noblezada as a young Filipino-American singer who dreams of being a country music star as she faces the threat of deportation.

Lingua Franca, which stars, and was written and directed by Sandoval, follows an undocumented Filipino trans caregiver in Brooklyn who tries to seek a green card via marriage.

All 3 movies have reaped awards from festivals and organizations around the world.   

This year’s Oscars is decidedly different. According to THR, it was extended by two months because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Eligibility rules were also tweaked, allowing films to qualify by opening for a week in 6 US metropolitan areas, instead of just Los Angeles and New York.

This year’s awards also considered films that were meant to be released theatrically but first made available via commercial streaming, video-on-demand services, or other means, as long as they became viewable via the Academy Screening Room member site within two months of their release or broadcast. 

Academy members will have to choose between 5 and 10 Best Picture nominees once voting begins on March 5. Voting will close on March 10, with final nominations to be announced on March 15. – Rappler.com