Director Ivan Grbovic Says Canada’s Oscar Entry ‘Drunken Birds’ Is “Kind Of The Anti-‘Babel’ ” – Contenders International

There are moments in Drunken Birds, Serbian Canadian director Ivan Grbovic’s long-awaited second feature, that evoke strong sense memories of Days Of Heaven, Terrence Malick’s definitive film about the beauty and hardship of the rural laboring life. Days Of Heaven was set in 1916; Drunken Birds takes place today on a successful vegetable farm in Québec, where the workers are bussed in seasonally from Mexico.

Amanda Stanton was thrust into the spotlight in 2016 when Bachelor fans became enamored with the single mom during Ben Higgins’ season of the reality show. Though she didn’t walk away with the final rose, Stanton continued to search for love in front of the lens.

Johanna Konta has announced her retirement from professional tennis.Exclusive: Johanna Konta shares details of surprise engagement ahead of Wimbledon returnThe former British No 1, who reached the Wimbledon semi-finals in 2017 - the first British woman to achieve this in 39 years, made the announcement on her social media pages, with a post headed "Grateful".WATCH: Kate Middleton makes surprise appearance at Wimbledon"This is the word that I've probably been used to the most during my career,

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentStarring Pablo Larraín regular Alfredo Castro, Chilean-Spanish writer-director Theo Court’s “White on White” (“Blanco en Blanco”) has been acquired for distribution in North America by Outsider Pictures.The deal follows on the film’s world premiere this September at the Venice Film Festival’s Horizons sidebar, where Court won a Silver Lion for the section’s best director and a film writers’ Fipresci Prize.

Family reunion? Prince William and Duchess Kate are set to travel to the United States for the first time since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle left the U.K. for her native country. However, it is “somewhat unlikely” that the Fab Four will all stay together at the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s California home during the visit, according to royal expert Jonathan Sacerdoti.

At 50, Amanda Holden is looking better than ever, partly thanks to a dedicated anti-ageing regime. However the glamorous TV star won’t be advising Simon Cowell to give her favourite face treatment a try – because she reckons he’d never be able to handle the pain.

K.J. Yossman U.K.

Apichatpong Weerasethakul has long been an ambassador for his native Thailand, but his latest film—the Cannes Competition hit Memoria—was shot entirely in Colombia, which has chosen the film as its 2021 International Feature Oscar entry. Compounding the truly international flavor of the production, it stars the UK’s Tilda Swinton as a Scottish woman named Jessica who is in Bogotá to see her sister when a mysterious noise she hears at daybreak sets her on a mesmerizing journey of self-discovery.

For director Tatiana Huezo, her debut feature Prayers for the Stolen (Noche de Fuego) was largely a balancing act of telling a coming-of-age story of young girls while also conveying a story of corruption, drugs and human trafficking in the Mexican countryside.

Marking their third collaboration in 20 years, filmmaker Fernando León de Aranoa and Oscar winner Javier Bardem reteamed for The Good Boss, which is representing Spain in this year’s International Feature Oscar race. The duo joined Deadline’s Contenders Film: International awards-season event to discuss the movie and their enduring relationship.

Sarah Ferguson gave an update on the Queen’s health in a new interview.

Details revealed during Amanda Knox's interview with Alexandra Cooper of "Call Her Daddy" podcast released Wednesday continues making headlines.Knox reportedly said she has sent messages to the family of former friend and roommate Meredith Kercher, who she was wrongly accused of murdering in Italy, saying she wants a relationship with them. She also said she finds herself thinking 'oh my god, it could have been me' every year around the time of the anniversary of the 21-year-old's British

Adele’s not letting her divorce hold her back from giving marriage advice, and her message to John Mayer is loud and clear: Do it!The 33-year-old British singer interviewed the 44-year-old crooner for SiriusXM, and marriage was a topic Adele did not shy away from.Mayer asked her point-blank if he should get married one day and Adele poured her heart out on exactly why she thinks marriage is all that it’s cracked up to be. “Oh yes, you should get married,” she said, “Yes.

Dennis Harvey Film CriticIn a fairly crowded field of contenders, “Drunken Birds” just grabbed the nod as Canada’s best international feature submission to the Oscars. The reasons why are almost immediately apparent on seeing Montreal-born Ivan Grbovic’s sophomore effort, co-written with cinematographer Sara Mishara.

On The Good Boss, Oscar-winning actor Javier Bardem reteamed with filmmaker Fernando León de Aranoa to examine “the abuse of power that some people have in their relationships with others,” from the perspective of an abuser.

Young girls hide from drug cartels in Prayers For The Stolen, Mexico’s powerful entry to the International Feature Oscar race. Directed by Tatiana Huezo and loosely based on Jennifer Clement’s novel, the film, which screens at AFI Fest on November 14 and releases theatrically and on Netflix in the U.S.

“Drunken Birds,” Canada’s official selection for Best International Film at next year’s Oscars, is a love story told in a dazzling, unexpected style. Mexican drug cartel minion Willy (Jorge Antonio Guerrero, the bad boyfriend in “Roma”) has fallen in love with his boss’ wife Marlena, which nearly costs him his life.