This year’s crop of Oscar international film submissions reminds us that danger is seemingly everywhere. It can be in the context of a reformed drug lord musical (“Emilia Pérez”), a globe-altering flood (“Flow”), or a family being torn apart by an authoritarian society (“The Seed of the Sacred Fig”). The three films below prove that great performances, incredible music and a sliver of hope can transcend the weight of universal fear.
Swedish filmmaker Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel may be the grandson of legendary director Ingmar Bergman, but for a portion of his life, he worked as an assistant teacher in an after-school program with 6-year-old children and their parents. Those experiences formed part of the inspiration for “Armand,” which won the Camera d’Or (first feature award) at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.
The stylish drama focuses on the ramifications of an altercation between two elementary-school-age kids. As the school staff attempts to quell the matter, personal conflicts between the two sets of parents threaten to derail any potential resolution. Tøndel’s initial inspiration wasn’t the conflict itself but the single mother portrayed by “The Worst Person in the World” star Renate Reinsve.
“I had this woman in my mind who was totally smart, manipulative, strong in one moment and then completely helpless in the next,” Tøndel says. “And then I heard a story about two 6-year-old boys on a camping trip. One of them said to the other something quite adult-like. And my imagination started spinning based on that.”
As the rollercoaster deliberations between the parties intensify, Reinsve’s character experiences what can only be described as an emotional breakdown. It’s a breathtaking moment — noted in the screenplay — that finds her laughing and crying on screen for almost 10 minutes.
As Tøndel recalls, “Renate read the script and asked me, ‘How long is a long time?’ And I said, ‘Around seven minutes.’ And she said, ‘It’s impossible, I can’t do it.’ And I said, ‘Yes, you can.’ And then we never talked about the scene again. And then she came on set, and it was absolutely mind-blowing. She laughed for a whole day, 10 hours straight.”
Admitting it was “too many times,” he adds, “she got five days off after the scene.”
Mo Chara, left, DJ Próvai and Móglaí Bap make up the band in ‘Kneecap.’
(Helen Sloan / Sony Pictures Classic)
Rich Peppiatt had been in Belfast, Northern Ireland, for only two weeks when he saw a sign promoting an Irish hip-hop night. Needing a respite from a crying newborn, he stuck his head in a bar and saw three guys, a band known as Kneecap, throwing baggies of white powder into the crowd. Every other word was an expletive, and he didn’t understand what they were saying, but their energy and talent were electric.
“I did not realize there was this young, vibrant community of Irish language speakers in a metropolitan hub like Belfast,” Peppiatt says. “I think as a filmmaker when you find a precinct that feels like it’s not had a light shot on it you’ve got the start of something. You’re going to go, ‘OK, well, if this is news to me and I live here, it’s going to be news to millions of potential people out there.’”
The band includes Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap, and DJ Próvaí, all of whom play versions of themselves in the appropriately titled “Kneecap.” The fact they were wary when Peppiatt initially approached them was understandable. Even with the amount of success they were having in their native land, hooking up with an untested filmmaker didn’t make much sense.
“You’re an unsigned local band. You’ve never made an album, right? And you are rapping a language no one speaks. It doesn’t exactly scream Hollywood blockbuster, right? They were a bit dubious that I could actually see it through,” Peppiatt admits. What changed his fortune was “that night one pint of Guinness turned into eight or nine pints of Guinness, and then it was back to their house afterward. And that was my big test: Can I keep pace with Kneecap, and am I not a cop? That was the other thing they say is, ‘Make sure he is not a cop.’”
Spoiler: A world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, U.S. distribution and Ireland selecting the movie as its international film submission, pretty much proves that Peppiatt was not a cop.
Juan Jesús Varela stars in “Sujo.”
(Ximena Amann / Sundance Institute)
Over the past decade, Fernanda Valadez and Astrid Rondero have worked together on several projects, but “Sujo” is their first directorial collaboration. Considering the film has earned much critical acclaim and won the world cinema grand jury prize for a dramatic film at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, the duo may want to make their partnership behind the camera a regular thing.
Set in contemporary Mexico, “Sujo” centers on the title character, portrayed by relative newcomer Juan Jesús Varela, a young man hidden by his protective aunt from the prying eyes of the local cartel bosses. As his cousins get swept up in the cartel business, Sujo escapes to Mexico City, where he hopes to pursue his dreams of academic study. Despite the expansive urban environment, he soon learns how difficult it is to hide from your past. Especially when your father was a legendary sicario (hit man).
Valadez says they wanted Sujo to show the audience the thin line between victims and perpetrators and how someone can transition from one to the other depending on the social conditions.
“We have a father that is a perpetrator, but at the same time is a loving father who [passes along] both things to his son,” Valadez says. “So, this son has those paths combined, the ability to become a loving man, but also the burden of violence in his life. What we want to say with this film is that even the people who commit crimes, who become perpetrators, were at some point vulnerable kids to which we still have a debt as a society.”
The duo had been scouting locations for 12 years and had some connections within the community that kept them safe. That being said, over the last five to six years Guanajuato has been one of the most dangerous states in Mexico. And they did have an encounter with cartel members trying to collect protection money.
“It was scary,” Valadez admits. “We got support from the local authorities, so we went there unharmed. But of course, it makes you think about what you should do as a production company to keep your crew safe because we have a lot of young people with us — 20, 22, 23 years old — and that’s a lot of responsibility.”
The end of the 21st century is still decades away, but Billboard has already declared its greatest pop star: Beyoncé.
The music magazine on Tuesday revealed that the “Crazy in Love” and “Formation” diva had secured the top spot among 25 generational pop talents, including Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, Rihanna, Drake and Lady Gaga. Billboard’s editorial staff selected Queen Bey for her “full 25 years of influence, evolution and impact,” the outlet announced.
“She’s been Beyoncé for 25 years now, and as she continues to challenge herself (and by extension, the rest of the pop world) to find new and different ways to be define [sic] greatness,” wrote Billboard deputy editor Andrew Unterberger, “it doesn’t seem like she’s going to stop being Beyoncé anytime soon.”
As part of its Beyoncé celebration, Billboard published an essay that chronicled the “Single Ladies” singer’s career from her Destiny’s Child days in the late 1990s to her most recent album, “Cowboy Carter.” The career retrospective praised the Houston native’s consistency, her ubiquity across music and other facets of pop culture — including film and fashion — and her “commitment to innovation.”
While the music outlet dedicated thousands of words to Beyoncé’s life and career, the singer’s mom, Tina Knowles, offered a handful in response to her daughter’s latest honor.
“That’s nice. That’s very nice,” Knowles told TMZ during a brief exchange Tuesday evening on the Sunset Strip.
When the reporter asked whether her family gets “used to those titles” and accolades, Knowles simply responded, “Yeah.”
The “16 Carriages” and “Texas Hold ’Em” singer has not yet publicly addressed her latest honor.
Knowles, Destiny’s Child’s former costume designer and mother to “Cranes in the Sky” artist Solange, isn’t shy about celebrating her superstar kin. On her Instagram, Knowles hypes her daughters’ magazine covers, album sales and even their nonmusic ventures, such as Beyoncé’s Cécred haircare line and her SirDavis whiskey brand.
On Tuesday, Knowles also touted Beyoncé’s upcoming NFL halftime show. The Grammy winner’s performance will stream Christmas Day on Netflix when the Houston Texans host the Baltimore Ravens at NRG Stadium. Knowles told TMZ that “excellence” is what viewers can expect from the holiday gig.
Taylor Swift, who soon will wrap her blockbuster Eras tour after nearly two years, secured the No. 2 spot on Billboard’s list. The historic Grammy winner (she is the only artist to win album of the year four times) “is the most famous woman in the world,” according to Billboard. However, the well-meaning praise inadvertently sparked a twofold backlash last week when her ranking was announced. Before Beyoncé landed the top spot, some of Swift’s legion of fans, known as Swifties, called out Billboard about her second-place ranking and made the case for the “Lavender Haze” singer to be No. 1.
“I like Beyoncé but she’s nowhere near Taylor’s level when it comes to impact and numbers,” a fan tweeted last week. Another Swift devotee on X (formerly Twitter) also cited the “Love Story” pop star’s “commercial success” and “record-breaking sales” as reasons for her to claim the top spot.
Adding salt to the wound, Billboard included a controversial snippet of Kanye West’s “Famous” music video in its montage meant to celebrate Swift. The Billboard clip reportedly featured the music video’s infamous wax figure modeled after a naked Swift, prompting Billboard to issue an apology for including the clip “that falsely depicted her.”
“We have removed the clip from our video and sincerely regret the harm we caused with this error,” the outlet tweeted.
In Tuesday’s Beyoncé reveal, Billboard acknowledged Swift’s accomplishments, lauding her as the “lone artist who really challenged Beyoncé for the top spot” and celebrating her dominance in album sales, streaming and touring. However, she “simply hasn’t been around for long enough to be able to match the expansiveness of [Beyoncé’s] quarter-century of dominance,” the magazine said.
Still, Swift found success with Spotify, which announced Wednesday that the “Shake It Off” diva was its most-streamed artist of the year. Swift also earned the title last year.
“In her Global Top Artist era,” Spotify tweeted Wednesday. “Congratulations Taylor Swift on the over 26+ billion streams in 2024.”
Joining Swift as the audio platform’s top 10 global artists are fellow Billboard 21st century greatest pop star honorees Drake, Ariana Grande, The Weeknd, Bad Bunny and Kanye West.
“You guys are unbelievable. What an amazing thing to find out going into our last weekend of eras shows,” Swift wrote to fans Wednesday in an Instagram story. “THANK YOU!”
For Beyoncé and Swift, their respective Billboard and Spotify wins can be a boon as they prepare for the 2025 Grammy Awards. In November, Beyoncé earned 11 nominations, the most of the latest crop of Grammy hopefuls. Top nominees also include Charli XCX, Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar, Post Malone, Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan and Swift.
Who will win the top Grammy prizes? It’s best to stick around, ‘round, ‘round for when the ceremony is broadcast on CBS and streams live from Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena on Feb. 2
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Spoiler- free Pushpa-2 Live Updates from USA Premiere Show – Keep Refreshing This Page :
Director: Sukumar
Cinematography: Miroslaw Kuba Brozek
Music: Devi Sri Prasad
Producer: Naveen Yerneni
Yalamanchili Ravi Shankar
Production:Mythri Movie Makers
Sukumar Writings
Allu Arjun, who won the National Award for his performance in the first instalment, returns in the lead alongside Rashmika Mandanna reprising her role as Srivalli. The film also features Fahadh Faasil as Bhanwar Singh Shekhawat. According to reports, the film’s narrative will delve deeper into the conflict between Pushpa and Shekhawat while exploring his rise to power.
The first film in the franchise grossed an estimated Rs 400 crore globally. Its success laid the groundwork for ‘Pushpa 2’, which is already generating record-breaking advance sales. According to box office reports on sacnilk.com, the movie is well on its way to record a Rs 300 crore weekend at the global box office. With advance day 1 sales crossing Rs 80 crore, buzz is that the film will beat the lifetime collections of ‘Pushpa: The Rise’ in its debut week at the box office. The movie is poised to surpass collections of blockbuster hits including Prabhas’ ‘Kalki 2898 AD’ and even Shah Rukh Khan’s ‘Jawan’ and ‘Pathaan’.
Trade analysts have even boldly predicted that ‘Pushpa 2’ could just become the highest-grossing Indian film of 2024.
The huge box office numbers have been linked directly to the hype around the film and also the higher ticket pricing. The Andhra Pradesh government approved the price hike of the tickets for the film, calling it a “progressive decision”. This move backed by the government, has made ticket pricing for ‘Pushpa 2’ the highest for a Telugu film.
Despite the rise in ticket prices, reports state that shows are selling out in multiple regions, with fans eager to experience the cinematic extravaganza on its opening day.
Stay tuned to this ETimes live blog for all the real-time updates on the release, movie reviews, audience reactions, box office numbers, and more about ‘Pushpa 2: The Rule’.
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