 |
L-r: Antoine Olivier-Pilon, Anne Dorval and Xavier Dolan on the set of Mommy.
Photo courtesy of Les Films Séville. |
It's official!
Mommy
is Canada's submission for Best Foreign Language Film in the 2014 Academy
Awards race. The announcement came today as Telefilm Canada’s Carolle Brabant
gave the news in a presser that was streamed live over Facebook.
'It's an incredible showcase for our industry,' Brabant noted while introducing the choice. The decision comes from the Pan-Canadian selection committee comprised of twenty-three industry and goverment types, who continually pick the best films possible, nurturing new voices and proven talents alike.
Mommy comes as no surprise for the
selection, for this film from writer/director Xavier Dolan has been a favourite to
represent Canada at the Oscars ever since it premiered to thunderous applause
at Cannes and won the Jury Prize. (Although many felt it should have won the
Palme d'Or.) The steam continued as
Mommy
hit the fall festival circuit with a standing ovation at TIFF and garnered more
great reviews,
including a five-star shout out from this blog, and special raves for star Anne
Dorval, who could be a dark horse in the Best Actress race to come.
Mommy is an
excellent choice for Canada in a year that has several worthy contenders. (Any
other year I would’ve been rooting for
Tu dors Nicole.)
Mommy, bold and
audacious,
is the best offering we
have this year.
Mommy marks Dolan's second trip to the
Oscar race, for he represented Canada previously in 2009 with his debut feature
I Killed My Mother. Unlike
Mother, though,
Mommy has an American distributor (Roadside Attractions, who
handled Sarah Polley's
Stories We Tell last
year) firmly behind it, which probably gave it an extra lead over Canuck
competition.
Mommy opens in Quebec
theatres today and expands across Canada in the months to come, so everyone
best get behind this one: We may have a strong chance of going all the way once
again.
