Oscar Podcast #15: Venice, Telluride and TIFF festivals; Birdman, A Most Violent Year, Wild, The Imitation Game
In this podcast, Peter and Jason (Dirk Diggler!) join Erik to discuss the flurry of fall festivals, including the just opened Venice Film Festival which began with rapturous reviews for Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Birdman. We also venture into Telluride and TIFF (which Jason is attending), discuss Harvey Weinstein‘s track for The Imitation Game and the recent first test screening (attended by AwardWatch members) of A Most Violent Year starring Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain. That breaks into a discussion of Supporting Actress which covers Chastain, Patricia Arquette, Laura Dern, Keira Knightley and Carmen Ejogo (which itself breaks off into a conversation about Selma). And all in under an hour and a half! Bonus!
- 2026 Cannes Film Festival Winners: Cristian Mingiu’s ‘Fjord’ Takes the Palme, Seventh Win in a Row for NEON - May 23, 2026
- Cannes 2026: Sandra Wollner’s ‘Everytime’ Wins Un Certain Regard Grand Prize - May 22, 2026
- ‘Coward’ Review: Belgian Soldiers Find Love in Lukas Dhont’s Hidden Romance Masterpiece [A] Cannes - May 21, 2026

AwardsWatch Podcast Ep. 345: Recapping the 79th Cannes Film Festival and Looking to the Awards Future
‘The Beloved’ Review: Javier Bardem Makes a Meal Out of Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s Movie-Making Buffet [B]
‘The Dreamed Adventure’ Review: Valeska Grisebach’s Observant Thriller Examines the Grey Zones of Morality [B+]
‘Minotaur’ Review: Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Timeless, Domestic Epic is an Unflinching Look at Putin’s Russia [A] Cannes