AwardsWatch Podcast Ep. 344: New Oscar Rules and Preview of the 79th Cannes Film Festival with Special Guest Christina Birro

On episode 344 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson, AwardsWatch Associate Editor Sophia Ciminello, and Pop Culture Confidential’s Christina Birro to preview the 79th Cannes Film Festival and discuss the dramatic new rules set forth by the Academy last week for the upcoming Oscars and beyond.

You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more. You can also listen on the AW YouTube page.

This podcast runs 1h05m. We will be back next week with a live episode from the 79th Cannes Film Festival talking about the highlights of the first weeks of films. Till then, let’s get into it.

Music: “Modern Fashion” from AShamaleuvmusic (intro), “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).

• Author
• Recent Posts

Ryan McQuade

Ryan McQuade is the AwardsWatch Executive Editor and a film-obsessed writer in San Antonio, Texas. Raised on musicals, westerns, and James Bond, his taste in cinema is extremely versatile. He’s extremely fond of independent releases and director’s passion projects. Engrossed with all things Oscars, he hosts the AwardsWatch Podcast. He also is co-host of the Director Watch podcast. When he’s not watching movies, he’s rooting on all his favorite sports teams, including his beloved Texas Longhorns. You can follow him on Twitter at @ryanmcquade77.

Latest posts by Ryan McQuade (see all)

• AwardsWatch Podcast Ep. 345: Recapping the 79th Cannes Film Festival and Looking to the Awards Future - May 25, 2026
• Cannes 2026 Reviews: ‘The Unknown,’ ‘A Man of His Time,’ ‘The Samurai and the Prisoner’ - May 22, 2026
• ‘Fjord’ Review: Cristian Mungiu Takes On Religious and Progressive Extremism in Exceptional Family Drama [A] Cannes - May 20, 2026