As Oscar Week continues, last night’s Academy panel at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles brought together the producers behind this year’s Best Picture nominees for an insightful discussion. Our reporter, Virág Vida, was on-site to capture the highlights.
The panel provided a unique perspective, offering a behind-the-scenes look at the challenges, inspirations, and triumphs that shaped this year’s most celebrated films.
One of the most emotional moments came from the producer of I Am Still Here, Rodrigo Teixeira who spoke candidly about how the film was deeply personal, reflecting on the pain of losing a father. He also emphasized that “We are all Americans.” He explained that in the U.S., it is especially important to say this because Latin Americans are also Americans—and this is not about politics, but about family. “We are all family, and that’s what this film is about too,” he said.
Financing a film is often one of the biggest hurdles in filmmaking, and the producer of Nickel Boys, Joslyn Barnes shared just how difficult it was to get the project off the ground. “We had this running joke among us that ‘Success of draft is ultimately a free draft’, because we felt that no one was going to finance this movie,” she admitted. Despite the film being based on a critically acclaimed book—after all, not every great book becomes a great film.
The producer of Dune: Part Two, Tanya Lapointe brought a different perspective, revealing that she started her career as a journalist. She explained how the discipline of working on tight deadlines in news reporting prepared her for the demanding nature of filmmaking. “In the news, you start a day, you have a story that you have to air by 6 PM – that is the life of filmmaking, every single day.’
Meanwhile, the director, writer, and producer of The Subtense, Coralie Fargeat opened up about the challenge of crafting not just a feminist, but – in the same time – a horror movie. Despite the obstacles, the film ultimately broke through, fulfilling a longtime dream of hers. “It was important for me to produce my feature because the more control I have, I am the better in what I do,” she explained.
With just days to go before the 97th Academy Awards, the excitement is building. The ceremony will take place on March 2 at 4 PM Pacific Time in Dolby Theatre Hollywood, where these stories—and the films behind them—will take center stage.
– Virág Vida –
