Triangle of Sadness (Neon) has garnered a trio of marquee Oscar nominations–Best Picture, Director and Original Screenplay. Individually receiving the latter two honors is writer-director Ruben Östlund, quite a distinction for the Swedish filmmaker on his first English-language feature. Still, he is no stranger to high-profile accolades, having won the Palme d’Or twice at the Cannes Film Festival–for The Square in 2017 and Triangle of Sadness last year.
With his Academy Award nomination for Best Director, Östlund has become part of an ongoing awards season history–the nearly annual occurrence of at least one difference between the lineups of Best Director Oscar and the DGA Award nominees. In only five of the 75 years of the DGA Awards have the Guild nominations exactly mirrored their Academy Award counterparts.
This time around Östlund and Joseph Kosinski are in line with that predominant history. After not being recognized by DGA judges, Östlund earned a Best Director Oscar nod for Triangle of Sadness (Neon). Kosinski, who didn’t make the directorial Oscar cut, secured a DGA Award nomination for Top Gun: Maverick (Paramount Pictures)
Five of the six directors (including one duo) vying for the DGA Award and the Outstanding Achievement in Directing Oscar are in sync this year: Todd Field for Tár (Focus Features); Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (aka Daniels) for Everything Everywhere All at Once (A24); Martin McDonagh for The Banshees of Inisherin (Searchlight Pictures); and Steven Spielberg for The Fabelmans (Amblin Entertainment, Universal Pictures).
On the flip side of tradition, if Östlund were to win the directing Oscar, he wouldn’t be aligned with but rather bucking history. Only eight times has the DGA Award winner not gone on to win the Oscar. That happened most recently in 2020 when Sam Mendes won the DGA Award for 1917 while Bong Joon Ho scored the Oscar for Parasite.
This past weekend, Kwan and Scheinert won the DGA Award for Everything Everywhere All at Once, making them the frontrunners for the directing Oscar.
This year’s Best Director Oscar category features five first-time nominees (Field, Kwan, Scheinert, McDonagh and Östlund)–and one who registered his ninth career nod (Spielberg).
Östlund is gratified over the Academy Award nominations, relating that the recognition in the U.S. market potentially opens up his work to a wider and broader spectrum of the movie-going audience. He also described getting acknowledged by industry colleagues, including directors, in this way as “a fantastic feeling.”
That feeling extends to how Triangle of Sadness has resonated with audiences worldwide. Indeed the satire has struck a responsive chord with many, underscoring that its universal themes are all too relatable, particularly to younger audiences who are all too aware of the disparity between the haves and have-nots in society. “Younger people are starting to get more into topics such as the environmental crisis, and the economic system running the world and the consequences that has,” observed Östlund.
Triangle of Sadness introduces us to a young couple who are on the ascent as celebrity fashion models–Carl (portrayed by Harris Dickinson) and Yaya (Charlbi Dean Kriek, a promising actor who tragically died in August 2022 at the age of 32). They are part of the beautiful people culture, which has proven quite lucrative already for them. We get an eyeful of the fashion industry and its sensibilities–or lack thereof at the outset of the film. Yaya also has the distinction of being a social media influencer with a growing following. As such, they are invited aboard a $250 million yacht for a vacation among the rarefied elite–captains of various industries ranging from tech to agriculture and munitions dealing. And then there’s the ship’s Marxist captain (Woody Harrelson) who adds another dimension to the proceedings, particularly as he engages in a vocal exchange of ideologies with a Russian oligarch (Ziatko Buric) over the ship’s loudspeaker system.
The ship’s crew is instructed to say yes to their passengers’ every whim. However the super rich are taken down several pegs when a major seastorm hits, triggering a flood of vomit, blood and other bodily fluids. Several of the guests and crew end up stranded on a remote island. There an up-to-that-point incidental character, a ship toilet maintenance worker named Abigail (Dolly de Leon), comes into prominence as the only one who has any survival skills. She is able to catch and clean fish, build a fire and brilliantly forage for the group. She thus is elevated to the top of the pecking order, turning the societal hierarchy on its ear. With poignancy, humor and an entertaining engagement, the story brings a new context to the talents we value, the people who are privileged in modern-day society, those who aren’t, and what it all says about our priorities.
With its shifting world order as characters go from obscurity to prominence, powerful to powerless, one of the challenges of Triangle of Sadness, observed Östlund, came in the editing. “So many actors in the film have quite a big part–supporting actors become main characters. We had to be very careful in terms of how much time each should get in the editing.”
Östlund teamed with Mikel Cee Karlsson on the editing of the film. This marked Östlund’s first full feature-length collaboration with Karlsson. Karlsson served as an additional editor on Östlund’s feature Play. They also had teamed on some shorter form content. The two have a bond, noted Östlund, which goes back to their roots. “Mikel comes from a skateboard filming background,” related Östlund. “I come from a ski filming background. His skate filming background helps him see the possibilities of a given situation. You give him the material, he looks at how we shot it, and he can come up with a solution that is in the possibility of the material but maybe not written in the script. We think as skateboarders, can improvise with a given situation. For a skateboarding film, here’s the setup. You think ‘what can we use in this setup?’ What you do with that setup is up to your imagination. He can think freely with the material and come up with really great solutions.”
This approach dovetails well with Östlund’s process which is not to do a rough cut–but rather work out a scene or sequence as thoroughly as possible before moving onto the next. He described Karlsson as being like him, “a very careful editor.”
Among other colleagues on Triangle of Sadness with whom Östlund has a collaborative track record is cinematographer Fredrik Wenzel who also lensed Force Majeure and The Square for the writer-director. Östlund said that the DP is “intuitive” on set. By contrast Östlund is “much more looking to be in control. I want to know before we go on set what we are going to do. He wants to try something new….Fredrik wants to get in connection with what the characters are saying. It takes awhile before you can sort out what works best. Fredrik does that brilliantly.”
Östlund contended that it takes three films before a director truly gets to know his DP. The first time can be “a little bit more problematic.” The second time you start to identify what things you are great at and what you’re not so great at. And by the third film you prepare knowing what you’re good at and not so good at, realizing how you can avoid problems. In the big picture, Östlund said that it’s been “a joy to work with Fredrik on these three films.”
Sara Dosa
The lack of female nominees for the Best Director Oscar has received much deserved scrutiny and attention. But seemingly flying under the radar are those women directors who have made a mark in this season’s Academy Awards derby, a prime example being Sara Dosa whose Fire of Love (National Geographic Documentary Films, Neon) is nominated for the Best Documentary Feature Oscar. Furthemore, this past weekend Fire of Love earned Dosa a DGA Award win for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary.
“I’m not a filmmaker who makes films for awards,” shared Dosa who described the recognition, which included her first career DGA nomination (and win) as “a tremendous surprise. It means so much to me. I dreamed of being a director for over a decade. I started out as a PA on commercials and branded content, interned at a documentary company, dreaming to tell the stories that meant so much to me to tell. I worked my way up, was a producer directing at nights and weekends, getting my first projects underway.”
Dosa noted that it’s been “a hard climb” which entailed dealing with a great deal of sexism along the way. Fire of Love marked the first film in which Dosa felt she had the opportunity to fully focus on directing. In contrast to Triangle of Sadness, Fire of Love is a love triangle of joy–between a man, a woman and volcanoes. The documentary introduces us to French scientists and explorers Katia Krafft and Maurice Krafft, a husband-and-wife team whose pioneering work in volcanoes is akin to what Jacques Cousteau did for oceanography and ecology.
The Kraffts broke new ground chronicling volcanoes throughout the world for some 20 years, putting themselves potentially in harm’s way as their cameras captured eruptions and shed light on nature’s dynamics, beauty and power. They witnessed some 140 eruptions globally. Then in 1991 on Mount Unzen in Japan, a pyroclastic flow of gas and volcanic matter claimed the lives of 43 people, including the Kraffts.
Dosa came across the story of the late Kraffts through research while she was directing the verite documentary The Seer and the Unseen, which centered on an Icelandic woman in communication with the spirits of nature. Dosa described that film as “a magic realist documentary” which situates the audience inside that women’s perspective–a perspective which included the spirits that live inside the lava of volcanoes in Iceland. Dosa’s research led her to the Kraffts, “a couple in love with each other and the Earth” who captured “beguiling footage” of volcanic action.
Dosa characterized the Kraffts as “humans in love with an elemental force,” gathering “imagery so transcendent and powerful” that it constituted “the visual language of myth,” telling an expansive story of love.
Their story captivated Dosa who told it in a way that captivated viewers. In terms of what drew her to the Kraffts, Dosa explained, “As a filmmaker I’m always endlessly fascinated about stories of human relationships with non-human nature, how people make meaning with forces in the natural world. I’m on the lookout for interesting people whose life stories tell nature’s stories.”
Though she didn’t have the benefit of ever getting the chance to meet and talk with the Kraffts who had passed away prior to her pursuit of their story, Dosa felt she co-created Fire of Love with them in that the documentary deployed their imagery of nature and starred the intrepid explorers. Dosa deeply listened to the Kraffts through their writings and work on film. Still, acknowledged Dosa, “the more we learned about them, the more we realized there’s much we can never know.” But their spirits are alive as co-storytellers of sorts on Fire of Love. Dosa observed that “their quest for the unknown drove them and very much colored” her approach to the documentary.
Thematically Dosa said that “Katia and Maurice are shining examples of what it meant to lead a meaningful live–and a meaningful death. They were so in love with this dangerous force, all the while knowing that they could never fully understand volcanoes. Their journey toward the unknown brought them such meaning and joy.”
Among the challenges posed by Fire of Love was doing full justice to the 16mm footage shot by the Kraffts. It came without any sync sound, meaning that editors Erin Casper and Jocelyne Chaput had to build soundscapes with volcanoes, deploying sound libraries and sound effects to come up with audio that was “not only scientific but gave the proper perceptual feel,” explained Dosa. The soundscape was “a wonderfully exciting piece of the film.”
Also wonderfully exciting were the collaborative relationships that helped bring Fire of Love to fruition. Dosa noted that “Katia and Maurice lived this extraordinary life. It was born out of whom they chose to walk with. They walked with each other and through volcanoes their whole lives.” Similarly Dosa chose to walk with her talented team of editors, producers, her exec producers at Sandbox Films, the folks at National Geographic who took the film out to the world. Dosa said she “found joy, meaning, fun and creativity learned through collaboration every step of the way. There was a continuity between how they [the Kraffts] understood partnership and the partnerships that blossomed for our film.”
The footage from the Kraffts contained few shots of them together. They were seemingly always behind the camera–their work being not about them but the volcanoes. Fittingly, observed Dosa, “The most genuine depiction we had was to use volcanic imagery to express their love, the power of their love.”
Eddie Hamilton, ACE
With a filmography carrying a blockbuster bent–as reflected in such credits as Mission Impossible–Rogue Nation and Mission Impossible–Fallout–editor Eddie Hamilton, ACE finds it gratifying to thrill and entertain audiences. But he’s not accustomed to being gratified during awards season. However his highest profile, record breaking box office foray into action-adventure, Top Gun: Maverick (Paramount Pictures) has him front and center on the accolades front as he’s landed his first Best Editing Oscar and ACE Eddie Award nominations (the latter coming in the Best Edited Feature Film, Drama category).
On being an Academy Award nominee, Hamilton said, “It’s totally nuts–as a little kid growing up in the south of England with no connection to the film industry and winding up here. I’ve been watching the Oscars since I was a kid. Finding yourself at the Oscars is like a dream come true. The kind of movies I do never get awards consideration. It’s astonishing how this film has resonated with people. I’m completely thrilled to be on this journey and to share the experience with my wife and family who supported me for 20 years as I slowly made my way up the industry.”
Hamilton’s Oscar nomination is one of six garnered by Top Gun: Maverick, the others spanning Best Picture, visual effects, sound, original song and adapted screenplay.
The allure of the film for Hamilton went back to his movie-going days as a youngster. The original 1986 feature Top Gun was a box office juggernaut, running in U.K. cinemas for over a year during which teenager Hamilton saw it six times. The film was a cultural milestone and was easily, recalled Hamilton, “the coolest thing I had seen apart from Star Wars.”
Hamilton credited Tom Cruise with putting him in the running to edit Top Gun: Maverick. Hamilton had worked with Cruise on the two aforementioned Mission Impossible films. The box office star helped connect the editor with director Kosinski and producer Jerry Bruckheimer. “I owe Tom a lot,” affirmed Hamilton who struck up a rapport with Kosinski and Bruckheimer. The editor wound up chatting with Bruckheimer for an hour at their initial meeting. “I was astonished he would spend that much time with me. He was integrally involved in the whole process of making the film all the way through production and post. This was the hardest job I had ever done by many orders of magnitude.”
For Hamilton, the biggest challenge was “the pressure we all felt to make a sequel to one of the greatest films of the 1980s. All audiences were sitting with their arms crossed wondering ‘how are you going to screw this up.’ Everyone thinks making a sequel to Top Gun is a terrible idea and you’re going to fail. We felt the weight of the legacy. We had to deliver for the audience. There was the minutiae of building these complex aerial sequences. But the ground story, which is two-thirds of the movie, is also difficult, meeting characters, getting the balance of the character development, story and action just right.”
Then there was the challenge of meshing pilot cockpit closeups with exterior shots filmed months later, finding the right rhythm to optimize excitement and engagement, part of what Hamilton characterized as “a nonstop rocket ride that puts you on the edge of your seat. You can’t take any shortcuts. You have to go through all the takes and make sure every shot is the best it can be. Editing the final mission was about three months of work, a very slow process every day, shot by shot, chipping away at the sequence, going through mountains of footage.”
Hamilton said that perseverance was key. “The movie wasn’t working for a long time. It came together in the last three months of a two-year process, which is quite common for a lot of [ambitious] movies. The easier it is to watch, the harder it was to make. You put more work into it to make it effortless to watch, to flow.”
Helping was his positive collaborative working relationships with Cruise, Bruckheimer, Kosinski and cinematographer Claudio Miranda, ASC. By one estimate, Hamilton had to cut more than 800 hours of material down to the leanest, most kinetic, story-advancing, character-developing moments.
As for what’s next, Hamilton continues to work with Cruise and writer-director-producer Christopher McQuarrie (a writer-producer on Top Gun: Maverick, with directorial credits that include Mission Impossible–Rogue Nation and Mission Impossible–Fallout). Now Hamilton is working with star Cruise and director McQuarrie on Mission Impossible – Dead Reckoning- Part One and Mission Impossible – Dead Reckoning – Part Two. At press time Hamilton found himself editing one movie while filming was going on for the other. He estimated that about one-third of Mission Impossible – Dead Reckoning -Part Two had been shot thus far.
Hamilton described the latest Mission Impossible films as “epic in every sense, a sweeping emotional story with intense breathtaking action and suspense sequences." After wrapping Top Gun: Maverick in July 2020 and then taking a month off, Hamilton embarked on the Mission Impossible movies. “I’ve literally been on Mission Impossible for two-and-a-half years,” he shared. Mission Impossible – Dead Reckoning – Part One is slated for release in July. Part Two is scheduled to hit theaters in June 2024.
Frank Petzold
VFX supervisor Frank Petzold comes from a camera background, having made the transition from optical printing to the early days of CG. His inclination is to achieve effects in camera when it makes sense to do so in order to advance the story. He is not one to always fall back on computer imagery even though that discipline could create the desired effect. Using photographic elements as a foundation with CG elements augmenting scenes makes for a photorealistic feel that serves the stark realism of war’s horrors in All Quiet on the Western Front (Netflix).
The adroit use of effects in the interest of story and character development was recognized with a Best Visual Effects Oscar nomination for Petzold and his colleagues. This marked Petzold’s first career Academy Award nod. The movie in total garnered nine nominations, including for Best Picture, Best International Feature Film (Germany) and spanning such categories as cinematography, adapted screenplay, production design, make-up and hair, sound and original score.
Based on the noted book of the same title by Erich Maria Remarque, All Quiet on the Western Front tells us the moving story of a young German soldier in World War I. Paul Bäumer (portrayed by Felix Kammerer), and his comrades who experience first-hand how the initial euphoria of war turns into desperation and fear as they fight for their lives, and each other, in the trenches. Directed by Edward Berger, the film takes on the unique perspective of the losing side, the Germans, and the physical and emotional toll exacted on young soldiers facing the brutality of combat–having by sharp contrast gone into the experience with visions of victory, fanfare and glory for Emperor, God and Fatherland.
Director Edward Berger naturally gravitated to Petzold for All Quiet on the Western Front. The filmmaker had worked previously with Petzold on the Ridley Scott-executive produced miniseries The Terror. “When Ed started getting serious about All Quiet, he gave me a call and said, ‘let’s get the band back together.'”
Petzold benefited from being brought on during early pre-production. He was on set everyday. “Since I knew Ed, we were able to come up with ideas together,” related Petzold. “He’s very inclusive in his process. He and James [Oscar nominated DP Friend] would set up a shot and ask, ‘What do you think, Frank? Will this work? Would you do anything different?’ I was more part of the moviemaking process rather than just being responsible for the effects.”
Being part of that process entailed Friend and Petzold meeting during location scouts and consulting so that the effects ensemble wouldn’t be saddled with sets it couldn’t work with. Petzold added that Friend has become a great friend and the excitement about going to the Oscars is not just for the event itself but the opportunity to see Friend and other collaborators on the film again, including such artists as production designer Christian M. Goldbeck. The VFX team and Goldbeck’s art department worked together closely. And Petzold marveled at the many fine touches Goldbeck put into the production, including the placement of burnt tree stumps on a battleground set, adding to the realism of combat and the aftermath of firearms being discharged and bombs exploding.
Very precise storyboards were made during pre-pro for three distinct battle scenes in the movie. Petzold explained, “That helped James think about his lenses and setting up camera movement. I wrapped my head around ‘what do I need to do on set and what can I do later?' We would custom build the set to the boards. We could make changes on the set a little bit when called upon. It was a back-and-forth process that worked really well.”
Petzold felt the weight of the work’s importance and the need to do justice to such an iconic piece of literature. “We had so much respect for it. We didn’t want visual effects to overpower the story. We put our efforts into detail and historical accuracy, keeping it photographically real, not messing with too many CG simulations.” This better facilitated actor performances, allowing them to be the focus.
Historical accuracy impacted not just the images but how they were revealed. For example, when a massive tank emerges from the fog, it takes on a greater impact, underscoring that World War I unveiled technological weaponry that many soldiers hadn’t seen before. The same for flamethrowers. It’s as if these weapons appeared for the first time, eliciting fear, wonderment and terror simultaneously. The tank looks like a predatory monster dwarfing the enemy soldiers in its path. The tank almost becomes a creature unto itself–not for show but to again showcase the emotions it elicits from soldiers in the throes of combat, reflecting life and death in the trenches. The visual effects don’t call attention to themselves but rather facilitate a visceral and immersive experience, bringing home what young men had to endure in battle.
Petzold lined up the Prague-based UPP (Universal Production Partners) as the main effects vendor studio for All Quiet on the Western Front. Petzold is an alum of Tippett Studio in Northern California. His effects filmography includes such notable credits as Armageddon, Starship Troopers, The Ring and The Golden Compass.
Florian Hoffmeister, BSC
For Florian Hoffmeister, BSC, the opportunity to lens Tár (Focus Features) was a dream come true. In fact, he never dared to dream that one day he would work with writer-director Todd Field whom he described as “an auteur in the truest sense.” Hoffmeister shared, “I cherish him as a filmmaker very much,” citing the impact Field’s In the Bedroom (2001) had on him. “It spoke to me as an audience member. It was a seminal film in many ways. It set the tone for what’s possible in independent cinema in my generation.”
Field’s first film in more than 15 years, Tár delves into the life of a gifted artist at the peak of her career. The fictional Lydia Tár, portrayed by Cate Blanchett, is a lauded composer, musician, philanthropist and conductor. The EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony) winner, mentored by Leonard Bernstein, is the first woman to preside over a prestigious German orchestra.
When he learned that he received a Best Cinematography Oscar nomination for Tár, Hoffmeister said, “I actually feel so completely overwhelmed on so many levels. I cannot tell you just how seriously overwhelmed I am!! Many years ago, when I got drawn into the art of filmmaking, it were the films that enabled me to ask questions that inspired me most. Todd’s script and his vision as a director tapped right into this love and I consider it a true honor to have worked alongside him and Cate on a journey that asked us to disappear and let the film carry itself. Sometimes it is really difficult to be really simple. And to be recognized for this is as much an honor as it is overwhelming right now. Thanks dear Academy, and thanks to all the people that supported me on this journey.”
Tár garnered a total of six Oscar nominations, the others being for Best Picture and spanning direction, original screenplay, editing, and lead actress (Blanchett).
From the very outset, Hoffmeister was captivated by Field’s script which had an intimate knowledge of the dynamics around a classical orchestra and conductor. “The further you dive in, hidden realities are revealed–hidden little gems,” said Hoffmeister who marveled on how light is shed on Tár’s character. “When you work with an auteur like this,” noted Hoffmeister, “you think how can I serve this with my creativity, my abilities, to make this world appear.”
We first meet Tár during an on-stage interview in front of a live audience with The New Yorker’s Adam Gopnik. At the time her career is continuing on a seemingly irreversible ascent as she prepares to debut her autobiography “Tár on Tár” and complete the Gustav Mahler cycle with the orchestra. The interview is shown in real time as if we are members of the audience in the room with Tár and Gopnik. Hoffmeister said the idea was to not move the camera.
This observational bent best served the story, related Hoffmeister who shared Field’s piece of advice that a cinematographer “sometimes wants to contribute too much.” If a scene works a certain way, it doesn’t need any comment. “We were able to watch this interview without any commentary,” explained Hoffmeister. “Any [camera] movement would have been a comment to try to guide the audience. To use a phrase that Todd uses, ‘Don’t gild the lily.’”
Shortly thereafter in the film, there’s another long sequence, presented as one continuous shot, with Tár teaching at Julliard, walking about the room, addressing the students, including one who annoys her with a politically correct attitude towards music. Clearly music is Tár’s passion and now after being constrained, the camera follows her about, capturing Blanchett’s remarkable performance which reveals much about Tár as an artist and person.
Hoffmeister shared that Field taught him a lesson about how restraint can be a cinematographer’s storytelling ally–and then when that restraint is selectively removed, freeing the camera, the impact can be that much more profound. If restraint is what a scene calls for, “less is more” and “even less is even more,” smiled Hoffmeister.
We are exposed to two Társ in this mesmerizing character study. Initially we are introduced to the celebrated genius and breaker of the glass ceiling as the opening on-stage interview feeds right into that narrative. But over time the private Tár comes to light when we see her anxiety, seemingly almost haunted by an unseen yet felt force as her lofty status begins to erode amid allegations of misconduct.
“I feel tremendously privileged to have photographed Cate in this performance and to work alongside Todd,” said Hoffmeister, adding that the experience “changed some of my perceptions on the field of cinematography. Coming from a place of restraint–when you set up a shot in this mindset–a lot of the things that you consider part of you suddenly don’t work. Then when you find that sweet spot that does work, it is absolutely liberating. It’s almost like you’re in a confrontation with yourself. You may at first think, ‘no, no, no,’ but in the end you realize this is it, this is right.”
Hoffmeister said that Tár was digitally captured, deploying ARRI cameras in different formats, coupled with ARRI Signature Prime lenses. These lenses–which were modified for Tár–lent themselves to what Hoffmeister described as the feeling of being present without leaving a commentary.
The Oscar nomination for Tár adds to an impressive awards pedigree for Hoffmeister. In 2012-’13, he became the first cinematographer to win an Emmy, a BAFTA and an ASC Award for the same program–the miniseries Great Expectations. Hoffmeister’s first Emmy nomination came in 2010 for his work on the “Checkmate” episode of The Prisoner miniseries. The DP’s first BAFTA nod came in 2009 for House of Saddam. And in 2019, Hoffmeister was again an ASC Award nominee–this time for the “Go For Broke” episode of the miniseries The Terror. Last year Hoffmeister scored his third Emmy nomination–but this one, on the basis of Pachinko, came for Outstanding Main Title design, which he contributed to as a cinematographer.
This is the 16th installment of a 17-part Road To Oscar series which spans the weekly SHOOT>e.dition, The SHOOT Dailies and on SHOOTonline.com, with select installments also in print/PDF issues. The series will appear weekly through the Academy Awards gala ceremony. The 95th Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 12.
