There's a majestic "English pudding" at the centre of this Oscar-nominated short - but really this latest from Alice Rohrwacher is an enjoyable trifle. Her less than serious approach is signposted from the start as we're told it's "a film clumsily and freely based on a letter to the writer Elisa Morante sent to her friend".
Within the halls of a Catholic all-girls boarding school Christmas is approaching, not that you'd notice much from the attitude of the strict Mother Superior (played with an unyielding sternness by the director's sister Alba). The little girls under the nuns' care have just a hint of naughtiness about them, although Serafina (Melissa Falasconi) seems the odd one out. The other kids aren't really including her in their group chatter, perhaps because she's the quickest to obey the nuns' orders - but in a nice spot of ambiguity, there's no real sense that...
Within the halls of a Catholic all-girls boarding school Christmas is approaching, not that you'd notice much from the attitude of the strict Mother Superior (played with an unyielding sternness by the director's sister Alba). The little girls under the nuns' care have just a hint of naughtiness about them, although Serafina (Melissa Falasconi) seems the odd one out. The other kids aren't really including her in their group chatter, perhaps because she's the quickest to obey the nuns' orders - but in a nice spot of ambiguity, there's no real sense that...
- 3/12/2023
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Of the 10 films up for best picture, no fewer than six run 199 minutes or more. On one extreme, James Cameron’s punishing “Avatar” sequel is long enough to require bathroom breaks. At the other, Daniels’ Adhd-styled “Everything Everywhere All at Once” proves equally exhausting, dedicating every hyperkinetic second to stimulating easily distracted audiences. It’s enough to make folks grateful for the lower-profile but still engaging live-action shorts category, where nominees are bound by a strict 40-minute time limit. This year’s crop — the so-so “2023 Oscar Nominated Short Films: Live Action” program — clocks in at under two hours. Available in theaters and on myriad streaming platforms, the international assembly may be a hit-and-miss affair, but never outstays its welcome.
Set in a rarely seen corner of Greenland, “Ivalu” follows a Native girl as she tries to make sense of her sister’s disappearance. It’s a visually striking 16 minutes,...
Set in a rarely seen corner of Greenland, “Ivalu” follows a Native girl as she tries to make sense of her sister’s disappearance. It’s a visually striking 16 minutes,...
- 3/4/2023
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
In the delightfully mischievous short film Le Pupille, which earned Italian writer-director Alice Rohrwacher her first Oscar nomination, a rebellion is brewing within the confines of a Catholic girls’ school in Italy on a chilly Christmas Eve in the midst of World War II.
Young Serafina (Melissa Falasconi) attracts the ire of Sister Fioralba (Alba Rohrwacher, the director’s sister), the stern mother superior who rules her boarding school with an iron fist and steely gaze. As the schoolgirls prepare for the evening’s festivities — stoically re-creating the Nativity — they listen to a radio report that offers somber news from the battlefield. But when Serafina accidentally changes the station, inadvertently filling the hall with the sounds of a love song with a lyric like “kiss me on my little mouth,” the girls erupt into song and dance and, as punishment for their jubilant misbehavior, are rewarded with mouthfuls of soap...
Young Serafina (Melissa Falasconi) attracts the ire of Sister Fioralba (Alba Rohrwacher, the director’s sister), the stern mother superior who rules her boarding school with an iron fist and steely gaze. As the schoolgirls prepare for the evening’s festivities — stoically re-creating the Nativity — they listen to a radio report that offers somber news from the battlefield. But when Serafina accidentally changes the station, inadvertently filling the hall with the sounds of a love song with a lyric like “kiss me on my little mouth,” the girls erupt into song and dance and, as punishment for their jubilant misbehavior, are rewarded with mouthfuls of soap...
- 2/25/2023
- by Tyler Coates
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
“I wanted to create a film that was out of time,” Italian filmmaker Alice Rohrwacher says about her Oscar-nominated live action short, Disney+ Original Films’ Le Pupille. “That was classic, but also hand-made.”
Rohrwacher and the film’s producer, Oscar winner Alfonso Curarón, joined Deadline’s Contenders Film: The Nominees event to discuss their 37-minute film.
Related Story Oscars 2023: Streamers Beat A Retreat, Netting Half Of Last Year’s Nomination Tally Related Story 'Women Talking's Sarah Polley On The Importance Of Casting In Her Movie: "We Couldn't Make Any Moves Until We Made All The Moves" – Contenders Film: The Nominees Related Story Contenders Film: The Nominees Underway With 12 Films Vying For Oscar Prize
Indeed, there’s a touching throwback quality to the short, which is set at an all-girls Catholic orphanage during wartime 1940s. The nuns led by Madre Superiora Fiorabla (played by the director’s sister and longtime...
Rohrwacher and the film’s producer, Oscar winner Alfonso Curarón, joined Deadline’s Contenders Film: The Nominees event to discuss their 37-minute film.
Related Story Oscars 2023: Streamers Beat A Retreat, Netting Half Of Last Year’s Nomination Tally Related Story 'Women Talking's Sarah Polley On The Importance Of Casting In Her Movie: "We Couldn't Make Any Moves Until We Made All The Moves" – Contenders Film: The Nominees Related Story Contenders Film: The Nominees Underway With 12 Films Vying For Oscar Prize
Indeed, there’s a touching throwback quality to the short, which is set at an all-girls Catholic orphanage during wartime 1940s. The nuns led by Madre Superiora Fiorabla (played by the director’s sister and longtime...
- 2/18/2023
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
‘Le Pupille’: Why Music Was Important for the Story of Italian Orphan Girls in Oscar-Nominated Short
Filmmaker Alfonso Cuaron wanted to explore making a series of short films honoring the different cultural traditions at the end of the year, from Christmas to Hanukkah to pagan traditions. His concept was to find a director suited to telling the story, depending on the culture. When it came to Christmas, Cuaron says, “That time of year is meaningful in most cultures. It’s the end of the darkest nights and the beginning of a new cycle. I immediately thought of Alice Rohrwacher. I’m a huge fan and have been ever since I saw ‘The Wonders’ and her short films.”
Written and directed by Rohrwacher, “Le Pupille,” (The Pupils) the 37-minute short now streaming on Disney+, was produced by Cuaron in tandem with her regular producer Carlo Cresto-Dina.
Set in a Catholic orphanage during WWII, the Oscar-nominated live-action short follows Serafina (Melissa Falasconi), one of the young girls taught about heaven,...
Written and directed by Rohrwacher, “Le Pupille,” (The Pupils) the 37-minute short now streaming on Disney+, was produced by Cuaron in tandem with her regular producer Carlo Cresto-Dina.
Set in a Catholic orphanage during WWII, the Oscar-nominated live-action short follows Serafina (Melissa Falasconi), one of the young girls taught about heaven,...
- 2/17/2023
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
The annual American Film Institute (AFI) festival has finally announced its full lineup.
AFI Fest runs Wednesday, November 2 through Sunday, November 6 and includes 125 titles to be screened in Los Angeles. Opening night kicks off with AppleTV+ documentary “Selena Gomez: My Mind and Me” directed by Alek Keshishian. Steven Spielberg’s semi-autobiographical drama “The Fabelmans” will close the festival.
The full lineup also includes special screenings for “Bones and All,” Sundance winner “Nanny,” Robert Downey Jr.’s documentary “Sr.,” “Le Pupille,” and “Women Talking.”
The official selections feature 53 percent of films directed by women and 32 percent of films helmed by Bipoc filmmakers. Eleven percent of directors identify as Lgbtqia+. The full festival includes seven Red Carpet Premieres, six Special Screenings, 12 Discovery, 12 World Cinema, 12 Documentary, 30 Short Film Competition, 43 AFI Conservatory, and three Guest Artistic Director Selections from Ava DuVernay. The Academy Award-nominated filmmaker will showcase three independent films amplifying the voices of...
AFI Fest runs Wednesday, November 2 through Sunday, November 6 and includes 125 titles to be screened in Los Angeles. Opening night kicks off with AppleTV+ documentary “Selena Gomez: My Mind and Me” directed by Alek Keshishian. Steven Spielberg’s semi-autobiographical drama “The Fabelmans” will close the festival.
The full lineup also includes special screenings for “Bones and All,” Sundance winner “Nanny,” Robert Downey Jr.’s documentary “Sr.,” “Le Pupille,” and “Women Talking.”
The official selections feature 53 percent of films directed by women and 32 percent of films helmed by Bipoc filmmakers. Eleven percent of directors identify as Lgbtqia+. The full festival includes seven Red Carpet Premieres, six Special Screenings, 12 Discovery, 12 World Cinema, 12 Documentary, 30 Short Film Competition, 43 AFI Conservatory, and three Guest Artistic Director Selections from Ava DuVernay. The Academy Award-nominated filmmaker will showcase three independent films amplifying the voices of...
- 10/3/2022
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Italian director Alice Rohrwacher, whose “The Wonders” and “Happy as Lazzaro” both won prizes in Cannes, is back at the fest with “The Pupils,” a short film that is screening during her masterclass in the “Rendez-vous With…” section.
Variety is unveiling an exclusive clip (above).
Written and directed by Rohrwacher, the 37-minute short is backed by Disney and was produced by Alfonso Cuaron in tandem with her regular producer Carlo Cresto-Dina. It features a cast comprising the director’s sister and regular collaborator, Alba Rohrwacher, actor-director Valeria Bruni Tedeschi — whose latest directorial effort “Forever Young” is competing in Cannes — and also Melissa Falasconi, Carmen Pommella, Greta Zuccheri Montanari, Luciano Vergaro — aka “Catirre” — and Tatiana Lepore.
Shot in Super 16 but in 35mm format, “The Pupils” (the Italian title is “Le Pupille”) is a coming-of-age fable centered around innocence, greed and fantasy that follows rebellious little girls at a Catholic boarding school...
Variety is unveiling an exclusive clip (above).
Written and directed by Rohrwacher, the 37-minute short is backed by Disney and was produced by Alfonso Cuaron in tandem with her regular producer Carlo Cresto-Dina. It features a cast comprising the director’s sister and regular collaborator, Alba Rohrwacher, actor-director Valeria Bruni Tedeschi — whose latest directorial effort “Forever Young” is competing in Cannes — and also Melissa Falasconi, Carmen Pommella, Greta Zuccheri Montanari, Luciano Vergaro — aka “Catirre” — and Tatiana Lepore.
Shot in Super 16 but in 35mm format, “The Pupils” (the Italian title is “Le Pupille”) is a coming-of-age fable centered around innocence, greed and fantasy that follows rebellious little girls at a Catholic boarding school...
- 5/27/2022
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
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