On episode 308 of the AwardsWatch podcast, Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade and Associate Editor Sophia Ciminello look at the competitive International Feature Film contenders and provide a preview of some of the major titles coming to the 63rd New York Film Festival.

With more than 70 countries having submitted films for the International Feature Film Oscar so far, now was a good time to look at the frontrunners like Sentimental Value, It Was Just an Accident and The Secret Agent, the NEON dominance of them and how many can really make the final five. We also look outside of those Cannes winners for titles that could pique the voters' interest as uniquely named films have done in the past.

Next up is the preview of the 63rd New York Film Festival, which begins this Friday with the opening film, Luca Guadagnino's After the Hunt. After taking a critical drubbing at its Venice bow, we examine if it can rebound here in the states. Two world premieres will be a part of the festival including Anemone, the feature debut from Ronan Day-Lewis starring his three-time Oscar-winning father Daniel Day-Lewis, back on screen for the first time since 2017's Phantom Thread. At the time of recording both Sophia and I had just seen the film but were under embargo (until September 28). The Venice Golden Lion winner Father Mother Sister Brother from Jim Jarmusch is the Centerpiece film and then Bradley Cooper's third directorial effort, the stand-up comedian story Is This Thing On? will close the festival. Could this be Cooper's attempt to rein it in and silence some of the critics of Maestro?

This podcast runs 1h07m. We will be back next week with xxxxx Till then, let’s get into it.

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