Cinema

The Dinner Parties That Decide Who Wins the Foreign-Language Awards

Great foreign-language films are everywhere. The ones that win Golden Globe and Oscar nominations come with top publicists, glittering parties and directors who dine with voters.

Husam Sam Asi 18 January 2017

Golden Globe foreign-language film directors with HFPA representatives in January 2017 — Golden Globe foreign-language nominees with HFPA representatives, January 2017. Photo: Jared Cowan / American Cinematheque.

When the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced its shortlist of nine films in the foreign-language category, no one was surprised by the absence of the People’s Republic of China’s submission, Huo Jianqi’s Xuanzang, which depicts the legendary seventh-century spiritual journey of the Buddhist monk Xuanzang from China to India. Since its selection by China’s State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (SAPPRFT) to represent the country at the Oscars, the film had been deemed by commentators unfit to fight the awards battle. It had won no festival awards, received no critical acclaim and made no impact at the box office. So it is no wonder that it was ignored by the press and failed to gain any attention during the awards season.

Interestingly, there was no promotion campaign for Xuanzang, and it was not even submitted for Golden Globes consideration. Submitting an Oscar contender to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) for Golden Globes consideration gives it more exposure and consequently enhances its chances in the Oscar race. But it seems that even the Chinese authorities didn’t believe it had a chance, and hence didn’t bother spending money on a promotion campaign.

Luckily, unlike the Academy, which accepts foreign-language submissions only from an official selection body in each country, the HFPA allows filmmakers of any nationality to submit their films independently for Golden Globe consideration in the same category, as long as at least 51 per cent of the dialogue is not in English. This has enabled other Chinese filmmakers, whose films were not selected to represent their country at the Oscars, to enter the Golden Globes race.

The Screening Only One Voter Attended

This autumn, three Chinese films from iconic directors were submitted for Golden Globe consideration, but I had the chance to see only two: Wu Tianming’s Song of the Phoenix and Feng Xiaogang’s I Am Not Madame Bovary. Neither secured a nomination. The question is: are they artistically unaccomplished, or do they lack something else?

Song of the Phoenix tells the story of a musician whose dream of forming a suona troupe is thwarted by the modernisation and urbanisation of a new China that no longer values traditional music. But in spite of its interesting subject and the respect its director commands around the world (Martin Scorsese volunteered to introduce its screening out of respect for Wu), the film had no chance in the awards race. It was made three years ago and garnered little attention from the press or critics. In fact, I was the only Golden Globe voter who attended its screening. So, sadly, it didn’t register in the consciousness of the voters.

I Am Not Madame Bovary, however, was a different story. Besides being directed by the iconic Feng Xiaogang and starring the megastar Fan Bingbing, it collected some venerable accolades: the Golden Shell for best film and the Silver Shell for best actress for Fan at the San Sebastián Film Festival, the FIPRESCI prize at the Toronto International Film Festival and the Golden Horse award for best director for Feng. It was hailed by international critics, scoring above 85 per cent on the American review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.

Feng ingeniously employs comedy and uses different shapes of framing in I Am Not Madame Bovary to offer an intriguing social commentary through the eyes of a village woman who causes a political storm when she petitions the legal system after she is swindled by her ex-husband. Fan captivates and charms as she leads us on the harrowing emotional journey of a woman who fearlessly and persistently confronts a rigid political system for over a decade. Given Hollywood’s healthy appetite nowadays for female-centred stories and political themes, I Am Not Madame Bovary sounded like a perfect pitch for the awards. Then why did it fail to make an impression?

What the Nominees Had

Before we jump to any conclusions, let’s examine the films that received Golden Globe nominations in the best foreign-language film category: Elle from France, The Salesman from Iran, Neruda from Chile, Toni Erdmann from Germany and Divines from France.

Like I Am Not Madame Bovary, all these films are underpinned by compelling stories, anchored by strong characters and explore complex political and social issues. Elle tells the story of a businesswoman who forms a sexual relationship with her rapist. The Salesman follows a teacher hunting down an intruder who assaulted his wife. Neruda revolves around the celebrated Chilean poet when he was chased by his government for his communist convictions in 1948. Toni Erdmann centres on a business consultant struggling to bond with her eccentric father while dealing with her sexist colleagues. And Divines tells the story of a teenage drug pusher in a Parisian ghetto who dreams of a great fortune.

They have all won numerous prestigious accolades and gained critical acclaim. All of them premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, and some left with valuable prizes. They followed with screenings at other festivals, where they collected more trophies.

Three of these films, Elle, The Salesman and Neruda, were made by internationally renowned directors: the Dutch Hollywood veteran Paul Verhoeven, the Iranian Oscar winner Asghar Farhadi and the Chilean auteur Pablo Larraín respectively. Elle and Neruda also benefited from having international stars in their lead roles, the French Isabelle Huppert and the Mexican Gael García Bernal respectively.

Judging from the above, I Am Not Madame Bovary could fit easily among these films. In fact, it is comparable to the Golden Globe winner, Elle: it has a celebrated director, an international star in the lead and an intriguing story with social commentary, and it was critically acclaimed. So where did I Am Not Madame Bovary fail?

Dinners, Parties and Publicists

All the nominated films were represented by Hollywood’s best publicists, who know exactly how to target voters and how to promote their films to them. Divines, for instance, is a small film made by an unknown first-time director with unknown actors. It wouldn’t have had a chance of a nomination had it not been represented by one of the hottest publicists in town. The same publicist represented La La Land, which scooped seven Golden Globes, Moonlight, which took the Golden Globe for best drama, and Fences, which won Viola Davis the Golden Globe for best supporting actress. When such a publicist backs a film, a Golden Globe nomination is almost certain.

The others had other tricks up their sleeves. When you have luminous stars in your film, they shine a light on your path to awards glory, and the publicists know how to exploit that. Elle’s director Verhoeven and its star Huppert held press conferences for the Golden Globe voters and attended their parties, enchanting them with their charming personas. The Salesman’s Farhadi attended the Golden Globes screening of his film and hosted a dinner for the voters at an exclusive Beverly Hills restaurant, where they had the chance to connect with him on a personal level. Neruda’s director Larraín and its star Bernal also spent time with the voters at a press conference and at a couple of parties.

Asghar Farhadi meets the press at a private reception at Liaison in Hollywood in January 2017 — Asghar Farhadi at a private reception at Liaison in Hollywood, January 2017. Photo: Jared Cowan / American Cinematheque.

To further demonstrate the impact of a star’s presence at awards screenings, I’ll offer Xavier Dolan’s It’s Only the End of the World as an example. This Canadian film was derided by the critics, and described by some as one of the worst films of 2016, when it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May. Yet it managed to sneak on to the Academy’s shortlist of foreign-language films. I happened to be at that screening, which was followed by a reception at an exclusive Beverly Hills restaurant hosted by none other than its glamorous star, the Oscar winner Marion Cotillard. The Oscar voters were enchanted by her elegance and charm, and rewarded her accordingly.

As for I Am Not Madame Bovary, it didn’t even have a publicist. And if it did, I haven’t heard of them. I was invited to its premiere at a Los Angeles museum by the 3rd China Onscreen Biennial and Well Go USA Entertainment, rather than to an exclusive voters’ screening. The place was packed with patrons, but there were very few Golden Globe voters. Thereafter, I don’t recall hearing any of my colleagues mentioning it. It quickly drifted into indifference and oblivion.

Now compare that with the campaign for Zhang Yimou’s The Flowers of War ahead of the 2012 Golden Globes. It ultimately scored a nomination, although it was critically derided, with an approval rating of only around 40 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes, and hadn’t won any notable awards. Unlike I Am Not Madame Bovary, The Flowers of War was represented by one of Hollywood’s top awards publicists (this year, he represented the Golden Globe winner Zootopia). Zhang and his actors Christian Bale and Ni Ni hosted two parties for the Golden Globe voters, one at a luxury hotel and another at an exclusive Beverly Hills restaurant, and the voters also received traditional Chinese gifts with a charming letter from Zhang himself.

The bottom line is that it’s easier to make a great film than to promote it. Many of the foreign films submitted for Golden Globe and Oscar consideration are highly accomplished and worthy of the highest honours, but only those that rose above the fray and loudly announced their presence to the world were noticed and recognised.