The million dollar question, that of What was first: the chicken or the eggit has a symmetry with the Oscars and film festivals.

Because although one (the Oscar) “feeds” on what the other (the Festivals) offered, even at the time of the Academy Awards, the Festivals show off their chests, saying that the winning films first passed through their selection committees and screens.

All bearing in mind that at the ceremony next Sunday, March 12, eight of the ten films nominated for best film made their debut, with great fanfare, and also received awards, for the three most important film festivals, over the course of last year.

In May 2022 in Cannes they debuted Elvisby Baz Luhrmann Top Gun: nonconformistby Joseph Kosinski, e The triangle of sadnessby Ruben Östlund, who ended up winning the Palme d’Or.

The former has 8 nominations – presumably Austin Butler wins Best Actor, not by much over Brendan Fraser (The whalewho was in Venice), the second, with Tom Cruise, 6 –Variety he places his second in odds of winning the Oscar, behind the favourite All everywhere at the same time-, and from the third to the three, all important statuettes: film, director and original screenplay.

At the end of August and beginning of September, through Venice, in which the Argentinian Mariano Cohn was on the jury, in addition to the aforementioned The whalepast tarby Todd Field -Cate Blanchett won the Volpi Cup for Best Actress- and the spirits of the islandfor which Colin Farrell won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor, and its director, Martin McDonagh, the Silver Lion for Best Screenplay.

And, again in chronological order, three other nominees for the top award were screened for the first time in Toronto in September: The Fabelmansby Steven Spielberg (7 Oscar nominations), No news at the frontby Edward Berger (9 nominations, plus Best Picture in competition with Argentina, 1985in the category of best international film) e They speakby Sarah Polley (two nominations, best film and best adapted screenplay).

The exceptions to the rule

The only two that have not gone through major international festivals are All everywhere at the same timefrom “The Daniels”, Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, e Avatar: The Path of Waterby James Cameron.

All the films premiered in theaters or in streaming in Argentina, with the exception of one, which has not yet had a commercial outlet in our country: They speak premieres March 9, three days before the ceremony.

All this without counting Neighborby Lukas Dhont, e HEYby Jerzy Skolimowski, with which they compete Argentina, 1985, premiered at Cannes. And Santiago Miter’s film had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival.

After the Academy Awards ceremony, two months later the wheel will start turning again, with the opening of the 76th edition of the Cannes Film Festival. And for that great event, at the most important film festival in the world, there is a date not yet fixed, but which Thierry Frémaux, its director general, will have in a red circle, for the world premiere of The flower moon killerswith Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro and Jesse Plemons.

There is already another American production which, it seems, will have its first exhibition at the Grand Auditorium Louis Lumière: Indiana Jones and the Call of Fate, no longer directed by Spielberg, but by James Mangold. The US premiere will be June 30, so the film will be ready.

And another tank would be oppenheimerby Christopher Nolan. Who discovered the scoop was Matthew Modine, a member of the massive cast, which also includes Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt and Matt Damon. Well the actor stranger things AND Born to Kill tweeted a movie poster with the hashtag #Cannes2023, and almost immediately deleted it…

And just as campaigning for an Oscar nomination or award can cost anywhere from $10,000 to $5,000,000, depending on how much you want or can spend on advertising, parties and promotional trips, any top-rated American production that lands a Cannes knows that it will spend around US$1,000,000, even if the stay will be paid for by the Festival.

Of course, that of the hen or the egg could be solved by thinking that: the Oscar beats all the Festivals for longevity: it goes to its 95th ceremony, and Venice, the oldest, this year will have its 79th edition.

The important thing is that cinema is celebrated on both sides of the Atlantic with these events.