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Anatomy of a Fail: Inside France’s Dysfunctional Oscar Committee


France's Oscar committee snubbed 'Anatomy of a Fall' which earned five Oscar noms, while its entry "The Taste of Things" failed to make the cut.

By now, even the most hardcore fans of French cuisine and “Chocolat” star Juliette Binoche can agree that Justine Triet ‘s “ Anatomy of a Fall ” – rather than Tran Anh Hung’s “ The Taste of Things ” — was the one movie that could have given France its first Oscar win for best international feature in over 30 years, since Régis Wargnier’s “Indochine.” The French Oscar committee has missed opportunities before — for instance, when it picked Julia Ducournau’s Palme d’Or winning body-horror movie “Titane” over Audrey Diwan’s Venice prizewinning abortion drama “Happening” in 2021. This year’s committee, which ended up clashing violently over the final decision, according to several insiders, included former Lionsgate boss Patrick Wachsberger, Charles Gillibert, the producer of “Annette,” Oscar-winning composer Alexandre Desplat, as well as directors Olivier Assayas (“Carlos”) and Mounia Meddour (“Papicha”), and sales agents Sabine Chemaly and Tanja Meissner.

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