NOMADLAND
2020 began its film business as usual among news of record box office attendance and the ongoing conversations about lack of diversity and inclusion in the industry; the male-female big divide; the increasing weight of digital platforms… Sundance gave way to the typical arguments about the state of US Indies; the Oscar frontrunners hinted at a Scorsese versus Tarantino battle; the Berlinale, flaunting a brand new director, Carlo Chatrian, announced new sections and a revamped line-up on its official competition, full of renowned auteurs.
Sundance’s slate proved to be a bit lacklustre -if anticipating at a quite strong year for documentaries and launching one of this year’s Oscars favourites in ‘Minari’; Korean director Bong Joon-Ho’s ‘Parasite’ took the Academy awards by surprise and swept the board; the Berlinale’s impressive line-up wasn´t all that the names included on its selection anticipated it would be, yet it delivered two of the year’s finest with the latest works by Kelly Reichardt and Tsai Ming-Liang. But fate had other plans and despite those minor surprises and upsets, we can only look at it all now invaded by the nostalgia of which feels like golden days long time gone. Shortly afterwards COVID happened, bringing the world to a halt with its lockdowns, social distancing, business shutting down or being put on hold and a change in everyday life for everyone, among the endless pain and suffering it has caused.