(Los Angeles) The Hollywood Producers Association honored independent film on Saturday CODA as best film of the year, thus strengthening its chances at the Oscars.
Posted at 8:16 a.m.
The awards handed out by the Producers Guild of America (PGA), made up of some 8,000 professionals who make it rain or shine in Hollywood, are considered a relatively reliable barometer in view of the Oscars which will be awarded this year on March 27.
French film remake The Aries Family by Eric Lartigau (2014), CODA tells the story of a struggling deaf family. Deaf actors play the main roles. Its title is the acronym of Child of dead adult which literally means “hearing child of deaf parents”.
The viewer follows Ruby, a hearing high school student, who juggles her musical ambitions and her family’s dependence on her to communicate with the “hearing” world.
Released on Apple TV+, CODA who won the top prize at the SAG Awards at the end of February is now well placed to compete with the big favorite The Power of the Dog by Jane Campion, produced by Netflix.
“I’ve always been drawn to stories full of humanity,” said French producer Philippe Rousselet, co-producer of CODAby receiving the prize, “a sign that there is still hope” in the world.
“In music, a coda signifies the end of a movement,” observed deaf actress Marlee Matlin, who plays Ruby’s mother in CODAadding, “It’s wonderful to see the public so welcoming our film and it’s wonderful to make history”.
Other PGA winners include Encanto won Best Animated Film Producer, bolstering his own Oscar chances before voting closes on Tuesday.
summer of soulmusician Questlove’s first film about the Black Woodstock festival that took place in Harlem in 1969, won a new award for best documentary.
On the television side, Succession from HBO took home the award for best drama television series.
During the evening, Steven Spielberg paid tribute to “(his) brother” George Lucas by presenting the creator of Star Wars a career prize from the PGA. Lucas shares this Milestone Award with Kathleen Kennedy, president of Lucasfilm, now owned by Disney.