Oslo, August 31st 2011

Let’s all just admit that 2012 started to get a little weird towards the end. At least Stateside, anyway. There was all that unpleasant political stuff going on; somehow rape became a gift and then it was bad again; and there was that inclement weather along the East Coast that totally had nothing to do with man-made climate change. Amid all this socialecological turmoil, we shouldn’t blame you for missing some pretty big news in the world of cinema. But we will, anyway.

After all, this year we said goodbye to one controversial auteur (Béla Tarr) and adopted a different personal pronoun for another (Lana Wachowski). Whit Stillman finally made another film after a nearly 15-year hiatus (Damsels In Distres), brilliantly showcasing the talent of Generation Me’s answer to Chloë Sevigny (Greta Gerwig). Plus, any year that a Zachary Oberzan film comes out (Your brother. Remember?) is a good year for movies. Thankfully, all that Mayan apocalypse dreck ran its course a couple years ago, leaving room for some more rarefied grapplings with the end of all things (Tarr’s number-one stunner, The Turin Horse). And all that IRL political stuff we mentioned earlier? Not nearly as troubling as 5 Broken Cameras or This Is Not A Film, movies that managed so brilliantly to elucidate the very real human loss of geopolitical conflict.

But what really blew us away this year weren’t the super-good films that defied convention or made grand political statements. Instead, we were left with our mouths agape by films helmed by auteurs confident enough to be okay simply ignoring convention, never feeling the need to prove anything outside the piece of work at hand, some of which were at ease merely reveling in the sheer virtuosity of their principal actors’ performances (The Master). Oh, and Béla, you’ll be missed.

Source: http://www.tinymixtapes.com/features/2012-favorite-30-films-of-2012

Two times a year—at the halfway point and during list-making season in November—I send out a list of “significant” movies to the film staff so they can try to see as many as possible before our Year In Film feature. It’s just a simple checklist, presented in the order each film was released theatrically in New York City. The idea is to give our writers time to catch up and give relative obscurities like The Arbor (last year’s No. 13 on our conjoined Best Of The Year list) the same collective consideration as more widely heralded efforts like The Tree Of Life. In the interest of transparency—and recommending a bunch of movies we love—I’m making the halftime list public this year so our readers can play along at home. A few caveats:
- My staff inevitably comes back to me with omissions, and I suspect there will be many in the comments below. We’ll add the big ones to our year-end checklist.
- Normally, the list goes out without categories. The ones below, particularly “The Essentials,” are a reflection of my taste and priorities. Mileage will definitely vary.
- Within the categories, titles are still listed in order of release in NYC through the weekend of July 13th, not in order of preference.
- Overall, the momentum from last year’s embarrassment of cinematic riches has continued into 2012, so now’s the time to get those queues in order.

The Essentials: From "Once Upon a Time in Anatolia" to "Django Unchained"
Hollywood: The System Works!: From "The Grey" to "Lés misérables"
Auteur Obligations: From "Crazy Horse" to "Killing Them Softly"
Notable Documentaries: From "West of Memphis" to "Jiro Dreams of Sushi"
Indie Curiosities: From "Return" to "Promised Land"
Imported Goods: From "Declaration of War" to "Sister"

Source: http://www.avclub.com/articles/best-films-2012,82513/ / http://www.avclub.com/articles/best-films-of-2012-so-far-an-annotated-checklist-p,89844/

:trophy::movie_camera:
Updated Jan 2022

The Nordic Council Film Prize is an annual film prize administered by the Nordic Council. The first award was handed out in 2002 to celebrate the Nordic Council's 50th anniversary. Since 2005 the prize has been annual. One winner is chosen from submissions from the five Nordic countries. In 2008, the prize money of the Nordic Council Film Prize was €47,000. According to the Nordic Council, the prize is given for "the creation of an artistically original film that is rooted in Nordic cultural circles".

sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nordic_Council_Film_Prize

https://www.nordiccouncilfilmprize.com

Below is our updated running tally of the films most frequently mentioned by individual critics on their year-end Top Ten lists. Note that if a critic ranks more than the standard 10 films, we will not include films ranked 11th or worse. In case of a tie for first or second, each film will receive the full points for that position.
https://www.metacritic.com/feature/top-ten-lists-best-movies-of-2012

Non-English based movies.

Every February I try to watch as many non English language films as I can.

https://filmschoolrejects.com/movies-not-nominated-best-picture/

Film School Rejects List of 100 Best Movies not Nominated for an Oscar as of April 20th, 2021