December is a time for reflection and celebration. As we get ready to close out 2023, A.frame has partnered with the Academy's seven Affinity Groups on a watchlist spotlighting the films released this year that highlight their respective communities. From narrative features like Chevalier and Monica to documentaries like aka Mr. Chow and American Symphony to animated films like Nimona and Starling, there's something for everyone.
Check back throughout the month as we update streaming information.
Past Lives
Recommended by the Academy's Asian Affinity Group
Synopsis: Nora (Greta Lee) and Hae Sung (Teo Yoo), two deeply connected childhood friends, are wrest apart after Nora’s family emigrates from South Korea. Two decades later, they are reunited in New York for one fateful week as they confront notions of destiny, love, and the choices that make a life.
Watch it: Apple TV
MORE: 'Past Lives' Director Celine Song and Greta Lee Talk Endings and Beginnings (Exclusive)
aka MR. CHOW
Recommended by the Academy's Asian Affinity Group
Synopsis: The documentary aka MR. CHOW details the vibrant and varied life of Michael Chow. Born Zhou Yinghua, he triumphed over trauma, loss, and prejudice through acting and art before crafting a new identity as restaurateur Mr. Chow. After decades as a successful businessman and celebrated host to artists, actors, musicians, designers, and models, Mr. Chow has turned to painting and once again redefined himself — this time, as the artist M.
Watch it: Max
Starling
Recommended by the Academy's Asian Affinity Group
Synopsis: Starling follows a mischievous little spirit shoots down from the sky to return to her family's home on her birthday. On the way, rain clouds derail her and she misses her target, causing her to tumble onto the streets of Istanbul, where she grew up. As she makes her way through the city, she experiences all the things she loved when she was alive.
Watch it: Check back for streaming information
Mission Statement: The Asian Affinity Group aims to foster community among Academy members of Asian descent around the world. Given the breadth of diversity and unique cultural identities throughout Asia, the group will leverage networking, education and communication to promote and advance the interests of all Asian Academy members.
American Symphony
Recommended by the Academy's Black Caucus Affinity Group
Synopsis: In 2022, musician Jon Batiste finds himself the most celebrated artist of the year with eleven GRAMMY nominations including Album of the Year. In the midst of that triumph, Jon embarks on his most ambitious challenge to date, composing an original symphony. This trajectory was upended when Batiste’s life partner — bestselling author Suleika Jaouad — learns that her long-dormant cancer has returned. American Symphony is an intimate portrait of two artists at a crossroads, and a meditation on art, love, and the creative process.
Watch it: Netflix
Bobi Wine: The People's President
Recommended by the Academy's Black Caucus Affinity Group
Synopsis: This gripping documentary charts the inspiring activism of Bobi Wine, the pop star-turned-politician seeking to end Uganda's brutal dictatorship. Rising from the ghetto slums of Kampala to be one of the country's most beloved superstars, Bobi begins to use his music to call out corruption, then becomes an Independent Member of Parliament to defend the rights of his people. The country's institutions are controlled by President Museveni, an autocratic tyrant who has held power since 1986. Bobi and his wife Barbie choose to risk their careers, their family, and their lives to challenge him and bring democracy to their country. But the state is determined to silence not only them, but anyone who supports their cause.
Watch it: Hulu
MORE: 'Bobi Wine' Directors Christopher Sharp and Moses Bwayo's Top 5
Chevalier
Recommended by the Academy's Black Caucus Affinity Group
Synopsis: The illegitimate son of an African slave and a French plantation owner, Joseph Bologne (Kelvin Harrison Jr.), rises to improbable heights in French society as a celebrated violinist-composer and fencer, complete with an ill-fated love affair, and a falling out with Marie Antoinette herself and her court.
Watch it: Hulu
Mission Statement: The Academy Black Caucus will empower and engage Black Academy members globally by establishing a multi-generational community that will enable education, advocacy and power. Through networking, curated content and partnerships on Academy outreach initiatives, the Black Caucus will establish a system of checks and balances to ensure Black voices are elevated.
Rustin
Recommended by the Academy's Disability and Accessibility Affinity Group
Synopsis: The architect of 1963's momentous March on Washington, Bayard Rustin was one of the greatest activists and organizers the world has ever known. He challenged authority, never apologized for who he was, what he believed, or who he desired. And he did not back down. He made history, and in turn, he was forgotten. Starring Colman Domingo, Rustin shines a spotlight on the extraordinary man who, alongside giants like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Adam Clayton Powell Jr., and Ella Baker, dared to imagine a different world, and inspired a movement in a march toward freedom.
Watch it: Netflix
Saltburn
Recommended by the Academy's Disability and Accessibility Affinity Group
Synopsis: Struggling to find his place at Oxford University, student Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan) finds himself drawn into the world of the charming and aristocratic Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi), who invites him to Saltburn, his eccentric family’s sprawling estate, for a summer never to be forgotten.
Watch it: In theaters
The Shadow of the Sun
Recommended by the Academy's Disability and Accessibility Affinity Group
Synopsis: The film tells the story of Leo (Carlos Manuel Gonzalez), a blue-collar worker with a musical past living in the remote city of Acarigua, nestled in the Venezuelan inland empire. Haunted by financial debt and problems back home, he does everything he can to stay afloat. One day, his younger brother, Alex, who has been deaf since birth, offers him a solution: to participate in a musical contest in the capital, Caracas, performing his own original song. Winning the first prize could solve all his economic problems, so Leo, taking a leap of faith, unearths his dormant musical talent and does the seemingly impossible to change his and his brother's future.
Watch it: Check back for streaming information
Mission Statement: The Disability & Accessibility Affinity Group is focused on increased awareness and advocacy of people with disabilities, those who are neurodivergent, D/deaf or hard of hearing in film and entertainment. The group aims to build community among Academy members while encouraging industry shifts related to accessibility, employment and accurate representation of people with disabilities.
Je'vida
Recommended by the Academy's Indigenous Alliance Affinity Group
Synopsis: Iida, an elderly Skolt Sámi woman, who has abandoned her past under the pressures of assimilation, clears out everything in her family's home as she prepares for its sale, weaving across three different historical eras to examine the fate of Finland's Indigenous peoples in the post-war period.
Watch it: Check back for streaming information
The Tundra Within Me (Eallogierdu)
Recommended by the Academy's Indigenous Alliance Affinity Group
Synopsis: At the height of winter, Lena (Risten Anine Kvernmo Gaup) leaves her life in Oslo with her young son in tow and returns to her hometown in Sápmi, in northern Norway. A contemporary visual artist, Lena has returned to begin a residency involving women reindeer herders in her Sámi community.
While her mother is enthusiastic about Lena’s return and the opportunity to share Sámi knowledge with her grandson, Lena insists her stay is only temporary. While Lena's life in the south offers greater comforts and opportunities as an artist, the shadow of a past decision still fills her with shame and regret.
Watch it: Check back for streaming information
The Unknown Country
Recommended by the Academy's Indigenous Alliance Affinity Group
Synopsis: Reeling from a devastating loss, Tana (Lily Gladstone) is pulled back into the world by an unexpected invitation to her cousin's wedding. She packs up her late grandmother's Cadillac and hits the open road, driving from her home in Minnesota to South Dakota. After reconnecting with her Oglala Lakota family, Tana sets off to retrace a surreal journey that her grandmother took decades ago, searching for the spot captured in an old family photograph. A personal reverie summoned from a beguiling mix of fact and fiction, The Unknown Country is an arresting debut feature from Morrisa Maltz.
Watch it: Amazon
Mission Statement: The Indigenous Alliance aims to broaden the visibility and facilitate more opportunities for indigenous representation in the Academy and throughout the global film community.
Cassandro
Recommended by the Academy's La Agenda Affinity Group
Synopsis: Based on the true story of Saúl Armendáriz (Gael García Bernal), a gay amateur wrestler from El Paso who rises to international stardom after he creates the character Cassandro, the "Liberace of Lucha Libre." In the process, he upends not just the macho wrestling world, but also his own life.
Watch it: Amazon
Radical
Recommended by the Academy's La Agenda Affinity Group
Synopsis: In a Mexican border town plagued by neglect, corruption, and violence, a frustrated teacher (Eugenio Derbez) tries a radical new method to break through his students' apathy and unlock their curiosity, potential… and perhaps even genius.
Watch it: In theaters
MORE: Eugenio Derbez on Finding Connection and 'Crying Constantly' While Making 'Radical' (Exclusive)
Society of the Snow
Recommended by the Academy's La Agenda Affinity Group
Synopsis: The film tells the true story of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571. In 1972, chartered to fly a rugby team to Chile, the plane catastrophically crashed on a glacier in the heart of the Andes. Only 29 of the 45 passengers survived the crash. The survivors found themselves in one of the world's toughest environments, forced to resort to extreme measures to stay alive.
Watch it: Netflix
MORE: 'Society of the Snow' Director J. A. Bayona on Returning to the Scene of the Crash (Exclusive)
Mission Statement: La Agenda’s mission is to form an Alliance that is built on inclusion, respect and acknowledgement of the range of identities, countries, experiences and cultures that we collectively represent. La Agenda aims to leverage connectivity and united action rooted in mutual respect to promote, celebrate, educate and advocate for broader recognition and increased tangible opportunities. La Agenda is a group that reflects and acknowledges the rich diversity of people representing more than 33 Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries, inclusive of the United States, who refer to themselves as Latina/e/o/x, Indigenous, Afro Latino, Hispanic, or by their country of origin and nationality.
Bottoms
Recommended by the Academy's LGBTQ+ Coalition Affinity Group
Synopsis: PJ (Rachel Sennott) and Josie (Ayo Edebiri) start a fight club as a way to lose their virginities to cheerleaders. And their bizarre plan actually works. The fight club gains traction, and soon the most popular girls in school are beating each other up in the name of self-defense. But PJ and Josie find themselves in over their heads and in need of a way out before their plan is exposed.
Watch it: Amazon
MORE: 'Bottoms' Costume Designer on Paying Homage to 'Clueless' (Exclusive)
Monica
Recommended by the Academy's LGBTQ+ Coalition Affinity Group
Synopsis: Monica is the intimate portrait of a woman (Trace Lysette) who returns home to the Midwest for the first time in 20 years to take care of her dying mother (Patricia Clarkson). The audience is led into Monica's world through an introspective and riveting journey, one that explores the universal themes of abandonment, aging, rejection, hope, and forgiveness.
Watch it: Amazon
MORE: Trace Lysette Takes the Lead: 'I Knew I Could Bring What Needed to Be Brought' (Exclusive)
Nimona
Recommended by the Academy's LGBTQ+ Coalition Affinity Group
Synopsis: When Ballister Boldheart (Riz Ahmed), a knight in a futuristic medieval world, is framed for a crime he didn't commit, the only one who can help him prove his innocence is Nimona (Chloë Grace Moretz), a mischievous teen with a taste for mayhem — who also happens to be a shapeshifting creature Ballister has been trained to destroy. But with the entire kingdom out to get him, Nimona's the best (or technically the only) sidekick Ballister can hope for. And as the lines between heroes, villains, and monsters start to blur, the two of them set out to wreak serious havoc — for Ballister to clear his name once and for all, and for Nimona to… just wreak serious havoc.
Watch it: Netflix
Mission Statement: The LGBTQ+ Coalition is an affinity group for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer Academy members. The Coalition exists to foster inclusion and encourage education at the Academy while advocating for increased representation, recognition and celebration of the LGBTQ+ community in the film industry at large.
Amerikatsi
Recommended by the Academy's MENA x WANA Alliance Affinity Group
Synopsis: A film of tremendous spirit and hope, Amerikatsi follows Charlie as he returns to his Armenian homeland and finds a country under Soviet rule. After being unjustly imprisoned, he soon discovers he can see into a nearby apartment from his cell window. As his life becomes entwined with the prison guard who lives there, Charlie begins to see that the spirit of his homeland is alive and well.
Watch it: Amazon
It Takes a Village
Recommended by the Academy's MENA x WANA Alliance Affinity Group
Synopsis: Mariam lives in a remote Armenian village where there are no men, as they have all left for Russia for work. On her birthday, her hopes of having a reunited family are shattered, but she must put aside her own crushed dreams and build up her friend Anush's hopes of an idyllic life as she embarks into motherhood.
Watch it: Check back for streaming information
The Persian Version
Recommended by the Academy's MENA x WANA Alliance Affinity Group
Synopsis: This celebratory comedy-drama tells the story of Leila (Layla Mohammadi), a young Iranian-American woman in Brooklyn as she strives to embrace her opposing cultures while challenging the labels that society projects upon her. When Leila's boisterous family reunites in New York City for her father’s heart transplant, she keeps her "real life" separate from her family life. But when a secret is revealed, so are the distinct parallels between her life and that of her mother Shireen (Niousha Noor).
Watch it: In theaters
Mission Statement: The MENA & WANA Alliance is dedicated to advocacy, education, growth and community for Academy Members with an emphasis on those representatives of the Middle East, West Asia and North African region of the world. The mission is to work with the region’s complexity and form an alliance that is built on inclusion, respect and acknowledgment of the range of countries, cultures and identities it represents.
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