Movies

Barbara shows a quiet, restrained normalcy in the former East Germany.

In 'Barbara,' A New Look At Life Behind The Wall

by Bilal Qureshi

Already an awards-season staple, German historical dramas are moving beyond the horrors of the Third Reich and delving into the nuanced past of the former East Germany. Films like Christian Petzold's Barbara, a quiet story about a troubled young doctor, tell a different kind of history.
QueueListen Now
Ann Dowd plays Sandra, a hard-nosed Midwestern manager of a fast-food franchise in Compliance. The actress spent $13,000 to try to get an Oscar nomination for the role.

Ann Dowd's One-Woman Oscar-Nomination Campaign

by NPR Staff

Actress Ann Dowd received huge acclaim for her role in the indie film Compliance. But the studio told her it didn't have money to lobby the Academy for a best supporting actress award for her. So Dowd did something exceedingly rare in Hollywood: She spent $13,000 on her own campaign.
QueueListen Now

Cooke Optics Limited To Be Honored At Oscar Ceremony

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences says the British company gets an award of merit because it "helped define the look of motion pictures over the last century." Its innovations over the years have included zoom lenses for movie cameras and lenses that didn't require bright lights. The lenses produce what's known in the industry as the "Cooke look" — warm, natural images on the screen.
QueueListen Now