A week before the Oscars, the remake of The Bélier Family in a good position

The Hollywood Producers Association on Saturday awarded independent film Coda as Best Picture of the Year, bolstering its chances at the Oscars. 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. Remake of the French film La Famille Bélier by Éric Lartigau (2014), Coda tells the story of a struggling deaf family. Deaf actors play the main roles. Its title is an acronym for “child of deaf adult”, which literally means “hearing child of deaf parents”. The spectator 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, which won the first prize at the end of February SAG Awards, is now well placed to rival Netflix’s big favorite The Power of the Dog by Jane Campion. “I’ve always been drawn to stories full of humanity,” said French producer Philippe Rousselet, co-producer of Coda, by receiving the award, “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 Coda, adding, “It’s wonderful to see the audience welcoming our film in such a way and c It’s wonderful to make history.” Among other PGA winners, Encanto took home the award for Best Animated Feature Producer, bolstering his own chances for the Oscars before voting closed on Tuesday. Summer of Soul, musician Questlove’s first film about the Black Woodstock festival held in Harlem in 1969, won another award for Best Documentary. On the television side, HBO’s Succession took home the award for Best Drama Series. During the evening, Steven Spielberg paid tribute to “[son] brother” George Lucas while presenting the Star Wars creator with a PGA Lifetime Achievement Award. Lucas shares the Milestone Award with Kathleen Kennedy, President of Lucasfilm, now owned by Disney.