Independent Film ‘Flounder’ will make debut at Major Oscar Qualifying International Film Festival
The highly-anticipated “Flounder” is the newest creation from filmmaking duo Sam and David Cutler-Kreutz. Sam Cutler-Kreutz who has worked alongside reputable artists such as Academy Award winners John Legend, and Jon Batiste (currently the most Grammy nominated musician of 2022), has taken his directorial skills to new heights with their latest film “Flounder”. The independent work tackles the gripping story of fraternity brotherhood, hazing, masculinity, and the intense sport of water polo. The film stars Charles Justo and Johan Gran as freshmen members of the TCMU water polo team. The film will also include Andrew C. Carson who plays senior member of the team ‘Harris’. Andrew C. Carson also known as The Poet Andrew has been gaining considerable buzz around his name and talent across the industry. The young poet gained a lot of traction this year as a quarter-finalist to perform at The Hollywood Bowl with some of the most incredible names in music, and with this film he continues to stretch himself into many genres of entertainment. This upcoming year “Flounder” will make its world premiere as an official selection at The Clermont-Ferrand International Film Festival.
The Clermont-Ferrand Film Festival is held annually in Clermont-Ferrand, France, with over 160,000 attendees, and 3,500 professionals making it one of the top 10 film festivals in Europe, and a member of the short list of Oscar qualifying film festivals. The festival has been a battleground for artistic exploration and cinematic genius for over 4 decades. It has launched the careers of many respected directors, and films such as “Logorama” which won the Oscar for best short film at the 82nd Academy Awards. This year directors will offer many visions from around the world, and give us the opportunity to travel to distant lands, and be taken through journeys of unknown imaginary universes. Although, COVID-19 will change the way the illustrious festival will be operated; 2022 will still mark the 44th anniversary of the “festival du court métrage” with a flurry of films being screened over 9 days, with less than six of those distinguished films coming from the United States. There is no doubt that many of the award-winning films screened will find themselves on the Academy Award’s radar in the upcoming year, but to win one of those covenant gold statues is no easy feat.
Since 1927, the Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, have been Hollywood’s most notable artistic awards in film history. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) is made up of seventeen branches and each branch nominates for its own category, and for the final voting of the winner, all branches vote for everything. The Oscars remains to be one of the most star-studded events on the planet welcoming members from all walks of entertainment and business. With the announcement of this year’s short list history can be made once again in music with husband and wife Jay-Z and Beyoncé both being nominated against one another in the same category. Also, the biggest pop stars in the world are among the list of contenders for the gold award, including Ariana Grande and Kid Cudi, who are co-writers on the song from “Don’t Look Up,” Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas on their already Grammy-winning number from “No Time to Die” and Jennifer Hudson, who is looking for a double Oscar nom in actress and original song with “Respect.” Although, “Flounder” will not find itself among these nominees; 2022 is gearing up to be an exceptional line up for cinema, and many viewers are excited to see how new works such as these continue to break the mold of film and entertainment.
