What to watch before the ceremony

A short list for anyone catching up in the fortnight before an awards ceremony, and a note on how to use it.

Watch the winners you have not seen

Best Picture winners are a poor guide to quality and a good guide to what the industry thought of itself that year. Oppenheimer, Everything Everywhere All at Once and Parasite are all worth the time on their own terms as well.

Watch one thing that lost

The more interesting film is usually in the nominee list rather than at the top of it. Whiplash lost Best Picture and is the film from its year that people still argue about.

Do not watch on a deadline

Six films in a weekend is how you end up remembering none of them. Three, with a day between, is enough to have an opinion worth having.