SPC Troops Pick up Maoz’s Lebanon

Sony Pictures Classics will likely not repeat their 2009 blunder. Neither the deservingly far-superior titles of Waltz with Bashir nor The Class walked away with the Best Foreign Picture win last year, but 2010 might favor the art-house specialist — they’ll have three titles and a “60 percent” chance at determining the final outcome.

As of today, their top three consists of the Golden Lion winning film from Samuel Maoz (Lebanon), the Palme d’or winning Michael Haneke’s White Ribbon and Cannes’ Grand Prize winning Jacques Audiard’s A Prophet. For the record, Israel hasn’t confirmed their entry, but I would have a difficult time imagining how Israeli Film Academy would choose any other film over the prestigious Golden Lion win.

Lebanon becomes the first major post-TIFF film pick-up and was the film that topped my charts among the 35 films I recently viewed at the festival.