this is bbc news. we will have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight after this programme.

hello from venice beach, in california, home over the years to skateboarders, street performers, musicians, body—builders and movie stars. i'm tom brook and welcome to our award season lookahead. in today's programme, we look at the emerging oscars race in the run—up to the 96th annual academy awards. is it going to be the year that oppenheimer takes home the lion's share of trophies? past lives — the dark horse candidate in the oscars race. we sit down with its first—time feature film director. music comes from life experiences. two documentaries in the running for an oscar nomination, including one that's performed live before an audience. and how waiting to find out if your name is included in the oscar nominations announcement is almost too much to bear. i mightjust turn off my phone. next week, not far from where i'm standing at the academy of motion picture arts and sciences headquarters in beverly hills, an early morning

announcement will be made that will reverberate around the world, at least in film circles. the oscar nominations will be revealed. what names will make it onto that coveted list? what films will be recognised? well, we've been trying to work it out. several films are expected to get multiple nominations. among them, christopher nolan's oppenheimer. # watch me dance...# the highest—grossing film of last year, barbie from film—maker greta gerwig. the much—respected epic killers of the flower moon from veteran director martin scorsese, and poor things, a dark satirical comedy starring emma stone from film—maker yorgos lanthimos. ten movies will be nominated for best picture, and this year everyone agrees, even the biggest names in the business, that there's no paucity of strong candidates. there's so many wonderful movies this year. actually, that's the most exciting part, to be able to be here and other places

around those people that made those movies. at several awards events in recent times, oppenheimer has prevailed. the film could bring cillian murphy, its star, a best actor oscar. but he faces stiff competition from paul giamatti, who's already won best actor prizes for his portrayal of an ancient history teacher at a private boarding school in the holdovers. you are getting a lot of attention for your work right now. does that affect your self esteem? he laughs well, i guess it... i guess... i guess it bumps it up, sure. how could it not? it's a very nice thing. yeah, i think it's... i think it's... i think it does. i think it takes it up a notch, not too much. and what would oscars recognition mean to you? well, i mean, it would be amazing. i don't anticipate it. the thing i think is coolest about that is the sense of history and tradition is really cool. to be a part... because americans don't have a lot of sort of like

traditions and historical traditions like that. so that'd be cool. best actress seems a prize destined for emma stone, who gives a very memorable performance as the uninhibited and passionate bella baxter in poor things. we will need less of your tongue in the future, but overall, most agreeable. but that prize could easily go to lily gladstone, who portrays an osage woman providing the heart and soul of martin scorsese's killers of the flower moon. gladstone thinks the film marks a real turning point in the portrayal of indigenous people. to have so many incredible indigenous talent getting to be on full display, telling the story that people have gotten very skewed, fantasised versions of. to get more real telling of that and to have the nation involved, osage nation involved so heavily, itjust, it feels historic all over. it feels really historic. right now, the best director prize seems christopher nolan's to lose. but don't count out greta gerwig or 81—year—old martin scorsese, who has a lot of support among many academy members who have lavished praise on his picture. are you a very harsh critic of your own work?

i tend to want to feel that when i look in the mirror, when i do shave, that i can look at myself in a way, and i can feel that i did the best i could with each project under the circumstances at that time. can i say i'm always happy with it? no, but it's done. it's part of a long journey. british talent has a long tradition of picking up oscar nominations. in addition to oppenheimer�*s cast and crew, expect recognition for carey mulligan for playing leonard bernstein's wife in maestro, and for the holocaust film the zone of interest, directed byjonathan glazer. also, irish actor andrew scott could get nominated for his role in british film—maker andrew haigh�*s gay romance and ghost story, all of us strangers. i love the fact that the film has been marketed without erasing the gays�* love story out of it, because that's what used to happen. and i always thought it was such a weird, creepy thing to do, and also slightly nonsensical. margot! to me! award season is, of course, taking place against

the backdrop of some sobering realities in the outside world — the conflict in the middle east, the ongoing war in ukraine, and a very politically divisive presidential election campaign here in the us. but awards contenders maintain that the oscar nominations and associated hoopla do have relevance in these strife—torn times. they believe oscar season and some of the films out there can help people address problems in the real world with stories that can unify. going into a movie theatre and sitting in the dark with strangers and feeling your common humanity is the power of film. and it's helped coalesce society. but now society is... ..unimaginably confused. you know, entertainment's great, but we're at a critical point on the planet. so i'm very excited when a film actually goes after something in our soul and in our consciousness that we need to understand what we've done if we're to move forward.

with audiences for the oscars declining in recent times, the event has become a bit of a diminishing spectacle. but this year, with two blockbusters, barbie and oppenheimer, expected to be heavily nominated, the academy is hoping that more people around the world will tune in, giving the telecast a significant and much—needed ratings bump. one film—maker for whom award season has been full of good tidings is celine song. she wrote and directed the picture past lives. it's the story of the relationship between childhood friends over the course of two decades. the movie marks her directorial debut, and it's a debut that has brought forth many, many accolades. alan moloney went to meet celine song to find out more about her and her film. there wasjust this kid in my head for such a long time. i think ijust missed him. did he miss you?

hae sung! past lives focuses on two childhood friends over a 24—year period. we first meet them as children in seouljust before nora moves with her family to canada. the story picks up 12 years later on separate continents as they reunite over social media before again dropping in on them 12 years later. # without you in...# it's a film about relationships and identity delicately told by playwright and first—time director celine song. she's been widely praised for the confidence she displays in her direction. how did you finally kind of make thatjump and be able to kind of take this on, then? well, i can really talk about it as falling in love, because i think a few weeks into my making the movie, i think i had this feeling that i was like, "ha, ijust met the love of my life," and it is film—making and i know i'm going to do this till i'm 95. i'm going to do this for ever. i'm going to do this till i die. crucial to the film

are the conflicting narratives and duality of self that comes from being a part of and separate from a culture. having herself moved away from korea at a young age before settling in new york, it's a deeply personal subject for song. i mean, the movie is about a self revelation of a woman. and i really had a bit of a self revelation of myself as a film—maker and as somebody who is also going through some of the things that the character in the film is going through. but really the truth is that it came from this really personal moment. what i really love recently is the movie is coming out globally, is that this object that is now a film is now entering the lives of the audience and the people who's watching the movie and is

being made personal again. the film has proved popular with critics and is expected to be nominated by the academy in a number of categories. for song, being a part of the awards conversation is a very new experience. to me, i'm just thrilled by it more than anything. and of course it's such... it's just an amazing thing. i'm just so happy. you know, i wish i had something weird to say or something, but i really think it's nothing but a wonderful thing. past lives may be understated, but its intricate examination of complex relationships certainly doesn't lack impact. and while it may face stiff competition from more well—known films, it remains a dark horse for oscar recognition. that guy flew 13 hours to be here. i'm not going to tell you that you can't see him or something. nonfiction films, of course, figure in this year's oscars race and there are some very fine documentaries competing for recognition.

the one that prognosticators think will probably win is called american symphony, and it follows a year in the life of a much—liked american musician and his wife. as emma jones now tells us, it's a story that has moments of greatjoy and sadness. the most honoured artist this year with 11 nominations is mrjon batiste right there. it's a real—life love story that's as moving as anything fiction can offer. american symphony, directed by emmy winner matthew heineman, follows jon batiste and his wife, writer and artist suleika jaouad as they navigate her treatment for leukaemia, even as he enjoyed a record 11 nominations at the 2022 grammy awards. i won the biggest prize in music, come home, she's back in the hospital. it's not the film batiste expected to make. originally, it was to be about his composition of an innovative musical symphony that would challenge stereotypes about his music. found out about the nominations for the grammys. ii nominations, historic,

grammy nods, on the same week, we found out that suleika, you know, the leukaemia had returned. and that was a choice that we had to make as a family. you know, do you continue rolling the cameras? so...that was a choice. and it was a choice that we made continually. laughter # in the world today...# in american symphony, his cameras capture the couple in some of their most intimate moments, including their marriage ceremony. but heineman explains that initiallyjaouad refused to be involved. it took a lot of conversations and gaining her trust and she didn't want to be part of the film. it was really important for me to honour her, honour her story, make her fully formed in both person and artist herself. are you glad that you opened up your lives to him?

lam. we talk about that all the time, and i think it's really a testament to the power of love and also creativity to alchemise these difficult passages. the film has created its own reverberations this award season. jon batiste was at the recent golden globes to present an award, and although the film couldn't be nominated there, as there's no documentary category, american symphony is already a shortlisted favourite in the preliminary oscar documentary category, and may be in contention for best original song. it might have a close rival, though, in another story set around a well—known person dealing with illness. i was big. i was bigger than bubble gum. still is the story of michael] fox, his rise to fame and his diagnosis with parkinson's disease. you have to confront the brutal reality.

certainly the revelation in american symphony of the private distress that can be going on under the public facade makes for reflection. batiste's career had taken him to band leader on cbs's the late show with stephen colbert in an industry where commercial success is viewed as a performer�*s ultimate goal. the grammys, biggest night of his life professionally. a lot of people would think that, like, he'll go out to a club and go out partying and, you know. but like that scene when he's alone in the trailer afterwards and praying and meditating and sort of soaking in this moment, also soaking in the duality of that high with him in the reality that suleika was getting readmitted back into the hospital. suleika jaouad says she's doing well and the couple have some thoughts on how they got through this period of their lives. faith — that's the key. you know, you may not know what's ahead, but the faith is constant. and the film was an act of faith in some way.

absolutely. i mean, we didn't know how the story of the film was going to end because we didn't know how the story of my illness was going to end. batiste does get to perform the symphony he wrote. but as he himself has said on the film, it's much more a symphony about life. one of the most ingenious and ambitious documentaries to have made it onto the preliminary shortlist one of the most ingenious and ambitious documentaries to have made it onto the preliminary shortlist for an oscar is called 32 sounds. it's a beautifully constructed work which has been put together by film—maker sam green. he tells us about it in his own words. 32 sounds is a kind of meditation about sound built around 32 specific recordings of things. lorry horn beeps cat purrs loudly bugs chirrup it's a wide range, an eclectic list of things from the fog horns of san francisco, which is such a great and iconic sound...

fog horn booms ..to the mating call of the moho braccatus, to the mating call of awhich which is a bird that went extinct in the �*80s, a hawaiian bird. bird trills there's some sounds from a woman, a sound — a composer and sound artist named annea lockwood. several of the sounds connect to her. the more i learned about it, the more i realised sound is a way to talk about all sorts of big ideas. things like time, and time passing and ephemerality. i'm just one of many organisms that are listening with one another... ..within this environment, not even to the environment, we're within it. one of the big challenges with this film is how do you make a film about sound and tour around all kinds of theatres and have a consistent and consistently

good sonic experience? so at some point my producer josh penn said, "i got an idea. "you're going to think it's terrible. "what if everybody wears headphones?" and i thought, "wow, that's actually a great idea." it could be...we could make a consistently good sonic experience. this right here is the first modality, the collective experience of cinema. you know, somebody said, "oh, no, with the pandemic, "movies became tv." and it's true. and it's not good for movies, i think. so i'm very happy to be making something that's not that, that you still have to go to a theatre to see. you have to turn off your phone, you've got to buy a ticket. you have to really give yourself to the experience. this does have some audience participation, but i hope it's very gentle audience participation. it's like, close your eyes. you can just get up and walk around if you want. you know, those are no big deals. but i do think that that scrambles a little bit the way we experience a movie.

so this is a five—minute interlude. feel free to get up, move around. feel the sounds in your whole body. i feel love by donna summer plays around this time, my younger brother had recently died. i was a mess. i kept saying, like, "sam, this is your life's work." like, "this is like a conglomeration of, "like, all these incredible films that you've made "and people you've met." so i think, like he says in the film, this is really a piece about him and his loss and his experience of sound within that life process. bells ring there's a way in which when you open your ears, you can experience a lot of pleasure and you can also bring yourself into the present moment in a powerful way. so being open with your ears is a profound experience. so when the oscar nominations announcement is broadcast,

it will be heard literally around the world and film—makers continents away will be tuning in to see if they've been nominated. we caught up with one berlin—based film—maker who is hoping that his name will be on the shortlist. it's wintertime in berlin, and i arranged to meet director ilker catak at a cafe in the neighbourhood of moabit. his film, the teachers�* lounge, germany's official submission for the oscars, has already made it onto the preliminary academy awards shortlist for best international feature. set in a german school, the film tells of a new teacher played by leonie benesch, who, after a series of thefts in the school, strives to do the right thing. but everything blows up in herface. first and foremost, the film is about truth and how truth

has become something very elusive. it's about how this whole notion of alternative facts, of how our debate culture has shifted, of how people just want to be right, instead of really listening to each other. and at the same time, it's about a boy trying to protect his mum, and a teacher who's trying to protect the boy. so there is this personal thing on the one hand and the meta thing on the other. the film—maker has travelled to different cities and festivals over the last year to present and promote his film, and he's made numerous online appearances. being a potential oscar nominee can be a full—time job. it's about getting prestige and money, especially forfilm distributors who know that oscar recognition can bring a publicity windfall. how organised is it? do you feel you're part of a very orchestrated campaign right now? oh, definitely, definitely.

like, we have a very good distributor, sony pictures classics, and they take care of everything. and i'm just actually just doing what they tell me to. it's something that's a privilege. and at the same time, you know, being nominated from germany, like being selected as the film they want to send in to this race also comes with the responsibility because ultimately you're representing also, not just your own film, but a cultural identity. so that's why i'm really trying to give everything to do my best. speaks german you know, the oscar nominations are announced, i think 5:00 in the morning los angeles time on 23 january. will you be waiting very nervously to know what the outcome of that is, or what? i might...you know, i might just turn off my phone.

whatever happens in terms of an oscar nomination, the director can rest assured that the teachers�* lounge has been a film that�*s brought considerable satisfaction to audiences and critics around the world, and it�*s already won top awards within germany. well, that brings our special talking movies awards season lookahead programme to a close. we hope you�*ve enjoyed the show. please remember, you can always reach us online at... so from me, tom brook, and the rest of the talking movies production team, it�*s goodbye as we leave you with a song from barbie which i think will get nominated for an oscar. # when did it end? # all the enjoyment # i�*m sad again # don�*t tell my boyfriend # it�*s not what he�*s made for # what was i made for?

#cos| # i don�*t know how to feel # but i want to try # hello there. we�*re in for a very stormy spell of weather for the second half of sunday into the first part of monday. all thanks to storm isha. the met office have a number of amber wind warnings in force for northern and western areas. heavy rain could lead to localised flooding along with snowmelt, as it will be turning very mild indeed. but we could be looking at some significant disruption from this storm as it continues to hurtle across the atlantic towards our

shores later on sunday. but sunday starts off on a fine note for many. england and wales dry with some sunshine, same, too, for northeast scotland. the winds will continue to pick up, though, through the day and rain across northern ireland will spread across the irish sea into much of scotland, northern and western, england and wales. it will be turning downhill as we head through the afternoon, but very mild the time of year, up to 13 degrees in many parts of england, wales, northern ireland. storm isha continues to plough through during sunday evening and overnight, a real squeeze in the isobars across western scotland, northern ireland and lots of isobars across the charts. amber warnings in force, gusts of 60—70 mph in southwest england, particularly irish sea coast, much of wales, maybe up to 80mph, north west wales, 60—70 for northern england, maybe 80 mph in excess for northern ireland. some very strong winds expected across scotland through the night, perhaps in excess of 85mph across western scotland. so these are damaging gusts, and likely to cause some disruption. there will be some heavy rain and showers rattling through as well. and we�*ll also see amber warning for the southeast of england for strong winds. sussex and kent could see gusts in excess of 60—70 mph early on monday. mild nights come across

the south, taking a little bit fresher further north. into monday, storm isha continues to push across the norwegian sea. lots of isobars on the charts. so monday will be another windy day as well, not as windy as sunday night. and there�*ll be lots of showers rattling into northern and western areas. best of the sunshine towards the east, some wintryness and over the higher ground of scotland and northern england. it won�*t feel particularly warm in the northeast factor in the wind, but still double figures in the south. stays pretty unsettled for the upcoming week. tuesday, we see another spell of wet and windy weather, and then a ridge of high pressure for wednesday will bring some fine conditions. another spell of wet and windy weather, perhaps, for thursday and friday. so the weather really will be up and down through this week,

interspersed with fine spells, generally staying on the mild side. stay tuned to the forecast, though, for the effects of storm isha.

live from washington, this is bbc news. iran�*s president vows to punish israel for an air strike in damascus that killed five iranian revolutionary guards. with just days to the new hampshire primary, we ask whether anyone can challenge donald trump as he leads the race for the us republican nomination. and tens of thousands of people protest in germany against the far—right following revelations that a major party had discussed plans to deport immigrants. iam i am helena iam helena humphrey. it is good to have you with us. crisis continues in the middle east after missile attacks were reported in syria, lebanon, iraq and yemen on saturday. the strikes highlight the growing risk that the war in gaza could trigger a wider regional conflict, pitting iran and its allies against israel