Fernando Mereilles’s “The Two Popes” has won the Audience Award for Narrative Feature at the Hamptons Film Festival.  I’m not surprised. This great film, which I wrote about it last night, is on its way to multiple Oscar and Golden Globe nominations. The other HIFF Awards are below:

HAMPTONS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL CONGRATULATES THE 2019 WINNERS:

The HIFF Audience Award Winner for Narrative Feature

THE TWO POPES, directed by Fernando Meirelles

The HIFF Audience Award Winner for Documentary Feature

OLIVER SACKS: HIS OWN LIFE, directed by Ric Burns

The HIFF Audience Award Winner for Short

FIRE IN PARADISE, directed by Drea Cooper & Zackary Canepari

Zicherman Family Foundation Screenwriting Award

Trey Edward Shults, writer and director of WAVES

The HIFF Award Winner for Best Narrative Feature sponsored by Warby Parker

A WHITE, WHITE DAY, directed by Hlynur Pálmason

HIFF Award Winner for Best Documentary Feature sponsored by Investigation Discovery

OVERSEAS, directed by Sung-a Yoon

The HIFF Award Winner for Best Narrative Short Film

JUST ME AND YOU, directed by Sandrine Brodeur-Desrosiers

The HIFF Award Winner for Best Documentary Short Film

GHOSTS OF SUGAR LAND, directed by Bassam Tariq

Special Cinematography Award

Miguel Ioann Litten Menz for THE VAST OF NIGHT

Breakthrough Achievement in Filmmaking Award

THE BEST OF DORIEN B., directed by Anke Blondé

Special Jury Mentions for Acting Performances

Ída Mekkín Hlynsdóttir for IN A WHITE, WHITE DAY

Mama Sane in ATLANTICS

Corinna Harfouch in LARA

Kim Snauwaert in THE BEST OF DORIEN B.

Sierra McCormick in THE VAST OF NIGHT

Special Jury Prize for Artistic Vision

CUNNINGHAM, directed by Alla Kovgan

Special Jury Prize for Indomitable Spirit of Storytelling

TALKING ABOUT TREES, directed by Suhaib Gasmelbari

Special Jury Prize for Originality

ALL CATS ARE GREY IN THE DARK, directed by Lasse Linder

Special Jury Prize for Creative Filmmaking

THE NIGHTCRAWLERS, directed by Alexander A. Mora

The 2019 Brizzolara Family Foundation Award to Films of Conflict and Resolution

FOR SAMA, directed by Waad al-Kateab and Edward Watts

Suffolk County Next Exposure Grant

THE ARTIST’S WIFE, directed by Tom Dolby

The Zelda Penzel “Giving Voice to the Voiceless” Award

WATSON, directed by Lesley Chilcott

Victor Rabinowitz and Joanne Grant Award for Social Justice

CONSCIENCE POINT, directed by Treva Wurmfeld

University Short Film Awards

sponsored by Bloomingdales

BIRCH, directed by Paisley Valentine Walsh

THE BOXERS OF BRULE, directed by Jessie Adler

FINE, directed by Maya Yadlin

PERFECT MOMENT, directed by Matthew Noydens

THE UNITED STATES OF PARANOIA OR: HOW I STAYED ON THE LINE TO REPAIR MY AIR CONDITIONER, directed by Rashan Castro

Lifetime Achievement Award

Brian De Palma

The Dick Cavett Artistic Champion Award

Toni Ross

2019 Breakthrough Artists

Aldis Hodge, Camila Morrone, Lulu Wang

The Critics Choice Documentary Award nominees include a number of Oscar buzzed films including the excellent “Maiden,” and Ron Howard’s “Pavarotti.” The first annual DA Pennebaker Lifetime Achievement Award will be given to Frederick Wiseman. I’m thrilled to see the lost Aretha Franklin gospel film “Amazing Grace” in the mix 47 years after it was shot by Sydney Pollack. I’m not so happy to see “Leaving Neverland,” subject of lawsuits and disproved by fans on the internet, included. (Don’t worry, it won’t win.) The awards will be given out next month at a ceremony in Brooklyn, at BRIC, near the BAM campus.

The nominees are:

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

“American Factory” (Netflix)

“Apollo 11” (Neon)

“The Biggest Little Farm” (Neon)

“The Cave” (National Geographic)

“Honeyland” (Neon)

“The Kingmaker” (Showtime)

“Knock Down the House” (Netflix)

“Leaving Neverland” (HBO)

“Maiden” (Sony Pictures Classics)

“One Child Nation” (Amazon Studios)

“They Shall Not Grow Old” (Warner Bros.)

DIRECTOR

Waad Al-Kateab and Edward Watts, For “Sama” (PBS)

Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert, “American Factory” (Netflix)

John Chester, “The Biggest Little Farm” (Neon)

Feras Fayyad, “The Cave” (National Geographic)

Peter Jackson, “They Shall Not Grow Old” (Warner Bros.)

Todd Douglas Miller, “Apollo 11” (Neon)

Nanfu Wang and Jialing Zhang, “One Child Nation” (Amazon Studios)

CINEMATOGRAPHY

Ben Bernhard and Viktor Kossakovsky, “Aquarela” (Sony Pictures Classics)

John Chester, “The Biggest Little Farm” (Neon)

Fejmi Daut and Samir Ljuma, “Honeyland” (Neon)

Nicholas de Pencier, “Anthropocene: The Human Epoch” (Kino Lorber)

Muhammed Khair Al Shami, Ammar Suleiman, and Mohammad Eyad, “The Cave” (National Geographic)

Richard Ladkani, “Sea of Shadows” (National Geographic)

EDITING

Georg Michael Fischer and Verena Schönauer, “Sea of Shadows” (National Geographic)

Todd Douglas Miller, “Apollo 11” (Neon)

Jabez Olssen, “They Shall Not Grow Old” (Warner Bros.)

Amy Overbeck, “The Biggest Little Farm” (Neon)

Lindsay Utz, “American Factory” (Netflix)

Nanfu Wang, “One Child Nation” (Amazon Studios)

SCORE

Jeff Beal, “The Biggest Little Farm” (Neon)

Matthew Herbert, “The Cave” (National Geographic)

Matt Morton, “Apollo 11” (Neon)

Plan 9, “They Shall Not Grow Old” (Warner Bros.)

H. Scott Salinas, “Sea of Shadows” (National Geographic)

Eicca Toppinen, “Aquarela” (Sony Pictures Classics)

NARRATION

Alicia Vikander, narrator; Jennifer Baichwal, writer, “Anthropocene: The Human Epoch” (Kino Lorber)

John Chester and Molly Chester, narrators; John Chester, writer, “The Biggest Little Farm” (Neon)

Petra Costa, narrator; Petra Costa, Carol Pires, David Barker and Moara Passoni, writers, “The Edge of Democracy” (Netflix)

Chiwetel Ejiofor, narrator; Mark Deeble, writer, “The Elephant Queen” (Apple)

Waad Al-Kateab, narrator-writer, “For Sama” (PBS)

Adam Driver, narrator; Oren Rudavsky and Bob Seidman, writers, “Joseph Pulitzer: Voice of the People” (First Run)

Nanfu Wang, narrator-writer, “One Child Nation” (Amazon Studios)

Bruce Springsteen, narrator-writer, “Western Stars” (Warner Bros.)

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Midge Costin, “Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound” (Matson Films)

A.J. Eaton, “David Crosby: Remember My Name” (Sony Pictures Classics)

Pamela B. Green, “Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché” (Kino Lorber/Zeitgeist Films)

Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov, “Honeyland” (Neon)

Richard Miron, “For the Birds” (Dogwoof)

Garret Price, “Love, Antosha” (Lurker Films)

ARCHIVAL DOCUMENTARY

“Amazing Grace” (Neon)

“Apollo 11” (Neon)

“Maiden” (Sony Pictures Classics)

“Mike Wallace is Here” (Magnolia)

“Pavarotti” (CBS Films)

“Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese” (Netflix)

“They Shall Not Grow Old” (Warner Bros.)

“What’s My Name: Muhammad Ali” (HBO)

BIOGRAPHICAL DOCUMENTARY

“David Crosby: Remember My Name” (Sony Pictures Classics)

“The Kingmaker” (Showtime)

“Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice” (Greenwich)

“Love, Antosha” (Lurker Films)

“Mike Wallace is Here” (Magnolia)

“Pavarotti” (CBS Films)

“Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am” (Magnolia)

MUSIC DOCUMENTARY

“Amazing Grace” (Abramorama)

“David Crosby: Remember My Name” (Sony Pictures Classics)

“Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice” (Greenwich)

“Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool” (Abramorama)

“Pavarotti” (CBS Films)

“Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese” (Netflix)

“Western Stars” (Warner Bros.)

POLITICAL DOCUMENTARY

“American Factory” (Netflix)

“The Edge of Democracy” (Netflix)

“Hail Satan?” (Magnolia)

“The Kingmaker” (Showtime)

“Knock Down the House” (Netflix)

“One Child Nation” (Amazon Studios)

SCIENCE/NATURE DOCUMENTARY

“Anthropocene: The Human Epoch” (Kino Lorber)

“Apollo 11” (Neon)

“Aquarela” (Sony Pictures Classic)

“The Biggest Little Farm” (Neon)

“The Elephant Queen” (Apple)

“Honeyland” (Neon)

“Penguins” (Disney)

“Sea of Shadows” (National Geographic)

SPORTS DOCUMENTARY

“Bethany Hamilton: Unstoppable” (Entertainment Studios)

“Diego Maradona” (HBO)

“Maiden” (Sony Pictures Classics)

“Rodman: For Better or Worse” (ESPN)

“The Spy Behind Home Plate” (Ciesla Foundation)

“What’s My Name: Muhammad Ali” (HBO)

MOST INNOVATIVE DOCUMENTARY

“Aquarela” (Sony Pictures Classics)

“Cold Case Hammarskjöld” (Magnolia)

“Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese” (Netflix)

“Screwball” (Greenwich)

“Serendipity” (Cohen Media)

“They Shall Not Grow Old” (Warner Bros.)

SHORT DOCUMENTARY

“The Chapel at the Border” (Atlantic Documentaries) (Director and Producer: Jeremy Raff)

“Death Row Doctor” (The New York Times Op-Docs) (Director: Lauren Knapp)

“In the Absence (Field of Vision)” (Director: Yi Seung-Jun. Producer: Gary Byung-Seok Kam)

“Lost World” (Director and Producer: Kalyanee Mam. Producers: Adam Loften and Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee)

“Mack Wrestles” (ESPN) (Directors and Producers: Taylor Hess and Erin Sanger. Producers: Erin Leyden and Gentry Kirby)

“Period. End of Sentence.” (Netflix) (Director: Rayka Zehtabchi. Producers: Melissa Berton, Garrett K. Schiff and Lisa Taback)

“The Polaroid Job” (The New York Times Op-Docs) (Director: Mike Plante)

“Sam and the Plant Next Door” (The Guardian) (Director and Producer: Ömer Sami)

“The Unconditional” (Director and Producer: Dave Adams. Producers: Adam Soltis, Renee Woodruff Adams, Josie Swantek Heitz, and Chris Tuss)

I know that theater owners are going crazy, in a tug of war with Netflix over 30 days or less windows in cinemas before the TV streaming service pulls their movies and puts them basically on TV, computers and phones.

But this year, this year, not next, we’re going to have to deal with the Netflix situation. They are going to have three of the nine Best Picture nominees at the Oscars, not to mention all the people who worked on them. And I’ll tell you what’s happened: before Harvey Weinstein lost it, he was kind of mentoring Ted Sarandos. Not in being a predatory fool, but in quality movie making and in good taste. Everything Netflix is doing now mirrors Miramax’s heyday. It took chutzpah to think “Roma” was going to win the Oscar. Sarandos went for it. Harvey would have done the same thing.

Now Netflix has a triumvirate of films carved right out of the Miramax playbook. Martin Scorsese’s grand, essential “The Irishman,” Noah Baumbach’s intimate, funny “Marriage Story,” and Fernando Mereilles’s gorgeously made “The Two Popes.” I saw the latter Sunday evening at the Hamptons Film Festival, and I was floored by its magnificence. It’s A plus work.

Don’t forget, Mereilles and his crew received four Oscar nominations in 2004 for “City of God,” including Best Director. If, if, if…if Miramax or The Weinstein Company still existed, “The Two Popes” would be their movie. It’s that high quality, from beginning to end and everything in between.

This is also a “What if” kind of story, a historical adventure that mixes fact and supposition in the most charming way. Working at the top of their games, Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Pryce play respectively Pope Benedict XVI and the current pope, Francis. Benedict ruled from 2005 to 2013. He was the first Pope to step down since 1415. He is still alive at age 92. Francis, upon succeeding Benedict, became a worldwide sensation. I went to with Aretha Franklin to meet him in Philadelphia a few years ago. It was a remarkable experience.

When the German born Benedict (whose given name is Joseph Ratzinger) was getting ready to retire, screenwriter Anthony McCarten imagines a meeting between him and the would-be Francis, the Argentinian cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio. Their burgeoning friendship, and the story of Bergoglio’s political life in Argentina, is the center of “The Two Popes.” Ratzinger is clear: he doesn’t like any off Bergoglio’s opinions or stances. So they are an odd couple. But Ratzinger realizes Bergoglio is the future. So he’s smarter and more with it than we think.

Mereilles has made another film with Hopkins– “360”– which received harsh reviews and a very low critics score. His other English language film was “The Constant Gardener,” which won Rachel Weisz an Oscar and also starred Ralph Fiennes. Maybe knowing Hopkins helped here, because the Oscar winning star of “Silence of the Lambs” does his best work in eons, harkening the beautiful, elegant turns in “Howard’s End” and “The Remains of the Day.” Pryce, who was overlooked last year in “The Good Wife,” is every bit his equal, and Pope Francis should be sending him champagne and flowers. They are each stunning performances. You can’t get enough of them. (The only thing better would be Judi Dench playing a nun who chats with them.) And the work below the line– set and production design, costumes, etc is going to rack up nominations. Kudos to Mark Tildesley, who went from this movie to the new James Bond.

PS I don’t know if Mereilles or McCarten actually know if the popes like the Beatles, but they use the Fab Four as a kind of running gag. In the movie, Benedict seems to be ignorant of the group, but in real life he absolved John Lennon from his famous “The Beatles are bigger than Jesus” line in 2010, well before this imagined meeting takes place. Later, Pope Frances gives Benedict a Beatles gift that’s a pretty good plug for “Abbey Road.” Maybe McCarten and McCartney are friends, who knows? But Sirius XM’s Beatles channel should get an audio clip to play before “Eleanor Rigby.”

Disney has released a list of films from its catalog headed to their streaming service. The list includes all of the “Star Wars” films — to give a push for the upcoming final installment — plus some of their classic animated titles like “Fantasia,” “Lady and the Tramp,” and “101 Dalmatians.” There’s also “Wall-E,” which I will watch first.

But there are many, many titles missing from Disney’s release. To begin with, “The Lion King,” “Aladdin,” and “Dumbo”– all recently rebooted in live action versions — are MIA. Disney is still selling them as front line movies. So the animation versions remain off line.

But also not included are Disney’s great Bette Midler movies from the 80s including “Down and Out in Beverly Hills,” “Ruthless People,” “Outrageous Fortune,” and “Hocus Pocus.” Also, “The Insider,” the much awarded Michael Mann movie about “60 Minutes” taking on the tobacco industry. For a time, Disney through its Touchstone label made some great films for adults. I hope they’re coming soon.

And very definitely not on the list: “Song of the South,” Disney’s infamously racist 1946 animated feature based on the Uncle Remus stories. It’s been dead and buried for years, and it’s not coming back.