- Film And TV
- 09 Nov 23
Irish director John Carney's musical-comedy Flora and Son, is set for two submissions for Best Original Song at this year's Oscars.
Out of the 18 song tracklist, Apple has chosen to submit 'High Life,' and 'Meet in the Middle' songs composed by Carney, Gary Clark and Flora and Son lead actor Eve Hewson.
Two Original songs featured in John Carney's previous films garnered Oscar nominations, "Falling Slowly" from 'Once' (which won) and "Lost Stars" from 'Begin Again.
It seems that this year Apple (who acquired the film following its debut at Sundance Film Festival) is hoping to replicate Carney's previous success and submit two songs for consideration.
Apple, decided to formally submit just two songs ahead of the Nov. 1 best original song submission deadline, in the hope of improving the prospects of landing both compositions on the shortlist of 15 songs and eventual list of five nominees.
Third in a trilogy of Dublin-based music films by Carney, following the majorly successful Once (2007) and Sing Street (2016); Flora and Son once again entwines music with Carney's reoccurring preoccupation, urban Irish life.
Shot on location in Dublin's city centre, Flora and Son stars Hewson (daughter of U2's Bono) as a struggling single mother living in The Liberties, attempting to rekindle her relationship with her estranged son, through the connective power of music.
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Fishing a battered old guitar from a skip, with the intentions of gifting it to her son, Flora instead keeps it for herself, taking up music lessons with guitar teacher and washed-up musician, Jeff (Joseph Gordon Levitt).
Carney told The Hollywood Reporter, about the double song submission that “Both ‘Meet In The Middle’ and ‘High Life’ were written very specifically for the character of Flora".
This song writing process is typical for Carney but actually is quite unusual, "It sounds easier, but it’s often actually harder, because you keep saying, ‘No, that character is not going to say that’ or ‘She’s not that evolved yet,’ and so on. I’m always asking myself, ‘What would this particular character sound like? What are her limitations? What are the parts that make her different from other singers?"
Carney's star-studded film may be headed for more Irish awards success; also being submitted for best picture (Anthony Bregman, John Carney, Peter Cron, Rebecca O’Flanagan, Robert Walpole), director (John Carney), actress (Eve Hewson) and original screenplay (John Carney).