What to watch this weekend March 3, 2023: Movie awards contenders

Liam Mathews
·3 min read

There are no current Oscar nominees hitting streaming services this weekend. Everything that will be released on streaming before final voting closes on March 7 has already been released. So our list of awards contenders available to stream this week is light on certified contenders. All five of our picks last week were Oscar nominees; this week features a Cannes nominee from 2014. But they’re all still worth watching, especially our top pick, which is up for four Independent Spirit Awards.    

The contender to watch this weekend: “Palm Trees and Power Lines” 

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Writer-director Jamie Dack’s searing coming-of-age drama comes to on-demand platforms just in time for the Independent Spirit Awards, where it’s nominated for Best First Feature, Best First Screenplay, Best Breakthrough Performance for star Lily McInerny, and Best Supporting Performance for Jonathan Tucker. The film follows Lea (McInerny), a directionless 17-year-old girl who gets romantically involved with Tom (Tucker), a very sketchy man twice her age. It’s a stressful story that turns the screws tighter and tighter until it reaches its harrowing conclusion. It’s not an easy watch – it deals with the disturbing and politically loaded topic of grooming  – but it is a powerful one. 

Other contenders:

  • “Finding Michael”: This intense Disney+ documentary follows a British TV personality named Spencer Matthews on a journey to identify and retrieve the remains of his brother Michael, who died on Mount Everest in 1999 when he was 22 and Spencer was a child. Emmy-winner Bear Grylls executive-produces and appears in the movie.   

  • “Still the Water”: This Japanese film from acclaimed director Naomi Kawase gets an American release nearly a decade in the works. The Palme d’Or-nominated film is a lyrical, beautifully shot meditation on love and death seen through the eyes of teenage lovers on a rural island. It’s now available to buy on-demand. 

  • The 38th Independent Spirit Awards: As previously mentioned, the Spirit Awards are this Saturday. Hasan Minhaj hosts from the tent on the beach in Santa Monica at 2 p.m. PT. Leading nominees include “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” “Tár,” and “Women Talking.” It’s streaming live on IMDb’s YouTube channel.  

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