'Roma' gains momentum as awards season heats up, and more movie news

THE MOVIE “Roma”

THE DEAL Alfonso  Cuarón’s ode to his childhood in Mexico City continues to pick up steam heading into awards season. Earlier this week, “Roma” was named the No. 1 film of 2018 by the British Film Institute’s Sight & Sound magazine. The publication's lists, especially its once-per-decade Greatest Films of All Time ranking, are considered highly prestigious. “Roma” has also racked up best picture awards from film critics’ associations in New York, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. It will compete for best foreign language film — though not best picture — at the Golden Globes next month.

WHO Michael B. Jordan

THE DEAL The star of “Black Panther” and “Creed II" will accept the Cinema Vanguard Award at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival in California. The award, given to actors and filmmakers who have taken artistic risks, has previously gone to Willem Dafoe, Felicity Jones, Martin Scorsese, Nicole Kidman, Ryan Gosling and others. Also scheduled to accept awards at the festival, which runs from Jan. 30 to Feb. 9, are Melissa McCarthy, Viggo Mortensen and Glenn Close.

THE MOVIE “They Shall Not Grow Old”

THE DEAL From director Peter Jackson comes this documentary on World War I that uses film from the Imperial War Museums’ archives and audio from the BBC archives. Footage has been colorized and converted to 3-D. Copies of the film were sent to every secondary school in England in October, but the movie will play theatrically in the United States for just two nights this month.

INFO Dec. 17 and 27 at multiple show times at several local venues (select screenings in 3-D). For tickets and more information, go to fathomevents.com.