Alright, my first time at bat as an Ursa Major movie pundit worked out, as Kung Fu Panda 2's win put me at three for three predicting the movie awards I set out to predict. Read on for my reaction to the awards and my first guess at next year’s nominees and winner.

The nominees for the Ursa Majors are here, and if you are reading this, I expect you to have already voted for at least the category this column is about. You really already should have seen at least four of the five movie nominees, as they are readily available from wherever you happen to rent movies, and most rentals nowadays cost fewer than two bucks, so seriously, what’s your excuse?

If you haven’t watched them yet, go. Watch them. Now. This article will be waiting for you when you return.

This is an opinion column, but this month I’m using that tag a bit more than usual, as I discuss the Academy’s bias against animated movies.

I’ll then tell you what’s wrong, not with the Ursa Majors, but with me covering them.

Lastly, I might actually have something to say about the Annies. Maybe.

September is an important month for next year’s awards. Major film festivals earlier in the month (which didn’t feature anything remotely furry, so this is their last mention), plus the beginning of screenings of studio hopefuls and even the first precursor award make September the unofficial beginning of “awards season” for movies.

Meanwhile, back in the furry fandom, a major player has had a setback, completely changing my Ursa Major predictions.

FurPlanet is pleased to announce that we'll be distributing the new movie, Bitter Lake, to the U.S. market. If you have not heard about it, please check out the trailer and their website.

Bitter Lake – an EZwolf and Shay co-production – recently premiered at Eurofurence, and the screening was a smash hit. Everyone at FurPlanet is excited about the movie; we couldn't be happier about helping to bring it to furry conventions across the U.S., and to FurPlanet.com.

More information and an order page will come soon. We estimate the DVDs will be in stock by late September, so keep your eyes on this space for more info when the time comes!

There are three big movie awards furries should be watching, or, at the very least, have somebody watching for them: the Oscars, the Annies and the Ursa Majors.

This year looks to be interesting in all three awards. With Pixar flopping and all sorts of new rules, the Best Animated Feature Oscar may be a surprise this year. The flop also affects the Annie Award for Best Animated Feature. Finally, the fandom’s own Ursa Majors’s Best Anthropomorphic Movie will see something entirely new; a movie made by the fandom.

Bitter Lake, the Fursuit feature that was announced as premiering at this year's Eurofurence (and which has done so to generally favorable reviews) was also made available there on a region-free DVD, making it theoretically available for purchase by all Furry fans.

Where the DVD may be purchased outside of Eurofurence's dealers' den is not yet known, but it is said to include behind-the-scenes footage and English, German and French subtitles.

EZwolf has released a preview trailer of Bitter Lake, a live-action movie written and directed by Shay, and scheduled to premier at Eurofurence 17 this August. [Cheetah/furrymedia]

The roughly one-hour film, shot in France and the Netherlands, features fursuits from Clockwork Creature Studios and a soundtrack by Fox Amoore (trailer material).

Actors include EZwolf, Rin, Forfaox and Stoelbank, aided by the voices of Shay, Dylan Nagel and Lucy RedPanda, with sound provided by KwisA. Nikoshi acted as best boy.

See also: Bitter Lake creators answer questions from FNN