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OSCARS 2020

1917 set to wage war on its US opponents at the Oscars

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- Pain & Glory and Honeyland reach beyond the Best International Feature Film category as European titles fare better than expected

1917 set to wage war on its US opponents at the Oscars
1917 by Sam Mendes

After weeks and weeks of forecasts by experts and aficionados, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced its nominations for the 92nd Academy Awards. Set to be handed out in Los Angeles on 9 February, the awards will welcome rather a strong European contingent, even though such movies are clearly in a minority compared to the ever-dominant US titles.

Sam Mendes’ World War I title 1917 [+see also:
film review
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]
(a recent winner at the Golden Globes ceremony – see the news) is the leading European co-production in the nominations. The film is vying for ten awards, tying with two other strong contenders, Martin Scorsese’s Netflix title The Irishman and Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and racking up only one nomination less than the favourite film, Todd Phillips’ Golden Lion winner Joker. Competing against 1917 in the Best Picture category is Taika Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit [+see also:
trailer
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]
, a film co-produced by the USA and New Zealand, with participation from the Czech Republic, where it was shot, through production services.

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Another Netflix title with European involvement, Fernando MeirellesThe Two Popes [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Fernando Meirelles
film profile
]
(UK/USA/Italy/Argentina/Uruguay), is present in three categories, including Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor for British-born Jonathan Pryce and Anthony Hopkins, respectively. The UK-US co-production Judy [+see also:
film review
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film profile
]
, directed by Rupert Goold, is also in the race with two nominations, including Renee Zellweger’s nod for Best Actress. It’s worth noting that despite its recent wins, Dexter Fletcher’s Rocketman [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Dexter Fletcher
film profile
]
 only got a nomination in the Best Original Song category.

It has also turned out to be a good edition for non-English-language European titles, as two of the national submissions for the Best International Feature Film category have reached beyond it and received nominations in other categories. Pedro Almodóvar’s highly acclaimed latest outing, Pain & Glory [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Antonio Banderas
Q&A: Pedro Almodóvar
film profile
]
, has secured a nod for Best International Feature Film, as well as one for Best Actor, for Antonio Banderas. On the other hand, Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov’s award-winning Honeyland [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ljubomir Stefanov, Tamara K…
interview: Tamara Kotevska, Ljubomir S…
film profile
]
managed a nod for Best International Feature Film and another one for Best Documentary.

The Best International Feature Film category, which is nonetheless led by Bong Joon-ho’s Palme d’Or winner Parasite (whose strong presence in the rest of the categories predicts an easy win), also welcomed France’s submission, Ladj Ly’s Les Misérables [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ladj Ly
film profile
]
(already a hit in its home country, with 1.548 million admissions), and fairly surprisingly, Poland’s submission, Jan Komasa’s Corpus Christi [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Bartosz Bielenia
interview: Jan Komasa
film profile
]
, already festooned with prizes on this side of the pond.

The Best Documentary category also includes the award-winning UK-US documentary For Sama [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Waad Al-Kateab, Edward Watts
film profile
]
, directed by Waad Al Khateab and Edward Watts, as well as the European co-production The Cave [+see also:
film review
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]
by Syria’s Feras Fayyad (Syria/Denmark/Germany/USA/Qatar).

Even more surprises for the European industry came in the Best Animated Feature category, with the nomination of the Cannes Critics’ Week winner I Lost My Body [+see also:
film review
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interview: Jérémy Clapin
film profile
]
by France’s Jérémy Clapin and the Netflix title Klaus [+see also:
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film profile
]
by Spain’s Sergio Pablos.

Lastly, the short-film categories saved some spots for Belgium’s A Sister, directed by Delphine Girard, and the co-productions Nefta Football Club by Yves Piat and Brotherhood by Meryam Joobeur in Live Action Short Film; the Czech Republic’s Daughter (Dcera) by Daria Kashcheeva and France’s Memorable by Bruno Collet in Animated Short Film; and the UK’s Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You're a Girl) by Carol Dysinger and the co-production Overtakes Me by Kristine Samuelson and John Haptas in Documentary Short Subject.

The list of nominees:

Best Picture
Ford v Ferrari – James Mangold
The Irishman – Martin Scorsese
Jojo Rabbit [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
– Taika Waititi (USA/New Zealand/Czech Republic)
Joker – Todd Phillips
Little Women – Greta Gerwig
Marriage Story – Noah Baumbach
1917 [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
– Sam Mendes (UK/USA)
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood – Quentin Tarantino
Parasite - Bong Joon-ho (South Korea)

Best Director
Martin Scorsese - The Irishman
Todd Phillips - Joker
Sam Mendes - 1917
Quentin Tarantino - Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Bong Joon Ho - Parasite

Best Actor
Antonio Banderas - Pain & Glory [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Antonio Banderas
Q&A: Pedro Almodóvar
film profile
]
(Spain)
Leonardo DiCaprio - Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Adam Driver - Marriage Story
Joaquin Phoenix - Joker
Jonathan Pryce - The Two Popes [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Fernando Meirelles
film profile
]
(UK/USA/Italy/Argentina/Uruguay)

Best Actress
Cynthia Erivo - Harriet
Scarlett Johansson - Marriage Story
Saorise Ronan - Little Women
Charlize Theron - Bombshell
Renee Zellweger - Judy [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
(UK/USA)

Best Supporting Actor
Tom Hanks - A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Anthony Hopkins - The Two Popes
Al Pacino - The Irishman
Joe Pesci - The Irishman
Brad Pitt - Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Best Supporting Actress
Kathy Bates - Richard Jewell
Laura Dern - Marriage Story
Scarlett Johansson - Jojo Rabbit
Florence Pugh - Little Women
Margot Robbie - Bombshell

Best Adapted Screenplay
Taika Waititi - Jojo Rabbit
Steve Zaillian - The Irishman
Anthony McCarten - The Two Popes
Greta Gerwig - Little Women
Todd Phillips, Scott Silver - Joker

Best Original Screenplay
Rian Johnson - Knives Out
Noah Baumbach - Marriage Story
Sam Mendes, Krysty Wilson-Cairns - 1917
Quentin Tarantino - Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Bong Joon Ho, Han Jin Won - Parasite

Best Animated Feature
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World – Dean DeBlois
I Lost My Body [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jérémy Clapin
film profile
]
– Jérémy Clapin (France)
Klaus [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
– Sergio Pablos (Spain)
Missing Link – Chris Butler
Toy Story 4 – Josh Cooley

Best International Feature Film
Corpus Christi [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Bartosz Bielenia
interview: Jan Komasa
film profile
]
- Jan Komasa (Poland/France)
Honeyland [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ljubomir Stefanov, Tamara K…
interview: Tamara Kotevska, Ljubomir S…
film profile
]
- Tamara Kotevska, Ljubomir Stefanov (North Macedonia)
Les Misérables [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ladj Ly
film profile
]
– Ladj Ly (France)
Pain & Glory – Pedro Almodóvar
Parasite – Bong Joon-ho

Best Documentary
American Factory - Steven Bognar, Julia Reichert
The Cave [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
- Feras Fayyad (Syria/Denmark/Germany/USA/Qatar).
The Edge of Democracy – Petra Costa (Brazil)
For Sama [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Waad Al-Kateab, Edward Watts
film profile
]
- Waad Al Khateab, Edward Watts (UK/USA)
Honeyland - Tamara Kotevska, Ljubomir Stefanov

Best Cinematography
Rodrigo Prieto - The Irishman
Lawrence Sher - Joker
Jarin Blaschke - The Lighthouse
Roger Deakins - 1917
Robert Richardson - Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Best Costume Design
Sandy Powell, Christopher Peterson - The Irishman
Mayes C Rubeo - Jojo Rabbit
Mark Bridges - Joker
Jacqueline Durran - Little Women
Arianne Phillips - Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Best Film Editing
Michael McCusker, Andrew Buckland - Ford v Ferrari
Thelma Schoonmaker - The Irishman
Tom Eagles - Jojo Rabbit
Jeff Groth - Joker
Yang Jinmo - Parasite

Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Kazu Hiro, Anne Morgan, Vivian Baker - Bombshell
Nicki Ledermann, Kay Georgiou - Joker
Jeremy Woodhead - Judy
Paul Gooch, Arjen Tuiten and David White - Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
Naomi Donne, Tristan Versluis and Rebecca Cole - 1917

Best Original Score
Hildur Guðnadóttir - Joker
Alexandre Desplat - Little Women
Randy Newman - Marriage Story
Thomas Newman - 1917
John Williams - Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Best Original Song
"I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away” - Toy Story 4
“I’m Gonna Love Me Again“ - Rocketman [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Dexter Fletcher
film profile
]
(UK/USA)
“I’m Standing With You” - Breakthrough
“Into the Unknown” - Frozen 2
“Stand Up” - Harriet

Best Production Design
Bob Shaw, Regina Graves - The Irishman
Ra Vincent, Nora Sopková - Jojo Rabbit
Dennis Gassner, Lee Sandales - 1917
Barbara Ling, Nancy Haigh - Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Lee Ha Jun, Cho Won Woo - Parasite

Best Sound Editing
Donald Sylvester - Ford v Ferrari
Alan Robert Murray - Joker
Oliver Tarney, Rachael Tate - 1917
Wylie Stateman - Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Matthew Wood, David Acord - Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Best Sound Mixing
Gary Rydstrom, Tom Johnson, Mark Ulano - Ad Astra
Paul Massey, David Giammarco, Steven A Morrow - Ford v Ferrari
Tom Ozanich, Dean Zupancic, Tod Maitland - Joker
Mark Taylor, Stuart Wilson - 1917
Michael Minkler, Christian P. Minkler, Mark Ulano - Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Best Visual Effects
Dan DeLeeuw, Russell Earl, Matt Aitken, Dan Sudick - Avengers: Endgame
Pablo Helman, Leandro Estebecorena, Nelson Sepulveda-Fauser, Stephane Grabli - The Irishman
Robert Legato, Adam Valdez, Andrew R Jones, Elliot Newman - The Lion King
Guillaume Rocheron, Greg Butler, Dominic Tuohy - 1917
Roger Guyett, Neal Scanlan, Patrick Tubach, Dominic Tuohy - Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Best Short Film (Live Action)
Brotherhood - Meryam Joobeur (Tunisia/Canada/Qatar/Sweden)
Nefta Football Club - Yves Piat (France/Tunisia/Algeria)
The Neighbors’ Window - Marshall Curry
Saria - Bryan Buckley
A Sister - Delphine Girard (Belgium)

Best Short Film (Animated)
Daughter (Dcera) - Daria Kashcheeva (Czech Republic)
Hair Love - Matthew A Cherry, Everett Downing Jr, Bruce W Smith
Kitbull - Rosana Sullivan
Memorable - Bruno Collet (France)
Sister - Siqi Song (China/USA)

Best Documentary (Short Subject)
In the Absence - Seung-jun Yi (USA/South Korea)
Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You're a Girl) - Carol Dysinger (UK)
Life Overtakes Me - Kristine Samuelson, John Haptas (Sweden/USA)
St. Louis Superman - Sami Khan, Smriti Mundhra (USA)
Walk Run Cha-Cha - Laura Nix (USA)

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