Buzz
1. CODA
As a crowd-pleaser since its debut at Sundance in 2021, CODA secured three Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. Directed by Sian Header and adapted from a French film, CODA revolves around a young girl on the brink of adulthood, torn between leaving college or staying home to assist her deaf family with their fishing business. A heartwarming family film with a significant backdrop of deaf culture, CODA is available for streaming on Apple TV+.
CODA, the intimate Sundance film about coming of age in the deaf community, triumphed in all three nominated categories: Best Picture, Troy Kotsur for Best Supporting Actor, and Sian for Best Adapted Screenplay. While accepting the top honors of the night, producer Philippe thanked the film's cast, including Kotsur, Marlee Matlin, Emilia Jones, Daniel Durant, and Eugenio Derbez, for creating 'a wonderful and loving family on-screen and off-screen as well.'
Nominations: Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor
Wins: Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor
2. The Power of the Dog
The Power of the Dog is a Western social psychological drama from 2021, written and directed by Jane Campion. The film is an adaptation based on the 1967 novel of the same name by Thomas Savage. Set in Montana and primarily shot in the rural Otago region, the film is an international collaboration between New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia. The Power of the Dog explores themes such as love, sorrow, resentment, jealousy, societal awkwardness, toxic masculinity, and repressed sexuality. The film received enthusiastic acclaim from critics, praising the direction, screenplay, cinematography, and score.
While The Power of the Dog had 12 Oscar nominations in major categories, Benedict Cumberbatch of Netflix secured only one award for Jane Campion's outstanding directorial nomination. She became the third woman to win in this category, following Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker and Chloe Zhao for Nomadland. Each lead actor of the film received an Oscar nomination, including Cumberbatch for Best Actor, Kodi Smit-McPhee and Jesse Plemons for Best Supporting Actor, and Kirsten Dunst for Best Supporting Actress.
Nominations: Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Director
Win: Best Director
3. Dune
With an impressive 10 Oscar nominations this year, Dune by Denis Villeneuve is poised to be rewarded for its meticulously crafted and visually stunning world-building. From the film's directional sound design to its seamless visual effects, Dune is a sensory feast that will impress Oscar voters. Adapted from the sci-fi novel of the same name, Dune focuses on the House of Atreides, a noble family struggling to save their new homeworld in a power struggle across galaxies and liberate its inhabitants from oppression.
One of the earliest examples of simultaneous theatrical and online release, Dune has been available on HBO Max since last fall. Denis Villeneuve's ambitious adaptation of Frank Herbert's classic sci-fi novel has virtually swept the technical categories at the Oscars. Dune, nominated for Best Picture, has won more Oscars than any other film, including Best Production Design, Sound, Cinematography, Visual Effects, Editing, and Original Score for Hans Zimmer - although Villeneuve was snubbed in the Best Director category. Now available for streaming on HBO Max, stars Timothee Chalamet, Oscar Isaac, Jason Momoa, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, and Josh Brolin, among others, are expected to return for the next installment of Dune.
Nominations: Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Production Design, Best Costume Design, Editing, Makeup and Hairstyling, Original Score, Sound, Visual Effects
Wins: Production Design, Sound, Visual Effects, Editing, Original Score
4. The Eyes of Tammy Faye
The Eyes of Tammy Faye is a 2021 American biographical drama film directed by Michael Showalter from a screenplay by Abe Sylvia. It is based on the 2000 documentary of the same name by Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato of World of Wonder. The film tells the story of Tammy Faye Bakker (portrayed by Jessica Chastain), from humble beginnings in International Falls, Minnesota, through ups and downs in her evangelistic career, to her marriage to Jim Bakker. The film was a box office surprise, grossing $2.7 million during its theatrical run and receiving mixed reviews.
The biographical film The Eyes of Tammy Faye about television hosts Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker won a pair of Oscar victories, one for makeup and hairstyling, and one for Jessica Chastain's lead performance. She acknowledges Tammy's unapologetic acts of love, especially within the LGBTQ+ community. Critics praised the performances (especially Chastain's) while criticizing the film's screenplay, deeming it inferior to the documentary.
Nominations: Best Actress in a Leading Role, Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Wins: Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Actress in a Leading Role
5. King Richard
King Richard is a 2021 American sports drama film. It was a box office hit, grossing $39 million against a $50 million budget, and received positive reviews from critics, praising the screenplay and performances of Smith, Ellis, and Sidney. It was honored as one of the top ten films of the year by both the American Film Institute and the National Board of Review. Directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green, King Richard garnered 6 impressive Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Will Smith.
As the executive producer, Smith tirelessly worked to bring the story of Richard Williams, the father of tennis superstars Venus and Serena, to the big screen in a heartfelt adaptation. Portraying Williams on the journey to guide his daughters to success, Smith disappears into this role with a dedication we've never seen from the actor before. King Richard is a sincere film with broad appeal for cinema lovers and is available for streaming on HBO Max.
Nominations: Best Actor, Best Cinematography, Best Supporting Actress, Editing, Original Song, Original Screenplay
Wins: Best Actor, Best Picture
6. Drive My Car
One of this year's international films making it into the major categories of the Oscars is Drive My Car by Ryusuke Hamaguchi. Hailing from Japan, Drive My Car is an adaptation and expansion of the short story of the same name. Written and directed with the skilled touch of Hamaguchi, Drive My Car revolves around a stage actor grappling with life, death, and creativity while preparing for a new adaptation of the renowned play Uncle Vanya and mourning the loss of loved ones. Expansive in narrative scope yet profound in character portrayal, Drive My Car will prove to be a strong contender in the International Film category at the Oscars, also being a player in the Best Picture and Best Director races. Currently streaming on HBO Max.
Ryusuke Hamaguchi's Japanese film about grief and the transformative power of art has won the Best International Film award at the Oscars. In his acceptance speech, the filmmaker expressed gratitude to his cast, 'especially Toko Miura, who drove the beautiful Saab 900 in the film.' Drive My Car is now available on HBO Max, also nominated in the Best Director, Cinematography, and Best Adapted Screenplay categories.
Nominations: Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Picture, Best Director, Best International Film (Japan)
Wins: Best International Film
7. West Side Story
No stranger to the Oscars, Steven Spielberg's adaptation of West Side Story secured 7 nominations in 2022. Modernizing the complexities of the original 1961 adaptation while expressing his reverence for it as one of his favorite cinematic works, Spielberg's West Side Story showcases the director's sensitivity to grand-scale filmmaking.
Combining dramatic performances with spectacular music and dance, West Side Story is professionally staged, proving why Spielberg remains one of America's greatest living filmmakers. Now, you can find West Side Story streaming on Disney+. While nominated in seven categories, Spielberg's reimagining of the classic musical received only one trophy. Winning the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Anita, Ariana DeBose became the first openly queer artist of color to win an Oscar for acting.
Nominations: Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Production Design, Best Sound, Best Supporting Actress
Wins: Best Supporting Actress
8. Summer of Soul
Summer of Soul is a 2021 American documentary film about the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, directed by Ahmir 'Questlove' Thompson in his directorial debut. The film received critical acclaim, particularly praised for its restoration of previously unreleased footage. It garnered multiple awards, including Best Documentary Film at the 6th Critics' Choice Documentary Awards, where it won in all six categories it was nominated; Best Documentary Film at the 75th British Academy Film Awards; Best Documentary Feature at the 94th Academy Awards, and Best Music Film at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards.
Summer of Soul illuminates the historical significance that resonates with our spiritual well-being and attests to the profound healing power of music in times of unrest, both past and present. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, where it received both the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award. It is currently streaming on Hulu through Disney General Entertainment's Onyx Collective; Searchlight Pictures distributed it in theaters.
Nomination: Best Documentary Film
Win: Best Documentary Film
9. Encanto
Encanto is a 2021 American computer-animated fantasy musical film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The 60th film produced, directed by Jared Bush and Byron Howard, co-directed by Charice Castro Smith, who co-wrote the screenplay with Bush, and produced by Yvett Merino and Clark Spencer. Encanto follows a multi-generational Colombian family, the Madrigals, led by a matriarch with exception of Mirabel Madrigal (Beatriz) who lacks magical gifts from a miracle that helps them serve the people in their rural community called Encanto.
As Mirabel learns that the family is losing its magic, she sets out to discover what is happening and save her family and their magical home. With two standout performances of Disney's famous songs, Sebastián Yatra sings the nominated ballad “Dos Oruguitas,” and Megan Thee Stallion joins the cast for the standout performance of “We Don't Talk About Bruno.” Encanto won the nomination for Best Animated Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards.
Nomination: Original Score, Original Song, Best Animated Feature Film
Win: Best Animated Feature Film
10. The Queen of Basketball
The short film The Queen of Basketball focuses on the late Lusia 'Lucy' Harris and how she became the first woman to be drafted into the NBA. Using present-day interviews with Lucy and highlights from her basketball career, the short documentary takes us through Lucy's basketball journey, passionately narrated by Lucy herself. Although she didn't play in the NBA, making history and doing what she loved was how she found her joy.
The Queen of Basketball was brought to life through the aesthetic taste and visionary insight of Ben Proudfoot. He managed to tell such a touching and inspiring story using interview clips, archival footage, and beautiful scoring. The Queen of Basketball is not just a basketball film; it's about resilience and the story of a Black woman overcoming obstacles to become a prominent figure and icon for Black women in basketball. The film has garnered attention and praise from notable figures across the basketball community, including executive producers Shaquille O'Neal and Stephen Curry.
Nomination: Best Short Documentary
Win: Best Short Documentary
11. Belfast
After eight career nominations, writer-director Kenneth Branagh of Belfast secured his first Oscar win for Original Screenplay. The filmmaker focuses on his semi-autobiographical project set in the tumultuous 1960s in Northern Ireland. Branagh stated on the Oscars stage at the 94th Academy Awards that he would never forget those lost in the heartbreaking, warm, and humane stories of the city Belfast.
The film Belfast captures the events surrounding the life of a working-class Ulster Protestant family through the eyes of their 9-year-old son, Buddy, during The Troubles in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The film received praise from critics for Branagh's direction and screenplay, cinematography, and the cast's performances, grossing over $49 million worldwide. It earned seven nominations at the 94th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and won for Best Original Screenplay.
Nomination: Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay
Win: Best Original Screenplay
12. The Long Goodbye
The Long Goodbye is a satirical 1973 American crime mystery film directed by Robert Altman, based on the 1953 novel by Raymond Chandler. The story's period is shifted from 1949-50 to the 1970s in Hollywood. Described as 'a study of a moral and decent man cast adrift in a selfish, self-obsessed society where lives can be tossed aside without a backward glance and any notions of friendship and loyalty are meaningless.'
The 12-minute short film by director Aneil Karia speaks to how people with origins different from the country they live in and were born often feel like strangers in their own homes and sometimes are entirely abandoned. All of this is portrayed on screen impressively and rawly, imagining a British-Indian family being forcibly removed from their home by the police - along with other families in the neighborhood. In 2021, The Long Goodbye was selected by the United States National Film Registry for preservation by the Library of Congress.
Nomination: Best Live Action Short Film
Win: Best Live Action Short Film
13. No Time to Die
The 25th film in the James Bond series, No Time to Die (or Bond 25, as it's known) has finally hit the silver screen. The highly anticipated spy film sees a retired James Bond (Daniel Craig) teaming up with a new 007 agent, Nomi (Lashana Lynch). Directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga and written by Fukunaga, Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge, No Time to Die is the first Bond film with sequences shot using IMAX 65mm film. Despite the directorial change causing a bit of delay, Fukunaga has received praise for his work.
No Time to Die marks a turning point for the Bond franchise with high expectations. We've compiled everything we know about No Time to Die so far, from the plot and cast details to updates on filming and release dates, so you can stay updated on this significant film. The theme song, 'No Time to Die,' performed by Billie Eilish, co-written and produced by her brother Finneas O'Connell, won a Grammy for Best Song Written for Visual Media at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards in March 2021.
Nomination: Best Visual Effects, Best Sound, and Best Original Song.
Win: Best Original Song
14. The Windshield Wiper
Spanish animator and artist Alberto Mielgo presented a visually stunning short animated project in The Windshield Wiper that beautifully combines aesthetics and speaks to the genuine desire for human connection. Clearly one of the most inspiring short films of the year, The Windshield Wiper deserves its nomination for the 2022 Oscar for Best Animated Short Film.
Voice-acted with continuous profanity-laden dialogue and imagery of a man smoking in a lavishly depicted setting, Mielgo's short animated film The Windshield Wiper is not for children. As it unfolds through themes of love, desire, and romance in a patterned narrative, it portrays nudity and sexuality to reinforce its stance. This is not a coming-of-age film like many nominated for the Best Animated Short Film at the Oscars; it's a mature exploration of what binds us all, things we all go through but rarely discuss honestly with each other.
Nomination: Best Animated Short Film
Win: Best Animated Short Film
15. Cruella
Cruella is a 2021 American crime comedy film based on the character Cruella de Vil from Dodie Smith's 1956 novel The Hundred and One Dalmatians. It is the third live-action adaptation in the 101 Dalmatians film series and is seen as both a reboot and an alternative origin story for the titular character. Set in a punk rock-infused 1970s London, the film follows Estella Miller, an ambitious fashion designer, as she navigates her way to becoming the infamous fashion designer known as Cruella de Vil.
Costume designer Jenny Beavan won her third Oscar at the 94th Academy Awards. Wearing an outfit reflecting the struggle for pay equality, Beavan mentioned in her speech that she almost turned down the Cruella live-action. However, she was persuaded to take on the role by “a group of the most extraordinary, creative, clever, open-minded, wonderful people without whom it would not have happened at all.” Beavan then expressed her gratitude to the cast of Cruella.
Nomination: Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Costume Design
Win: Best Costume Design
