Oscars 2025: Shortlists reveal front-runners for international features, documentary

As a lifelong cinephile who’s seen more movies than I can count on my fingers and toes, this year’s Oscars shortlists have me absolutely thrilled! The diversity of films and categories is truly a testament to the power of cinema as a universal language.

On Tuesday, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences revealed the shortlists for ten categories in the upcoming 97th Oscars. This step narrows down the pool of potential winners across documentary, international feature, music, sound, and visual effects. This significant stage during awards season reduces thousands of entries to smaller lists, providing hints about frontrunners, unexpected omissions, and emerging patterns before the nominations are announced on January 17th.

Following its impressive performance in the Golden Globe nominations last week, the Netflix production “Emilia Pérez,” directed by Jacques Audiard, has become a notable frontrunner, receiving recognition across five categories: international film, original score, original song (with two nominees, “El Mal” and “Mi Camino”), sound design, and the joint category of makeup and hairstyling. This Spanish-language production is a crime musical that revolves around a cartel leader choosing to abandon a life of violence by undergoing gender reassignment surgery.

Jon M. Chu’s “Wicked: Part I” has earned positions in categories such as sound, makeup and hairstyling, and visual effects for Universal Pictures. This suggests that it could be a strong contender for multiple Oscars as we move forward into the next round of voting.

In a predicted continuation of its award-winning streak, Denis Villeneuve’s highly anticipated “Dune: Part Two,” distributed by Warner Bros., excelled in the technical categories as anticipated, earning nominations for sound, visual effects, and makeup and hairstyling. Similarly impressive performances were delivered by Ridley Scott’s historical epic “Gladiator II” and Marvel’s action-packed “Deadpool & Wolverine,” both making their mark in both the sound and visual effects categories.

Among the 85 international feature films submitted, only 15 moved forward in the competition. Among these, France’s “Emilia Pérez,” Denmark’s “The Girl With the Needle,” Brazil’s “I’m Still Here,” Germany’s “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” and Palestine’s “From Ground Zero” are standing out. Unfortunately, India’s submission, Kiran Rao’s “Lost Ladies” (originally titled “Laapataa Ladies”), did not make it to the final list, despite being submitted over Payal Kapadia’s award-winning “All We Imagine as Light” at Cannes.

15 films made it onto the shortlist for the documentary feature category, among them are: “Frida”, a portrait of artist Frida Kahlo; “Hollywoodgate”, focusing on the Taliban’s resurgence in power; and “Will & Harper”, chronicling Will Ferrell’s journey with his friend Harper Steele across the country after she publicly announced her transition as a trans woman in 2022.

In a short documentary film, L.A. Times Studios, belonging to the paper itself, was recognized twice on the shortlist for “Planetwalker” and “A Swim Lesson.” This is the first time they’ve achieved multiple nominations in a single year, coming after their initial Oscar victory last year with “The Last Repair Shop.

15 tracks were selected from a pool of 89 submissions for the original song category. Two songs by “Emilia Pérez,” specifically “El Mal” and “Mi Camino,” made it onto the shortlist. Notable entries include songs from Kristen Wiig’s show “Harper and Will Go West” (from “Will & Harper”) as well as tunes by music industry titans like Elton John, Brandi Carlisle, Pharrell Williams, and Robbie Williams. These popular artists could potentially add some glamour to the Oscars evening.

The shortlists, chosen by members from specific branches, play a crucial role as a halfway point during the Oscars competition. They provide a glimpse into the feelings of voters and indicate which movies are gaining momentum. However, making it onto these shortlists does not ensure nominations or victories. For example, last year’s “Barbie” led in shortlist mentions for craft categories but only won one award on Oscars night.

Voting for nominations begins on January 8th and ends on January 12th. The awards ceremony is scheduled for March 2nd at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. For the first time, the broadcast will be live on ABC, and it will also be streamed live on Hulu.

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2024-12-18 00:01