With the 94th Academy Awards - or the Oscars - coming up on the 27th of March, nostalgia from the Golden Age of Hollywood comes rushing back to us. The prestige and excitement of a gala is appealing to everyone, film-buff or not. The Academy awards can seem confusing, with its official 24 categories, 23 of them relevant in 2022. Films often win several awards - “Titanic” (1997) and “Lord of the Rings” (2003) both won 11 Academy Awards! Even an Oscar nomination is a big deal, and there’s a lot of them. The film posters are the nominees for the Best Picture award, which is one of the biggest awards of the event, but all of them pop up in other categories as well. With some time to spare until the gala, you have plenty of time to get familiar.
There is a wide variety of films up for the award, from comedic social commentary (“Don’t Look Up”) to epic space journeys (“Dune”). There’s something for everyone in the Oscars, but sometimes the nominees are predictable - “oscar-bait” if you will - rather than bringing something new to the table. The Best Picture award specifically is very US-centric, but sometimes history is made at the Oscars, like when South Korean “Parasite” (2019) became the first international feature to win Best Picture at the 2020 Awards. This year, the japanese film “Drive My Car” competes in both Best Picture and International Feature Film (where you also find the Danish “Flee”).
Actors also get to shine, with awards for Best Actor/Actress, where, among others, Andrew Garfield (“Tick, tick…BOOM!”) and Kristen Stewart (“Spencer”) are nominated. People behind the scenes are also recognized as visual effects get more and more impressive each year, shown in films like “Dune” and “Spider-man: No Way Home”.
Animated feature film is a beloved category where you’ll find “Encanto”, “Luca” and “Raya and the Last Dragon” - which all premiered on Disney+. Naturally, streaming services played a big part in movie releases last year due to the pandemic, which might make many of the nominated films feel more accessible to viewers who aren’t invested in the film world.
If you’re more of a reader; many of the films are based on books! For example “Dune”, “Drive My Car” and “The Power Of The Dog”. All of the mentioned films are nominated for the Writing (adapted screenplay) award, as well as the film “The Lost Daughter”.
While the films above undoubtedly get the most attention, there are gems hidden in all categories of the Awards. Check them out yourself as we await the unveiling of this year's winners!