Well, there we have it folks. The nominees are in, and while there were a few surprises (with one even stirring an unprecedented controversy, but more on that later), there were few major upsets this year, or at least nothing outside of the usual criticisms of racial and sexual inclusiveness.
Nonetheless, with the dust having settled since the announcement of this year’s Oscar nominees, I would like to reflect upon the Canadian nominees that were recognized for their work, and those who were overlooked, though I think it is reasonable to say that Canadians fared quite well at the Academy Awards this year, and some are even in with a good chance of walking away with the coveted statue.
Last week, I offered up my predictions on the Canadian filmmakers who would land nominations this year, and I was not far off, with the only real snub being Nuisance Bear from directors Gabriela Osio Vanden and Jack Weisman for Best Documentary Short Subject, which was not only pegged for a nomination but was even favoured by some to win the award. The rest of the nominations landed pretty much as I had expected, and while there are those who would argue that James Cameron was snubbed for Best Director, a stronger case can be made for the Academy having overlooked Sarah Polley’s work on Women Talking as not only being a snub, but also a missed opportunity in optics, considering that it is yet another year dominated by male directors, with the inclusion of Ruben Östlund for Triangle of Sadness scratching many a head.
Regardless, both Cameron and Polley have earned recognition for their work in other categories, with the former landing a Best Picture nod, while the latter has been nominated in the Best Adapted Screenplay category and is even favoured to win it (sorry James Cameron, you are no longer “King of the World”, unless by that you mean the box office).
The Best Animated Feature category has two Canadian nominees in the running, both of whom already have Oscar wins under their respective belts. Domee Shi represents Pixar’s sole nomination in the category this year for her work on the fantastic Toronto-based feature Turning Red, while Chris Williams, who grew up in Waterloo, Ontario, previously won in this category in 2014 for co-directing Big Hero 6, and has now been nominated for writing and directing The Sea Beast. Both are expected to fall to Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, however.
When going over my predictions on Canadian nominees at this year’s Academy Awards last week, I had somehow overlooked Chris Williams, and he was not the only near-lock nominee I missed. Daniel Rohr has been nominated for Best Documentary Feature for his impressive work on the much-talked-about Navalny. I did, however, correctly point out that the Canadian co-production Fire of Love would land a nomination in this category also, with Quebec native In Fichman being amongst the list of nominees for the movie.
Finally, there is Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis, who have been nominated in the category for Best Animated Short Film for their work on The Flying Sailor.
In other news from this year’s nominations, there is the usual mix of baffling omissions and the controversy that inevitably follows. While many welcome the somewhat surprising nominations of Paul Mescal and Brian Tyree Henry for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor respectively, Andrea Riseborough’s nomination for Best Actress has come with a great deal of controversy.
It must be said that Riseborough has drawn considerable acclaim for her performance in To Leslie, and given that how we perceive an actor’s performance is subject to a certain degree, there is absolutely a case to be made for her nomination. The issue, though, is that she was nominated in place of Viola Davis for her performance in The Woman King and Danielle Deadwyler’s breakout role in Till, who were heavily favoured ahead of Riseborough, especially given the nomination trends we have seen all season. Even Riseborough was surprised, but nonetheless grateful for her recognition.
What has made her nomination so controversial, however, is that people involved in the film directly contacted Academy voters in an attempt to get Riseborough nominated, which violates its rules of conduct for obvious reasons. There was also a less insidious but noted push by a slew of celebrities on social media to draw attention to Riseborough’s performance in this microbudget indie film that only made a little over $27,000 at the box office. It bears repeating that Riseborough drew considerable acclaim for her performance, and there is absolutely no reason to even suggest that she had anything to do with the contacting of Academy members directly (which those involved with the film have described as a “grassroots” effort to gain recognition for a little-known feature), though it is certainly a bad look for an organization that has been accused of overlooking actors and actresses of colour in favour of white nominees. The furore has largely died down by now, and the Academy has rightfully come out and stated that Riseborough’s nomination will not be rescinded, though it is a shame that such a shadow has been cast over her nomination and impressive work.
The 95th Academy Awards will take place on March 12th, with Jimmy Kimmel set to host for the third time.