One Long and 10 Shorts of It – 97th Academy Awards Shortlists Announced

It’s that time again, folks. The pre-Blitz is on! This morning, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences revealed their shortlists in 10 of the 23 categories for next year’s Oscars. As always, I’ll provide links to any relevant reviews I’ve done on these semifinalist selections, as well as any top line reactions I might have and whatever release information I have available. Also, just like last year, I’ll provide the full list of eligible submissions for Animated Feature, since there is no shortlist for that particular field. If you want to do as much completion as possible before the nominations come out in exactly one month, I’ll do whatever I can to help.

Documentary Feature – 15 Films
The Bibi Files – Had a qualifying run in November, further release TBD
Black Box Diaries – Sling
Dahomey – VOD
Daughters – Netflix
Eno – TBD
Frida – Amazon
Hollywoodgate – Had a theatrical run in July, further release TBD
No Other Land – TBD
Porcelain War – In Limited Release Now
Queendom – VOD
The Remarkable Life of Ibelin – Netflix
Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat – TBD
Sugarcane – Hulu/Disney+
Union – Had a qualifying run in October, further release TBD
Will & Harper – Netflix

Okay, I’m sure the first thing you’ll notice is that there are no review links for any of these. I only saw a handful of documentaries this year, two of which were included on the longlist of accepted submissions, and neither of which is here. That’s a particular shame in the case of Zurawski v. Texas, which just feels like another defeat for those already victimized women. The only one on this list I’ve seen so far is Dahomey, which is also Senegal’s International Feature entry. I just haven’t gotten around to reviewing it yet.

Still, things don’t look as hopeless as they might appear for my annual quest to clear these 15. Only three have no release information as of yet (I’m kicking myself for skipping Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat when it played at AFI Fest), but the three (really four if you count Black Box Diaries) that have already been in and out of theatres will likely be re-released before the nominations. For example, here in Los Angeles, the Laemmle chain does a 2-3 weekend replay in January of all the shortlisted docs that they’ve previously played. If you live in a major city, I have a feeling you’ll have a similar opportunity. The other eight are all readily available, so you can definitely knock them off.

Documentary Short – 15 Films
Chasing Roo
Death by Numbers
Eternal Father
I Am Ready, Warden
Incident
Instruments of a Beating Heart
Keeper
Makayla’s Voice: A Letter to the World
Once Upon a Time in Ukraine
The Only Girl in the Orchestra
Planetwalker
The Quilters
Seat 31: Zooey Zephyr
A Swim Lesson
Until He’s Back

Not much to report here. Some of the shorts are usually available on YouTube, Vimeo, or Netflix (The Only Girl in the Orchestra is one of three that Netflix put their marketing heft behind), but I typically just wait until the nominations come out and ShortsTV packages the top 5 into a mass screening. I’ll see if I can find these, but they’ll be low priority. Incidentally, since I covered the Hollyshorts Festival this year for my friends at No Rest for the Weekend, I was wondering if anything I saw would make this cut. Unfortunately, nothing doing in this category.

International Feature – 15 Films
Brazil – I’m Still Here – In Theatres Now
Canada – Universal Language – In Theatres 2/15
Czech Republic – Waves – In Limited Release Now
Denmark – The Girl with the Needle – In Theatres Now
France – Emilia Pérez – In Theatres and Netflix
Germany – The Seed of the Sacred Fig – In Limited Release Now, Wider Release 1/3
Iceland – Touch – Peacock
Ireland – Kneecap – VOD
Italy – Vermiglio – In Theatres 1/3
Latvia – Flow – In Theatres Now
Norway – Armand – In Theatres 2/7
Palestine – From Ground Zero – In Theatres 1/3
Senegal – Dahomey
Thailand – How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies – VOD
United Kingdom – Santosh – In Theatres 1/10

I can breathe a pretty heavy sigh of relief on this one, as I’ve seen the vast majority of these films already thanks to my time at AFI Fest back in October. Seriously, that festival alone checked off Brazil, Canada, Germany, Italy, and the UK. Several others, like Czechia, Denmark, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Senegal, and Thailand, I was able to see in theatres, either on their normal schedule or in advance screenings (The Girl with the Needle made for an excellent Halloween experience at American Cinematheque). The rest are coming out soon, and I’ll get around to Emilia Pérez soon enough.

I’m wary on that last one, as Netflix has put all of its efforts behind it. They included Chile’s In Her Place in their For Your Consideration package, and other entries like Singapore’s La Luna are available on the platform, but it’s been nothing but Emilia Pérez since Awards Season began. I fear we’re going to have another year where the category is a foregone conclusion, and that’s just a shame no matter how good the film is (it currently holds a “Certified Fresh” rating of 76% on Rotten Tomatoes, but several of these films rate higher). This is supposed to be one of the most vibrant, diverse, and exciting contests of the entire Oscars ceremony, and we may be looking at it being a moot point for the fourth year running and sixth of the last seven. That’s because the marketing has already paid dividends, with the film getting a ton of Golden Globe and Critics’ Choice nominations (10 each, though in some categories it has multiple), leading the former and tied for third in the latter. If it gets a Best Picture nomination, which is entirely possible despite its relatively low RT score (at least compared to other prestige fare), then it’s all over. I’ll continue to churn out reviews and watch whatever I can as we get nearer to proper Blitz time – Norway certainly is gambling by not releasing their film stateside until after nominations – but once again this competition may sadly be over before it even starts.

Makeup and Hairstyling – 10 Films
The Apprentice – VOD
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice – HBO/Max
A Different Man – VOD
Dune: Part Two – HBO/Max
Emilia Pérez
Maria – Limited Theatrical Release and Netflix
Nosferatu – In Theatres 12/25
The Substance – Amazon
Waltzing with Brando – TBD
Wicked Part One – In Theatres Now

Okay, so as we get into more mainstream fare with the artistic and technical categories, there’s clearly one film that sticks out like a sore thumb, Waltzing with Brando. I hadn’t even heard about this movie until just now, and apparently no one else has, either. According to Google, it did have a qualifying run at the end of November, but that just means it played for one week in one of seven eligible cities. It sure as hell didn’t play anywhere near me, or rather, if it did, there was no advertising. The film’s Wikipedia page says it will have a regular release sometime next year, but there’s no other information. Why do I get the feeling that this is going to be in the vain of Tell it Like a Woman, where it exists solely for the nomination and no one will get to see it until a week before the Oscars in the quixotic hope that it’ll steal last-second votes to win?

As for the others, I’ve either seen them all, or will see them eventually. I really wanted to watch A Different Man and The Substance during their original runs, because I had a feeling both would be up in this category, but life got in the way. Good to know I have further incentive to seek them out again.

Original Score – 20 Films
Alien: Romulus – Hulu
Babygirl – In Theatres 12/25
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Blink Twice – VOD
Blitz – In Limited Theatres, Apple, and Amazon
The Brutalist – In Theatres 12/20
Challengers – VOD
Conclave – In Theatres and Peacock
Emilia Pérez
The Fire Inside – In Theatres 12/25
Gladiator II – In Theatres Now
Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 – HBO/Max
Inside Out 2 – Disney+
Nosferatu
The Room Next Door – In Theatres 12/20
Sing Sing – Netflix
The Six Triple Eight – Netflix
Wicked Part One
The Wild Robot – VOD Purchase
Young Woman and the Sea – Disney+

Obviously, the two big things to mention here are that there are 20 films on the shortlist, which is insane, and the fact that Dune: Part Two is not here. That’s because it was deemed ineligible a few days ago. Denis Villeneuve and Hans Zimmer appealed, but it appears to have been for naught. Zimmer still has another chance through Blitz, and I did make note of how good that film’s score is, same with Conclave, so it’ll be interesting to see how things shake out. It’s also a bit refreshing to see two animated films on the list, and there are some legit surprises in Alien: Romulus and Horizon. This should be a fun one.

Original Song – 15 Songs from 14 Films
“Forbidden Road” from Better Man – In Theatres 12/25
“Winter Coat” from Blitz
“Compress/Repress” from Challengers
“Never Too Late” from Elton John: Never Too Late – Disney+
“El Mal” from Emilia Pérez
“Mi Camino” from Emilia Pérez
“Sick in the Head” from Kneecap
“Beyond” from Moana 2 – In Theatres
“Tell Me it’s You” from Mufasa: The Lion King – In Theatres 12/20
“Piece by Piece” from Piece by Piece – VOD Purchase
“Like a Bird” from Sing Sing
“The Journey” from The Six Triple Eight
“Out of Oklahoma” from Twisters – Peacock
“Kiss the Sky” from The Wild Robot
“Harper and Will Go West” from Will & Harper

Yeah yeah, we all knew it was coming. Diane Warren is on the shortlist yet again, and she’ll probably be nominated yet again. It really is sickening. According to the Academy’s press release, there were 89 eligible songs submitted. I refuse to believe that her writing the same tired ballad is somehow in the top five of actual songwriting quality and relevance to its associated film every time. It’s statistically impossible. Thankfully, while she already won the Hollywood Music in Media award, she wasn’t even nominated at the Globes or Critics’ Choice, so there’s at least some hope that sanity will prevail for once and actual art will be given a fair shake.

As for the others, I really like “Winter Coat” because it’s done in period-appropriate style, and “Sick in the Head” is perfect for what it is, a celebration of Kneecap in their own film. Some of these feel like tacked-on acknowledgements, however, like Lin-Manuel Miranda getting one for Mufasa because that’s the movie’s only selling point, the subpar, generic rehash princess song from Moana getting in because it wants to have something to show for Miranda NOT doing the soundtrack on this one, and Piece by Piece as a legacy nod for Pharrell Williams. Incidentally, Piece by Piece was deemed eligible for Documentary Feature. How awesome would it have been to make the shortlist for that? I haven’t even seen it yet, and the idea of a Lego animated documentary potentially being nominated just makes me giddy.

Animated Short – 15 Films
Au Revoir Mon Monde
A Bear Named Wojtek
Beautiful Men
Bottle George
A Crab in the Pool
In the Shadow of the Cypress
Magic Candies
Maybe Elephants
Me
Origami
Percebes
The 21
Wander to Wonder
The Wild-Tempered Clavier
Yuck!

Okay, some of these I’ve actually seen. Many of these played at the Hollyshorts Festival, and through it, I saw In the Shadow of the Cypress, Origami, and Yuck!. I liked all three, but Cypress was the best for me. Wander to Wonder won the category, and Magic Candies was a finalist. Sadly, I didn’t get to see those, because I was only able to attend the festival in-person for one day, and they weren’t made available on the online blocks. I am a bit sad that none of the entries from the Brooklyn Film Festival made it in, as I cover the entire animation contest for that each year, and it’s the fest that gave us eventual nominee My Year of Dicks a couple years ago. Oh well, maybe next time.

Live Action Short – 15 Films
Anuja
Clodagh
The Compatriot
Crust
Dovecote
Edge of Space
The Ice Cream Man
I’m Not a Robot
The Last Ranger
A Lien
The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent
The Masterpiece
An Orange from Jaffa
Paris 70
Room Taken

Of these entries, I saw Anuja and Clodagh through Hollyshorts. The former won the Live Action category (though notably, overall Grand Prize winner, Amplified, did not make this list), and I just adore the latter. I rated Anuja higher on first impression, but Clodagh has stuck with me more. Either one would be a more than worthy victor.

Sound – 10 Films
Alien: Romulus
Blitz
A Complete Unknown – In Theatres 12/25
Deadpool & Wolverine – Disney+
Dune: Part Two
Emilia Pérez
Gladiator II
Joker: Folie à Deux – HBO/Max
Wicked Part One
The Wild Robot

A few things should be apparent by now. One, the marketing for Emilia Pérez has really paid off. Two, Animated Feature looks to be a race between Inside Out 2 and The Wild Robot, with Flow as a potential dark horse. Three, the “GladiWickedor” campaign, craven though it was, will likely yield some dividends. Four, Alien, Dune, and Blitz will likely be fighting one another for the bulk of the technical categories, and I suspect Dune is the front-runner.

The only real surprises here are Deadpool and Joker. In the former case, it’s welcome, as the film has an excellent sound profile, though obviously the well-placed needle drops won’t enter into the equation. As for the latter, good for them, I guess? The movie itself is mediocre at best and actively awful in parts, and the musical gimmick most assuredly did not work. The only element of the sound design that might register as quality is, as I noted in the review, the fact that Joaquin Phoenix sounds like a proper singer in his fantasy sequences while being completely off key in the real world. That was one of the few good touches of the entire flick, but it’s not enough for Fleck to get picked.

Visual Effects – 10 Films
Alien: Romulus
Better Man
Civil War – HBO/Max
Deadpool & Wolverine
Dune: Part Two
Gladiator II
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes – Hulu
Mufasa: The Lion King
Twisters
Wicked Part One

Alright, I have some serious issues here. I’m okay with Alien making this first cut because of its more practical effects and the hallway scene, but on principle it should be immediately disqualified for using AI to graft Ian Holm’s face onto Rook. Secondly, Gladiator and Wicked, which I’ll review in short order, should not even be remotely in consideration here. The first should be eliminated for those CGI baboons alone, and the latter should be gone for the jarring difference in washed out, cheap-looking effects whenever something isn’t on a real set. I mean, even the triumphant moment of “Defying Gravity” is undercut by the fact that Galinda gives Elphaba her cape in the tower, one that just barely drags behind her on the ground, and yet when Elphaba’s in the air, the goddamn thing is 30 feet long and looks half-rendered. Then, of course, there’s Mufasa, which is a fraudulent submission entirely, because it is an animated film with no live action shots. Everything is CGI. There is no original photography. You can’t have an “effect” without a “cause.” It was fraudulent when the previous film was nominated, and it’s fraudulent here. I wouldn’t be surprised if this is just some bullshit excuse that Disney manufactured to drive up the box office numbers.

As for the others, I’m intrigued by Better Man’s underlying concept of turning Robbie Williams into a chimp, the latest Apes movie lives up to the profile of its predecessors, and finally, Civil War, one of the best films of the entire year full stop, gets some due. I have a feeling it’ll come up empty next month, but it deserves so much more.

Animated Feature – 31 Films
Art College 1994 – Had a theatrical run in February, further release TBD
Captain Avispa – Had a theatrical run in April, further release TBD
Chicken for Linda! – VOD
The Colors Within – In Limited Theatres Now
The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie – In Limited Theatres Now, Wide Release 2/28
Despicable Me 4 – Peacock
Flow
The Garfield Movie – Netflix
Ghost Cat Anzu – Had a qualifying release in November, further release TBD
The Glassworker – Had a qualifying release in November, further release TBD
The Imaginary – Netflix
Inside Out 2
Kensuke’s Kingdom – VOD
Kung Fu Panda 4 – Netflix
Living Large – Had a qualifying run in November, further release TBD
Look Back – Amazon
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim – In Theatres
Mars Express – VOD
Memoir of a Snail – VOD
Moana 2
Piece by Piece
Rocket Club: Across the Cosmos – Had a theatrical run in May, further release TBD
Sirocco and the Kingdom of Winds – VOD
Spellbound – Netflix
Sultana’s Dream – Had a qualifying run in October, further release TBD
That Christmas – Netflix
Thelma the Unicorn – Netflix
Transformers One – Paramount
Ultraman: Rising – Netflix
Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl – In Limited Release 12/18 (tomorrow) and Netflix 1/3
The Wild Robot

Honestly, at this point I don’t know why we don’t have a shortlist for this category. So many of these entries have mixed-to-negative reviews (Garfield, That Christmas, Despicable Me 4, etc.) that you know they don’t have a chance. Others are simply not available because they had their qualifying runs and then fucked off. Of these 31 movies, I’ve seen 17 so far. I want to complete the list just for the accomplishment, but Rocket Club and Avispa continue to elude me. If you have any information, I’d love to hear it.

That said, though, we can pretty much glean what has the potential for nomination and victory. As I already said, Wild Robot is the likely leader in the clubhouse, followed closely by Inside Out 2, and Flow will get some much-needed attention because of the International Feature race (though The Glassworker, which was Pakistan’s entry, got left off). Based on the Critics’ Choice and Golden Globe nominations (the latter expanding to six nominees), we can surmise that the final two will be some combination of Memoir of a Snail, Wallace and Gromit, and Moana 2. Beyond that, if you really strain, you can convince yourself that Chicken for Linda!, Sirocco, Looney Tunes, and The Imaginary have an outside shot, especially since Looney Tunes is waiting until late February for its wide release, meaning it’s banking on a nomination to boost the box office. That’s 10 films right there. Are you seriously telling me we can’t get a shortlist going? I know the category is still the youngest of the field (until Casting gets its place next year), and it only in recent years took the step of guaranteeing five nominees permanently, but it’s clear where the cream rises here, even though I’ve only seen just over half the candidates. So just do a damn shortlist already!

***

That’s it for now, everyone. The pre-Blitz has begun in earnest, and we have 31 days until the real fun begins. Consider this something of an Oscars Advent Calendar for your completist goals, and as always, keep it locked here for more coverage as Awards Season wears on!

Join the conversation in the comments below! How many of these films have you seen? What are your plans for the rest? Can someone PLEASE open an investigation into how Diane Warren gets nominated every year? Let me know! And remember, you can follow me on Twitter (fuck “X”) and subscribe to my YouTube channel for even more content, and check out the entire BTRP Media Network at btrpmedia.com!