AWARDS SEASON 2020 – THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE QUESTIONABLE

It’s that time of year again, a time when we look back across the spectrum of cinema over the previous 12 months and select the best and the boldest. That seemingly simple task is often anything but, especially this year. Awards nominations have been announced, won, lost and questioned. With each passing year the demand (and rightfully so) has increased for more diverse representation. It is clear we have come a long way in some respects, but there is still a long road ahead of us.

Skip to the bottom of the article for a full list of Oscar nominations.

As always, it was the Golden Globes that kicked off the he awards season, celebrating a wide array of talent. But perhaps not wide enough, many quickly noticed the lack of female directors, actors and overall talent from the line-up. There were notable exceptions, Awkwafina was the only person of colour to take home a major award. Yet, Bong Joon-Ho was bested by Sam Mendes in the Best Director category and across the board the awards were overwhelmingly white.

Things looked similar when the BAFTAs announced their line-up, with many on social media calling them out for a lack of representation. The BAFTAs have moved quickly to hold back the tide, announcing that they would re-think their nominations strategy in time for next years ceremony. This wasn’t exactly the reaction they were looking for leading up to the big night on February 2nd. The quick response has gone a long way to help, but eyes are now firmly on them from across the industry for next year.

Now, the OSCARs have announced their line-up, and the landscape looks to be similar to that of the BAFTAs. With omissions such as Greta Gerwig (Best Director for Little Women), Uncut Gems nowhere to be seen across the board, and performances from Eddie Murphy and Jennifer Lopez (lead, Dolemite is my Name and supporting, Hustlers) absent.    

Over the last few years, Hollywood has committed itself to continued diversity and inclusion, following the OSCAR nominations in 2015 that led to #oscarssowhite trending on twitter. It is clear that despite setbacks and wrong-footing, there is a great shift in the industry, and the next few years will see where that leads.

For now, this is still the season to celebrate film and talent. If the film, actor or artist you have been championing is not listed by any of the award bodies, then it is up to us as an audience to celebrate them and ensure their rightful placement in the years to come.

The OSCAR nominations list:

Best Picture:

“Ford v Ferrari” “The Irishman” “Jojo Rabbit” “Joker” “Little Women” “Marriage Story” “1917” “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” “Parasite”

Lead Actor:

Antonio Banderas, “Pain and Glory” Leonardo DiCaprio, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” Adam Driver, “Marriage Story” Joaquin Phoenix, “Joker” Jonathan Pryce, “The Two Popes”

Lead Actress:

Cynthia Erivo, “Harriet” Scarlett Johansson, “Marriage Story” Saoirse Ronan, “Little Women” Charlize Theron, “Bombshell” Renee Zellweger, “Judy”

Supporting Actor:

Tom Hanks, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” Anthony Hopkins, “The Two Popes” Al Pacino, “The Irishman” Joe Pesci, “The Irishman” Brad Pitt, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”

Supporting Actress:

Kathy Bates, “Richard Jewell” Laura Dern, “Marriage Story” Scarlett Johansson, “Jojo Rabbit” Florence Pugh, “Little Women” Margot Robbie, “Bombshell”

Director:

Martin Scorsese, “The Irishman” Todd Phillips, “Joker” Sam Mendes, “1917” Quentin Tarantino, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” Bong Joon Ho, “Parasite”

Animated Feature:

“How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World,” Dean DeBlois “I Lost My Body,” Jeremy Clapin “Klaus,” Sergio Pablos “Missing Link,” Chris Butler “Toy Story 4,”  Josh Cooley

Animated Short:

“Dcera,” Daria Kashcheeva “Hair Love,” Matthew A. Cherry “Kitbull,” Rosana Sullivan “Memorable,” Bruno Collet “Sister,” Siqi Song

Adapted Screenplay:

“The Irishman,” Steven Zaillian “Jojo Rabbit,” Taika Waititi “Joker,” Todd Phillips, Scott Silver “Little Women,” Greta Gerwig “The Two Popes,” Anthony McCarten

Original Screenplay:

“Knives Out,” Rian Johnson “Marriage Story,” Noah Baumbach “1917,” Sam Mendes and Krysty Wilson-Cairns “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Quentin Tarantino “Parasite,” Bong Joon-ho, Jin Won Han

Cinematography:

“The Irishman,” Rodrigo Prieto “Joker,” Lawrence Sher “The Lighthouse,” Jarin Blaschke “1917,” Roger Deakins “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Robert Richardson

Best Documentary Feature:

“American Factory,” Julia Rieichert, Steven Bognar “The Cave,” Feras Fayyad “The Edge of Democracy,” Petra Costa “For Sama,” Waad Al-Kateab, Edward Watts “Honeyland,” Tamara Kotevska, Ljubo Stefanov

Best Documentary Short Subject:

“In the Absence,” Yi Seung-Jun and Gary Byung-Seok Kam “Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone,” Carol Dysinger “Life Overtakes Me,” Kristine Samuelson and John Haptas “St. Louis Superman,” Smriti Mundhra and Sami Khan “Walk Run Cha-Cha,” Laura Nix

Best Live Action Short Film:

“Brotherhood,” Meryam Joobeur “Nefta Football Club,” Yves Piat “The Neighbors’ Window,” Marshall Curry “Saria,” Bryan Buckley “A Sister,” Delphine Girard

Best International Feature Film:

“Corpus Christi,” Jan Komasa “Honeyland,” Tamara Kotevska, Ljubo Stefanov “Les Miserables,” Ladj Ly “Pain and Glory,” Pedro Almodovar “Parasite,” Bong Joon Ho

Film Editing:

“Ford v Ferrari,” Michael McCusker, Andrew Buckland “The Irishman,” Thelma Schoonmaker “Jojo Rabbit,” Tom Eagles “Joker,” Jeff Groth “Parasite,” Jinmo Yang

Sound Editing:

“Ford v Ferrari,” Don Sylvester “Joker,” Alan Robert Murray “1917,” Oliver Tarney, Rachel Tate “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Wylie Stateman “Star Wars: The Rise of SkyWalker,” Matthew Wood, David Acord

Sound Mixing:

“Ad Astra” “Ford v Ferrari” “Joker” “1917” “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”

Production Design:

“The Irishman,” Bob Shaw and Regina Graves “Jojo Rabbit,” Ra Vincent and Nora Sopkova “1917,” Dennis Gassner and Lee Sandales “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Barbara Ling and Nancy Haigh “Parasite,” Lee Ha-Jun and Cho Won Woo, Han Ga Ram, and Cho Hee

Original Score:

“Joker,” Hildur Guðnadóttir “Little Women,” Alexandre Desplat “Marriage Story,” Randy Newman “1917,” Thomas Newman “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” John Williams

Original Song:

“I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away,” “Toy Story 4” “I’m Gonna Love Me Again,” “Rocketman” “I’m Standing With You,” “Breakthrough” “Into the Unknown,” “Frozen 2” “Stand Up,” “Harriet”

Makeup and Hair:

“Bombshell” “Joker” “Judy” “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” “1917”

Costume Design:

”The Irishman,” Sandy Powell, Christopher Peterson “Jojo Rabbit,” Mayes C. Rubeo “Joker,” Mark Bridges “Little Women,” Jacqueline Durran “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Arianne Phillips

Visual Effects:

“Avengers Endgame” “The Irishman” “1917” “The Lion King” “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”