2021 Oscar Shortlists Announced
Photo by Martin Jernberg on Unsplash
The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences just released their shortlists in nine different categories for the upcoming 2021 Oscars. Check out our guide below for the highlights:
2021 SHORTLIST STANDOUTS
Ramzan Kadyrov (right) in WELCOME TO CHECHNYA. IMDb
WELCOME TO CHECHNYA, which centers on the ongoing government-sanctioned LGBTQ pogrom in Russia’s Chechen Republic, is in the running for Best Documentary Feature. The film’s director David France joined us last spring with Simon Kilmurry from the International Documentary Association to speak about the harrowing process of making his film. WELCOME TO CHECHNYA’s use of cutting edge deepfake technology also earned it a place on the shortlist for Best Visual Effects.
Also in the mix for Best Documentary Feature are Sam Pollard’s MLK/FBI and 76 DAYS, directed by Hao Wu, Anonymous and Weixi Chen. Both MLK/FBI, about the FBI’s invasive surveillance of the civil rights icon during the 1960s, and 76 DAYS, which documents the January 2020 COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan, were offered as virtual screenings by the festival this winter.
Stacey Abrams in ALL IN: THE FIGHT FOR DEMOCRACY. IMDb
Rounding out the Best Documentary Feature shortlist is ALL IN: THE FIGHT FOR DEMOCRACY, which was directed by WFF alums Liz Garbus and Lisa Cortés. The documentary takes a look at the United States’ long history of voter suppression and the efforts of activists to make the electoral system more accessible for all. “Turntables”, composed by music artist and actor Janelle Monáe for the film, was included in the shortlist for Best Original Song.
Kate Winslet (left) and Saoirse Ronan (right) in AMMONITE. IMDb
Francis Lee’s romantic period drama AMMONITE, which was the 2020 Woodstock Film Festival’s Special Presentation Screening, was included in the shortlist for Best Original Score. The film stars Saoirse Ronan and Kate Winslet as two women who engage in a passionate love affair on the chilly coasts of 19th century England.
SOUL! Producer / Host Ellis Haizlip on set with the JC White Singers. Photograph by Alex Harsley
MR. SOUL!, which screened at the 2018 Woodstock Film Festival where it won the Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature, was shortlisted for Best Original Song for Robert Glasper’s “Show Me Your Soul”. Directed by Melissa Haizlip, MR. SOUL! chronicles the rise and fall of SOUL!, the groundbreaking variety show that showcased black art, literature, and music during the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Julianne Moore (left) and Bette Midler (right) in THE GLORIAS. IMDb
Up for Best Makeup and Hairstyling is 2018 Woodstock Film Festival Honorary Maverick Award recipient Julie Taymor’s THE GLORIAS. Edited by WFF Advisory Board member Sabine Hoffman, the biopic stars Alicia Vikander and Julianne Moore as younger and older versions of feminist trailblazer Gloria Steinem joined by Bette Midler as Bella Abzug and Janelle Monae as Dorothy Pitman Hughes. Last September, the Woodstock Film Festival held a special sneak peek screening of THE GLORIAS at Greenville Drive-In Outdoor Cinema followed by an onsite Q&A.
Multiple short films from the 2020 Woodstock Film Festival program were recognized by the academy, including KAPAEMAHU, directed by Joe Wilson, Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu and Dean Hamer, as well as Will McCormack’s IF ANYTHING HAPPENS I LOVE YOU, which are both shortlisted for Best Animated Short Film. Geeta Gandbhir’s CALL CENTER BLUES was included in the shortlist for Best Documentary Short Subject.
The nominations for the 93rd Academy Awards will be announced on March 15th with the official ceremony airing on April 25th. Best of luck to everyone who was shortlisted!