“Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” and “Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga” got one step closer to Oscar nomination on Tuesday when the Academy of the Arts and Sciences for Feature Films announced their shortlists in nine categories.
“Wuhan Flu” from the sequel to “Borat” and “Husavik” from the Will Ferrell comedy about European competition were developed along with 13 other pieces in the original song category. 92 songs, including “Just Sing” from “Trolls World Tour”, didn’t make the cut.
Members of the various branches will vote on the final five candidates from March 5-9. Oscar nominations will be announced on March 15th.
In the documentary category, 238 controversial films were reduced to 15. Favorites that are still in the mix include Netflix’s “Dick Johnson Is Dead”, “Crip Camp” and “My Octopus Teacher”. Also controversial are Amazon’s “All In: The Fight for Democracy” and “MLK / FBI”. Neither Netflix’s popular “The Social Dilemma” nor Bryan Febel’s “The Dissident” about the murder of Jamal Khashoggi were on the list.
In the international feature film category, 93 countries have submitted the most films, but only 15 are left. Denmark’s “Another Round” was an early favorite and was put on a shortlist. Director Thomas Vinterberg’s film shows Mads Mikkelsen as a high school teacher in the midst of a midlife crisis. Also popular is the “Charlatan” submitted by the Czech Republic by the Polish director Agnieszka Holland.
Voters from all branches of the academy are eligible to vote on the international feature category, but must meet a minimum viewing requirement to do so. The group selected films from around the world, including Ivory Coast (“Night of the Kings”), Guatemala (“La Llorona”) and Tunisia (“The Man Who Sells His Skin”).
The Academy also published shortlists for the short film categories, hair and makeup, visual effects, and original score. For these competitors, go to oscars.org. Here are the shortlists for original songs, documentaries, and international features.
Original song
“Turntables” (from “All In: The Struggle for Democracy”)
“See what you did” (“Belly of the Beast”)
“Wuhan Flu” (“Borat Subsequent Movie Film”)
“Husavik” (“Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga”)
“Never Break” (“give a vote”)
“Make It Work” (“Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey”)
“Fight for you” (“Judas and the Black Messiah”)
“Lo Sì (seen)” (“Life ahead”)
“Rain Song” (“Minari”)
“Show me your soul” (“Mr. Soul!”)
“Loyal Brave True” (“Mulan”)
“Free” (“The only Ivan”)
“Speak Now” (“One Night in Miami”)
“Green” (“Sound of Metal”)
“Hear my voice” (“The Trial of Chicago 7”)
documentary
“All In: The Fight for Democracy”
“Boys State”
“Collective”
“Crip Camp”
“Dick Johnson is dead”
“Gunda”
“MLK / FBI”
“The Mole Agent”
“My Octopus Teacher”
“Night”
“The painter and the thief”
“76 days”
“Time”
“The Truffle Hunters”
“Welcome to Chechnya”
International feature
Bosnia and Herzegovina, “Quo Vadis, Aida?”
Chile, “The Mole Agent”
Czech Republic, “Charlatan”
Denmark, “another round”
France, “Two of Us”
Guatemala, “La Llorona”
Hong Kong, “Better Days”
Iran, “sun children”
Ivory Coast, “Night of the Kings”
Mexico, “I’m not here anymore”
Norway, “hope”
Romania, “collective”
Russia, “Dear Comrades!”
Taiwan, “One Sun”
Tunisia, “The Man Who Sells His Skin”
