Last week, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Tuesday unveiled its shortlists for the 2022 Oscars in 10 categories. Two years into the pandemic and following what was a rather mellow affair in 2021, it is uncertain as to what next year’s ceremony will involve. However, the films mentioned in the shortlists so far certainly confirm that the Oscars are continuing to answer Hollywood’s decade-long calls to diversify.
The 2022 shortlists seem to reflect the slow and steady changes that are taking place on screen and behind the camera. From the Academy’s perspective, the awards don’t necessarily have to end up going to films that exhibit greater diversity, but they must be included in nominations. The Academy will want a diverse field of nominees, given that studies have found a direct correlation between Oscar nominee diversity in major categories and viewership.
It could well be argued that this year’s nominations of films that deal with race, gender, and the immigration experience, as well as female directors, are merely symbolic. Whilst contenders such as King Richard, Flee and West Side Story don’t need Oscars to validate them, the Oscars need these films to survive.
The shortlists include documentary and international features as well as documentary short subject, makeup and hairstyling, original score, original song, animated short, live-action short, visual effects. This article moves through a number of the top picks for winners of these categories, exploring their position in relation to the ongoing need for the Oscars to be ‘updated’ and diversify. The full shortlists for each of the 10 are listed at the bottom of this article.
Flee
One such nomination that has answered Hollywood’s calls to diversify is the animated documentary Flee which has been shortlisted for the best feature documentary, best international feature and best animated feature. It has even been suggested that the film may make history as the first documentary nominated for best picture.
Written and directed by filmmaker Jonas Poher Rasmussen, Flee tells the story of Amin Nawabi as he grapples with a painful secret he has kept hidden for 20 years, one that threatens to derail the life he has built for himself and his soon to be husband. He tells for the first time the story of his extraordinary journey as a child refugee from Afghanistan.
Given the film’s glowing critical reception and multiple nominations, it is clear that this film has not simply been shortlisted for the purpose of tokenistic diversity.
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International Feature Film: Drive My Car (and Flee)
Among the surprise winners at New York Film Critics Circle, both Flee and Drive My Car have been shortlisted in the Oscars international feature film category.
Drive My Car tells the story of Yusuke Kafuku (Hidetoshi Nishijima), who, two years after his wife’s unexpected death, receives an offer to direct a production of Uncle Vanya at a theater festival in Hiroshima. He meets Misaki Watari (Toko Miura), a taciturn young woman assigned by the festival to chauffeur him in his beloved red Saab 900. As the production’s premiere approaches, tensions mount amongst the cast and crew, not least between Yusuke and Koji Takatsuki, a handsome TV star who shares an unwelcome connection to Yusuke’s late wife. The film, much like Flee, unravels stories of the characters’ pasts.
As the title suggests, much of the film is shot in the car. Many reviews have commented on the use of silence as a powerful tool for amplifying and exploring past truths. Critics also believe the film is in the running for the best adapted screenplay category; a category that has historically included the least diverse nominations.
However, what has arguably been the most hyped up film of the year is also in the running for the category. The Power of the Dog has dominated shortlists across the categories and nominations are sure to continue.
The Power of the Dog strikes again
Jonny Greenwood has joined fellow film composer Hans Zimmer’s No Time to Die on the Academy’s shortlist for the best original score with his score for the 2021 Western drama film The Power of the Dog.
With its luscious string textures and carefully chosen dissonances, the Radiohead star who is famed for filling packed arenas with the idioms of the classical genre, perfectly captures the essence of this particular Western. The solo horn opening of the second cue ‘Requiem for Phil’ instantly connects the psychology of the characters to the expansive landscape of rural Otago where the film is shot.
The cue titled ‘Mimicry’ makes use of a solo violin without vibrato or shimmer, its gutsy sound eerily ringing in the ears of audiences as it comes to a close. Greenwood’s name appeared again on the shortlist, this time for his score for Spencer. His training in classical harmony and composition throughout his upbringing has now not only infiltrated his career as a ‘pop’ musician but also as a film composer. We await confirmation of further category shortlists which will undoubtedly result in a number of awards for The Power of the Dog.
Beyoncé takes on cinema
In another music category, this time best original song, Beyoncé’s ‘Be Alive’ from King Richard is a firm favourite alongside her husband Jay-Z’s ‘Guns Go Bang’ for The Harder They Fall and Ariana Grande’s ‘Just Look Up’ for Don’t Look Up.
Theme songs or original songs that first surface and are made popular by a film is a phenomenon that became commonplace in the 60s and 70s as an answer to commercial and aesthetic challenges the film industry faced post-war.
The collection of stars from the music world that have written theme songs for this year’s movies reflect answers to new and old challenges. Pop songs benefit the film, acting as a catchy melody that audiences can hold onto and listen to again upon leaving the cinema as well as the artist whose music is automatically disseminated through public consciousness as it is intrinsically connected to what will hopefully be a box office success.
Beyoncé’s ‘Be Alive’ is no different story, King Richard has greatly benefited from the song which has entered the film’s title into the Oscars shortlists. Beyoncé’s name has now also been entered into the hall of film fame as well as the hall of pop fame.
As a figurehead of the Black Lives Matter Movement, Beyoncé was perfect for the film in another way. King Richard tells the story of how tennis superstars Venus and Serena Williams became who they are after the coaching from their father Richard Williams. It is predicted to be a big contender for the best picture category, a category that was relatively diverse last year. For the past two years, the best picture winners have been films directed by a filmmaker of colour.
Whether tokenistic or not, the Academy is certainly taking the call to diversify seriously. After the challenges that the pandemic has thrown at the entertainment industry and cinema attendance, they must do everything they can to stay up to date and culturally cutting edge. Huge award ceremonies like the Oscars are at the forefront of this movement by recognising and bringing public attention to diverse talent in the film space.
Full list of nominations
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Ascension
Attica
Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry
Faya Dayi
The First Wave
Flee
In the Same Breath
Julia
President
Procession
The Rescue
Simple as Water
Summer of Soul (Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
The Velvet Underground
Writing With Fire
DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
Águilas
Audible
A Broken House
Camp Confidential: America’s Secret Nazis
Coded: The Hidden Love of J. C. Leyendecker
Day of Rage
The Facility
Lead Me Home
Lynching Postcards: Token of a Great Day
The Queen of Basketball
Sophie & the Baron
Takeover
Terror Contagion
Three Songs for Benazir
When We Were Bullies
INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM
Austria, Great Freedom
Belgium, Playground
Bhutan, Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom
Denmark, Flee
Finland, Compartment No. 6
Germany, I’m Your Man
Iceland, Lamb
Iran, A Hero
Italy, The Hand of God
Japan, Drive My Car
Kosovo, Hive
Mexico, Prayers for the Stolen
Norway, The Worst Person in the World
Panama, Plaza Catedral
Spain, The Good Boss
MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
Coming 2 America
Cruella
Cyrano
Dune
The Eyes of Tammy Faye
House of Gucci
Nightmare Alley
No Time to Die
The Suicide Squad
West Side Story
MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE)
Being the Ricardos
Candyman
Don’t Look Up
Dune
Encanto
The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun
The Green Knight
The Harder They Fall
King Richard
The Last Duel
No Time to Die
Parallel Mothers
The Power of the Dog
Spencer
The Tragedy of Macbeth
MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG)
“So May We Start?” from Annette
“Down To Joy” from Belfast
“Right Where I Belong” from Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road
“Automatic Woman” from Bruised
“Dream Girl” from Cinderella
“Beyond The Shore” from CODA
“The Anonymous Ones” from Dear Evan Hansen
“Just Look Up” from Don’t Look Up
“Dos Oruguitas” from Encanto
“Somehow You Do” from Four Good Days
“Guns Go Bang” from The Harder They Fall
“Be Alive” from King Richard
“No Time To Die” from No Time to Die
“Here I Am (Singing My Way Home)” from Respect
“Your Song Saved My Life” from Sing 2
ANIMATED SHORT FILM
Affairs of the Art
Angakusajaujuq: The Shaman’s Apprentice
Bad Seeds
Bestia
Boxballet
Flowing Home
Mum Is Pouring Rain
The Musician
Namoo
Only a Child
Robin Robin
Souvenir Souvenir
Step into the River
Us Again
The Windshield Wiper
LIVE-ACTION SHORT FILM
Ala Kachuu – Take and Run
Censor of Dreams
The Criminals
Distances
The Dress
Frimas
Les Grandes Claques
The Long Goodbye
On My Mind
Please Hold
Stenofonen
Tala’vision
Under the Heavens
When the Sun Sets
You’re Dead Helen
SOUND
Belfast
Dune
Last Night in Soho
The Matrix Resurrections
No Time to Die
The Power of the Dog
A Quiet Place Part II
Spider-Man: No Way Home
Tick, Tick … Boom!
West Side Story
VISUAL EFFECTS
Black Widow
Dune
Eternals
Free Guy
Ghostbusters: Afterlife
Godzilla vs. Kong
The Matrix Resurrections
No Time to Die
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Spider-Man: No Way Home
Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed here by Impakter.com columnists are their own, not those of Impakter.com. — In the Featured Photo: The 86th Annual Academy Awards, 2014. Featured Photo Credit: Walt Disney Television
