The presentation of the 97th Academy Awards nominees was delayed and unveiled in subdued circumstances due to the recent devastating wildfires in Los Angeles. The Oscars will be held on March 2, will be hosted by Conan O'Brien, who also lost his Pacific Palisades home to the wildfires.
‘Emilia Perez’ sets record for the most nominations for a non-English-language movie
Transgender cartel musical ‘Emilia Perez’ topped this year’s Oscar nominations, earning 13 nods shattering the record for the most Academy Award nominations for a non-English-language film. Directed by Jacques Audiard, the film is nominated for best picture, best director, best adapted screenplay and best international film, as well as multiple song, score and sound nods. Karla Sofia Gascon became the first openly trans acting nominee in best actress category for the same film.
India’s Strong Presence at the Oscars
Smriti Mundhra
‘I Am Ready, Warden’ is a 2024 American short documentary film produced and directed by Smriti Mundhra. The film documents the final days before his execution of Texas death row inmate John Henry Ramirez. It is nominated for the Best Documentary Short Film at the 97th Academy Awards. Smriti is the daughter of Indian director, producer, and screenwriter, Jagmohan ‘Jag’ Mundhra. In 2020, Smriti directed and produced ‘St Louis Superman’ which was nominated for the 92nd Academy Award in the category of Best Documentary Short Film.
Guneet Monga
‘Anuja’, directed by Adam J Graves and Suchitra Mattai, is backed by Guneet Monga and Priyanka Chopra. The American Hindi-language short drama follows the story of Anuja, a gifted nine-year-old girl who, alongside her sister Palak, faces a life-changing opportunity that tests their bond and mirrors the struggles of girls worldwide. The movie is nominated in the Best Live Action Short Film category. Interestingly, Guneet, has previously received three Oscar nominations. She served as an executive producer on ‘Period. End of Sentence.’ which won the 2019 Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Film followed by ‘The Elephant Whisperers’ which won the 2023 Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Film.
Close contenders
The epic immigrant saga ‘The Brutalist’ and Broadway adaptation ‘Wicked’ received ten nominations each.
‘A Complete Unknown’
based on Bob Dylan biopic and ‘Conclave’ a Vatican thriller bagged eight nominations each.
Adrien Brody was nominated best actor for ‘The Brutalist’ along with Timothee Chalamet for ‘A Complete Unknown’ and Ralph Fiennes for ‘Conclave’ but a surprise pick was Sebastian Stan for his portray of the current President of the USA, Donald Trump in ‘The Apprentice’.