The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has unveiled shortlists in 10 categories for the 96th Academy Awards®: Documentary Feature Film, Documentary Short Film, International Feature Film, Makeup and Hairstyling, Music (Original Score), Music (Original Song), Animated Short Film, Live Action Short Film, Sound and Visual Effects.
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE FILM
Fifteen films will advance in the Documentary Feature Film category for the 96th Academy Awards. One hundred sixty-seven films were eligible in the category. Members of the Documentary Branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees.
The films, listed in alphabetical order by title, are:
- “American Symphony”
- “Apolonia, Apolonia”
- “Beyond Utopia”
- “Bobi Wine: The People’s President”
- “Desperate Souls, Dark City and the Legend of Midnight Cowboy”
- “The Eternal Memory”
- “Four Daughters”
- “Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project”
- “In the Rearview”
- “Stamped from the Beginning”
- “Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie”
- “A Still Small Voice”
- “32 Sounds”
- “To Kill a Tiger”
- “20 Days in Mariupol”
DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILM
Fifteen films will advance in the Documentary Short Film category for the 96th Academy Awards. One hundred fourteen films qualified in the category. Members of the Documentary Branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees.
The films, listed in alphabetical order by title, are:
- “The ABCs of Book Banning”
- “The Barber of Little Rock”
- “Bear”
- “Between Earth & Sky”
- “Black Girls Play: The Story of Hand Games”
- “Camp Courage”
- “Deciding Vote”
- “How We Get Free”
- “If Dreams Were Lightning: Rural Healthcare Crisis”
- “Island in Between”
- “The Last Repair Shop”
- “Last Song from Kabul”
- “Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó”
- “Oasis”
- “Wings of Dust”
INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM
Fifteen films will advance to the next round of voting in the International Feature Film category for the 96th Academy Awards. Films from 88 countries and regions were eligible in the category.
Academy members from all branches were invited to participate in the preliminary round of voting and must have met a minimum viewing requirement to be eligible to vote in the category.
In the nominations round, Academy members from all branches are invited to opt in to participate and must view all 15 shortlisted films to vote.
The films, listed in alphabetical order by country, are:
- Armenia, “Amerikatsi”
- Bhutan, “The Monk and the Gun”
- Denmark, “The Promised Land”
- Finland, “Fallen Leaves”
- France, “The Taste of Things”
- Germany, “The Teachers’ Lounge”
- Iceland, “Godland”
- Italy, “Io Capitano”
- Japan, “Perfect Days”
- Mexico, “Totem”
- Morocco, “The Mother of All Lies”
- Spain, “Society of the Snow”
- Tunisia, “Four Daughters”
- Ukraine, “20 Days in Mariupol”
- United Kingdom, “The Zone of Interest”
MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
Ten films will advance in the Makeup and Hairstyling category for the 96th Academy Awards. All members of the Academy’s Makeup Artists and Hairstylists Branch will be invited to view excerpts and interviews with the artists from each of the shortlisted films on Sunday, January 14, 2024. Branch members will vote to nominate five films for final Oscar® consideration.
The films, listed in alphabetical order by title, are:
- “Beau Is Afraid”
- “Ferrari”
- “Golda”
- “Killers of the Flower Moon”
- “The Last Voyage of the Demeter”
- “Maestro”
- “Napoleon”
- “Oppenheimer”
- “Poor Things”
- “Society of the Snow”
MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE)
Fifteen scores will advance in the Original Score category for the 96th Academy Awards. One hundred forty-eight scores were eligible in the category. Members of the Music Branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees.
The scores, listed in alphabetical order by film title, are:
- “American Fiction”
- “American Symphony”
- “Barbie”
- “The Boy and the Heron”
- “The Color Purple”
- “Elemental”
- “The Holdovers”
- “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny”
- “Killers of the Flower Moon”
- “Oppenheimer”
- “Poor Things”
- “Saltburn”
- “Society of the Snow”
- “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse”
- “The Zone of Interest”
MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG)
Fifteen songs will advance in the Original Song category for the 96th Academy Awards. Ninety-four songs were eligible in the category. Members of the Music Branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees.
The original songs, along with the motion picture in which each song is featured, are listed below in alphabetical order by film title:
- “It Never Went Away” from “American Symphony”
- “Dear Alien (Who Art In Heaven)” from “Asteroid City”
- “Dance The Night” from “Barbie”
- “I’m Just Ken” from “Barbie”
- “What Was I Made For?” from “Barbie”
- “Keep It Movin’” from “The Color Purple”
- “Superpower (I)” from “The Color Purple”
- “The Fire Inside” from “Flamin’ Hot”
- “High Life” from “Flora and Son”
- “Meet In The Middle” from “Flora and Son”
- “Can’t Catch Me Now” from “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes”
- “Wahzhazhe (A Song For My People)” from “Killers of the Flower Moon”
- “Quiet Eyes” from “Past Lives”
- “Road To Freedom” from “Rustin”
- “Am I Dreaming” from “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse”
ANIMATED SHORT FILM
Fifteen films will advance in the Animated Short Film category for the 96th Academy Awards. Ninety-three films qualified in the category. Members of the Short Films and Feature Animation Branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees.
The films, listed in alphabetical order by title, are:
- “Boom”
- “Eeva”
- “Humo (Smoke)”
- “I’m Hip”
- “A Kind of Testament”
- “Koerkorter (Dog Apartment)”
- “Letter to a Pig”
- “Ninety-Five Senses”
- “Once upon a Studio”
- “Our Uniform”
- “Pachyderme”
- “Pete”
- “27”
- “War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko”
- “Wild Summon”
LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
Fifteen films will advance in the Live Action Short Film category for the 96th Academy Awards. One hundred eighty-seven films qualified in the category. For the first time, Academy members from all branches were invited to participate in the preliminary round of voting and must have met a minimum viewing requirement to be eligible to vote in the category.
In the nominations round, Academy members from all branches are invited to opt in to participate and must view all 15 shortlisted films to vote.
The films, listed in alphabetical order by title, are:
- “The After”
- “The Anne Frank Gift Shop”
- “An Avocado Pit”
- “Bienvenidos a Los Angeles”
- “Dead Cat”
- “Good Boy”
- “Invincible”
- “Invisible Border”
- “Knight of Fortune”
- “The One Note Man”
- “Red, White and Blue”
- “The Shepherd”
- “Strange Way of Life”
- “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar”
- “Yellow”
SOUND
Ten films will advance in the Sound category for the 96th Academy Awards. All eligible members of the Sound Branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees. Academy members will be invited to view excerpts from each of the shortlisted films beginning Thursday, January 11, 2024, in the San Francisco Bay area, followed by London, Los Angeles and New York. Branch members will vote to nominate five films for final Oscar consideration.
The films, listed in alphabetical order by title, are:
- “Barbie”
- “The Creator”
- “Ferrari”
- “The Killer”
- “Killers of the Flower Moon”
- “Maestro”
- “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One”
- “Napoleon”
- “Oppenheimer”
- “The Zone of Interest”
VISUAL EFFECTS
Ten films remain in the running in the Visual Effects category for the 96th Academy Awards. The Visual Effects Branch Executive Committee determined the shortlist. All members of the Visual Effects Branch will be invited to view excerpts and interviews with the artists from each of the shortlisted films on Saturday, January 13, 2024. Branch members will vote to nominate five films for final Oscar consideration.
The films, listed in alphabetical order by title, are:
- “The Creator”
- “Godzilla Minus One”
- “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3”
- “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny”
- “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One”
- “Napoleon”
- “Poor Things”
- “Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire”
- “Society of the Snow”
- “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse”
Nominations voting begins on Thursday, January 11, 2024, and concludes on Tuesday, January 16, 2024.
Nominations for the 96th Academy Awards will be announced on Tuesday, January 23, 2024.
The 96th Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 10, 2024, at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood and will be televised live on ABC and in more than 200 territories worldwide.
Tilda Swinton Explores Assisted Suicide In Pedro Almodóvar’s 1st English-Language Feature
Although "The Room Next Door" is Pedro Almodóvar's first English-language feature, Tilda Swinton notes that he's never written in a language that anyone else truly speaks.
"He writes in Pedro language, and here he is making another film in another version of Pedro language, which just happens to sound a little bit like English," Swinton said.
Set in New York, Swinton stars as Martha, a terminally ill woman who chooses to end her life on her own terms. After reconnecting with her friend Ingrid, played by Julianne Moore, Martha persuades her to stay and keep her company before she goes through with her decision.
Beyond the film's narrative, Swinton said she believes individuals should have a say in their own living and dying. She acknowledges that she has personally witnessed a friend's compassionate departure.
"In my own life I had the great good fortune to be asked by someone in Martha's position to be his Ingrid (Julianne Moore)," Swinton said.
She said that experience shaped her attitude about life and death: "Not only my capacity to be witness to other people in that situation, but my own living and my own dying."
Swinton spoke about "The Room Next Door," Almodóvar and he idea of letting people die on their own terms. Remarks have been edited for clarity and brevity.
Q: Tackling that role, what was the challenge to get into the character?
SWINTON: I felt really blessed by the opportunity. So many of us have been in the situation Julianne Moore's character finds herself in, being asked to be the witness of someone who is dying. Whether that wanting to orchestrate their own dismount or not, to be in that position to be a witness is something that I've been... Read More