Seventh Row editors Alex Heeney and Orla Smith imagine their ideal winners and nominees for the 2021 Oscars.
Our enthusiasm for the upcoming Oscar ceremony (nominees are announced on Monday) has been waning more and more over the past couple of months, as few of the films we’ve championed are remaining in the conversation. Oscar tends to ignore world cinema and low-budget, independent cinema, which is what we love most at Seventh Row. Take a look at our top 30 films of 2020 as evidence.
As an alternative to Monday’s nominations, our editors Alex Heeney and Orla Smith have picked their imaginary, ideal set of nominees and winners. It was an excruciating task, but we filled out each category, save for the shorts categories, Best Animated Feature, and Best Visual Effects, as we felt we hadn’t seen enough to comment.
Our two most nominated films were two that the Academy is sure to shut out entirely: First Cow and Proxima, both with eleven nominations. First Cow won the most awards, with six, and Proxima came in second, with three. The only other two films to win more than two awards were Quo Vadis, Aida? and City Hall, with two each.
Other frequently nominated films included Ammonite (8), Charlatan (5), Spinster (4), Quo Vadis, Aida? (4), Hope (3), Rustic Oracle (3), True Mothers (3), Sibyl (3), I’m Thinking of Ending Things (3), Animals (3), The Assistant (3), and Swallow (3).
Note: We tried our best to abide by Academy eligibility rules. For the International Feature category, we only chose from the longlist of submitted films.
Best Picture
Proxima – WINNER
Best Director
Kelly Reichardt, First Cow – WINNER
Alice Winocour, Proxima
Jasmila Zbanic, Quo Vadis, Aida?
Sonia Boileau, Rustic Oracle
Agnieszka Holland, Charlatan
Best Actress
Jasna Duricic, Quo Vadis, Aida? – WINNER
Kate Winslet, Ammonite
Virginie Efira, Sibyl
Eva Green, Proxima
Carmen Moore, Rustic Oracle
Best Actor
Orion Lee, First Cow – WINNER
Riz Ahmed, Sound of Metal
Anthony Hopkins, The Father
Mads Mikkelsen, Another Round
Ivan Trojan, Charlatan
Best Supporting Actress
Sandra Huller, Sibyl – WINNER
Niamh Algar, Calm with Horses
Yeri Han, Minari
Fiona Shaw, Ammonite
Debbie Honeywood, Sorry We Missed You
Best Supporting Actor
David Thewlis, I’m Thinking of Ending Things – WINNER
Matthew Macfadyen, The Assistant
Matt Dillon, Proxima
Toby Jones, First Cow
Aldis Hodge, One Night in Miami
Best Original Screenplay
Proxima – WINNER
Spinster
Hope
Ammonite
Best Adapted Screenplay
First Cow – WINNER
True Mothers
Summer of ‘85
I’m Thinking of Ending Things
Best International Feature
Quo Vadis, Aida? – WINNER
Charlatan
True Mothers
Hope
Best Documentary Feature
City Hall – WINNER
The Mole Agent
Best Cinematography
First Cow – WINNER
Proxima
Best Production Design
Charlatan – WINNER
Proxima
The Father
Animals
Best Costume Design
Ammonite – WINNER
Proxima
Best Film Editing
City Hall – WINNER
First Cow
Let Them All Talk
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
First Cow – WINNER
Ammonite
Animals
Swallow
Best Sound
The Assistant – WINNER
Ammonite
Best Original Score
First Cow – WINNER
Ammonite
Spinster
I’m Thinking of Ending Things
Proxima
You could be missing out on opportunities to watch great films, like these imaginary contenders for the 2021 Oscars, at virtual cinemas, VOD, and festivals.
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