Here we go again, cinephiles and red carpet watchers: Oscar season is upon us. While we probably haven’t seen any part of its roster on the big screen this year, streaming sites are there to sate our film-deprived selves. Case in point: Netflix’s collection of 2021’s Academy Award-nominated films.
From top-ranking “Mank” to short subject docus, here are the 18 films on Netflix that got the sought-after Oscar nod.
“Mank”
Nominations: 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor in a Leading Role (Gary Oldman)
Set in 1930s old Hollywood, the black-and-white brainchild of Oscar fave David Fincher centers on screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz (Gary Oldman), as he races to wrap up the draft of “Citizen Kane” while dealing with alcoholism.
“The Trial of The Chicago 7”
Nominations: six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Cinematography and Best Original Screenplay
Directed by “The Social Network” co-screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, this historical legal drama is based on an infamous 1969 trial of seven defendants charged by the U.S. federal government for countercultural protests at the 1968 Democratic National Convention.
“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
Nominations: five Academy Awards, including Best Actor in a Leading Role (Chadwick Boseman) and Best Actress in a Leading Role (Viola Davis)
Chadwick Boseman’s last film performance sees the late actor as Levee Green, an ambitious horn player alongside Viola Davis’s Ma Rainey, a 1920s blues singer deemed “uncontrollable” by her white management.
“News of the World”
Nominations: four Academy Awards, including Best Cinematography and Best Original Score
After the US Civil War, Capt. Jefferson Kyle Kidd (Tom Hanks) takes a 10-year-old girl (Helena Zengel) under his wing after she’s captured by a Native American tribe. They traverse the harsh plains of Texas together to reunite the child with her aunt and uncle. However, they’re met with dangers both human and natural along the way.
“Hillbilly Elegy”
Nominations: Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Glenn Close) and Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling
Based on a true story, a phone call prompts Yale law student J.D. Vance (Gabriel Basso) to return to his hometown in Ohio, where he begins to reflect on his Appalachian roots.
“Pieces of a Woman”
Nomination: Best Actress in a Leading Role (Vanessa Kirby)
Martha (Vanessa Kirby), a young woman expecting her first child faces loss when her home birth ends in tragedy. She navigates a yearlong journey of grief while working through the broken pieces of her relationships.
“The White Tiger”
Nomination: Best Adapted Screenplay
A chauffeur of a rich Indian family (Adarsh Gourav) hopes to get his rags-to-riches story by climbing up the social and economic ladder, all thanks to his wit and cunning skills as an entrepreneur.
“Over the Moon”
Nomination: Best Animated Feature Film
In this Chinese-influenced animated musical, a girl with larger-than-life dreams builds a rocketship to meet the moon goddess Chang’e.
“If Anything Happens I Love You”
Nomination: Best Animated Short Film
After a tragic school shooting, two grieving parents tackle a harsh reality while mourning for their child.
“My Octopus Teacher”
Nomination: Best Documentary Feature
A filmmaker-diver strikes an unusual friendship with an octopus living in the depths of a South African kelp forest.
“Crip Camp”
Nomination: Best Documentary Feature
During the hippie revolution and down south from Woodstock, another kind of rebellion brews in a ramshackle camp for teenagers with disabilities, where they then ignite a monumental movement.
“A Love Song for Latasha”
Nomination: Best Documentary Short Subject
This short dreamlike docu shines a light on Latasha Harlins, a young Black girl from Los Angeles killed by a convenience store owner. Her death soon prompts the city’s 1992 uprising.
“Two Distant Strangers”
Nomination: Best Live-action Short Film
While on the way to get home to his dog, cartoonist Carter James (Joey Bada$$) is thwarted by a deadly encounter with a police officer (Andrew Howard), which he’s forced to relive every single day.
“The Present”
Nomination: Best Live-action Short Film
The Palestinian film focuses on Yusef (Saleh Bakri) and his young daughter Yasmine (Maryam Kanj), as they venture to the West Bank in hopes to get his wife a present for their wedding anniversary. The country’s troubles get in the way, with soldiers, segregated roads and checkpoints blocking their path at every turn.
“Da 5 Bloods”
Nomination: Best Original Score
The Spike Lee-directed film takes a look at war-torn Vietnam, with four Black vets battling the forces of nature—and humanity—to find their fallen squad leader and a hidden gold stash.
“The Life Ahead”
Nomination: Best Original Song (“Io Sì (Seen)”)
In seaside Italy, an elderly Holocaust survivor (Sophia Loren) becomes an unlikely mother figure to a 12-year-old immigrant from Senegal (Ibrahima Gueye) who had once robbed her.
“Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga”
Nomination: Best Original Song (“Husavik”)
Aspiring musicians Lars (Will Ferrell) and Sigrit (Rachel McAdams) take a chance to chase their dreams of pop stardom in Europe’s famous Eurovision contest, where they meet a few rivals out for the same glory.
“The Midnight Sky”
Nomination: Achievement in Visual Effects
George Clooney directs and stars in this sci-fi and post-apocalyptic flick where his character Augustine, a lonely scientist in the Arctic, hopes to stop a group of astronauts from coming home to a global catastrophe.
Read more:
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Still from “Mank”
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