The First Wave of Academy Shortlists Announced

In what was a first for the Academy, nine short lists for categories were revealed at the same time last night. All all of their choices are reflective of a truly incredible 2018 for film. Among the announcements were the semifinalists for Documentary Feature, Documentary Short, Makeup/Hairstyling, Foreign Language Feature, Original Song, Original Score, Live Action Short and Animated Short.

The nominees for Foreign Language Film alone comprise to a roster of films that for all intents and purposes probably deserve best picture recognition. Festival favorites Roma, Birds of Passage, Burning and Shoplifters all appear on the list. We're lucky enough to have had interviews with Steve Yeun, star of Burning, and Cristina Gallego, director of Birds of Passage on The No Film School Podcast this year.

We also had coverage of virtually every documentary short-listed, including: Free Solo, Hale County This Morning, This Evening, Minding the Gap,On Her Shoulders, RBG, Shirkers andCrime + Punishment. A special shout out to NFS guests Logan George and Celine Held for the continuing dominance of their shortlisted live-action short Caroline and Charlie Tyrell for his doc short My Dead Dad’s Porno Tapes.

Check out the full announcement below.

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

One hundred sixty-six films were originally submitted in the category. Members of the Documentary Branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees.

• Charm City
• Communion
• Crime + Punishment
• Dark Money
• The Distant Barking of Dogs
• Free Solo
• Hale County This Morning, This Evening
• Minding the Gap
• Of Fathers and Sons
• On Her Shoulders
• RBG
• Shirkers
• The Silence of Others
• Three Identical Strangers
• Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT

One hundred four films had originally qualified in the category. Members of the Documentary Branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees.

• Black Sheep
• End Game
• Lifeboat
• Los Comandos
• My Dead Dad’s Porno Tapes
• A Night at the Garden
• Period. End of Sentence.
• ’63 Boycott
• Women of the Gulag
• Zion

My Dead Dad's Porno Tapes from Charlie Tyrell on Vimeo.

MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING 

All members of the Academy’s Makeup Artists and Hairstylists Branch will be invited to view 10-minute excerpts from each of the seven shortlisted films on January 5. Members will vote to nominate three films for final Oscar® consideration.

• Black Panther
• Bohemian Rhapsody
• Border
• Mary Queen of Scots
• Stan & Ollie
• Suspiria
• Vice

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

Eighty-seven films had originally been considered in the category. Los Angeles-based Academy members from all branches screened the original submissions in the category between mid-October and December 10. The group’s top six choices, augmented by three additional selections voted by the Academy’s Foreign Language Film Award Executive Committee, constitute the shortlist. Academy members eligible to participate in the nominations round of voting will view the shortlisted films.  Members must see all nine films before casting their ballots.

• Colombia, Birds of Passage
• Denmark, The Guilty
• Germany, Never Look Away
• Japan, Shoplifters
• Kazakhstan, Ayka
• Lebanon, Capernaum
• Mexico, Roma
• Poland, Cold War
• South Korea, Burning

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE)

One hundred fifty-six scores were eligible in the category. Members of the Music Branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees.

• Annihilation
• Avengers: Infinity War
• The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
• Black Panther
• BlacKkKlansman
• Crazy Rich Asians
• The Death of Stalin
• Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
• First Man
• If Beale Street Could Talk
• Isle of Dogs
• Mary Poppins Returns
• A Quiet Place
• Ready Player One
• Vice

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG)

Ninety 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 and song title:

• When A Cowboy Trades His Spurs For Wings, from The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
• Treasure, from Beautiful Boy
• All the Stars, from Black Panther
• Revelation, from Boy Erased
• Girl In The Movies, from Dumplin’
• We Won’t Move, from The Hate U Give
• The Place Where Lost Things Go, from Mary Poppins Returns
• Trip A Little Light Fantastic, from Mary Poppins Returns
• Keep Reachin’, from Quincy
• I’ll Fight, from RBG
• A Place Called Slaughter Race, from Ralph Breaks the Internet
• OYAHYTT, from Sorry to Bother You
• Shallow, from A Star Is Born
• Suspirium, from Suspiria
• The Big Unknown, from Widows

ANIMATED SHORT FILM

Eighty-one films had originally qualified in the category. Members of the Short Films and Feature Animation Branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees.

• Age of Sail
• Animal Behaviour
• Bao
• Bilby
• Bird Karma
• Late Afternoon
• Lost & Found
• One Small Step
• Pépé le Morse
• Weekends

LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM

One hundred forty films had originally qualified in the category. Members of the Short Films and Feature Animation Branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees.

• Caroline
• Chuchotage
• Detainment
• Fauve
• Icare
• Marguerite
• May Day
• Mother
• Skin
• Wale

Caroline from ELO films on Vimeo.

VISUAL EFFECTS

The Visual Effects Branch Executive Committee determined the shortlist. All members of the Visual Effects Branch will be invited to view 10-minute excerpts from each of the shortlisted films on January 5. Following the screenings, members will vote to nominate five films for final Oscar consideration.

• Ant-Man and the Wasp
• Avengers: Infinity War
• Black Panther
• Christopher Robin
• First Man
• Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
• Mary Poppins Returns
• Ready Player One
• Solo: A Star Wars Story
• Welcome to Marwen