The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has announced this morning the complete list of nominations for the 94th annual edition of the Oscars, which includes some Latinx and Latin American talent competing for the coveted statuette in different categories.
Nominated for Best Picture is the neo-noir Nightmare Alley, directed by Mexican director Guillermo del Toro, who also served as one of the film’s producers. This marks del Toro’s sixth Oscar nomination, and he’s looking for a third win after receiving the Oscar for Best Picture and Best Director for The Shape of Water in 2018. In total, Nightmare Alley received four Academy Award nominations, also for Best Cinematography, Best Production Design and Best Costume Design.
Afro-Latinx queer actor Ariadna DeBose nabbed a nomination for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her role of Anita in Steven Spielberg’s remake of the musical West Side Story. DeBose is looking to repeat Rita Moreno’s win in the same category for that same role in 1962. In total, the new remake of the film nabbed seven nominations including for Best Picture and Best Director.
Disney’s Colombian inspired film Encanto nabbed three nominations, for Best Animated Feature, Best Music (Original Score) and Best Music (Original Music). The film’s producer Yvett Merino became the first Latina ever to be nominated in this category. Encanto’s score was composed by Mexican-American musician Germaine Franco, who receives her first Oscar nomination. The acclaimed Latinx musician, actor, and director Lin-Manuel Miranda composed the music and the lyrics for all of the songs in Encanto, and he was nominated specifically for Dos Oruguitas, which is sung by popular Colombian singer Sebastián Yatra.
Miranda’s directorial debut feature, the musical Tick, Tick… Boom! was also nominated in two categories: for Best Actor, for his protagonist Andrew Gardfield; and for Best Film Editing.
Also competing for Best Animated Feature is Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon, which was co-directed by Mexican-American filmmaker Carlos López Estrada. Competing also in this category is The Mitchells vs. the Machines, co-produced by Cuban-American Phil Lord.
The Chilean film Bestia by Hugo Covarrubias was nominated for Best Short Film (Animated), becoming the second production from the South American country to nab a nomination in this category after Bear Story by Gabriel Osorio Vargas in 2016.
Brazilian filmmakers Pedro Kos was nominated for Best Documentary (Short Subject) for his film Take Me Home, co-directed by Jon Shenk. A favorite at numerous film festivals, including Tellurida, IDFA, and San Francisco, the short film tackles the subject of homelessness in America.
Mexican-American director K.D. Dávila was nominated for Best Short Film (Live Action) for Please Hold, co-directed by Levin Menekse. Set in the near future, the film tells the story of a young working-class Latino who is thrust into a fully automated and privatized jail after being arrested by mistake.
The winners of the 94th Academy Awards will be announced at a ceremony in Los Angeles on Sunday, March 27.
