Hollywood’s biggest night, the 90th Annual Academy Awards, are fast approaching and there is a lot of speculation about who will be taking home a statue. The show is boasting a host of historical firsts with its list of nominees. In response to previous issues with diversity, the Oscars have expanded their nominations to include an increase in representation of people of color and women, both in front of and behind the camera.
As far as representation and historical moments are concerned, Jordan Peele leads the pack with his critically-acclaimed thriller Get Out. The film earned him nominations for Best Writer, Director, and Producer, making him the first African American man to do so. Kumail Nanjiani, a Pakistani American, is nominated for his and wife’s, Emil Gordon, screenplay for The Big Sick, which could possibly make him the first person of Asian descent to win an Academy Award for writing (and third married couple to take the award). Guillermo del Toro’s nomination for The Shape of Water makes him the fifth Latin American nominee for Best Director and also, is nominated as writer and producer. Director Yance Ford made history as well, for being the first openly transgender filmmaker to have a film, his documentary Strong Island, nominated.
Women were also notably represented in the nominations this year, especially in the bigger categories of the night. Greta Gerwig had a banner year with the success of her acclaimed coming-of-age story Lady Bird. She is also only the fifth woman to be nominated for Best Director, as well as her nominations for writing and producing. Dee Rees’ work on the screenplay of Mudbound earned her a nomination for writing, making her the first ever black woman to be nominated for adapted screenwriting. Even in the technical categories, there were big firsts for women in filmmaking. Rachel Morrison became the first woman to be nominated for cinematography for Mudbound.
The films themselves nominated this year represent a broad array of cultures and perspectives in their subject matter. There is Coco devoted to Mexican culture, Call Me by Your Name featuring protagonists in a same-sex relationship, A Fantastic Woman about a transgender woman (played by a transgender woman), and Get Out confronting American racism and breaking past genre expectations, to name a few.
While the gender disparity and lacking in a broader representation of people of color persists in Hollywood and shows such as the Academy Awards, this year’s list of nominees is a step into the present. The diversity of filmmakers, actors, and stories being told highlights the quality of films in this era of cinema and make for an incredibly exciting award season.
The winners of the categories will be revealed during the live show hosted by Jimmy Kimmel on Sunday, March 4 at 8 p.m EST on ABC.
Take a look at the full list of nominees and keep track of the evening with your own Oscars.