Hyderabad: The 96th Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences revealed the finalists in ten different categories on Friday. The films 12th Fail by Vikrant Massey and 2018 by Tovino Thomas were competing for a spot on the Oscars 2024 shortlist for Best International Feature Film. India, however, was once again let down as it couldn't secure a spot in the 15 foreign features that moved on to the next stage. Now, with the list out in the open, 2018 director Jude Anthany Joseph has reacted to the heartbreaking news.
The Tovino-starring film 2018, helmed by Jude Anthany Joseph, was inspired by the extraordinary rainfall and floods that struck Kerala in 2018. Taking to Instagram, the filmmaker shared a lengthy note apologising to his admirers and well-wishers on failing to grab a spot in the final Oscars 2024 list of foreign feature films. Sharing the list of the films moving forward, he wrote: "Greetings, everyone. The Oscar shortlist has been unveiled, and regrettably, our film “2018- Everyone Is A Hero” did not secure a spot among the final 15 films out of the 88 international language films from across the globe. I sincerely apologize to all my well-wishers and supporters for disappointing you all. Nevertheless, the opportunity to represent India in this competition has been a dream-like journey that I will cherish for a lifetime."
The official Indian submission for the 96th Academy Awards' Best Foreign Language Film- the Malayalam survival drama - 2018: Everyone is a Hero lost on the list by films such as Japan's The Zone of Interest directed by Jonathan Glazer, France's The Taste of Things directed by Tran Anh Hung, Mexico's Totem directed by Lila Aviles, and Finland's Fallen Leaves directed by Aki Kaurismaki, among many others.
The official Malayalam entries for the Oscars prior to 2018 were the films Guru (1997), Adaminte Makan Abu (2011), and Jallikattu (2019). However, none of these films received a nomination. Though India is out of the race for the Oscars in 2024, the Jharkhand gangrape case film To Kill A Tiger is in the running for Best Documentary. It is a compelling documentary that explores the terrifying Jharkhand gangrape case, directed by Nisha Pahuja, a Toronto-based documentary filmmaker.
For the unversed, actor Margot Robbie's meta-comedy film Barbie had the most mentions with five including sound, original song for its three submissions from Billie Eilish (What I Was Made For?), Dua Lipa (Dance the Night) and Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt (I'm Just Ken), and original score, from the latter duo. The big miss for Barbie was in makeup and hairstyling, which was the category that yielded the most surprises, as per Variety, a US-based media outlet.
Here are the 96th Oscars shortlists:
1. DOCUMENTARY FEATURE FILM
American Symphony
Apolonia, Apolonia
Beyond Utopia
Bobi Wine: The People's President
Desperate Souls, Dark City and the Legend of Midnight Cowboy
The Eternal Memory
Four Daughters
Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project
In the Rearview
Stamped from the Beginning
Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie
A Still Small Voice
32 Sounds
To Kill a Tiger
20 Days in Mariupol
2. DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILM
The ABCs of Book Banning
The Barber of Little Rock
Bear
Between Earth & Sky
Black Girls Play: The Story of Hand Games
Camp Courage
Deciding Vote
How We Get Free
If Dreams Were Lightning: Rural Healthcare Crisis
Island in Between
The Last Repair Shop
Last Song from Kabul
Nai Nai & Wai Po
Oasis
Wings of Dust
3. INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM
Armenia, Amerikatsi
Bhutan, The Monk and the Gun
Denmark, The Promised Land
Finland, Fallen Leaves
France, The Taste of Things
Germany, The Teachers' Lounge
Iceland, Godland
Italy, Io Capitano
Japan, Perfect Days
Mexico, Totem
Morocco, The Mother of All Lies
Spain, Society of the Snow
Tunisia, Four Daughters
Ukraine, 20 Days in Mariupol
United Kingdom, The Zone of Interest
4. MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
Beau Is Afraid
Ferrari
Golda
Killers of the Flower Moon
The Last Voyage of the Demeter
Maestro
Napoleon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
Society of the Snow
5. MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE)
American Fiction
American Symphony
Barbie
The Boy and the Heron
The Color Purple
Elemental
The Holdovers
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
SaltburnSociety of the Snow
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
The Zone of Interest
6. MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG)
It Never Went Away from American Symphony
Dear Alien (Who Art In Heaven) from Asteroid City
Dance The Night from Barbie
I'm Just Ken from Barbie
What Was I Made For? from Barbie
Keep It Movin' from The Color Purple
Superpower (I) from The Color Purple
The Fire Inside from Flamin' Hot
High Life from Flora and Son
Meet In The Middle from Flora and Son
Can't Catch Me Now from The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
Wahzhazhe (A Song For My People) from Killers of the Flower Moon
Quiet Eyes from Past Lives
Road To Freedom from Rustin
Am I Dreaming from Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
7. ANIMATED SHORT FILM
Boom
Eeva
Humo (Smoke)
I'm Hip
A Kind of Testament
Koerkorter (Dog Apartment)
Letter to a Pig
Ninety-Five Senses
Once upon a Studio
Our Uniform
Pachyderme
Pete
27
War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko
Wild Summon
8. LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
The After
The Anne Frank Gift Shop
An Avocado Pit
Bienvenidos a Los Angeles
Dead Cat
Good Boy
Invincible
Invisible Border
Knight of Fortune
The One Note Man
Red, White and Blue
The Shepherd
Strange Way of Life
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar
Yellow
9. SOUND
Barbie
The Creator
Ferrari
The Killer
Killers of the Flower Moon
Maestro
Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One
Napoleon
Oppenheimer
The Zone of Interest
10. VISUAL EFFECTS
The Creator
Godzilla Minus One
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One
Napoleon
Poor Things
Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire
Society of the Snow
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
The nominations are put to a vote from January 11 to January 16, while the Academy Award nominees are then formally announced on January 23. The final vote, which will occur from February 22 to February 27, will then precede the 96th Academy Awards, which will take place on March 10.
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