The 94th annual Academy Award nominations were announced earlier this week with very strong representation from several HIFF41 official selections.
Taking the lead with a whopping 12 Oscar nominations is Jane Campion’s THE POWER OF THE DOG, including Best Picture, Best Director, and sweeping all the acting nominations for its main cast. Read our recent HIFILM essay about Campion’s illustrious filmography.
Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s DRIVE MY CAR garnered four major nominations including Best Picture, Best International Feature, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay. Would Hamaguchi follow the sweep that Bong Joon-ho did with PARASITE from two years ago? In the last few weeks, DRIVE MY CAR has become the awards sleeper, garnering Best Picture awards from all the major critics circles. HIFF’s Artistic Director Anderson Le agrees, putting the film as his top film of 2021.
For the first time, HIFF films represent all the nominations in the Best International Feature category: the aforementioned DRIVE MY CAR (Japan), FLEE (Denmark), THE HAND OF GOD (Italy), THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD (Norway) and Bhutan’s first nomination LUNANA: A YAK IN THE CLASSROOM, which is a HIFF 40 official selection from 2020.
We programmed this enchanting film as part of the annual FILM FOR THOUGHT series presented by the Hawai‘i Council for the Humanities. Check out the moderated conversation with LUNANA’s director Pawo Choyning Dorji:
Here is the full list of HIFF41 official selections with Oscar nominations:
- THE POWER OF THE DOG ~ 12 nominations including Best Picture, Best Director, Benedict Cumberbatch (Best Actor), Jessie Plemons & Kodi Smit-McPhee (Best Supporting Actors) & Kirsten Dunst (Best Supporting Actress)
- tick, tick…BOOM! ~ 2 nominations including Best Actor for Andrew Garfield
- THE LOST DAUGHTER ~ 2 nominations for Olivia Colman (Best Actress) & Jessie Buckley (Best Supporting Actress)
- PARALLEL MOTHERS ~ 2 nominations for Penelope Cruz (Best Actress) & Best Original Score
- FLEE ~ 3 nominations for Best International, Animated and Documentary Features
- DRIVE MY CAR ~ 4 nominations for Best Picture, International Feature, Director & Adapted Screenplay
- WRITING WITH FIRE ~ 1 nomination for Best Documentary
- THE HAND OF GOD ~ 1 nomination for Best International Feature
- LUNANA: A YAK IN THE CLASSROOM ~ 1 nomination for Best International Feature
- THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD ~ 2 nominations for Best International Feature & Original Screenplay
HIFF congratulates all the nominees! The 94th Academy Awards will be broadcast live from Los Angeles on March 27.
