Awards Season 2020/2021 Roundup – Part 1

DARK HORSE: 76 Days 

BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE

• Bacurau
• Beanpole
• Cuties
• Identifying Features
• Martin Eden
• Wolfwalkers

This year’s competition for Best International Feature isn’t nearly as stacked as it usually is and it’s very difficult to pinpoint a front runner. Brazil’s Bacurau has garnered very strong reviews and many critics have listed it as one of the year’s best films, so although it doesn’t have much awards season buzz otherwise, it appears to be the strongest title in this category. Beanpole had a strong run on the festival circuit, so it also could potentially be the front runner. I would personally vouch for Wolfwalkers, which received very strong reviews from TIFF, but it’s an animated film so it has an uphill battle ahead of it. The inclusion of Cuties is definitely an eyebrow raiser. It seems as if the Gotham’s are purposely looking to stir up controversy with this pick. Martin Eden has strong reviews, but is unlikely to pull an upset and Identifying Features is a relatively unknown film that may gain some attention due to its nomination here.

PREDICTED WINNER: Bacurau

DARK HORSE: Beanpole

BINGHAM RAY BREAKTHROUGH DIRECTOR AWARD

• Alex Thompson – Saint Frances
• Andrew Patterson – The Vast of Night
• Carlo Mirabella-Davis – Swallow
• Channing Godfrey Peoples – Miss Juneteenth
• Radha Blank – The Forty-Year-Old Version

This is another category that is very difficult to predict at this point. Radha Blank (The 40-Year-Old Version) seems to have the edge considering all the buzz the film received at Sundance. However, don’t count out Andrew Patterson (The Vast of Night), as his direction was incredibly innovative and has the most potential out of the any director on this list. Channing Godfrey Peoples (Miss Juneteenth), Carlo Mirabella Davis (Swallow) and Alex Thompson (Saint Frances) round out the nominees.

PREDICTED WINNER: Radha Blank (The 40-Year-Old Version)

DARK HORSE: Andrew Patterson (The Vast of Night)

BEST SCREENPLAY

• Bad Education (Mike Makowsky)
• First Cow (Jon Raymond and Kelly Reichardt)
• The Forty-Year-Old Version (Radha Blank)
• Fourteen (Dan Sallitt)
• The Vast of Night (James Montague and Craig Sanger)

The Vast of Night has the most inventive screenplay of the year as far as I’m concerned, but it’s difficult to imagine a scenario in which First Cow doesn’t take home this award. However, in the off-chance that First Cow doesn’t win, there’s a few scenarios that could take place. Bad Education is very well liked within the film community and it has a whip-smart and thoroughly engaging screenplay to boot, which could give it the edge. The 40-Year-Old Version also has a slick screenplay that has garnered praise from many critics and of course you can’t count out The Vast of Night either. Fourteen is the only nominee that stands no chance at winning.

PREDICTED WINNER: First Cow

DARK HORSE: Bad Education

BEST ACTOR

• Chadwick Boseman – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
• Jesse Plemons – I’m Thinking of Ending Things
• John Magaro – First Cow
• Jude Law – The Nest
• Riz Ahmed – Sound of Metal

Chadwick Boseman (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom) is currently the front-runner to win at the Oscars so it’s safe to assume he’ll sweep this category, especially considering the lack of significant competition. Riz Ahmed (Sound of Metal) is the only contender who is capable at pulling an upset, as it’s a demanding role and he’s received unanimous praise for his performance. Jude Law (The Nest), Jesse Plemons (I’m Thinking of Ending Things) and John Magaro (First Cow) all deliver notable performances in their respective films, but none of them stand a chance against Boseman and Ahmed.

PREDICTED WINNER: Chadwick Boseman (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom)

DARK HORSE: Riz Ahmed (Sound of Metal)

BEST ACTRESS

• Carrie Coon – The Nest
• Frances McDormand – Nomadland
• Jessie Buckley – I’m Thinking of Ending Things
• Nicole Beharie – Miss Juneteenth
• Yuh Jung-Youn – Minari

While a tighter race than the Best Actor category, Frances McDormand has a very good shot at winning for her subtle and heartbreaking performance in Chloe Zhao’s Nomadland. However, there are a number of contenders that could pull an upset. Yuh-Jung Youn delivers the standout performance in Minari and seems to have a lot of support within the film community. Don’t count out Jessie Buckley (I’m Thinking of Ending Things) either, as she delivers her most daring and layered performance to date. Carrie Coon (The Nest) and Nicole Beharie (Miss Juneteenth) seem less likely to win.

PREDICTED WINNER: Frances McDormand (Nomadland)

DARK HORSE: Yuh-Jung Youn (Minari)

BREAKTHROUGH ACTOR

• Jasmine Batchelor – The Surrogate
• Kelly O’Sullivan – Saint Frances
• Kingsley Ben-Adir – One Night in Miami
• Orion Lee – First Cow
• Sidney Flanigan – Never Rarely Sometimes Always

This may be the tightest race out of the all categories as there are two front runners with an equal chance of winning. On one hand you have Kingsley Ben-Adir’s showy and dynamic performance in One Night in Miami and on the other hand you have Sidney Flanigan’s more subtle and toned down performance in Never Rarely Sometimes Always. I think I’d honestly give the edge to Flanigan, even if Ben-Adir is more likely to wind up getting an Oscar nomination. Orion Lee (First Cow), Kelly O’Sullivan (Saint Frances) and Jasmine Batchelor (The Surrogate) round out the nominees.

PREDICTED WINNER: Sidney Flanigan (Never Rarely Sometimes Always)

DARK HORSE: Kingsley Ben-Adir (One Night in Miami)

The IDA Documentary Awards

The IDA Documentary Awards is a recent event that is exclusively dedicated to honouring the best short form and feature length documentaries of the year in both film and television. It’s not necessarily always accurate in terms of predicting the nominees/winner for the Best Documentary Feature category at the oscars, but its a good indication of which films will be in competition. Here are the nominees in the feature film categories:

BEST FEATURE

• Collective (Magnolia Pictures)
• Crip Camp (Netflix)
• Gunda (Neon)
• MLK/FBI (IFC Films)
• The Reason I Jump (Kino Lorber)
• Reunited (TBD)
• Softie (POV)
• Time (Amazon)
• The Truffle Hunters (Sony Picture Classics)
• Welcome to Chechnya (HBO)

PREDICTED WINNER: Time
DARK HORSE: Crip Camp

BEST DIRECTOR

• Garrett Bradley – Time
• Jerry Rottweil – The Reason I Jump
• Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw – The Truffle Hunters
• Nicole Newnham and Jim LeBrecht – Crip Camp
• Sam Pollard – MLK/FBI

PREDICTED WINNER: Garrett Bradley – Time
DARK HORSE: Nicole Newnham and Jim LeBrecht – Crip Camp

BEST MUSIC DOCUMENTARY

• Beastie Boys Story (Apple)
• Billie (Greenwich Entertainment)
• Crock of Gold (Magnolia Pictures)
• Los Hermanos / The Brothers (PBS)
• Universe (TBD)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

• Acasă, My Home
• Boys State
• The Earth is as Blue as an Orange
• The Truffle Hunters
• Time

BEST EDITING

• Boys State
• Crip Camp
• Disclosure
• Dick Johnson is Dead
• Through the Night

BEST WRITING

• Crip Camp
• Dick Johnson is Dead
• I Am Not Alone
• My Octopus Teacher
• Socks on Fire

BEST MUSIC SCORE

• Dancing with the Birds
• David Attenborough: Life On Our Planet
• Hope Frozen: A Quest to Live Twice
• My Octopus Teacher
• Rising Phoenix

While its still too early to call, Time has established itself as the frontrunner for Best Documentary Feature at the Oscars. The film tackles extremely relevant subject matter and seems to have a considerable amount of support from the industry and the film community at large. Its biggest competition 76 Days, was completely snubbed in every single category, so it will have gain some steam at the Critics Circles in order to catch up. Crip Camp wasn’t present at the Gothams, but it’s impressive showing here indicates that it could be Netflix’s big push for the Documentary category. MLK/FBI, The Truffle Hunters and The Reason I Jump are all titles to keep an eye out for as well. Boys State and Dick Johnson is Dead were surprisingly excluded from the major categories, despite being widely considered two of the best documentaries of the year.