2020 has been an eventful year for the film industry, as it has faced many significant changes. While most theatres were closed throughout the majority of the year and many highly anticipated releases were postponed, 2020 was a very solid year for film all things considering and there are still a handful of spectacular films that deserve awards recognition. Despite a shifted eligibility date, online guild screenings and a remote Oscars broadcast, awards season has quickly adapted to the new climate and fortunately remains mostly in tact. The staff here at keithlovesmovies are following awards season closely this year, by covering all of the major precursors. and frequently providing our updated Oscar predictions. This is part six of a regularly scheduled segment.
The American Film Institute (AFI) announced their annual list of the ten best films and TV shows the year had to offer. AFI is a prestigious American film organization that runs one of the leading film festivals, so their annual list is typically a standout in terms of awards season precursors. That being said, because they are an American organization, they tend to be biased towards American films, which explains some glaring exclusions on this year’s list. Let’s take a look at the ten films AFI deems the “best of 2020”.
- Da 5 Bloods
- Judas & the Black Messiah
- Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
- Mank
- Minari
- Nomadland
- One Night In Miami
- Soul
- Sound of Metal
- The Trial of the Chicago 7
Da 5 Bloods initially looked like it was a long shot to earn a Best Picture nomination at the Oscars, but it’s starting to seem much more viable. Despite very mixed reviews, particularly from audiences, the film has done exceptionally well at the most recent critics awards and the inclusion of it on this list solidifies it as a serious contender. If the film makes the National Board of Review’s list tomorrow, it would wise to include it in your Oscar predictions. Judas & the Black Messiah is one of the few 2021 releases that is eligible for the Oscars due to the altered rules this year. This is the very first precursor it has been eligible for, so its inclusion here shows that it could be a force to be reckoned with as awards season continues. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Mank, Nomadland and The Trial of the Chicago 7 were all very obvious inclusions. While Mank and The Trial of the Chicago 7 haven’t been as strong at critics circle awards as many would have predicted, but it makes sense that they would be included here as they are both very “American” films that have defined this year.
The same goes for One Night In Miami, which has been almost completely absent at the critics awards. These three films will begin to gain more significant steam as the industry and guild awards announce their nominees. Many awards enthusiasts weren’t sure whether AFI would include Minari, as the film is only partly in English. However, the fact that it was included is a good sign that the film will continue to thrive as we get into the industry awards. Another surprise inclusion was Sound of Metal, which has been dominating at the critics awards, but many were fearing that it would begin to slip as we got into the critics/industry awards, due to the independent nature of the film. Hopefully it will continue to thrive as we get deeper into awards season. Lastly, the inclusion of Soul is a very big deal and suggests that the film is truly a viable Best Picture contender.
The most glaring exclusion on this list is Promising Young Woman, which was once a long-shot but has quickly become one of the strongest competitors in the race, due to the passionate support from critics and fans of the film. While there are some who are turned off by its controversial ending, I thought its creativity and timely themes would push it over the edge. This is just one roadblock in a very long awards season, so I would not count it out yet. Promising Young Woman also is partly a British production, so AFI’s American cinema bias could factor in to its exclusion. The same thing goes for The Father, which is exclusively a British production, so it makes sense that it would not make the list. The most detrimental exclusion is News of the World, which has not had much of a showing at the critics awards. Making AFI’s list would have been a major boost for the film and they have shown a liking for Paul Greengrass in the past. At this point, the film has lost a considerable amount of steam and it will be difficult to overcome this obstacle. The final exclusion I want to mention is Malcolm & Marie, but it is entirely possible that Netflix did not distribute screeners on time for the film to be eligible.
While this segment is exclusively dedicated the the Oscar race, I wanted to briefly highlight AFI’s top 10 television programs of the year. As with their film list, Netflix was a dominant force. Although, other streaming services, such as Disney+, Apple TV+ and HBO Max made a showing.
- Better Call Saul (AMC)
- Bridgerton (Netflix)
- The Crown (Netflix)
- The Good Lord Bird (Showtime)
- Lovecraft Country (HBO)
- The Mandalorian (Disney+)
- Mrs. America (FX)
- The Queen’s Gambit (Netflix)
- Ted Lasso (Apple TV+)
- Unorthodox (Netflix)
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