Nominations for the 94th Oscars®

The Academy Awards® nominations were announced this morning, including a number of nods for films that screened at HIFF29. We’ve outlined some of the highlights below; click each film’s title to find out how you can catch up with any you may have missed.

Kodi Smit-McPhee and Ari Wegner at THE POWER OF THE DOG at HIFF29

HIFF standout THE POWER OF THE DOG leads the pack with a staggering twelve nominations, including Best Picture. This fall, we welcomed actor Kodi Smit-McPhee and cinematographer Ari Wegner for a post-screening Q&A, and today both are first-time nominees for their work. Believe it or not, Wegner is only the second woman in Academy history to be nominated in the Best Cinematography category, and director Jane Campion scored her second nomination for Best Director, the first woman ever to earn this repeat distinction. In the acting categories, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jesse Plemons, and Kirsten Dunst were also singled out.

BELFAST (HIFF29 East Coast Premiere) received seven overall nominations, including Best Picture. Kenneth Branagh is also nominated in both the Best Director and the Best Original Screenplay categories for this autobiographical love letter to his hometown. Supporting actors Dame Judi Dench and Ciarán Hinds received nods as well.

Writer/director Maggie Gyllenhaal at THE LOST DAUGHTER at HIFF29

HIFF29 guest Maggie Gyllenhaal received a nomination in the Best Adapted Screenplay category for her brilliant adaptation of Elena Ferrante’s novel THE LOST DAUGHTER, which she discussed in an extended Q&A at HIFF29. Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley both earned acting nominations for their roles.

> > Variety reports on all the nominations

First time feature director Jessica Kingdon received a nomination in the Best Director category for her film ASCENSION, which previously won the HIFF29 Documentary Competition, a program that celebrates the work of up-and-coming filmmakers.

FLEE is nominated for Best Documentary, Animated Feature, and International Feature

Four out of the five films in the Best International Feature Film category—DRIVE MY CAR (Japan), FLEE (Denmark), THE HAND OF GOD (Italy) [East Coast Premiere], and THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD (Norway)—screened at HIFF last fall, and three of these films also score nominations in other categories, indeed an unusual occurrence.

DRIVE MY CAR is nominated for Best Picture, Director, and Adapted Screenplay

DRIVE MY CAR leapt into the overall Best Picture race, with additional nominations for Best Director and Best Screenplay for writer/director Ryusuke Hamaguchi. THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD received a Best Original Screenplay nomination, and FLEE, which screened in both our Documentary Competition and Conflict & Resolution sections, was also nominated for Best Documentary and Best Animated Film.

Kristen Stewart as Princess Diana in SPENCER

Kristen Stewart received her first nomination in the Best Actress category for her portrayal of Princess Diana in Pablo Larrain’s SPENCER, which had its East Coast Premiere at HIFF29. Penélope Cruz received a nomination in the category as well, for her performance in Pedro Almodóvar’s latest film, PARALLEL MOTHERS.

And finally, we are thrilled that THE QUEEN OF BASKETBALL, which screened in our shorts program This Will Be Our Year, received a nomination in the Best Documentary Short category.


Congratulations to *all* the nominees!
The 94th Academy Awards will be held on Sunday, March 27.