Oscars 2021 | 93rd Academy Awards Preview

Written by Alexander Reams

Well folks, the moment we cinephiles have been waiting for has arrived, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has unveiled the nominees for the 93rd Academy Awards. In a year full of uncertainty, distrust, and fear, movies have brought us together even more, and I am very excited to dive into these nominees with you. 

Let’s begin with some numbers, Mank scored 10 nominations (Picture, Director, Lead Actor, Supporting Actress, Cinematography, Production Design, Costume Design, Makeup and Hairstyling, Sound, Original Score), far and away the most nominated film of the group. Nomadland, The Trial of the Chicago 7, The Father, Sound of Metal, Judas and the Black Messiah, and Minari all received 6 nominations each, all including Best Picture. 

The Academy nominated only 8 films, they can nominate up to 10, be that as it may, we have 7 fantastic films up for best picture, and Promising Young Woman. You all know my feelings on the film by now, so let’s keep moving along. All of these films were expected to be nominated, and there were several that were not but could have taken those last 2 spots, including, but not limited to One Night in Miami, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Da 5 Bloods, and Another Round. 

Full List of 2021 Oscar Nominees: 

Best Picture

• The Father
• Judas and the Black Messiah 
• Mank 
• Minari
• Nomadland 
• Promising Young Woman 
• Sound of Metal 
• The Trial of the Chicago 7 

Best Director

• Thomas Vinterberg: Another Round
• David Fincher: Mank 
• Lee Isaac Chung: Minari 
• Chloé Zhao: Nomadland
• Emerald Fennell: Promising Young Woman 

Best Actor in a Leading Role

• Riz Ahmed: Sound of Metal 
• Chadwick Boseman: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom 
• Anthony Hopkins: The Father 
• Gary Oldman: Mank
• Steven Yeun: Minari 

Best Actress in a Leading Role

• Viola Davis: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom 
• Andra Day: The United States v. Billie Holiday 
• Vanessa Kirby: Pieces of a Woman 
• Frances McDormand: Nomadland 
• Carey Mulligan: Promising Young Woman 

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

• Sacha Baron Cohen: The Trial of the Chicago 7
• Daniel Kaluuya: Judas and the Black Messiah
• Leslie Odom Jr.: One Night in Miami
• Paul Raci: Sound of Metal 
• Lakeith Stanfield: Judas and the Black Messiah

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

• Maria Bakalova: Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
• Glenn Close: Hillbilly Elegy 
• Olivia Colman: The Father 
• Amanda Seyfried: Mank 
• Yuh-jung Youn: Minari 

Best Animated Feature Film

• Onward 
• Over the Moon
• A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon 
• Soul
• Wolfwalkers

Best Adapted Screenplay

• Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
• The Father
• Nomadland
• One Night in Miami
• The White Tiger

Best Original Screenplay

• Judas and the Black Messiah
• Minari
• Promising Young Woman
• Sound of Metal
• The Trial of the Chicago 7

Best Original Song

• “Fight for You,” Judas and the Black Messiah
• “Hear My Voice,” The Trial of the Chicago 7
• “Húsavík,” Eurovision Song Contest
• “Io Si (Seen),” The Life Ahead 
• “Speak Now,” One Night in Miami 

Best Original Score

• Da 5 Bloods: Terence Blanchard 
• Mank: Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross 
• Minari: Emile Mosseri 
• News of the World: James Newton Howard 
• Soul: Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, Jon Batiste 

Best Sound

• Greyhound
• Mank
• News of the World
• Soul
• Sound of Metal

Best Costume Design

• Emma
• Mank
• Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
• Mulan
• Pinocchio

Best Animated Short Film

• Burrow 
• Genius Loci
• If Anything Happens I Love You
• Opera
• Yes-People

Best Live-Action Short Film

• Feeling Through 
• The Letter Room 
• The Present 
• Two Distant Strangers
• White Eye 

Best Cinematography

• Judas and the Black Messiah
• Mank
• News of the World
• Nomadland
• The Trial of the Chicago 7

Best Documentary Feature

• Collective
• Crip Camp
• The Mole Agent
• My Octopus Teacher
• Time

Best Documentary Short Subject

• Colette
• A Concerto Is a Conversation
• Do Not Split
• Hunger Ward
• A Love Song for Latasha

Best Film Editing

• The Father
• Nomadland 
• Promising Young Woman
• Sound of Metal
• The Trial of the Chicago 7

Best International Feature Film

• Another Round
• Better Days
• Collective 
• The Man Who Sold His Skin
• Quo Vadis, Aida?

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

• Emma
• Hillbilly Elegy
• Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
• Mank
• Pinocchio

Best Production Design

• The Father
• Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
• Mank
• News of the World
• Tenet

Best Visual Effects

• Love and Monsters
• The Midnight Sky
• Mulan
• The One and Only Ivan
• Tenet