Ana De Armas, Guillermo Del Toro, ‘Argentina 1985’ And ‘Bardo’ Get Oscar Nominations

There was a lot of anticipation and expectations for the 95th Oscars nominations. And while there’s still a way to go until we see more diversity across the board, there was some Latino talent nominated in top categories this year.

Ana de Armas received her first Oscar nomination for actress in a leading role for her portrayal of Marilyn Monroe in director Andrew Dominik’s controversial biographical film Blonde.

“Despite the fact that many people disliked the director’s depiction of Marilyn Monroe’s life, it’s indisputable that Ana de Armas completely immersed herself in the character. The fact that she is a Cuban actress playing the role of an American icon is also significant,” says film critic Carlos Aguilar.

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Mexican director Guillermo del Toro, a seven-time Oscar winner who has been previously nominated for 24 Academy awards, added another nomination to his portfolio for his animated film Pinocchio.

And this year’s Golden Globe winner Argentina, 1985 made it into the final five nominees for international feature film. While Mexico’s Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths didn’t make the cut in that category, it picked up a nod for best cinematography.

These nominees face stiff competition. Michelle Yeoh and Cate Blanchett are the top favorites in the best actress category, with many critics considering de Armas a surprise long shot nominee.

As for the critically acclaimed All Quiet on the Western Front – which nabbed eight nominations, including best motion picture, best international feature film of the year, achievement in cinematography, production design, and visual effects, everything indicates it’s a front-runner for most categories, potentially derailing Argentina 1985’s aspirations for a third Oscar for Argentina.

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The country won best foreign film in 1986 with The Official Story (coincidentally, released in 1985) and 2010 with the thriller The Secret
SCRT
in their Eyes (released in 2009).

“All Quiet on the Western Front has nominations across the board – from best film to screenplay to sound and soundtrack, which means that members from many of the different branches of the Academy liked it,” says Aguilar. “None of the other films in the international feature category have that momentum.”

We’ll just have to wait and see. The Oscar ceremony will take place on Sunday, March 12.

Below are all the nominees in the categories where de Armas, del Toro, Argentina 1985 and Bardo are competing.

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Performance by an actress in a leading role

• Cate Blanchett in “Tár”
• Ana de Armas in “Blonde”
• Andrea Riseborough in “To Leslie”
• Michelle Williams in “The Fabelmans”
• Michelle Yeoh in “Everything Everywhere All at Once”

Best animated feature film of the year

• “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” Guillermo del Toro, Mark Gustafson, Gary Ungar and Alex Bulkley
• “Marcel the Shell with Shoes On” Dean Fleischer Camp, Elisabeth Holm, Andrew Goldman, Caroline Kaplan and Paul Mezey
• “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” Joel Crawford and Mark Swift
• “The Sea Beast” Chris Williams and Jed Schlanger
• “Turning Red” Domee Shi and Lindsey Collins

Best international feature film of the year

• “All Quiet on the Western Front” Germany
• “Argentina, 1985” Argentina
• “Close” Belgium
• “EO” Poland
• “The Quiet Girl” Ireland

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Achievement in cinematography

• “All Quiet on the Western Front” James Friend
• “Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths” Darius Khondji
• “Elvis” Mandy Walker
• “Empire of Light” Roger Deakins
• “Tár” Florian Hoffmeister