Emilia Perez, most nominated non-English film of all time

“Emilia Perez” by Jacques Audiard collected 13 Oscar nominations on Thursday, largely dominating a ceremony darkened by the deadly fires in Los Angeles.

This musical odyssey on the gender transition of a Mexican drug trafficker is ahead of “The Brutalist”, a vast fresco on the life of a Jewish immigrant, and the musical comedy “Wicked”, which each obtained ten nominations.

The Bob Dylan biopic, “A Perfect Stranger,” and the papal thriller “Conclave” received eight nominations.

Usually obsessed with the race for statuettes, Hollywood was sadly reminded of reality this month: faced with the fires which killed nearly thirty people and forced thousands to flee, the closing of the vote for the nominations had to be rejected.

In the midst of the disaster, the announcement was made online, in a select committee.

Best film, best director, best international film… “Emilia Perez” was nominated in most major categories, and in many technical categories for its soundtrack and music.

Karla Sofía Gascón, who plays the title role, became the first openly transgender actress nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress.

Another pillar of the film, Zoe Saldaña was nominated for best supporting actress.

With 13 nominations, this feature film awarded at Cannes and distributed by Netflix becomes the most nominated non-English film of all time. A record previously held by “Tigers and Dragons” (2000), by Taiwanese director Ang Lee, and “Roma” (2018), by Mexican Alfonso Cuaron, with ten nominations each.

Another French film, “The Substance,” was also widely honored with five nominations. This horrific fable by Coralie Fargeat, where Demi Moore plays a former Hollywood glory addicted to a youth serum, will compete in the categories of best film, best director and best actress.

As for the actors, the big favorite Adrien Brody (“The Brutalist”) was named alongside Ralph Fiennes (“Conclave”), Timothée Chalamet (“A Perfect Stranger”) and Colman Domingo (“Sing Sing”). A quartet completed by Sebastian Stan, nominated for his disturbing portrayal of Donald Trump’s youthful years, in “The Apprentice”. The film was the subject of threats of prosecution from Donald Trump’s lawyers, in particular because of a scene where we see the new president of the United States raping his wife.

The Academy thus sends a committed message, a few days after the inauguration of the 47th American president.

Voters “could send a political message,” columnist Pete Hammond of the Deadline site predicted before the nominations. This was confirmed with the appointment of Jeremy Strong, who plays Roy Cohn in the film, lawless lawyer and mentor of Donald Trump.

By forcing thousands of people to flee Los Angeles, the fires may have influenced the nominations, reducing participation.

“We know that many members have lost their homes. (…) Some will simply not have voted,” underlined Mr. Hammond before the announcement. Enough to increase the influence of non-American voters, who live far from Hollywood and often prefer art-house films.

The rest of the nominations also gave pride of place to international films. In addition to “Emilia Perez” and “The Substance,” the Brazilian film “I’m Still Here” received three nominations, including one in the best film category.

Best film

Best Director

Best actress

Best Actor

Best Supporting Actress

Best Supporting Actor

– Best international film –

– Best animated film –

Best Documentary

Films with the most nominations