The 2019 Oscar nominations were released yesterday morning, filling film enthusiasts with both excitement and dismay over the Academy’s choices. The ceremony, which will air Feb. 24 on ABC still remains hostless.

Alfonso Cuaron’s “Roma”—a black and white film set in Mexico released exclusively on Netflix—and Yorgos Lanthimos’ “The Favorite”—an oddly comedic period piece—tied with the most nominations of the year, both claiming ten each, including Best Picture. “BlacKkKlansman,” “Black Panther,” “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Green Book,” “A Star Is Born,” and “Vice” were also nominated for the category. If I had to guess, I do think that it will come down to “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “Vice” for the winner.

Spike Lee, director of “BlacKkKlansman,” received his very first Best Director nomination, and many fans of his films, including myself, rejoiced in this overdue recognition. Bradley Cooper did not receive a nomination for directing “A Star Is Born,” but was nominated for Best Actor for the film.

All the directors included in the Best Picture category—except for Peter Farrelly for “Green Book”—were also nominated for Best Director. Instead of Farrelly, the Academy nominated Pawel Pawlikowski for his black-and-white film set in 1950s Poland, “Cold War,” which is also nominated for Best Foreign Film along with “Roma.” I predict it will fall between Cuaron and Lee for this award, but I will honestly be content with either one winning.

Many film enthusiasts were also shocked to learn that “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” and “Three Identical Strangers” were not included in the Best Documentary category, but I am hearing a lot of excitement surrounding the original Hulu film “Minding the Gap.”

The Academy nominated Yalitza Aparicio for Best Actress in her performance in “Roma,” making history as the first Indigenous woman to be recognized for this accolade. Her co-star, Marina de Tavira, was also nominated for Best Supporting Actress. Both women join a short list of Latina actresses nominated for Oscars, who usually never win in this category.

I am very thrilled over “Black Panther” earning recognition across the board with a total of seven nominations, including Best Costume Design, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Original Score. I do wish Michael B. Jordan received a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his antagonistic role as Killmonger, but regardless, the possibility of “Black Panther” winning any of these categories would be a huge achievement.

This year, I realized my true love and fascination for animated films, and I feel very secure in my prediction that “Spider-man: Into the Spiderverse” will take home the Oscar for Best Animated Feature, with “Incredibles 2” coming in close second.

I am also looking forward to finding out which film will be taking home the Oscar for Best Original Score. While it might possibly go to Ludwig Goransson for “Black Panther,” I am holding out for Nicholas Britell for “If Beale Street Could Talk” and Alexandre Desplat for Wes Anderson’s second stop-motion animation film “Isle of Dogs,” as they are both two of my favorite film score composers.

As a film major, and also an overall film lover, the nominations were what I expected for the most part, but I am a little disappointed that many of my favorite movies of the year were snubbed.

There were so many films, directors, screenwriters, cinematographers, and actors that deserved more acknowledgment from the Academy. Ari Aster’s directorial debut and indie horror spectacle, “Hereditary,” needed a Best Original Screenplay nomination. Barry Jenkins’ sophomore film, “If Beale Street Could Talk,” easily deserved a cinematography nomination. Timothée Chalamet’s performance in “Beautiful Boy” is the best of his career and should have gotten him a Best Actor nomination. Do not get me started on how much I think Boots Riley and his satirical semi-dystopian tale surrounding the interconnectedness of racism and capitalism, “Sorry To Bother You,” certainly should have warranted some sort of attention.

Nonetheless, this year’s nominations included so much more diversity in films—especially in comparison to last year’s nominations—and will pave the way for further representation in Hollywood.

Frances may be reached at
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