NYFA Celebrates the 93rd Academy Award Nominees and Winners

April 23, 2021

This year, NYFA celebrated instructors and alumni being among those nominated for this year’s Oscar’s shortlist. As the list dwindled down it was 1-Year Screenwriting alum Shivani Rawat’s film The Trial of The Chicago 7 that earned six nominations including Best Picture. The Aaron Sorkin film was one that Rawat produced along with Marc Platt and Stuart Besser.

Also among the nominees was producer and NYFA guest speaker Christina Oh, who helmed the A24 Lee Isaac Chung drama Minari, which also earned six nominations including Best Picture. Oh is the first Asian American woman to receive a nomination for best picture.

Oscar nominees (Photo Credit: Screen Rant)

Other historic nominations this year include:

  • The first time two women are nominated for Best Director: Emerald Fennel (Promising Young Woman) and Chloé Zhao (Nomadland).
  • Netflix setting a record for distributors with 35 total nominations in 2021. The streaming giant also leads the Best Picture category with two nods, while Amazon, A24, Focus, Searchlight, and Sony Classics held one nomination each. This year, major studios were not present in this category, a notable exception given the tumultuous distribution efforts major studios faced with releasing tentpole and lower budget films across the production slate in 2020.
  • Chadwick Boseman has become the seventh actor to receive a posthumous nomination for his work on Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.
  • Riz Ahmed is the first Muslim actor to be nominated in the Best Actor category for his performance in The Sounds of Metal.
  • Steven Yeun, the first Asian American to receive a Best Actor nod, and Best Supporting Actress nominee Youn Uh-Jung are the first actors born in Korea to earn Oscar recognition for their performances in Minari.

After many delays due to the pandemic, Hollywood’s biggest night is ready for a night of normalcy with the tentpole of awards shows back on the air with an in-person ceremony at the Dolby Theatre on April 25th after its original February 28th date was pushed back. 

Here is the full list of 2021 Oscar Nominations:

Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award – Tyler Perry

Best Picture

  • “The Father” (David Parfitt, Jean-Louis Livi and Philippe Carcassonne, producers)
  • “Judas and the Black Messiah” (Shaka King, Charles D. King and Ryan Coogler, producers)
  • “Mank” (Ceán Chaffin, Eric Roth and Douglas Urbanski, producers)
  • “Minari” (Christina Oh, producer)
  • “Nomadland” (Frances McDormand, Peter Spears, Mollye Asher, Dan Janvey and Chloé Zhao, producers) – WINNER
  • “Promising Young Woman” (Ben Browning, Ashley Fox, Emerald Fennell and Josey McNamara, producers)
  • “Sound of Metal” (Bert Hamelinck and Sacha Ben Harroche, producers)
  • “The Trial of the Chicago 7” (Marc Platt and Stuart Besser, producers)

Best Director

  • Thomas Vinterberg (“Another Round”)
  • David Fincher (“Mank”) 
  • Lee Isaac Chung (“Minari”) 
  • Chloé Zhao (“Nomadland”)  – WINNER
  • 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”) – WINNER
  • 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”) – WINNER
  • 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”) – WINNER
  • 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”) 
  • Youn Yuh-jung (“Minari”) – WINNER

Best Animated Feature Film

  • “Onward” (Pixar) 
  • “Over the Moon” (Netflix) 
  • “A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon” (Netflix) 
  • “Soul” (Pixar) – WINNER
  • “Wolfwalkers” (Apple TV Plus/GKIDS) 

Best Adapted Screenplay

  • “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm.” Screenplay by Sacha Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines, Dan Swimer, Peter Baynham, Erica Rivinoja, Dan Mazer, Jena Friedman, Lee Kern; Story by Sacha Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines, Dan Swimer, Nina Pedrad
  • “The Father,” Christopher Hampton and Florian Zeller – WINNER
  • “Nomadland,” Chloé Zhao 
  • “One Night in Miami,” Kemp Powers 
  • “The White Tiger,” Ramin Bahrani 

Best Original Screenplay

  • “Judas and the Black Messiah.” Screenplay by Will Berson, Shaka King; Story by Will Berson, Shaka King, Kenny Lucas, Keith Lucas
  • “Minari,” Lee Isaac Chung 
  • “Promising Young Woman,” Emerald Fennell – WINNER
  • “Sound of Metal.” Screenplay by Darius Marder, Abraham Marder; Story by Darius Marder, Derek Cianfrance
  • “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” Aaron Sorkin 

Best Original Song

  • “Fight for You,” (“Judas and the Black Messiah”). Music by H.E.R. and Dernst Emile II; Lyric by H.E.R. and Tiara Thomas – WINNER
  • “Hear My Voice,” (“The Trial of the Chicago 7”). Music by Daniel Pemberton; Lyric by Daniel Pemberton and Celeste Waite
  • “Húsavík,” (“Eurovision Song Contest”). Music and Lyric by Savan Kotecha, Fat Max Gsus and Rickard Göransson
  • “Io Si (Seen),” (“The Life Ahead”). Music by Diane Warren; Lyric by Diane Warren and Laura Pausini
  • “Speak Now,” (“One Night in Miami”). Music and Lyric by Leslie Odom, Jr. and Sam Ashworth

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 – WINNER

Best Sound

  • “Greyhound,” Warren Shaw, Michael Minkler, Beau Borders and David Wyman
  • “Mank,” Ren Klyce, Jeremy Molod, David Parker, Nathan Nance and Drew Kunin
  • “News of the World,” Oliver Tarney, Mike Prestwood Smith, William Miller and John Pritchett
  • “Soul,” Ren Klyce, Coya Elliott and David Parker
  • “Sound of Metal,” Nicolas Becker, Jaime Baksht, Michelle Couttolenc, Carlos Cortés and Phillip Bladh – WINNER

Best Costume Design

  • “Emma,” Alexandra Byrne 
  • “Mank,” Trish Summerville 
  • “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” Ann Roth – WINNER
  • “Mulan,” Bina Daigeler 
  • “Pinocchio,” Massimo Cantini Parrini

Best Animated Short Film

  • “Burrow” (Disney Plus/Pixar)
  • “Genius Loci” (Kazak Productions) 
  • “If Anything Happens I Love You” (Netflix) – WINNER
  • “Opera” (Beasts and Natives Alike) 
  • “Yes-People” (CAOZ hf. Hólamói) 

Best Live-Action Short Film

  • “Feeling Through” 
  • “The Letter Room” 
  • “The Present” 
  • “Two Distant Strangers” – WINNER
  • “White Eye” 

Best Cinematography

  • “Judas and the Black Messiah,” Sean Bobbitt 
  • “Mank,” Erik Messerschmidt – WINNER
  • “News of the World,” Dariusz Wolski 
  • “Nomadland,” Joshua James Richards 
  • “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” Phedon Papamichael 

Best Documentary Feature

  • “Collective,” Alexander Nanau and Bianca Oana
  • “Crip Camp,” Nicole Newnham, Jim LeBrecht and Sara Bolder
  • “The Mole Agent,” Maite Alberdi and Marcela Santibáñez
  • “My Octopus Teacher,” Pippa Ehrlich, James Reed and Craig Foster – WINNER
  • “Time,” Garrett Bradley, Lauren Domino and Kellen Quinn

Best Documentary Short Subject

  • “Colette,” Anthony Giacchino and Alice Doyard – WINNER
  • “A Concerto Is a Conversation,” Ben Proudfoot and Kris Bowers
  • “Do Not Split,” Anders Hammer and Charlotte Cook
  • “Hunger Ward,” Skye Fitzgerald and Michael Scheuerman
  • “A Love Song for Latasha,” Sophia Nahli Allison and Janice Duncan

Best Film Editing

  • “The Father,” Yorgos Lamprinos
  • “Nomadland,” Chloé Zhao 
  • “Promising Young Woman,” Frédéric Thoraval 
  • “Sound of Metal,” Mikkel E.G. Nielsen – WINNER
  • “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” Alan Baumgarten 

Best International Feature Film

  • “Another Round” (Denmark) – WINNER
  • “Better Days” (Hong Kong)
  • “Collective” (Romania) 
  • “The Man Who Sold His Skin” (Tunisia)
  • “Quo Vadis, Aida?”(Bosnia and Herzegovina) 

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

  • “Emma,” Marese Langan, Laura Allen, Claudia Stolze
  • “Hillbilly Elegy,” Eryn Krueger Mekash, Patricia Dehaney, Matthew Mungle 
  • “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” Sergio Lopez-Rivera, Mia Neal, Jamika Wilson – WINNER
  • “Mank,” Kimberley Spiteri, Gigi Williams, Colleen LaBaff
  • “Pinocchio,” Mark Coulier, Dalia Colli, Francesco Pegoretti

Best Production Design

  • “The Father.” Production Design: Peter Francis; Set Decoration: Cathy Featherstone
  • “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” Production Design: Mark Ricker; Set Decoration: Karen O’Hara and Diana Stoughton
  • “Mank.” Production Design: Donald Graham Burt; Set Decoration: Jan Pascale -WINNER
  • “News of the World.” Production Design: David Crank; Set Decoration: Elizabeth Keenan
  • “Tenet.” Production Design: Nathan Crowley; Set Decoration: Kathy Lucas

Best Visual Effects

  • “Love and Monsters,” Matt Sloan, Genevieve Camilleri, Matt Everitt and Brian Cox 
  • “The Midnight Sky,” Matthew Kasmir, Christopher Lawrence, Max Solomon and David Watkins
  • “Mulan,” Sean Faden, Anders Langlands, Seth Maury and Steve Ingram
  • “The One and Only Ivan,” Nick Davis, Greg Fisher, Ben Jones and Santiago Colomo Martinez
  • “Tenet,” Andrew Jackson, David Lee, Andrew Lockley and Scott Fisher – WINNER