The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Dec. 17 released shortlists of tilms that have advanced in the Oscar race in nine categories.
In the Foreign Language Film category, Japan’s entry is Hirokazu Kore-eda’s “Shoplifters” (Manbiki Kazoku), a drama about a family that relies on shoplifting to cope with a life of poverty. The cast includes Lily Franky and Sakura Ando.
South Korea’s entry is Lee Chang-dong’s “Burning,” a mystery based on Haruki Murakami’s short story “Barn Burning.” The cast includes Steven Yeun (“The Walking Dead”).
Also on the shortlist are “Birds of Passage” (Colombia), “The Guilty” (Denmark), “Never Look Away” (Germany), “Ayka” (Kazakhstan), “Capernaum” (Lebanon), “Roma” (Mexico), and “Cold War” (Poland).
In the Documentary Feature category, potential nominees include Singapore-born filmmaker Sandi Tan’s “Shirkers.” In 1992, Tan and two friends shot an independent film and left the footage with film teacher Georges Cardona, who disappeared without a trace. Twenty years later, 10 years after Cardona’s death, Tan heard from his wife that she had the footage. Tan digitized the footage and made a documentary about the making of the film.
Also on the shortlist are “Charm City,” “Communion,” “Crime + Punishment,” “Dark Money,” “The Distant Barking of Dogs,” “Free Solo,” “Hale County This Morning, This Evening,” “Minding the Gap,” “Of Fathers and Sons,” “On Her Shoulders,” “RBG,” “The Silence of Others,” “Three Identical Strangers,” and “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”
In the Music (Original Score) category, John M. Chu’s romantic comedy “Crazy Rich Asians” (music by Brian Tyler) is on the shortlist along with “Annihilation,” “Avengers: Infinity War,” “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” “Black Panther,” “BlacKkKlansman,” “The Death of Stalin,” “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald,” “First Man,” “If Beale Street Could Talk,” “Isle of Dogs,” “Mary Poppins Returns,” “A Quiet Place,” “Ready Player One,” and “Vice.”
In the Animated Short Film category, Disney-Pixar’s “Bao,” directed by Domee Shi, is on the shortlist. In this film that preceded “Incredibles 2” in theaters, a Chinese Canadian woman suffering from empty nest syndrome gets a second shot at motherhood when one of her handmade dumplings comes alive. Shi is the first woman to direct a Pixar movie.
Also on the shortlist: “Age of Sail,” “Animal Behaviour,” “Bilby,” “Bird Karma,” “Late Afternoon,” “Lost & Found,” “One Small Step,” “Pepe le Morse,” and “Weekends.”
Oscar nomination voting will be conducted Jan. 7-14, and nominations will be announced Jan. 22.