Whoop! A nomination for South Africa at this year's Oscars with tentacles of applause for My Octopus Teacher, a documentary film about the relationship between Captonian filmmaker Craig Foster and a young octopus who formed a bond over the course of a year while Craig dived in False Bay.
It's directed by South African filmmaker and environmental journalist Pippa Ehrlich and UK-based natural history director James Reed and it's available on Netflix.
Nominations in the other categories were dominated by Netflix with 10 nods for the biographical drama Mank, about acerbic, alcoholic Hollywood screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz, played by Gary Oldman.
A blow-by-blow of all the nominees:
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
Time - Garrett Bradley, Lauren Domino and Kellen Quinn
The nominations were announced by power couple Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Nick Jonas and the ceremony will be held on Sunday 25 April 2021, at the Union Station in Los Angeles and the Dolby Theatre at the Hollywood and Highland Centre.
Performance by an actress in a leading role
Viola Davis in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Andra Day in The United States vs. Billie Holiday
Vanessa Kirby in Pieces of a Woman
Frances McDormand in Nomadland
Carey Mulligan in Promising Young Woman
Performance by an actor in a leading role
Riz Ahmed in Sound of Metal
Chadwick Boseman in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Anthony Hopkins in The Father
Gary Oldman in Mank
Steven Yeun in Minari
Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Maria Bakalova in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
Glenn Close in Hillbilly Elegy
Olivia Colman in The Father
Amanda Seyfried in Mank
Yuh-Jung Youn in Minari
Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Sacha Baron Cohen in The Trial of the Chicago 7
Daniel Kaluuya in Judas and the Black Messiah
Leslie Odom, Jr. in One Night in Miami...
Paul Raci in Sound of Metal
Lakeith Stanfield in Judas and the Black Messiah
Best animated feature film of the year
Onward Dan - Scanlon and Kori Rae
Over the Moon - Glen Keane, Gennie Rim and Peilin Chou
A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon - Richard Phelan, Will Becher and Paul Kewley
Soul - Pete Docter and Dana Murray
Wolfwalkers - Tomm Moore, Ross Stewart, Paul Young and Stéphan Roelants
Achievement in cinematography
Judas and the Black Messiah - Sean Bobbitt
Mank - Erik Messerschmidt
News of the World - Dariusz Wolski
Nomadland - Joshua James Richards
The Trial of the Chicago 7 - Phedon Papamichael
Achievement in costume design
Emma - Alexandra Byrne
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom - Ann Roth
Mank Trish - Summerville
Mulan - Bina Daigeler
Pinocchio - Massimo Cantini Parrini
Achievement in directing
Another Round - Thomas Vinterberg
Mank - David Fincher
Minari - Lee Isaac Chung
Nomadland - Chloé Zhao
Promising Young Woman - Emerald Fennell
Best documentary short subject
Colette - Anthony Giacchino and Alice Doyard
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
Achievement in film editing
The Father - Yorgos Lamprinos
Nomadland - Chloé Zhao
Promising Young Woman - Frédéric Thoraval
Sound of Metal - Mikkel E. G. Nielsen
The Trial of the Chicago 7 - Alan Baumgarten
Best international feature film of the year
Another Round - Denmark
Better Days - Hong Kong
Collective - Romania
The Man Who Sold His Skin - Tunisia
Quo Vadis, Aida? - Bosnia and Herzegovina
Achievement in makeup and hairstyling
Emma - Marese Langan, Laura Allen and Claudia Stolze
Hillbilly Elegy - Eryn Krueger Mekash, Matthew Mungle and Patricia Dehaney
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom - Sergio Lopez-Rivera, Mia Neal and Jamika Wilson
Mank - Gigi Williams, Kimberley Spiteri and Colleen LaBaff
Pinocchio - Mark Coulier, Dalia Colli and Francesco Pegoretti
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
Da 5 Bloods - Terence Blanchard
Mank - Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
Minari - Emile Mosseri
News of the World - James Newton Howard
Soul - Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross and Jon Batiste
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
Fight For You from Judas and the Black Messiah
Music by H.E.R. and Dernst Emile II; Lyric by H.E.R. and Tiara Thomas
Hear My Voice from The Trial of the Chicago 7
Music by Daniel Pemberton; Lyric by Daniel Pemberton and Celeste Waite
Husavik from Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga
Music and Lyric by Savan Kotecha, Fat Max Gsus and Rickard Göransson
Io Sì (Seen) from The Life Ahead (La Vita Davanti a Se)
Music by Diane Warren; Lyric by Diane Warren and Laura Pausini
Speak Now from One Night in Miami...
Music and Lyric by Leslie Odom, Jr. and Sam Ashworth
Best motion picture of the year
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
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
Achievement in 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
News of the World - Production Design: David Crank; Set Decoration: Elizabeth Keenan
Tenet - Production Design: Nathan Crowley; Set Decoration: Kathy Lucas
Best animated short film
Burrow - Madeline Sharafian and Michael Capbarat
Genius - Loci Adrien Mérigeau and Amaury Ovise
If Anything Happens I Love You - Will McCormack and Michael Govier
Opera - Erick Oh
Yes-People - Gísli Darri Halldórsson and Arnar Gunnarsson
Best live action short film
Feeling Through - Doug Roland and Susan Ruzenski
The Letter Room - Elvira Lind and Sofia Sondervan
The Present - Farah Nabulsi
Two Distant Strangers - Travon Free and Martin Desmond Roe
White Eye - Tomer Shushan and Shira Hochman
Achievement in 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
Achievement in 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
Adapted screenplay
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan 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 - Screenplay by Christopher Hampton and Florian Zeller
Nomadland - Written for the screen by Chloé Zhao
One Night in Miami... - Screenplay by Kemp Powers
The White Tigers - Written for the screen by Ramin Bahrani
Original screenplay
Judas and the Black Messiah - Screenplay by Will Berson & Shaka King; Story by Will Berson & Shaka King and Kenny Lucas & Keith Lucas
Minari - Written by Lee Isaac Chung
Promising Young Woman - Written by Emerald Fennell
Sound of Metal - Screenplay by Darius Marder & Abraham Marder; Story by Darius Marder & Derek Cianfrance
The Trial of the Chicago 7 - Written by Aaron Sorkin
THE TALLIES
Excludes short films and documentary short subjects
| Mank |
10 |
| Judas and the Black Messiah |
6 |
| The Father |
6 |
| Minari |
6 |
| Nomadland |
6 |
| Sound of Metal |
6 |
| The Trial of the Chicago 7 |
6 |
| Ma Rainey's Black Bottom |
5 |
| Promising Young Woman |
5 |
| News of the World |
4 |
| One Night in Miami |
3 |
| Soul |
3 |
| Another Round |
2 |
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for
Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan |
2 |
| Collective |
2 |
| Emma |
2 |
| Hillbilly Elegy |
2 |
| Mulan |
2 |
| Pinocchio |
2 |
| Tenet |
2 |
| Better Days |
1 |
| Crip Camp |
1 |
| Da 5 Bloods |
1 |
| Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga |
1 |
| Greyhound |
1 |
| The Life Ahead (La Vita Davanti a Se) |
1 |
| Love and Monsters |
1 |
| The Man Who Sold His Skin |
1 |
| The Midnight Sky |
1 |
| The Mole Agent |
1 |
| My Octopus Teacher |
1 |
| The One and Only Ivan |
1 |
| Onward |
1 |
| Over the Moon |
1 |
| Pieces of a Woman |
1 |
| Quo Vadis, Aida? |
1 |
| A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon |
1 |
| Time |
1 |
| The United States vs. Billie Holiday |
1 |
| The White Tiger |
1 |
| Wolfwalkers |
1 |