Movies that change Oscar standards and get nominations are not very white!

A few days separate us from the Oscars 2021, after the nominations were issued last March, which were delayed more than usual due to the Corona pandemic that affected the film industry in general, and the Oscars in particular.

During these postponements, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, responsible for presenting the award, made many fundamental changes already, some of which were implemented, such as expanding the field of acceptance of films shown on broadcast platforms, or what will be applied in the future, such as the trend towards more political correctness, and ensuring the existence of Movies of all races and genders.

But this year's nominations actually bear the results of these changes, so did the industry during this period naturally adjust itself, or is the absence of large studios the reason for the lack of films offered from them, or is the Oscar the one that made sure to anticipate the changes and chose films according to it since right Now?

Films directed by women

Despite the prevalence and prevalence, film directing is not a profession exclusive to men, it was not at the beginning of cinema at least, whether abroad or even in the Arab world, and the renaissance of Egyptian cinema, for example, was on the shoulders of 4 women as directors and producers.

However, economic cinematic entities such as Hollywood studios or Studio Egypt have deviated from the role of women in cinema over the years, so the presence of one or more female directors in each generation has become something worth celebrating, but recently and after highlighting this matter in the last decade several times, especially in Season Awards The women directors were given an opportunity, a voice, and the ability to present and celebrate their films in various forums.

And in the Oscar nominations this year, we find a group of films directed by women in the spotlight. In the list of nominations for the Best Director Award, we find two female candidates, namely "Emerald Fennell" for her film "Promising Young Woman" and "Chloe Chow" for Her film "Nomadland", and the last film is the closest to winning a large number of awards, whether as best director or best actress in a major role or even best film, and won the attention of critics and various festivals, and won an award from the Toronto Film Festival and Venice as well.

Another highlight of the award season is One Night in Miami, the debut work of former Oscar-winning director Regina King for Best Supporting Actress.

In the Best International Film category, we find that two of the nominated films are for two directors, namely the Tunisian "Kawthar Bin Haniyeh" for her film "The Man Who Sold His Back" and the Bosnian "Yasmila Zabanik" for her film "Where Are You Going, Aida?"

(? Quo Vadis, Aida).

Ethnically multiplayer films

The hashtag "Oscars Too White" is one of the most famous attempts by actors and in the industry to generate attention that the nominations for awards season have predetermined ethnic orientations, and in one year actually did not attend the Oscars very many stars of African descent.

Despite the Academy’s attempts to deal with this crisis over the past years, the matter did not clearly bear fruit until this year, especially since the Golden Globe nominations were also accused of being too white, or racist par excellence, so that the Oscar and BAFTA nominations came on the contrary, carrying a lot of ethnic diversity. .

In the list of nominations for the best film, we find the films "Judas and the Black Messiah", which talks about the Black Panthers group and its fight against the laws of apartheid, and the US government assassination of their leader after drugging him with trick and killing him in his sleep, and the film directed by Ryan Kluger, director with assets Of course, most of its heroes are of the brown race.

On the same list is the movie "Minari", which deals with an Asian family living in the United States, struggling to integrate with the American dream that everyone wants to achieve, and its hero is also nominated for the Best Actor award.

Best Screenplay nominee "One Night in Miami" also deals with the story of an imagined meeting of four celebrities of African origins - Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali Clay, Jim Brown and Sam Cooke, in addition to Ma Rainey's Black Bottom which He received several nominations, including Best Actress for Viola Davis, and Best Actor for Chadwick Bosman.

This is in addition to the Indian movie "The White Tiger" which was nominated for the Best Screenplay award.

As for Riz Ahmed, a Brit of Pakistani roots, he is the first Muslim actor to be nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor for "Sound of Metal" (The Sound of Metal).

He has been nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, only two Muslims have previously been Omar Sharif, and Mehrshala Ali, who has already won the award twice.

Riz Ahmed, the hero of the film "The Sound of Metal", nominated for the Oscar Award 2021 (social networking sites)

The question remains, are these nominations selected only to polish the Oscar Academy image or are they deserved?

After watching these films and obtaining critical and public admiration, the answer is that they are deserving choices for works that the Academy would have already overlooked had the spotlight not been on the issue of racial, ethnic and gender diversity in the awards season.