Netflix's 'Emilia Perez' Earns 13 Oscar Nominations

Netflix’s ‘Emilia Perez’ Earns 13 Oscar Nominations

Film critics have long speculated about French producer Jacques Audiard’s production ” Emilia Perez,” which tells the story of the life of a Mexican drug lord who transforms into a woman and begins an entirely new life.

On Thursday, the film in Spanish on Netflix musical drama racked up thirteen Oscar nods, which included Best Foreign Feature Film and best picture. The film is set on the Mexican border but was primarily shot in Mexico; however, it was mostly shot in France. The film also set a new precedent by introducing Karla Sofia Gascon, the very first transgender actress to be recognized for winning the Academy Award for her performance in the film’s title character.

The film has the most nominations. Meanwhile, “The Brutalist,” about an architect with a vision and his wife who escaped following the end of the war in Europe in 1947 and the well-known Broadway musical “Wicked” have 10 nominations each. In addition, the Vatican-themed action film “Conclave” and “A Complete Unknown,” which is a look at Bob Dylan’s early period, received eight nominations each.

A mockery of a musical

But “Emilia Perez” has also seen its fair share of critics.

The film tells of a high-powered attorney, Rita (played by the top supporting actress nominated Zoe Saldana) takes on an unanticipated assignment: assisting a Mexican cartel chief (Gascon) to pretend to be dead death and undergo procedures to affirm gender.

Gascon is a member of the US LGBTQ+ group. Glaad has described it as “retrograde” in its characterization of the transgender character performed by Gascon.

Mexican industry and critics have also expressed their concerns about the absence of Mexican presence in the film’s main crew and cast, the way the country is depicted and the way in which it is treated in such serious subjects.

The film was extensively criticized and criticized in the eyes of Mexican viewers on X following its Golden Globes success, which it won across four different categories. Mexican screenwriter Hector Guillen tagged the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which runs the Oscars, on the day following the Globes and put up a post that reads: “Mexico hates Emilia Perez/ ‘Racist Euro Centrist Mockery’/ Almost 500K dead, and France decides to do a musical.”

According to The BBC, Guillen called Audiard “a great filmmaker,” however, he added, “There’s a drug war, nearly 500,000 deaths since 2006 and 100,000 missing in the country.”

He also said that a portion of the plot concerns mothers who are searching for their missing child, “one of the most vulnerable groups in Mexico. And there were zero words in the four Golden Globe acceptance speeches to the victims.”

Germany gets an Oscar nod with an Iranian film.

In the meantime, Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof’s ” The Seed of the Sacred Fig” has earned Germany an award for the top international feature-film category.

The film was inspired by the massive protests that took place that took place in Iran in 2022 that were provoked by the murder of a young girl, Mahsa Amini, by the morality police. Rasoulof was able to witness the protests from his cell and was able to get the idea of a thriller investigating state violence, paranoia, and censorship.

“The Seed of the Sacred Fig” is the story of Iman, an investigator of Iran’s Revolutionary Court who is loyal to the regime but is beginning to question the arbitrariness and sloppy nature of the death warrants that the court asks him to sign.

Although it is primarily an Iranian film, it was made through Hamburg’s Run Way Pictures, received financing from a Northern German movie board, and was distributed by a German distributor, which allowed it to be considered the country’s selection at the Oscars.

Rasoulof was presented with a special jury prize to promote “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” at the Cannes Film Festival in May, just a few days after fleeing Iran and finishing the film in Europe. The film also received the Film industry’s Fipresci Prize, which was given out during the festival.

Announcements postponed due to wildfires

Originally scheduled for January 17, the Oscar announcement was postponed two times following the wildfires that flared up on January 7 and ravaged Palisades, Altadena and other regions around Los Angeles, causing widespread destruction.

The fires have affected many people within the film industry, with some calling for the AcademyAcademy to pull the Oscars entirely. But the AcademyAcademy claimed it was a good idea that the 97th Oscars would take place on Sunday, March 2, given its importance to the economy of Los Angeles and as a sign of the industry’s resilience.

The organizers organizers have pledged that the awards ceremony this year will “celebrate the work that unites us as a global film community and acknowledge those who fought so bravely against the wildfires.”