‘Roma’, ‘The Favourite’ emerge favourites in diverse 91st Oscar nominations

Los Angeles, Jan 22 (IANS) Mexican filmmaker Alfonso Cuaron's "Roma", a memoir of his childhood in 1970s while living in Mexico, and Olivia Colman's period drama "The Favourite", are in a tie with 10 nominations each for the 91st Academy Awards, where an India-set drama on menstruation, apart from three films backed by Reliance Entertainment, will contend for Oscars -- lending a touch of diversity to the line-up.

Kumail Nanjiani and Tracee Ellis Ross on Tuesday announced the nominations for the Oscars on behalf of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Even though India's official entry for the Oscars, Rima Das' Assamese film "Village Rockstars", failed to make it to the initial shortlist, "Period. End of Sentence", an India set film on the taboos around menstruation and featuring the real 'Pad Man' Arunachalam Muruganathan, has made it to the top five nominees of the Documentary Short Subject category.

Other nominees in the section include "Black Sheep", "End Game", "Lifeboat" and "A Night At The Garden".

Ecstatic about making the cut, Indian producer Guneet Monga, who backed the project, told IANS: "We made it... It is beyond everything we thought."

Three films -- "Green Book", "First Man" and "Ready Player One" -- backed by Anil Ambani-led Reliance Entertainment, have scored a total of 10 Oscar nominations.

"Green Book" finds a spot in five categories, "First Man" has got four and "Ready Player One" features in one category for the awards show, which will be held on February 24 and will air in India on Star Movies.

"It is exciting news and truly says a lot about how a compelling story always works. We are extremely proud to be associated with these films and we hope for the best," Shibashish Sarkar, Chief Operating Officer, Reliance Entertainment, told IANS.

The buzz around Cuaron's Netflix film "Roma" is likely to get a fillip with the news of 10 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actress In A Leading Role (Yalitza Aparicio) among others.

In an interview to IANS, Cuaron had recently said: "When a film like 'Roma' is recognised for awards, I feel the importance of that is to open the dialogue for diversity... Diversity in which people are open to embrace a human experience even if it is shown in the form of other people that aren't like you."

Diversity is in full bloom in the Oscar nomination list this time.

Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper's "A Star Is Born" and Christian Bale-starrer "Vice" have eight nominations each, followed by seven nominations for "Black Panther", which has become the first superhero film ever to make it to the Best Picture category at the Oscars.

"BlacKkKlansman", a story about an African-American police officer, has scored six nominations, followed by five nominations for "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "Green Book", and a tie for "First Man and "Mary Poppins Returns" with four mentions each.

The nominations:

Best Picture: "Black Panther", "BlacKkKlansman", "Bohemian Rhapsody", "The Favourite", "Green Book", "Roma", "A Star Is Born" and "Vice"

Best Director: Alfonso Cuaron ("Roma"), Yorgos Lanthimos ("The Favourite"), Spike Lee ("BlacKkKlansman"), Adam McKay ("Vice") and Pawel Pawlikowski ("Cold War")

Actor in a Leading Role: Christian Bale ("Vice"), Bradley Cooper ("A Star Is Born"), Willem Dafoe ("At Eternity's Gate"), Rami Malek ("Bohemian Rhapsody") and Viggo Mortensen ("Green Book")

Actress in a Leading Role: Yalitza Aparicio ("R"ma")" Glenn Close ("T"e Wife")" Olivia Colman ("T"e Favourite")" Lady Gaga ("A"Star Is Born")"and Melissa McCarthy ("C"n You Ever Forgive Me?")"

Actress In A Supporting Role: Amy Adams ("Vice"), Marina De Tavira ("Roma"), Regina King ("If Beale Street Could Talk"), Emma Stone ("The Favourite") and Rachel Weisz ("The Favourite").

Actor In a Supporting Role: Mahershala Ali ("Green Book"), Adam Driver ("BlacKkKlansman"), Sam Elliott ("A Star Is Born"), Richard E. Grant ("Can You Ever Forgive Me") and Sam Rockwell ("Vice").

Best Foreign Language Film: "Capernaum" Lebanon), "Cold War" (Poland), "Never Look Away" (Germany), "Roma" (Mexico) and "Shoplifters" (Japan)

Best Original screenplay: "The Favourite" "Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara), "First Reformed" "Paul Schrader), "Green Book" "Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly), "Roma" (Alfonso Cuar?n) and "Vice" (Adam McKay).

Best Costume Design: "Black Panther", "The Favourite", "Mary Poppins Returns", "Mary Queen of Scots" and "The Ballad of Buster Scrubs"

Best Film Editing: "Blackkklansman", "Bohemian Rhapsody", "The Favourite", "Greenbook" and "Vice"

Best Original Score: "Black Panther", "Blackkklansman", "If Beale Street Could Talk", "Mary Poppins Returns" and "Isle of Dogs"

Best Animation Short Film: "Bao", "Late Afternoon", "Animal Behaviour", "Bird Karma" and "One Small Step".

Best Live-Action Short Film: "Skin", "Mother", "Detainment", "Marguerite" and "Fauve".

Best Sound Editing: "First Man", "A Quiet Place", "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Black Panther" and "Roma"

Best Sound Mixing: "A Star Is Born", "Bohemian Rhapsody", "First Man", "Roma" and "Black Panther".