Final Cut: 6 Indian films on Oscars ‘reminder list’ of 301 ‘eligible productions’

Los Angeles, Jan 10  Six Indian feature films — the much-favored ‘RRR’, India’s official entry ‘The Last Film Show’ (‘Chhello Show’), the sleeper hit ‘Kantara’, ‘The Kashmir Files’, ‘Gangubai Kathiyawadi’ and ‘Me Vasantrao’, the Marathi-language biopic on classical singer Vasantrao Deshpande — are on the list of 301 movies that are eligible for the 95th Oscars.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences unveiled the list on Monday (U.S. Pacific Time). It includes presumed contenders such as ‘Elvis’, ‘The Fabelmans’ and ‘Living’. The number of movies marks an increase from last year’s 276 films that were eligible from 2021, and down from 366 in 2020 at the height of the pandemic, reports ‘Variety’.

All these expected contenders are listed on the Academy’s annual Reminder List of Productions Eligible for the 95th Academy Awards, including the performers eligible for consideration in the acting categories.

The highest-grossing movies of the year, including ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’, ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ and ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ are on the robust list, while critically acclaimed features such as ‘The Banshees of Inisherin’, ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ and ‘Tar’ are also in the mix.

The streamers, ‘Variety’ continues, are well-represented with Netflix’s ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ and ‘Glass Onion’, Amazon’s ‘Argentina, 1985’ and ‘Thirteen Lives’ and Apple’s ‘Cha Cha Real Smooth’ and ‘Emancipation’.

There’s also a good number of international features, even if they’re not their country’s official submission, such as ‘RRR’ and Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Korean drama ‘Broker’.

There is also a solid showing for women-directed vehicles such as Gina Prince-Bythewood’s ‘The Woman King’, Charlotte Wells’s ‘Aftersun’ and Sarah Polley’s ‘Women Talking’.

Not on the list is Kelly Reichardt’s ‘Showing Up’. ‘Variety’ notes that though it debuted at Cannes, A24, its makers, opted for a 2023 release. Despite being released theatrically in April, and receiving solid reviews, Mayim Bialik’s directorial debut ‘As They Made Us’ from Quiver also wasn’t among the 301 movies.

The Academy’s 9,579 eligible voting members will begin filling out their ballots on Thursday, January 12, at 9:00 a.m. (U.S. Pacific Time) and ballots will close on Tuesday, January 17 at 5:00 p.m.

The official Oscar nominations will be announced January 24, with the ceremony airing live on the American TV network ABC on March 12 from the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.