The Academy Awards, let alone the nominations, are not even out yet. But, there has been an increase of Oscar predictions buzz and, we’re not going to hide it, we’re pretty excited too…
The Birth of a Nation
A film that’s been getting a lot of Oscar buzz recently is Nate Parker’s The Birth of a Nation. The film is based on true historical events about Nat Turner (Nate Parker), a slave who was taught to read as a child in order to become a preacher to his fellow slaves. However, after travelling as a preacher, he realises the horror of slavery and becomes a beacon of hope, leading a rebellion. Parker’s brilliant acting and direction will take us through a rollercoaster of emotions; from throwing our popcorn at the slave masters, to getting out of our seats to cheer on the uprising. Check out the trailer and try to tell us the film is not Oscar-worthy.
La La Land
Now, this film will simply make our hearts beat out of our chest. The Damien Chazelle-directed film revolves around Mia (Emma Stone) an aspiring actress who falls in love with Sebastian (Ryan Gosling), an ambitious jazz musician. However, as they both gain success within their professional passions they gradually struggle to keep their love as strong as it once was. Okay, I know what you’re thinking, La La Land is just another love story, but we highly doubt that! The film has incredible cinematography, a fascinating play of colouring schemes and it’s a musical! Also, it’s not the first time Stone and Gosling has worked alongside together. They starred in Crazy, Stupid, Love and Gangster Squad, and look at the wonderful connection they had. Take a look at the trailer and see why the film has Oscar potential.
Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk
After a horrific battle in Iraq, Billy Lynn (Joe Alwyn), a 19-year-old soldier, and his troop were asked to return to the U.S. for a victory tour and be honoured as war heroes. However, under all the admiration, Billy still remembers the horrific events that he encountered and questions every aspect of his life. The war drama is directed by none other than Ang Lee and, just by watching the trailer, obviously produced a fantastic body of work. The film is too heart wrenching so it’s best to prepare ourselves mentally and physically a few weeks in advance before watching.
Silence
Two Jesuit Catholic priests, Father Sebastião Rodrigues (Andrew Garfield) and Father Francisco Garrpe (Adam Driver), travel to Japan to find their mentor, Father Cristóvão Ferreira (Liam Neeson) and spread the teachings of Catholicism. But, while doing so, face much violence and oppression. Silence, directed by Martin Scorsese, will be an adventure of self-awareness and, of course, make us sit on the edge of our seats the whole way through.
Loving
Grab some tissues because the Jeff Nichols-directed feature will make you a mess. Based on true-life events, Loving follows the story of Richard (Joel Edgerton) and Mildred Loving (Ruth Negga) who are an interracial couple in the 1950s. They were sentenced to prison for being in a mixed-race marriage, which violated Virginia’s anti-miscegenation law. The Lovings then sued the state of Virginia which led the Supreme Court to agree that forbidding interracial marriage is illegal. Just by reading the synopsis you can see why this film is getting Oscar buzz, so watch the trailer below and see for yourself!
What are your Oscar predictions? By looking at these Oscar-worthy films with great diverse talents, the #OscarsSoWhite trend will hopefully no longer be necessary.