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The Power of the Dog and Will Smith, great Oscar’s favorites

HUSBAN AND WIFE NOMINATED| Javier Bardem is nominated for his work in the film “Being the Ricardos” and Penélope Cruz is nominated for the award for her role in “Madres Paralelas”.

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Sofía Marquez/ El Comercio de Colorado

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Next Sunday, on March 27 will be film’s most anticipated night: the 92nd Academy Awards. 2021 was cinema’s comeback after the pandemic. All the films that were pushed back due to covid restrictions were finally released in theaters, providing The Academy of Motion Picture Arts with a wide range of films and performances to choose from. This year’s Oscar contenders are a mixed bag–from feel-good Oscar typicals to underdogs that have risen in ranks during the awards season.

The nominees for this year’s awards are a sign of the times in the ever-changing film industry thanks to its inclusivity. Choosing from this year’s pool of Best Picture contenders will be a difficult task. Netflix’s Power of the Dog swept every major category yet is competing with heavy hitters such as the Williams sister’s biopic, King Richard, Dennis Villeneuve’s epic Dune, and Spielberg’s blockbuster return in West Side Story–among many other strong contenders. Netflix has two horses in the race, with Adam McKay’s star-studded satire Don’t Look Up being nominated as well.

The academy has also made stride in inclusivity, nominating Apple TV’s feel-good film CODA for best picture, a remake of a French film about children of deaf adults, with a cast composed of deaf actors. Alongside this, the competition in the acting categories are fierce. The women’s leading actor category is filled with Academy Award veterans (Nicole Kidman, Penelope Cruz and Jessica Chastain) with first-time nominated Kristen Stewart for her performance of Ella as Princess Diana in the biopic Spencer.

A COUPLE FOR SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE| Kirsten Dunst and her partner, Jesse Plemons, are nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress and Actor for their work in the movie “The Power of the Dog.”

Fight between veterans and new actors

The supporting actress category highlights a broad range of performances, from Ariana DeBose’s unforgettable Anita in West Side Story to Jessie Buckley’s performance as a struggling mother in The Lost Daughter, to Kirsten Dunst’s frenzied performance in The Power of the Dog. The women this year have not made it easy for the academy to choose.

In the men’s acting categories, we see a lot of the popular players: Javier Bardem as Desi Arnaz in Being the Ricardos, Denzel Washington’s nuanced performance in the excellent adaptation of Macbeth, to Will Smith’s first nomination for his performance as Richard Williams in King Richard. Meanwhile, Kodi Smit-McPhee is in the category of actor in supporting role.