Oscar nominations won’t drop until February 8, but we’re one big step closer to knowing which titles will be up for honors on Hollywood’s biggest night: shortlists for 10 categories, including Documentary Feature and International Feature Film, have been announced.
Fifteen feature docs are advancing, and nine of them are directed or co-directed by women. The race includes “The Rescue,” Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin’s follow-up to their 2019 Oscar winner “Free Solo.” Their latest offering revisits the headline-making 2018 Thailand cave rescue. “Ascension,” Jessica Kingdon’s exploration of the contemporary Chinese Dream, and “Writing with Fire,” Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh’s portrait of India’s only women-led news outlet, are also among the films in the running.
Four of 15 titles duking it out for International Feature Film are helmed by women. Germany’s “I’m Your Man” and Mexico’s “Prayers for the Stolen” are among the films advancing. The former, a sci-fi romance from Maria Schrader, tells the story of an archeologist and an AI, and the latter, from Tatiana Huezo, is a coming-of-age story about three girls in Mexico.
The 2022 Academy Awards are slated to take place March 27. Check out all of the women-directed titles advancing in the Documentary Feature and International Feature Film categories below. Head over to Variety to check out the rest of the shortlists.
Documentary Feature
“Ascension” – Directed by Jessica Kington
“Attica” – Directed by Stanley Nelson and Traci Curry
“Faya Dayi”- Directed by Jessica Beshir
“In the Same Breath” – Directed by Nanfu Wang
“Julia” – Directed by Julie Cohen and Betsy West
“President” – Directed by Camilla Nielsson
“The Rescue” – Directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin
“Simple as Water” – Directed by Megan Mylan
“Writing with Fire” – Directed by Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh
International Feature Film
Belgium, “Playground” – Directed by Laura Wandel
Germany, “I’m Your Man” – Directed by Maria Schrader
Kosovo, “Hive” – Directed by Blerta Basholli
Mexico, “Prayers for the Stolen” – Directed by Tatiana Huezo
