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'Emilia Pérez' Breaks Record for Non-English Film with 13 Oscar Nominations

Published January 23, 2025

Shortly after the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles struck at the heart of the film industry, a besieged Hollywood rallied behind Netflix's narcocorrido musical "Emilia Pérez" in the Oscar nominations announced this Thursday.

Directed by Jacques Audiard, "Emilia Pérez" is a Spanish-language film shot in France that received an impressive total of 13 nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actress for Karla Sofía Gascón. This nomination makes her the first openly transgender actress ever nominated for an Oscar. The film is also nominated for Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, two of its songs, and for Zoe Saldaña.

Zoe Saldaña attends the "Emilia Pérez" session at the 77th Cannes Film Festival in France on Sunday, May 19, 2024.

(Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP)

Despite its significant presence in Hollywood, Netflix has yet to win the Best Picture award. Many of its top contenders, including "Mank," "The Irishman," and "Roma," have received multiple nominations but have returned home with only a few trophies.

However, "Emilia Pérez" appears to be Netflix's best chance yet. It has officially become the most nominated non-English language film in Academy history, surpassing Alfonso Cuarón's "Roma," which had 10 nominations. Only three films, namely "All About Eve," "Titanic," and "La La Land," have earned more nominations in Oscar history.

Another notable non-English film is "Ainda Estou Aqui" ("Still Here"), a Brazilian movie directed by Walter Salles that highlights the family of a politician who went missing during a military dictatorship. It received nominations for Best Picture, Best International Feature, and for its lead actress Fernanda Torres.

The musical adaptation of Broadway's hit "Wicked" also garnered a significant number of nominations, closely following with 10 nods, including Best Picture and acting nominations for lead stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande.

Additionally, "The Brutalist," a post-war epic shot in VistaVision by Brady Corbet, also impressed with 10 nominations, including for Best Picture, Best Director, and nods for actors Adrien Brody, Guy Pearce, and Felicity Jones.

The nominees for Best Picture include the Brazilian film "Ainda Estou Aqui," "Anora," "The Brutalist," "A Complete Unknown," "Conclave," "Dune: Part Two," "Emilia Pérez," "Nickel Boys," "The Substance," and "Wicked."

In a decidedly competitive race, the six leading films—"Emilia Pérez," "Wicked," "The Brutalist," "Anora," "Conclave," and "A Complete Unknown"—met or exceeded expectations. Among the surprises were "Ainda Estou Aqui" and "Nickel Boys" by RaMell Ross, which had been overlooked by many guilds in earlier voting rounds.

These nominations likely replaced potential Best Picture spots for films like "Sing Sing," "September 5," and "A Real Pain," although these films did receive nods in other categories.

One of the boldest films of 2024, "The Apprentice," surprisingly snagged a couple of nominations for Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong. This film dramatizes the formative years of former President Donald Trump in New York's real estate sector under the mentorship of attorney Roy Cohn. Trump has referred to those involved with the film as "human scum."

In the Best Actor category, alongside Stan and Brody, were Timothée Chalamet for "A Complete Unknown," Colman Domingo for "Sing Sing," and Ralph Fiennes for "Conclave." A notable absence was Daniel Craig, widely praised for his very non-Bond performance in "Queer."

In Best Actress, a category where Demi Moore seemed assured of a nomination for her impactful performance in "The Substance," she entered alongside Gascón, Torres, Erivo, and Mikey Madison from "Anora." This category turned out to be one of the most competitive, leaving out Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Pamela Anderson, Nicole Kidman, and Angelina Jolie.

In the Best Director category, Coralie Fargeat, directing "The Substance," managed to break into an otherwise all-male group alongside Sean Baker for "Anora," Corbet, Audiard, and James Mangold for "A Complete Unknown." Many had expected Edward Berger to receive a nomination for his direction of the papal thriller "Conclave."

“This has certainly been a difficult time for Los Angeles, where many members of our film community work and live. Yet, the past weeks have shown what we already know: our film industry and Los Angeles are resilient. For nearly a century, the Oscars have united us to celebrate our global film community,” stated Janet Yang, president of the Academy, before the announcement of the nominees.

The nominations were initially scheduled for January 17. However, following the onset of wildfires burning through areas such as Pacific Palisades and Altadena on January 7, which left historic levels of destruction, the Academy extended its voting window and postponed the announcement of nominees twice.

Oscar, Film, Nomination