Netflix’s controversial Emilia Pérez leads Oscars nominations with 13

The nominations for the 97th annual Academy Awards were revealed this morning, with Netflix’s Emilia Pérez leading the pack with 13 nods.

In particular, the Spanish-language musical crime drama received nominations for Best Picture, Best Director (Jacques Audiard), Best Actress (Karla Sofía Gascón) and Best Supporting Actress (Zoe Saldaña), among other categories. Notably, the 13 total nominations makes Emilia Pérez the most-nominated non-English-language film in Oscars history, beating the previous record of 10 nods shared by Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) and fellow Netflix film Roma (2018).

It’s a big boon for Netflix, which has long coveted Best Picture through films like Roma and Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman. Apple also beat Netflix to the punch by becoming the first streamer to win Best Picture for its 2021 comedy-drama, CODA.

That said, Emilia Pérez has also been met with its fair share of criticism. In particular, the film — which was written and directed by a Frenchman and filmed in France — has come under fire from Mexicans for its stereotypical and shallow depiction of the North American country. The story of the film — which sees a cartel leader (Gascón) undergo a redemption arc by transitioning into a woman — was also blasted by members of the LGTBQ+ community. In general, many viewers have also criticized the film, which is a musical, for having exceptionally bad music, among other flaws.

For reference, here’s the full list of Best Picture nominees. Notably, Gentilly, Quebec’s Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two is one of the ten films.

• Anora (Alex Coco, Samantha Quan and Sean Baker)
• The Brutalist (Nominees to be determined)
• A Complete Unknown (Fred Berger, James Mangold and Alex Heineman)
• Conclave (Tessa Ross, Juliette Howell and Michael A. Jackman)
• Dune: Part Two (Mary Parent, Cale Boyter, Tanya Lapointe and Denis Villeneuve)
• Emilia Pérez (Nominees to be determined)
• I’m Still Here (Nominees to be determined)
• Nickel Boys (Nominees to be determined)
• The Substance (Nominees to be determined)
• Wicked (Marc Platt)

It should be noted that the Oscars recognize the producers of a film for Best Picture, not actually the director or writer, which is presumably why “nominees to be determined” is written for some of them. In this case, though, Villeneuve, who directed and co-wrote Dune: Part Two, is also a producer on the film.

And speaking of Dune, it’s worth noting that Villeneuve’s fellow Canadians Patrice Vermette and Shane Vieu were nominated for Best Production Design for the acclaimed sci-fi sequel.

Other Canadian nominees include Best Documentary Feature for B.C. residential school documentary Sugarcane from directors Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie and Best Costume Design for Toronto’s Linda Muir for Nosferatu.

The full list of Oscar nominations can be found here. This year’s Oscars will take place on March 2nd, with comedian Conan O’Brien set to host for the first time.

Image credit: Netflix