Sebastián Lelio’s “A Fantastic Woman” Makes Oscars Shortlist for Best Foreign Language Film

Sebastián Lelio is one step closer to a special date with Oscar

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has whittled through 92 submissions to come up with its shortlist of nine titles to advance in the Best Foreign Language Film category this year, with the 43-year-old Argentinian-born Chilean filmmaker still in the running.

Sebastián Lelio

Lelio’s A Fantastic Woman, Chile’s pick to enter the race for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, joins other favorites like Ruben Ostlund’s The Square (Sweden) and Loveless from Russia’s Andrey Zvyagintsev in advancing to the next round.

Each of those was nominated for a Golden Globe earlier this week. As was Fatih Akin’s Germany terrorism drama In The Fade, which has seen its street cred solidified by the Academy with tonight’s shortlist inclusion.

The final five Academy Award nominations in the race will be announced along with the rest of the categories on January 23.

Films also making the cut include Berlinale Golden Bear winner On Body And Soul from resurgent Turkish director Ildikó Enyedi; and Venice favorites Foxtrot, from Israel’s Samuel Maoz, and The Insult by Franco-Lebanese helmer Ziad Doueiri.

The last Spanish-language film to earn a nomination in the Best Foreign Language Film category was Ciro Guerra’s Embrace of the Serpent (representing Colombia) in 2015.

The Last Spanish-language film to win the Oscar in the category was Juan José Campanella’s The Secret in Their Eyes (representing Argentina) in 2009. 

In 2012, Chile earned its first and only Oscar nomination in the category with Pablo Larrain’s No, which starred Gael Garcia Bernal.

Here’s this year’s complete shortlist:

Chile, A Fantastic Woman, Sebastián Lelio, director;
Germany, In the Fade, Fatih Akin, director;
Hungary, On Body and Soul, Ildikó Enyedi, director;
Israel, Foxtrot, Samuel Maoz, director;
Lebanon, The Insult, Ziad Doueiri, dirctor;
Russia, Loveless, Andrey Zvyagintsev, director;
Senegal, Félicité, Alain Gomis, director;
South Africa, The Wound, John Trengove, director;
Sweden, The Square, Ruben Östlund, director.

Guillermo del Toro Earns First-Ever Golden Globe Nominations as “The Shape of Water” Leads Pack of Film Nominees

Guillermo del Toro is having a Golden moment…

Nominations for the 75th annual Golden Globe Awards were announced on Monday morning on NBC’s “Today” show live from the Beverly Hilton Hotel, with the 53-year-old Mexican filmmaker’s The Shape of Water leading the pack of nominees on the movie front.

Guillermo del Toro

The film earned seven nominations, including nods for del Toro in the Best Director – Motion Picture and Best Screenplay – Motion Picture categories.

Mariah Carey picked up her first-ever Golden Globe nomination.

The 48-year-old half-Venezuelan American singer earned the nod in the Best Original Song – Motion Picture category for co-writing the title track for the animated holiday film, The Star. Carey co-wrote the music and lyrics with Marc Shaiman.

Sebastián Lelio has also picked up his first Golden Globe nod, earning the honor in the Best Foreign Language Film category. The 43-year-old Argentinian-born Chilean film director, screenwriter, film producer and editor picked up the nod for his award-winning Spanish-language drama A Fantastic Woman.

Alfred Molina is another first time nominee…

The 64-year-old half-Spanish actor earned a nod in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television category for his performance on FX’s Feud: Bette and Joan.

Presenters Alfre Woodard, Garrett Hedlund, Kristen Bell, and Sharon Stone were joined by Golden Globe ambassador Simone Garcia Johnson, Hollywood Foreign Press Association president Meher Tatna, and Dick Clark Productions executive vice president of television Barry Adelman in revealing the nominees.

Seth Meyers will emcee the 2018 ceremony from the same location on January 7. The Golden Globes will air live at 5:00 pm PT/8:00 pm ET on NBC.

Produced by Dick Clark Productions in association with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the Golden Globes honor achievements in film and television, both domestic and foreign.

Here’s the complete list of nominees:

Best Picture – Drama:
“Call Me by Your Name”
“Dunkirk”
“The Post”
“The Shape of Water”
“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”

Best Picture – Comedy or Musical: 
“The Disaster Artist”
“Get Out”
“The Greatest Showman”
“I, Tonya”
“Lady Bird”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama:
Timothée Chalamet, “Call Me by Your Name”
Daniel Day-Lewis, “Phantom Thread”
Tom Hanks, “The Post”
Gary Oldman, “Darkest Hour”
Denzel Washington, “Roman J. Israel, Esq.”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama:
Jessica Chastain, “Molly’s Game”
Sally Hawkins, “The Shape of Water”
Frances McDormand, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
Meryl Streep, “The Post”
Michelle Williams, “All the Money in the World”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy:
Steve Carell, “Battle of the Sexes”
Ansel Elgort, “Baby Driver”
James Franco, “The Disaster Artist”
Hugh Jackman, “The Greatest Showman”
Daniel Kaluuya, “Get Out”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy: 
Judi Dench, “Victoria & Abdul”
Helen Mirren, “The Leisure Seeker”
Margot Robbie, “I, Tonya”
Saoirse Ronan, “Lady Bird”
Emma Stone, “Battle of the Sexes”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture:
Willem Dafoe, “The Florida Project”
Armie Hammer, “Call Me by Your Name”
Richard Jenkins, “The Shape of Water”
Christopher Plummer, “All the Money in the World”
Sam Rockwell, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture:
Mary J. Blige, “Mudbound”
Hong Chau, “Downsizing”
Allison Janney, “I, Tonya”
Laurie Metcalf, “Lady Bird”
Octavia Spencer, “The Shape of Water”

Best Animated Film:
“The Boss Baby”
“The Breadwinner”
“Coco”
“Ferdinand”
“Loving Vincent”

Best Director – Motion Picture:
Guillermo del Toro, “The Shape of Water”
Martin McDonagh, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
Christopher Nolan, “Dunkirk”
Ridley Scott, “All The Money in the World”
Steven Spielberg, “The Post”
Best Screenplay – Motion Picture:
Guillermo Del Toro, Vanessa Taylor, “The Shape of Water”
Greta Gerwig, “Lady Bird”
Liz Hannah, Josh Singer, “The Post”
Martin McDonagh, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
Aaron Sorkin, “Molly’s Game”

Best Original Score – Motion Picture:
“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
“The Shape of Water”
“Phantom Thread”
“The Post”
“Dunkirk”

Best Original Song – Motion Picture
“Home,” Ferdinand
“Mighty River,” Mudbound
“Remember Me,” Coco
“The Star,” The Star
“This Is Me,” The Greatest Showman

Best Motion Picture – Foreign Language
“A Fantastic Woman”
“First They Killed My Father”
“In the Fade”
“Loveless”
“The Square”

Best Television Series – Drama:
“The Crown”
“Game of Thrones”
“The Handmaid’s Tale”
“Stranger Things”
“This is Us”

Best Television Series – Comedy:
“Black-ish”
“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”
“Master of None”
“SMILF”
“Will & Grace”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama:
Jason Bateman, “Ozark”
Sterling K. Brown, “This is Us”
Freddie Highmore, “The Good Doctor”
Bob Odenkirk, “Better Call Saul”
Liev Schreiber, “Ray Donovan”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Drama:
Caitriona Balfe, “Outlander”
Claire Foy, “The Crown”
Maggie Gyllenhaal, “The Deuce”
Katherine Langford, “13 Reasons Why”
Elisabeth Moss, “The Handmaid’s Tale”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy:
Anthony Anderson, “Black-ish”
Aziz Ansari, “Master of None”
Kevin Bacon, “I Love Dick”
William H. Macy, “Shameless”
Eric McCormack, “Will and Grace”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy:
Pamela Adlon, “Better Things”
Alison Brie, “Glow”
Rachel Brosnahan, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”
Issa Rae, “Insecure”
Frankie Shaw, “SMILF”

Best Television Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television:
“Big Little Lies”
“Fargo”
“Feud: Bette and Joan”
“The Sinner”
“Top of the Lake: China Girl”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television:
Robert De Niro, “The Wizard of Lies”
Jude Law, “The Young Pope”
Kyle MacLachlan, “Twin Peaks”
Ewan McGregor, “Fargo”
Geoffrey Rush, “Genius”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television:
Jessica Biel, “The Sinner”
Nicole Kidman, “Big Little Lies”
Jessica Lange, “Feud: Bette and Joan”
Susan Sarandon, “Feud: Bette and Joan”
Reese Witherspoon, “Big Little Lies”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television:
David Harbour, “Stranger Things”
Alfred Molina, “Feud”
Christian Slater, “Mr. Robot”
Alexander Skarsgard, “Big Little Lies”
David Thewlis, “Fargo”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television:
Laura Dern, “Big Little Lies”
Ann Dowd, “The Handmaid’s Tale”
Chrissy Metz, “This is Us”
Michelle Pfeiffer, “The Wizard of Lies”
Shailene Woodley, “Big Little Lies”

Salma Hayek Earns First-Ever Film Independent Spirit Award Nomination

Salma Hayek has the spirit, yes she does…

The 51-year-old Mexican Academy Award-nominated actress has earned her first-ever Film Independent Spirit Award nomination.

Salma Hayek in Beatriz at Dinner

Hayek received the nod in the Best Female Lead category for her critically-acclaimed “powerful, layered” performance in Beatriz at Dinner, which was directed by Miguel Arteta.

But Hayek isn’t the only Hispanic artist in the running…

Spanish writer/director Antonio Méndez Esparza is nominated for the John Cassavetes Award for his film Life and nothing more, as is Spanish writer/director/producer Ana Asensio for her film Most Beautiful Island.

Meanwhile, Argentinian-born Chilean director Sebastián Lelio has earned a nod in the Best International Film category for his Chilean film A Fantastic Woman.

The Spirit Awards ceremony will air live on IFC from the Santa Monica beach on March 3, and will be hosted by Nick Kroll and John Mulaney for the second year in a row.

Here’s the full list of nomimations:

BEST FEATURE
Call Me By Your Name
Get Out
Lady Bird
The Florida Project
The Rider

BEST FIRST FEATURE
Columbus
Ingrid Goes West
Menashe
Oh Lucy!
Patti Cake$

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD
Dayveon
A Ghost Story
Life and nothing more (
Writer/Director: Antonio Méndez Esparza; Producers: Amadeo Hernández Bueno, Alvaro Portanet Hernández, Pedro Hernández Santos)
Most Beautiful Island (Writer/Director/Producer: Ana Asensio; Producers: Larry Fessenden, Noah Greenberg, Chadd Harbold, Jenn Wexler)
The Transfiguration

BEST DIRECTOR
Sean Baker, The Florida Project
Jonas Carpignano, A Ciambra
Luca Guadagnino, Call Me by Your Name
Jordan Peele, Get Out
Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie, Good Time
Chloé Zhao, The Rider

BEST SCREENPLAY
Greta Gerwig, Lady Bird
Azazel Jacobs, The Lovers
Martin McDonagh, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Jordan Peele, Get Out
Mike White, Beatriz at Dinner

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Donald Cried
The Big Sick
Women Who Kill
Columbus
Ingrid Goes West

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Thimios Bakatakis, The Killing of a Sacred Deer
Elisha Christian, Columbus
Hélène Louvart, Beach Rats
Sayombhu Mukdeeprom, Call Me by Your Name
Joshua James Richards, The Rider 

BEST EDITING
Ronald Bronstein, Benny Safdie, Good Time
Walter Fasano, Call Me by Your Name
Alex O’Flinn, The Rider
Gregory Plotkin, Get Out
Tatiana S. Riegel, I, Tonya   

BEST FEMALE LEAD
Salma Hayek, Beatriz at Dinner
Frances McDormand, Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri
Margot Robbie, I, Tonya
Saoirse Ronan, Lady Bird
Shinobu Terajima, Oh Lucy!
Regina Williams, Life and nothing more

BEST MALE LEAD
Timothée Chalamet, Call Me by Your Name
Harris Dickinson, Beach Rats
James Franco, The Disaster Artist
Daniel Kaluuya, Get Out
Robert Pattinson, Good Time     

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Holly Hunter, The Big Sick
Allison Janney, I, Tonya
Laurie Metcalf, Lady Bird
Lois Smith, Marjorie Prime
Taliah Lennice Webster, Good Time 

BEST SUPPORTING MALE
Nnamdi Asomugha, Crown Heights
Armie Hammer, Call Me By Your Name
Barry Keoghan,  The Killing of a Sacred Deer
Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Bennie Safdie, Good Time

ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD
Mudbound
Director: Dee Rees
Casting Directors: Billy Hopkins, Ashley Ingram
Ensemble Cast: Jonathan Banks, Mary J. Blige, Jason Clarke, Garrett Hedlund, Jason Mitchell, Rob Morgan, Carey Mulligan 

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM
BPM (Beats Per Minute)
France
Director: Robin Campillo
A Fantastic Woman
Chile
Director: Sebastián Lelio
I Am Not a Witch
Zambia
Director: Rungano Nyoni
Lady Macbeth
U.K.
Director: William Oldroyd
Loveless
Russia
Director: Andrey Zvyagintsev 

BEST DOCUMENTARY
The Departure
Director/Producer: Lana Wilson
Faces Places
Directors: Agnés Varda, JR
Producer: Rosalie Varda
Last Men in Aleppo
Director: Feras Fayyad
Producers: Kareem Abeed, Søeren Steen Jespersen, Stefan Kloos
Motherland
Director/Producer: Ramona S. Diaz
Producer: Rey Cuerdo
Quest
Director: Jonathan Olshefski
Producer: Sabrina Schmidt Gordon

BONNIE AWARD
So Yong Kim
Lynn Shelton
Chloé Zhao 

JEEP TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD
Shevaun Mizrahi
Director of Distant Constellation
Jonathan Olshefski
Director of Quest
Jeff Unay
Director of The Cage Fighter

KIEHL’S SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD
Amman Abbasi
Director of Dayveon
Justin Chon
Director of Gook
Kevin Phillips
Director of Super Dark Times 

PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD
Giulia Caruso & Ki Jin Kim
Ben LeClair
Summer Shelton

Sony Pictures Classics Acquires Lelio’s “A Fantastic Woman”

Sebastián Lelio’s latest project is expanding globally…

Sony Pictures Classics has acquired the North American, Australian and New Zealand rights to the 42-year-old Argentine-Chilean filmmaker’s A Fantastic Woman, ahead of its world premiere in competition Sunday at the Berlin Film Festival.

Sebastián Lelio

Written by Lelio and Gonzalo Maza, the Spanish-language film stars Daniela Vega as Marina, a waitress and singer, and Orlando (Francisco Reyes), an older man, who are in love and planning for the future. After Orlando suddenly falls ill and dies, Marina is forced to confront his family and society, and to fight again to show them who she is: complex, strong, forthright, fantastic.

The Chile-U.S.-Germany-Spain co-production is produced by Fabula’s Juan de Dios Larraín and Pablo Larraín with German banner Komplizen Film.

Lelio’s previous film, Gloria, won Best Ibero-American Film at the 1st Platino Awards.