#Academy Unveils Shortlists in 10 Oscar Categories

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Thursday announced shortlists in 10 categories for the 96th Academy Awards.

The shortlists were unveiled in the following categories: documentary feature film, documentary short film, international feature film, makeup and hairstyling, Music (original score), music (original song), animated short film, live-action short film, sound and visual effects.

Nominations voting run Jan. 11-16, with the official nom announcement set for Jan. 23.

The Oscars ceremony will be held March 10 at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood and will be televised live on ABC. Jimmy Kimmel is returning as host.

See the full shortlists below, along with the Academy’s comments on each category.

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE FILM

Fifteen films will advance in this category. One hundred sixty-seven films were eligible in the category. Members of the Documentary Branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees.

The films, listed in alphabetical order by title, are:

American Symphony
Apolonia, Apolonia
Beyond Utopia
Bobi Wine: The People’s President
Desperate Souls, Dark City and the Legend of Midnight Cowboy
The Eternal Memory
Four Daughters
Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project
In the Rearview
Stamped from the Beginning
Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie
A Still Small Voice
32 Sounds
To Kill a Tiger
20 Days in Mariupol

DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILM

Fifteen films will advance in this category. One hundred fourteen films qualified in the category. Members of the Documentary Branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees.

The films, listed in alphabetical order by title, are:

The ABCs of Book Banning
The Barber of Little Rock
Bear
Between Earth & Sky
Black Girls Play: The Story of Hand Games
Camp Courage
Deciding Vote
How We Get Free
If Dreams Were Lightning: Rural Healthcare Crisis
Island in Between
The Last Repair Shop
Last Song from Kabul
Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó
Oasis
Wings of Dust

INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM

Fifteen films will advance to the next round of voting in this category.  Films from 88 countries and regions were eligible.

Academy members from all branches were invited to participate in the preliminary round of voting and must have met a minimum viewing requirement to be eligible to vote in the category.

In the nominations round, Academy members from all branches are invited to opt in to participate and must view all 15 shortlisted films to vote.

The films, listed in alphabetical order by country, are:

Armenia, Amerikatsi
Bhutan, The Monk and the Gun
Denmark, The Promised Land
Finland, Fallen Leaves
France, The Taste of Things
Germany, The Teachers’ Lounge
Iceland, Godland
Italy, Io Capitano
Japan, Perfect Days
Mexico, Totem
Morocco, The Mother of All Lies
Spain, Society of the Snow
Tunisia, Four Daughters
Ukraine, 20 Days in Mariupol
United Kingdom, The Zone of Interest

MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING 

Ten films will advance in this category.  All members of the Academy’s Makeup Artists and Hairstylists Branch will be invited to view excerpts and interviews with the artists from each of the shortlisted films on Sunday, January 14, 2024.  Branch members will vote to nominate five films for final Oscar® consideration.

The films, listed in alphabetical order by title, are:

Beau Is Afraid
Ferrari
Golda
Killers of the Flower Moon
The Last Voyage of the Demeter
Maestro
Napoleon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
Society of the Snow

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE)

Fifteen scores will advance in the Original Score category for the 96th Academy Awards.  One hundred forty-eight scores were eligible in the category.  Members of the Music Branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees.

The scores, listed in alphabetical order by film title, are:

American Fiction
American Symphony
Barbie
The Boy and the Heron
The Color Purple
Elemental
The Holdovers
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
Saltburn
Society of the Snow
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
The Zone of Interest

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG)

Fifteen songs will advance in the Original Song category for the 96th Academy Awards.  Ninety-four songs were eligible in the category.  Members of the Music Branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees.

The original songs, along with the motion picture in which each song is featured, are listed below in alphabetical order by film title:

“It Never Went Away” from American Symphony
“Dear Alien (Who Art In Heaven)” from Asteroid City
“Dance The Night” from Barbie
“I’m Just Ken” from Barbie
“What Was I Made For?” from Barbie
“Keep It Movin’” from The Color Purple
“Superpower (I)” from The Color Purple
““The Fire Inside” from Flamin’ Hot
“High Life” from Flora and Son
“Meet In The Middle” from Flora and Son
“Can’t Catch Me Now” from The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
“Wahzhazhe (A Song For My People)” from Killers of the Flower Moon
“Quiet Eyes” from Past Lives
“Road To Freedom” from Rustin
“Am I Dreaming” from Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

ANIMATED SHORT FILM

Fifteen films will advance in the Animated Short Film category for the 96th Academy Awards.  Ninety-three films qualified in the category.  Members of the Short Films and Feature Animation Branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees.

The films, listed in alphabetical order by title, are:

Boom
Eeva
Humo (Smoke)
I’m Hip
A Kind of Testament
Koerkorter (Dog Apartment)
Letter to a Pig
Ninety-Five Senses
Once upon a Studio
Our Uniform
Pachyderme
Pete
27
War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko
Wild Summon

LIVE-ACTION SHORT FILM

Fifteen films will advance in this category. One hundred eighty-seven films qualified in the category. For the first time, Academy members from all branches were invited to participate in the preliminary round of voting and must have met a minimum viewing requirement to be eligible to vote in the category.

In the nominations round, Academy members from all branches are invited to opt in to participate and must view all 15 shortlisted films to vote.

The films, listed in alphabetical order by title, are:

The After
The Anne Frank Gift Shop
An Avocado Pit
Bienvenidos a Los Angeles
Dead Cat
Good Boy
Invincible
Invisible Border
Knight of Fortune
The One Note Man
Red, White and Blue
The Shepherd
Strange Way of Life
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar
Yellow

SOUND

Ten films will advance in this category. All eligible members of the Sound Branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees. Academy members will be invited to view excerpts from each of the shortlisted films beginning Thursday, January 11, 2024, in the San Francisco Bay area, followed by London, Los Angeles and New York. Branch members will vote to nominate five films for final Oscar consideration.

The films, listed in alphabetical order by title, are:

Barbie
The Creator
Ferrari
The Killer
Killers of the Flower Moon
Maestro
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
Napoleon
Oppenheimer
The Zone of Interest

VISUAL EFFECTS

Ten films remain in the running in the Visual Effects category for the 96th Academy Awards.  The Visual Effects Branch Executive Committee determined the shortlist.  All members of the Visual Effects Branch will be invited to view excerpts and interviews with the artists from each of the shortlisted films on Saturday, January 13, 2024.  Branch members will vote to nominate five films for final Oscar consideration.

The films, listed in alphabetical order by title, are:

The Creator
Godzilla Minus One
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
Napoleon
Poor Things
Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire
Society of the Snow
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse