Tuesday morning saw the announcement of the 2018 Academy Award nominations, and 16 of those, including Jordan Peele‘s Get Out and Mudbound, could trace back to the Sundance Film Festival in 2017. Either by screening at last years festival or getting support.
One of the best support systems Sundance has is their writers and directors workshops which have seen many films go on to the big screen with plenty of awards.
You could hardly map out more disparate trajectories for the three Sundance-supported films making the most Oscars noise this Tuesday. From Get Out to Mudbound to Call Me by Your Name, we find three films with markedly different storylines and equally contrasting journeys to this point. If Mudbound arrived at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival with a wave of anticipation, Get Out crept in unheralded and unannounced. And then there’s Call Me by Your Name, which has steadily won over audiences with its heart-wrenching portrayal of a sexual and emotional awakening.
While it’s far from unprecedented to discover a strong Sundance showing come Oscars announcement morning, it is something of an anomaly to see these types of films nominated by the Academy. Festival Director John Cooper noted the diversity and originality of this year’s nominees to The Hollywood Reporter: “Bold, independent stories will always find success on their own terms, but it’s heartening to see so much thoughtful, important work reflected and recognized among this year’s nominees — including, yes, several Sundance alumni across categories.”
Other noteworthy news is Rachel Morrison’s (Mudbound) nomination for Best Cinematography, which makes her the first-ever women to be nominated in that category. Documentary films from the 2017 Festival also made a strong presence this morning, led by Icarus, Last Men in Aleppo, and Strong Island; a Documentary Film Program supported film. Find the complete list of nominations for Sundance-supported films below.
Best Picture
Get Out, directed by Jordan Peele
Call Me by Your Name, directed by Luca Guadagnino
Best Director
Jordan Peele, Get Out
Best Original Screenplay
The Big Sick, written by Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani
Get Out, written by Jordan Peele
Best Adapted Screenplay
Call Me By Your Name, adapted by James Ivory
Mudbound, adapted by Virgil Williams and Dee Rees
Best Actor
Timothée Chalamet, Call Me By Your Name
Daniel Kaluuya, Get Out
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Mary J. Blige, Mudbound
Best Documentary
Icarus, Bryan Fogel, Dan Cogan
Last Men in Aleppo, Feras Fayyad, Kareem Abeed, Søren Steen Jespersen
Strong Island, Yance Ford, Joslyn Barnes
Best Cinematography
Mudbound, Rachel Morrison
Best Original Song
“Mighty River,” Mudbound, Mary J. Blige, Raphael Saadiq, Taura Stinson
“Mystery of Love,” Call Me By Your Name, Sufjan Stevens