The 97th Academy Awards (Cláudio's Version)
Tuesday, March 11, 2025 at 11:00PM
Cláudio Alves in All We Imagine as Light, Babygirl, Hard Truths, I Saw the TV Glow, I'm Still Here, Last Summer, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Nosferatu, Oscars (24), Queer, The People's Joker, Vermiglio

by Cláudio Alves

ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT | © Janus Films / Sideshow
It's been a week and change since the 97th Academy Awards. At this point, we have to start saying goodbye to the season that was and start looking ahead to a new cinematic year. And yet, there's still some business to take care of - some Fernanda Torres ruminations, the traditional Best Picture in black-and-white business, top tens and personal awards. Speaking of which, while Nathaniel is busy with the Film Bitch Awards, I thought about presenting my own ideal Oscar ballot. Those things led to great discussions in the past – remember my 1980s acting lineups? – so, let's bring that idea back. Following strict Oscar eligibility rules, my 97th Academy Awards are rather different from the real deal. Better, in my opinion, but maybe not in yours.

Across 20 feature film categories, I nominate 70 distinct projects. All We Imagine as Light is my big winner, but no single film won more than two prizes. I'm a big believer in spreading the wealth…

As previously stated, to differentiate this from my own version of the Film Bitch Awards, I'll be following the Oscar rule books and eligibility lists. Sadly, that means many of my favorite films from 2024 – whether commercially released or not – had to be left out. Nevertheless, I've included honorable mentions plus two ineligible highlights per category. Those latter ones are films that did receive US distribution – theatrical or digital – in 2024 but, for some reason or another, weren't submitted for Oscar consideration. Or weren't eligible in every race.

For example, Soundtrack to a Coup d'État could only be nominated for Best Documentary Feature. And something like Universal Language was eligible for most categories, but not Best Picture. Similar restrictions were followed in Song, Score, and all other races that depend on a more specific submission system. While I would give All We Imagine as Light the top honor, it's not nominated for Best International Film because no country submitted it. Similarly, though I would love to honor many of The Idea of You's fake boyband tunes, I'm not especially fond of its one submitted song. So, no nomination there.

Apologies for the over-explanation, but I didn't want anyone to get confused. Without further ado, here are my Oscars:

 

ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT | © Janus Films / Sideshow

BEST PICTURE


Honorable Mentions: FLOW, GOOD ONE, GREEN BORDER, NICKEL BOYS and THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG. 

Ineligible: DO NOT EXPECT TOO MUCH FROM THE END OF THE WORLD and SAMSARA.

 

ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT | © Janus Films / Sideshow

BEST DIRECTOR


Honorable Mentions: Maura Delpero, VERMIGLIO; Mati Diop, DAHOMEY; Luca Guadagnino, QUEER; Ryusuke Hamaguchi, EVIL DOES NOT EXIST; RaMell Ross, NICKEL BOYS.

Ineligible: Kiyoshi Kurosawa, CHIME and Eduardo Williams, THE HUMAN SURGE 3

 

HARD TRUTHS | © Bleecker Street

BEST ACTRESS


Honorable Mentions: Ryan Destiny, THE FIRE INSIDE; Nisrin Erradi, EVERYBODY LOVES TOUDA; Lily Gladstone, FANCY DANCE; Soheila Golestani, THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG; Demi Moore, THE SUBSTANCE.

Ineligible: Mzia Arabuli, CROSSING and Juliette Gariépy, RED ROOMS.

 

EXHIBITING FORGIVENESS | © Roadside Attractions

BEST ACTOR


Honorable Mentions: Colman Domingo, SING DING; René Pérez Joglar, IN THE SUMMERS; Eddie Peng, BLACK DOG; Glen Powell, HIT MAN; Sebastian Stan, A DIFFERENT MAN.

Ineligible: James Norton, NOWHERE SPECIAL and Raphaël Quenard, JUNKYARD DOG.

 

DÌDI | © Focus Features

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS


Honorable Mentions: Jimena Lindo, REINAS; Sophie Okonedo, JANET PLANET; Aubrey Plaza, MY OLD ASS; Sunita Rajwar, SANTOSH; Anamaria Vartolomei, THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO. 

Ineligible: Ane Gabarain, 20,000 SPECIES OF BEES and Amely Rakotoarumalala, RED ISLAND.

 

A DIFFERENT MAN | © A24

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR


Honorable Mentions: Ray Fisher, THE PIANO LESSON; Jonathan Hyde, SEBASTIAN; Karren Karagulian, ANORA; Héctor Medina, LOS FRIKIS; Peter Outerbridge, CLOSE TO YOU.

Ineligible: Pio Marmaï, YANNICK and Issaka Sawadogo, IO CAPITANO.

 

PROBLEMISTA | © A24

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY


Honorable Mentions: ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT, BABYGIRL, CHRONICLES OF A WANDERING SAINT, I SAW THE TV GLOW and UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE. 

Ineligible: A TRAVELLER'S NEEDS and DO NOT EXPECT TOO MUCH FROM THE END OF THE WORLD.

 

THE PEOPLE'S JOKER | © Altered Innocence

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY


Honorable Mentions: HIT MAN, NOSFERATU, QUEER, SMALL THINGS LIKE THESE and THE ROOM NEXT DOOR. 

Ineligible: KIDNAPPED and THE BEAST IN THE JUNGLE.

 

UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE | © Oscilloscope

BEST EDITING


Honorable Mentions: CHALLENGERS, DAHOMEY, DRIVE-AWAY DOLLS, LAST SUMMER and NICKEL BOYS. 

Ineligible: DO NOT EXPECT TOO MUCH FROM THE END OF THE WORLD and HERE.

 

NICKEL BOYS | © Amazon MGM Studios

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY


Honorable Mentions: BIRD, EVIL DOES NOT EXIST, I SAW THE TV GLOW, QUEER and THE GIRL WITH THE NEEDLE. 

Ineligible: BANEL & ADAMA and THE SETTLERS.

 

THE ROOM NEXT DOOR | © Sony Pictures Classics

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN


Honorable Mentions: LONGLEGS, THE BRUTALIST, THE END, THE SUBSTANCE and UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE. 

Ineligible: CLOSE YOUR EYES and TUMBBAD.

 

FIREBRAND | © Roadside Attractions

BEST COSTUME DESIGN


Honorable Mentions: BIRD, DUNE: PART TWO, MARIA, THE FALL GUY and THE SUBSTANCE. 

Ineligible: OMEN and THE BEAST IN THE JUNGLE.

 

THE SUBSTANCE | © MUBI

BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING


Honorable Mentions: ALIEN: ROMULUS, BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE, QUEER, THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO and WICKED. 

Ineligible: IN A VIOLENT NATURE and THE ANIMAL KINGDOM.

 

STOPMOTION | © IFC Films

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS


Honorable Mentions: ABIGAIL, CHALLENGERS, GODZILLA X KONG: THE NEW EMPIRE, THE PEOPLE'S JOKER and THE WILD ROBOT. 

Ineligible: HUNDREDS OF BEAVERS and THE VOURDALAK.

 

CHALLENGERS | © MGM Amazon Studios

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE


Honorable Mentions: BABYGIRL, HORIZON: AN AMERICAN SAGA – CHAPTER 1, PROBLEMISTA, QUEER and THE ROOM NEXT DOOR. 

Ineligible: EVIL DOES NOT EXIST and DISCO BOY.

 

I SAW THE TV GLOW | © A24

BEST ORIGINAL SONG


Honorable Mentions: "A Country Dance" from BETWEEN THE TEMPLES, "Folie à Deux" from JOKER: FOLIE À DEUX, "Huele a Fraude" from PROBLEMISTA, "My Pledge" from MEGALOPOLIS, "Winter Coat" from BLITZ. 

Ineligible: "Dance Before We Walk" from THE IDEA OF YOU and "Where Did She Go" from TRAP.

 

BLITZ | © Apple Studios

BEST SOUND


Honorable Mentions: CUCKOO, DUNE: PART TWO, FLOW, MARIA and NICKEL BOYS. 

Illegible: MUSIC and SAMSARA.

 

LOOK BACK | © GKIDS

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM


Honorable Mentions: ART COLLEGE 1994, CHICKEN FOR LINDA!, MEMOIR OF A SNAIL, SIROCCO AND THE KINGDOM OF WINDS and WALLACE & GROMIT: VENGEANCE MOST FOWL.

Ineligible: FOUR SOULS OF COYOTE and THE MISSING.

 

SOUNDTRACK TO A COUP D'ÉTAT | © Kino Lorber

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE FILM


Honorable Mentions: DAUGHTERS, ERNEST COLE: LOST & FOUND, FROM GROUND ZERO, MERCHANT IVORY and SUGARCANE. 

Ineligible: RYUICHI SAKAMOTO | OPUS and YOUTH (HOMECOMING).

 

GRAND TOUR | © MUBI

BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM


Honorable Mentions: CLOUD, Japan; FLOW, Latvia; JULIE KEEPS QUIET, Belgium; SUJO, Mexico; THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG, Germany.

Ineligible: ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT and SAMSARA.

 

QUEER | © A24

In the end, All We Imagine as Light is the most honored film, with two Oscars. Queer and Hard Truths are the nomination leaders, four apiece. However, only the latter gets a prize in the form of Marianne Jean-Baptiste's Best Actress win. For the curious, you can find a ranked list of every 2024 US release I watched on my Letterboxd.

So, what do you think of these Oscars of mine? Would you be interested in seeing my ballots for other years?

Article originally appeared on The Film Experience (http://thefilmexperience.net/).
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