Oscar Nominees Announced; Rasoulof's Film and an Iranian Animation Are Included

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the list of nominees for the Oscars on Thursday, February 4, which includes three Iranian artists. In the category of International Feature Film, "The Fig Tree Seeds" directed by renowned Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof is one of the nominees for the Oscar. This film competes as Germany's representative in the International Feature Film category and is considered a strong contender for the award. Mohammad Rasoulof made "The Fig Tree Seeds" underground in Iran and premiered it at the Cannes International Film Festival in France last summer after secretly leaving Iran. The film "In the Embrace of the Tree" directed by Babak Khajeh Pasha was submitted by Iran to the Academy but did not succeed and even failed to make it to the preliminary list. Additionally, the short animation "In the Shadow of the Cypress" created by young Iranian artists Shirin Soohani and Hossein Malayemi is also nominated for an Oscar. This work has received significant acclaim from art critics, winning several awards from prestigious festivals such as Tribeca and Los Angeles in the USA, Spark in Canada, and Animayo in Spain. Shirin Soohani and Hossein Malayemi, a young artistic couple residing in Tehran, are graduates of the Master's program in Animation Direction from Tehran University. They continue their professional activities by establishing an independent animation studio in Tehran and creating diverse works like "In the Shadow of the Cypress." However, the film "Emilia Perez," which is also a competitor to "The Fig Tree Seeds" in the International Feature Film category, surpassed its rivals with 13 nominations in various categories. This film set a new record for a non-English language work at the Oscars, and Carla Sofia Gascon, for her performance in this musical film, was nominated for Best Actress, making her the first transgender artist to be nominated based on her gender identity. The films "Wicked" and "Brutalist" are considered successful this year with nominations in 10 categories. "Confidential Meeting" and "A Complete Stranger" follow with eight nominations, including Best Picture. The streaming network Netflix surpassed other studios in the arts and entertainment industry with nominations in 16 different categories. Companies like A24, Universal, Focus Features, and Searchlight follow in the rankings. The film "The Apprentice" by Iranian-Danish filmmaker Ali Abbasi is nominated in two categories. Sebastian Stan is nominated for Best Actor, and Jeremy Strong is nominated for Best Supporting Actor. Other nominees in the Best Actor category include Adrien Brody, Timothée Chalamet, Coleman Domingo, and Ralph Fiennes. In the Best Actress category, Cynthia Erivo, Carla Sofia Gascon, Mikey Madison, Demi Moore, and Fernanda Torres are nominated this year. The 97th Academy Awards ceremony will take place on Sunday, March 2, 2025 (12 Esfand) in Los Angeles. However, due to ongoing wildfires in Los Angeles, there is a serious possibility that the ceremony may be postponed, although the Academy has not yet commented on this matter. The potential postponement of any awards ceremony, given the busy upcoming season, complicates the scheduling of other ceremonies, especially concerning television broadcasts that are crucial for revenue generation. Currently, this is the Academy's biggest concern, and they may be forced to postpone this year's awards ceremony. The Academy has postponed the ceremony several times in the past for various reasons, the last being four years ago during the COVID-19 pandemic.