Oscar Nomination Predictions: Foreign, Documentary and Animated

Foreign Language Film
1.    Ida
2.    Force Majeure
3.    Leviathan
4.    Wild Tales
5.    Timbuktu
The Rest of the Shortlist
6.    Tangerines
7.    The Liberator
8.    Accused
9.    Corn Island

Even when they narrow this down to a nine film shortlist, I find it impossible to guess what they will do. I just picked the five most acclaimed and well known films – always the safest, not always the smartest thing to do.

Documentary

1.    Citizenfour
2.    Life Itself
3.    The Overnighters
4.    Last Days in Vietnam
5.    Virunga
6.    Tales of the Grim Sleeper
7.    Keep On Keepin’ On
8.    Finding Vivian Maier
9.    The Salt of the Earth
10.  The Case Against 8
11.  Jodorowsky’s Dune
12.  The Kill Team
13.  The Internet’s Own Boy
14.  Art & Craft
15.  Citizen Koch

Another shortlist. I think the race to win is between Citizenfour and Life Itself – and I think Life Itself may in fact win here, even though Citizenfour is clearly the critics’ choice (and for once, I would be with the Academy if they did). They should be safe – but who the hell knows with this branch. In all seriousness, I could see any of the other films – except Citizen Koch, Art & Craft and The Internet’s Own Boy could sneak into the final five. We won’t know until we know.

Animated Films

1.    The Lego Movie
2.    How to Train Your Dragon 2
3.    The Boxtrolls
4.    Big Hero 6
5.    The Tale of the Princess Kaguya
The Rest
6.    Song of the Sea
7.    The Book of Life
8.    Cheatin’
9.    Mr. Peabody and Sherman
10.  Rio 2
11.  Rocks in My Pocket
12.  The Penguins of Madagascar
13.  Giovanni’s Island
14.  Jack and the Cuckoo-Clock Heart
15.  The Hero of Color City
16.  Henry & Me
17.  Miniscule: Valley of the Lost Ants
18.  Planes: Fire and Rescue
19.  Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return
20.  The Pirate Fairy

These are the 20 that have qualified – and I think the top four are safe – they seem to show up everywhere. I hold out hope that they go with The Tale of the Princess Kaguya for the fifth slot – and would love it even more if they make room for Song of the Sea. But the safest choice for the fifth slot would be The Book of Life. Could they make room for Bill Plympton finally with Cheatin. Hell, I don’t even know if they should – we cannot see it yet, and may never get to. The rest are probably just filler.