Oscars 2023 Shortlists: Documentary, Score, Song, and International Film Categories

Fire of Love
A scene from ‘Fire of Love’ (Credit: National Geographic Documentary Films / Neon)

The list of potential 95th Oscars nominees has narrowed, with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announcing shortlists in select categories. The field has been reduced in 10 categories including 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.

Nominees for the 2023 Oscars will be announced bright and early on Tuesday, January 24th. The 95th Academy Awards will take place on Sunday, March 12th in Hollywood. Jimmy Kimmel has been tapped to host the ceremony airing live on ABC.

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE FILM
144 films were eligible in the category and 15 remain in competition. Members of the Documentary Branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees.

“All That Breathes”
“All the Beauty and the Bloodshed”
“Bad Axe”
“Children of the Mist”
“Descendant”
“Fire of Love”
“Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a Journey, a Song”
“Hidden Letters”
“A House Made of Splinters”
“The Janes”
“Last Flight Home”
“Moonage Daydream”
“Navalny”
“Retrograde”
“The Territory”

Surprisingly, neither Good Night Oppy nor Wildcat made the cut.

DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILM
98 films qualified in the category. Members of the Documentary Branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees.

“American Justice on Trial: People v. Newton”
“Anastasia”
“Angola Do You Hear Us? Voices from a Plantation Prison”
“As Far as They Can Run”
“The Elephant Whisperers”
“The Flagmakers”
“Happiness Is £4 Million”
“Haulout”
“Holding Moses”
“How Do You Measure a Year?”
“The Martha Mitchell Effect”
“Nuisance Bear”
“Shut Up and Paint”
“Stranger at the Gate”
“38 at the Garden”

INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM
Films from 92 countries and regions were eligible in the category. 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.

Argentina, “Argentina, 1985”
Austria, “Corsage”
Belgium, “Close”
Cambodia, “Return to Seoul”
Denmark, “Holy Spider”
France, “Saint Omer”
Germany, “All Quiet on the Western Front”
India, “Last Film Show”
Ireland, “The Quiet Girl”
Mexico, “Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths”
Morocco, “The Blue Caftan”
Pakistan, “Joyland”
Poland, “EO”
South Korea, “Decision to Leave”
Sweden, “Cairo Conspiracy”

MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
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 15, 2023. Branch members will vote to nominate five films for final Oscar® consideration.

“All Quiet on the Western Front”
“Amsterdam”
“Babylon”
“The Batman”
“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”
“Blonde”
“Crimes of the Future”
“Elvis”
“Emancipation”
“The Whale”

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE)
147 scores were submitted and 15 were chosen. Members of the Music Branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees.

“All Quiet on the Western Front”
“Avatar: The Way of Water”
“Babylon”
“The Banshees of Inisherin”
“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”
“Devotion”
“Don’t Worry Darling”
“Everything Everywhere All at Once”
“The Fabelmans”
“Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery”
“Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio”
“Nope”
“She Said”
“The Woman King”
“Women Talking”

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG)
15 songs advance out of 81 that were eligible in the category. Members of the Music Branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees.

“Time” from “Amsterdam”
“Nothing Is Lost (You Give Me Strength)” from “Avatar: The Way of Water”
“Lift Me Up” from “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”
“This Is A Life” from “Everything Everywhere All at Once”
“Ciao Papa” from “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio”
“Til You’re Home” from “A Man Called Otto”
“Naatu Naatu” from “RRR”
“My Mind & Me” from “Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me”
“Good Afternoon” from “Spirited”
“Applause” from “Tell It like a Woman”
“Stand Up” from “Till”
“Hold My Hand” from “Top Gun: Maverick”
“Dust & Ash” from “The Voice of Dust and Ash”
“Carolina” from “Where the Crawdads Sing”
“New Body Rhumba” from “White Noise”

ANIMATED SHORT FILM
81 films qualified in the Animated Short Film category. Members of the Short Films and Feature Animation Branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees.

“Black Slide”
“The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse”
“The Debutante”
“The Flying Sailor”
“The Garbage Man”
“Ice Merchants”
“It’s Nice in Here”
“More than I Want to Remember”
“My Year of Dicks”
“New Moon”
“An Ostrich Told Me the World Is Fake and I Think I Believe It”
“Passenger”
“Save Ralph”
“Sierra”
“Steakhouse”

LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
200 films qualified in the category. Members of the Short Films and Feature Animation, Directors, Producers and Writers Branches vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees.

“All in Favor”
“Almost Home”
“An Irish Goodbye”
“Ivalu”
“Le Pupille”
“The Lone Wolf”
“Nakam”
“Night Ride”
“Plastic Killer”
“The Red Suitcase”
“The Right Words”
“Sideral”
“The Treatment”
“Tula”
“Warsha”

SOUND
10 films will advance in the Sound category for the 95th Academy Awards. 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 12, 2023, in the San Francisco Bay area, followed by New York, London and Los Angeles. Branch members will vote to nominate five films for final Oscar consideration.

“All Quiet on the Western Front”
“Avatar: The Way of Water”
“Babylon”
“The Batman”
“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”
“Elvis”
“Everything Everywhere All at Once”
“Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio”
“Moonage Daydream”
“Top Gun: Maverick”

VISUAL EFFECTS
10 films remain in the running in the Visual Effects category for the 95th 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 14, 2023. Branch members will vote to nominate five films for final Oscar consideration.

“All Quiet on the Western Front”
“Avatar: The Way of Water”
“The Batman”
“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”
“Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”
“Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore”
“Jurassic World Dominion”
“Nope”
“Thirteen Lives”
“Top Gun: Maverick”

It’s stunning to see Doctor Strange and Jurassic World capturing spots but no love from the Academy for either RRR or Everything Everywhere All at Once.