A Guide to Film and TV’s Awards Season
Image Credits: Unsplash
January can often feel like a celebrity edition of Where’s Wally, with the biggest names from the land of entertainment rolling into town for film and TV’s awards season. Whilst the rollout of the red carpet for the Golden Globes signifies the beginning for televised awards, frontrunners have long been established by an awards season which seems to grow more protracted each year, particularly in the case of film.
The “big” five film festivals (Berlin, Cannes, Sundance, Toronto & Venice) set the tone for the season. Sean Baker’s screwball comedy Anora (still playing in select theatres), which centres on a sex worker falling for the offspring of a Russian oligarch, picked up Cannes’ top prize in May last year and received seven BAFTA nominations this past week.
Once the festivals are done and dusted, attention then turns to the critics, with focus predominantly falling upon New York, LA, and the National Society of Film Critics (NSFC). Films such as Nickel Boys (awarded best film at NSFC and playing in specific UK cinemas) can use the platform given by these groups to mount a presence during the televised awards.
That being said, critically divisive crime drama-cum-musical, Emilia Pérez, was the big winner at this year’s star-studded Golden Globes, picking up four awards including Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. The film (currently on Netflix) which stars Zoe Saldaña, Selena Gomez and Karla Sofía Gascón as the titular character, has attracted criticism from some corners for its portrayal of the trans experience and for its depiction of Mexico, resulting in director Jacques Audiard offering an apology. The winner of the Best Motion Picture – Drama category, The Brutalist, Brady Corbet’s three-and-a-half-hour tale of a Holocaust survivor’s struggle to achieve the American Dream, will be coming to UK cinemas from the 24th of January.
Other big film winners from the Golden Globes included Demi Moore, who perhaps had the moment of the night with a speech which acknowledged her own struggles with self-doubt. For her turn as a fading Hollywood star tempted by a drug promising a newer and improved version of herself, Moore scooped up Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy for The Substance (now streaming on multiple platforms, including MUBI). Other Hollywood titans such as Angelina Jolie and Nicole Kidman were nominated, but it was Fernanda Torres who claimed a surprise win in the Best Actress in a Drama category. Torres, the second Brazilian woman to be nominated in the category - the first being her mother - took home the award for her performance as a mother-turned-activist searching for answers within military dictatorship Brazil in Walter Salles’ I’m Still Here (in UK cinemas from February).
Photo Courtesy: Adam Chitayat - “Walter Salles, Selton Mello, Fernanda Torres at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival”
On the TV side of things, the theme was repetition with most of the winners echoing Primetime Emmy’s choices last September. Baby Reindeer (available on Netflix) triumphed in the Limited Series category whilst the third season of Hacks won in the Musical or Comedy category. Shōgun, which has garnered acclaim for its portrayal of war-torn 17th century Japan, won the most awards. Colin Farrell (The Penguin) and Jodie Foster (True Detective: Night Country) were among the acting winners on the television front.
Whilst TV fans now face a wait until September for this year’s Primetime Emmys, film’s award season is very much in full flight with BAFTA announcing its film nominations over the past week; Ralph Fiennes-led papal drama Conclave (available in theatres and on Sky Store) leads with 12 nods. However, questions are being asked as to how the remainder of awards season will play out considering the devastation inflicted upon the home of Hollywood by the California wildfires. Bill Kramer, Chief Executive of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, has reiterated his commitment to the Oscars ceremony (currently scheduled for March 2nd). Yet concerns with holding Hollywood’s glitziest night given the devastation have been raised. Stephen King, for one, has announced his opposition to the ceremony going ahead.
Would the Oscars provide a much-needed beacon of hope for the community? Would it only serve to embolden claims of Hollywood’s disconnect with the rest of the population? Only time will tell.