Emilia Perez, the widely praised Spanish-language French musical crime comedy film, has topped this year’s Oscar nominations.
In an announcement on Thursday, which was postponed by the devastating Los Angeles wildfires, it was announced that the transgender cartel musical topped the Oscar nominations by earning 13 nods.
Emilia Perez, the Mexico-set musical by directed by French director Jacques Audiard, and released by Netflix, shattered the record for the most Academy Award nominations for a non-English-language movie. The 13 nominations, included best picture and best actress for Karla Sophia Gascon, making her the first openly trans actor ever nominated for an Oscar.
Following closely were the epic immigrant saga The Brutalist and the dazzling musical adaptation Wicked, each earning 10 nominations.
The Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown and the Vatican thriller Conclave received eight nominations each.
Voting deadlines were extended this month after Los Angeles, the entertainment capital of the U.S. and home to the Academy Awards, was ravaged by multiple wildfires that claimed over two dozen lives and forced tens of thousands to evacuate.
The nominees were announced under somber circumstances, as a town usually engrossed in the Oscars race turned its attention to yet another wave of fires burning north of the city.
Despite this, the glamorous Oscars ceremony remains scheduled for March 2, with stars and studios—after months of campaigning and millions spent—discovering whether they made the coveted final shortlists.
The film Emilia Perez, which follows a narco boss who transitions to life as a woman and renounces crime, earned nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best International Film, along with multiple nods for song, score, and sound.
Karla Sofia Gascon made history as the first openly transgender nominee for Best Actress, while Zoe Saldana received a nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
Their more prominent co-star, Selena Gomez, faced criticism for her Spanish-language dialogue and did not secure a nomination.
Nevertheless, the Netflix film broke the record for the most nominations ever received by a non-English-language movie, surpassing the previous benchmark set by Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Roma, each with 10 nominations.
