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Brendan Fraser and ‘Turning Red’ among Canadian nominees for the 2023 Oscars

The 2023 Oscars nominees were announced on Jan. 24. (Courtesy: Canva)

Oscar nominations are in!

The noms were announced this morning live with the help of Oscar-winner Riz Ahmed, who produced the short film The Long Goodbye, and actor Allison Williams, who stars in the most recent cinematic phenomenon M3gan. 

Leading nominations across categories are Everything Everywhere All At Once, All Quiet on the Western Front and The Banshees of Inisherin. 

However, Canadian contributions are highlighted throughout this year’s nominees and, if you’re looking for a shortlist, we’ve got you covered. 

Toronto-born filmmaker Sarah Polley’s 2022 feature film Women Talking is nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay, and against nine other feature films for Best Picture. Polley’s film is based on the 2018 Miriam Toews’ novel of the same name. The story takes place in a Mennonite community where women of a secluded religious community reconcile with the harsh realities of sexual assault in their creed. 

The box office hit Avatar: The Way of Water, by Northern Ontario’s James Cameron, is nominated for Best Picture, and also for technical categories, including sound, production design and visual effects. 

Flying Sailor by Calgary’s animation-duo Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis is nominated for Best Short Animated movie. The film takes place during the First World War at the Halifax harbour and is inspired by a seaman thrown in the air after the colliding of two ships. 

Continuing stories at sea is Canadian-American animator, film director, voice actor and Waterloo native Chris Williams. His animated film Sea Beast, which follows sea monster hunters, is nominated for Best Animated Feature.

Meanwhile, Disney and Pixar’s Turning Red is also nominated for Best Animated Feature. The film was created by Chinese-Canadian animator, director and screenwriter Domee Shi, and marks her directorial debut. The coming-of-age story follows 13-year-old Meilin “Mei” Lee as she grapples with the hormonal changes involved with beginning her menses while dealing with a generational condition of becoming a large red panda when her emotions are heightened. 

From the National Geographic, Canadian-American documentary Fire of Love joins the nominees for best doc feature and depicts French volcanologists and filmmakers Katia and Maurice Krafft, who lost their lives in the eruption of Mount Unzen in Japan. It’s competing with Toronto-director Daniel Roher’s Navalny, which digs into the poisoning of Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader, lawyer, and anti-corruption activist. 

For his on-screen portrayal in the 2022 feature Whale, actor Brendan Fraser is cemented in nominees for Best Performance. He was born in the United States to Canadian parents and went to high school in Toronto. In the drama, Fraser plays an overweight English teacher who attempts to redeem his estranged relationship with his daughter.

Jimmy Kimmel returns as the host of the 95th Academy Awards that will air on March 12. 

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