Revealing the 2026 Oscar candidates

At the Venice Film Festival, director Jim Jarmusch's "Father Mother Sister Brother" beat 20 other nominees to win the Golden Lion for Best Film. "Father Mother Sister Brother" is considered a simple film but has subtle social depth. Three stories about three different families in three different countries, but all have in common the relationship between parents and their grown children.

Jim Jarmusch has a minimalist filmmaking style with slow rhythms like everyday life, focusing on the mood and psychological development of the characters. With “Father Mother Sister Brother”, that characteristic of Jim Jarmusch is highlighted. The film brings viewers to everyday life, ups and downs but somewhere there are still simple joys, warmth that is subtle in a hasty, distant society. Different from films with big themes about politics , religion, human rights, race that are often seen at the Oscars, “Father Mother Sister Brother” is considered to have its own color.

In addition, “The Smashing Machine” and “The Voice of Hind Rajab” also attracted attention at the Venice Film Festival, and were considered potential candidates for the Oscar race. Among them, “The Voice of Hind Rajab” (pictured) won the Grand Jury Prize at Venice, a film with a strong political tone when mentioning the conflict in the Gaza Strip. The work received a 23-minute standing ovation when it was screened, a record number for a film shown at the Venice Film Festival. Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian said that “The Voice of Hind Rajab” is an excellent and urgent film, while Radhika Seth of Vogue said that this is a film that not only makes viewers think, but also live with it.

At the Toronto Film Festival, Chloé Zhao's "Hamnet" won the top prize, Audience Choice. Accordingly, Chloé Zhao is also the first filmmaker to win this award twice, following her 2020 win with "Nomadland". "Nomadland" is also the work that brought Chloé Zhao the Oscar for Best Picture and Best Director. "Hamnet" is a colorful historical drama film, telling the story of the genius William Shakespeare. "Hamnet" is considered to be in line with the selection criteria of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences - the Oscar Organizing Committee.

In addition, the Toronto Film Festival also brought many excellent works: “Frankenstein”, “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery”, “No Other Choice”, “Sentimental Value”. These are all potential candidates for the 2026 Oscar. In fact, in recent years, works that have won or made an impressive appearance at the Toronto Film Festival have been nominated and won at the Oscars such as: “Green Book” (2018), “Nomadland” (2020), “The Fabelmans” (2022).

At the Telluride Film Festival, many promising candidates were also revealed: “A House of Dynamite”, “Bugonia”, “One Battle After Another”… Among them, “A House of Dynamite” attracted attention because of the return of Kathryn Bigelow, the first female director in history to win an Oscar with “The Hurt Locker” (2009).

The Telluride Film Festival is not a big event but it is an event with many critics and experts. The highly rated films at the Telluride Film Festival will almost all be agreed upon by many professional forums and critics about the quality. Specifically, Paul Thomas Anderson's "One Battle After Another" was warmly praised at the Film Festival, also achieved a positive score of 96 on Metacritic, and 97% on Rotten Tomatoes.

The 2026 Oscar race is still long, but the candidates have gradually appeared. The colors are also diverse, from political to art, comedy, tragedy, all are available. Especially at the end of the year, big film projects will gradually be released, creating fierce competition.

BAO LAM (Synthesized from Variety, The Guardian, Hollywood Reporter)

Source: https://baocantho.com.vn/lo-dien-cac-ung-cu-vien-oscar-2026-a191522.html