Oscars 2022: 'Jai Bhim,' 'Marakkar' enter eligible feature film list
What's the story
After a few scenes from Suriya-led Jai Bhim made it to the official YouTube channel of The Academy, the widely-acclaimed movie has added another feather on its cap. The Academy announced 276 films that were eligible for Oscars 2022 and Jai Bhim was included in it. Aside from the Tamil venture, Malayalam superstar Mohanlal's Marakkar: Arabikadalinte Simham also made the cut. Here's more.
Context
Why does the story matter?
For the 94th Oscars, 276 movies became eligible for the nominations, which are set to begin from January 27. The official nods will be announced on February 8, before the grand event is held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on March 27. In order to be eligible for Best Picture, films were required to submit a confidential Academy Representation and Inclusion Standards entry.
Twitter Post
Check out the full list here
The 276 feature films in contention for the 94th Academy Awards. #Oscars https://t.co/ae6SRmjoG1
— The Academy (@TheAcademy) January 20, 2022
Entries
Both Indian entries have impressed critics as well as audience
With Jai Bhim, director Tha Se Gnanavel hit the mark with both the critics and the general audience. Focused on caste discrimination, the movie also picked up a Best Non-English Language Film nomination at the Golden Globes. Mohanlal's historical drama, Marakkar, on the other hand, has already picked up the Best Feature Film award at National Film Awards. It charmed the theater-going viewers, too.
Honor
Recently, Jyotika-Suriya picked up Global Community Oscar Award 2021 nominations
Recently, Suriya and wife-actress Jyotika also picked up a nomination for Global Community Oscar Award 2021. This award honors celebrities for making a significant contribution toward strengthening human communities among other contributions. Coming back to the Oscars, the Indian documentary, Writing with Fire, has made the shortlist cut in the Documentary Feature category. Of the total 138 entries, only 15 documentaries were nominated.
Information
Number of eligible films lot less due to 10-month period
Notably, the number of eligible feature films this year is far less than the other years. This is because the eligibility period is only 10 months. Last year, the eligibility period was extended until February 28, 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, thereby producing a much longer list of 366 eligible films. This was also the largest number of Oscars submissions since 1970.