With the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announcing the choices for the best of 2017, there are 5 LGBTQ Oscar nominations that we’re glad to hear about.
What’s more, the selection of the gay coming-of-age movie Call Me By Your Name for Best Picture shows that Moonlight’s win last year has opened the doors for good LGBTQ movies to be selected for the Oscars– and hopefully win them.
LGBTQ Oscar nominations: The movies
The most prominent among the LGBTQ nominations is Call Me By Your Name, which not only copped a Best Picture nomination but also for Best Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Original Song.
Unfortunately, the movie’s director, Luca Guadagnino, didn’t get a nomination.
Meanwhile, Yance Ford’s first feature-length film Strong Island was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary, making him the first out-transgender director of an Oscar-nominated film.
Ford’s film doesn’t deal with LGBTQ themes, focusing instead on issues like racial violence and how the judicial system fails the black people.
Likewise, Ford isn’t the first transgender Oscar nominee. That honor goes to the late Angela Morley, a transgender composer who was nominated for The Little Prince (1974) and The Slipper and the Rose (1976).
Another LGTQ nominee is the Chilean movie A Fantastic Woman for Best Foreign Film, which stars the awesome transgender actress Daniela Vega (which LN did a feature on last November).
Sadly, Vega wasn’t nominated for her great acting– but given that she’s the heart and soul of the film, the latter’s nomination is still a victory for her.
LGBTQ Oscar nominations: Technical
On the technical side, cinematographer Rachel Morrison is the first female to be recognized in a traditional all-male category with a Best Cinematography nomination for Mudbound.
For the same movie, Dee Rees was the first African-American woman nominated in the Best Adapted Screenplay category.
“There’s no stopping us. Women are so qualified, they should just go for it. It’s not just about cinematography, it’s about believing in yourself and that anything’s possible,” Morrison told Hollywood Reporter after news of the nomination came out.
An LGBTQ-connected movie is Lady Bird– which has the subplot of a gay character– and is nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Actress, and Best Supporting Actress.
Meanwhile, Guillermo Del Toro’s The Shape of Water has 13 nominations and features on the side a gay character who faces homophobia and being in the closet.
The Oscar winners will be announced on March 4 during the 90th Academy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles, California.