You know that specific, electric hum that fills the air right before a jump scare? That’s what Tuesday morning felt like. I was refreshing the Academy’s page with the manic energy of a conspiracy theorist, waiting to see who survived the first round of cuts.
Oscar shortlists are brutal. They are the Squid Game of awards season. And while we all expected the heavy hitters to advance, nobody—and I mean nobody—saw Sirāt coming with a flamethrower.
Spain’s entry didn’t just make the International Feature list; it smashed into five categories. Casting, Cinematography, Score, Sound. That’s not a polite “welcome to the party” nod. That is a hostile takeover.
Let’s look at the blood on the floor.
The Horror of It All (Literally)
As a lifelong disciple of genre cinema, I have to pause and scream about this: Weapons, Warner Bros.‘ horror hit, made the Casting shortlist.
Do you understand how rare that is? The Academy usually treats horror like a contagious disease. But in the inaugural year of the Casting category, they let a horror movie sit at the adults’ table alongside prestige bait like Hamnet and Frankenstein. It missed Hair & Makeup (justice for Amy Madigan’s witch transformation!), but seeing a genre film recognized for its ensemble is a victory I’ll take.
The Big Dogs and The Dead Bodies
Wicked: For Good and Sinners are the behemoths here, tied with eight mentions each. If you thought the Wicked hype was just marketing smoke, you were wrong. The crafts branches—Sound, Visual Effects, Makeup—are obsessed with it. It’s performing like a Best Picture frontrunner.
Then there’s the silence. The deafening, awkward silence surrounding Searchlight’s The Testament of Ann Lee.
Zero. Nothing. Nada.
I’ll confess: I thought Searchlight could muscle that film into at least a few craft slots. But missing everything? That’s catastrophic. Amanda Seyfried is now running a Best Actress campaign on a deserted island. Without craft support, her path to a nomination just turned into a free solo climb without a rope.
Netflix‘s Expensive Participation Trophy
Here is where I start arguing with myself. Is the Academy biased against streamers, or did Netflix just fumble the slate?
Their big hopefuls—Jay Kelly, A House of Dynamite, and Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery—got absolutely walled out of the major craft conversations. They landed on the longlist for Score. That’s it. Even Wake Up Dead Man, with a cast that costs more than the GDP of a small nation, missed the Casting shortlist.
It feels personal. The documentary branch was even colder. Netflix went 0-for-3 with their docs (Apocalypse in the Tropics, The Perfect Neighbor, Cover-Up). Last year, none of their shortlisted docs made the final five. This year, they didn’t even get that far. The message is clear: Theatrical still rules.
The International Ambush
The International Feature list is usually where I find my favorite cinema, and this year is a bloodbath. Neon, flexing like the A24 of yesteryear, landed five films on the list, including the surging Sirāt and Brazil’s The Secret Agent.
But keep an eye on the political temperature. Three Palestine-themed films made the cut: The Voice of Hind Rajab, All That’s Left of You, and Palestine 36. There is zero statistical chance all three make the final five—the math doesn’t work. But their presence on the shortlist signals that the international branch is voting with its conscience this year.
We have until January 22nd to obsess over this. The shortlists are just the trailer; the movie hasn’t started yet. But if today taught us anything, it’s that being a “frontrunner” in October means nothing when the voters actually start watching the screeners in December.
Sirāt is real. Wicked is a juggernaut. And horror is finally invited to the party. I need a drink.
Key Takeaways from the Shortlists
Sirāt is the Dark Horse
Landing five mentions—especially in Casting and Sound—suggests broad support across the Academy, not just the international branch. Watch out for a Best Picture push.
Horror Breaks Through
Weapons making the Casting shortlist in the category’s debut year sets a massive precedent for genre films going forward.
The Netflix Blackout
Failing to land significant craft mentions for their expensive slate puts huge pressure on their acting campaigns to salvage the season.
Wicked’s Dominance
Eight mentions confirms that the industry respects the craft of the sequel far more than the first installment.
FAQ
Why is the new Casting category such a big deal this year?
It’s the first time in Academy history that Casting Directors are being recognized with a competitive Oscar. The shortlist acts as a litmus test for overall industry support—notice that all six presumed Best Picture frontrunners made the list. It’s likely to become the single best predictor for Best Picture nominations moving forward.
Did The Testament of Ann Lee getting snubbed kill its Oscar chances?
It didn’t kill them, but it put them on life support. Without “below‑the‑line” support (crafts, tech), it is historically very difficult for a film to land major nominations like Best Picture. Amanda Seyfried can still get in on passion votes, but the film itself has lost all its structural momentum.
Why did Sirāt perform so surprisingly well?
While Neon had other frontrunners, Sirāt likely benefited from being a “craft‑heavy” film—something that appeals to cinematographers and sound designers, not just the directors who vote on the International Feature list. When a foreign film breaks into technical categories, it usually means it’s being widely watched and respected across the entire Academy membership.
Is the Academy biased against Netflix documentaries?
The numbers suggest yes. The documentary branch tends to be protective of traditional theatrical docs and wary of streaming algorithms. By shutting out Netflix’s high‑profile contenders this early, the branch is doubling down on the idea that “cinema” happens in theaters, even for non‑fiction.
