Special Features Nominations-2018

Happy Friday and thank you for coming back for the latest in Oscar Nomination predictions. Today I am looking at several special categories of feature films: Best Foreign Language Film, Best Animated Feature Film, and Best Documentary Feature Film.

Again, if you missed any of the previous posts, please check them out. So far I've posted on:

•      Sound and Visual
•      Design, Cinematography, and Editing
•      Music, Makeup, and Costumes

---

Best Foreign Language Film

Front Runners:
Roma (Mexico) - I honestly considered not even including any more nominees in this category. Since the release, there has been consensus around Hollywood that Roma will win this category if not several others. But ultimately, they have to nominate five films, so let's look at who the runners up will be.
Cold War (Poland) - I have yet to see the film, but from everything I have seen, it is a beautiful film. Black and white must be a thing in the foreign films this year.
Capernaum (Lebanon) - Had it fallen in a different year without Roma, this one may have made a strong statement for the win.
Shoplifters (Japan) - Widely praised as a strong film, I again think it could have won in another year with lesser competition.
Burning (South Korea) - Rounding out the nominations is the first South Korean film to make the Oscar short list.

First one out:
The Guilty (Denmark) - Denmark's entry into the Oscars ultimately gets left off the list for nomination this year.

---

Best Animated Feature Film

Front Runners:
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse  - If you'd asked me a month ago which film was leading the pack in this category, I would have said it was easily Incredibles 2, but that has changed since the wide praise heaped on the animated Spider-Man film.
Incredibles 2 - Alas, despite a strong showing, the sequel to 2005's The Incredibles will receive a nomination, but likely fall to Spider-Man in the final voting.
Isle of Dogs - We don't see many stop motion animated films getting into this category anymore, but Isle of Dogs had strong critical response when it was released and I expect a nomination here.
Mirai - The Japanese anime film has been nominated for a number of other awards recently and I expect it to take home a nomination at the Oscars as well.
Ralph Breaks the Internet - Another Disney sequel squeaks into the nominations here. Ralph is a strong film, but not up to winning the category.

First one out:
Rubin Brandt, Collector - A decidedly different type of animated film from what we mostly see on screens these days, I feel it hasn't gotten enough exposure to receive a nomination.

---

Best Documentary Feature Film

Front Runners:
Won't You Be My Neighbor? - One of the most anticipated documentaries of the year will be on the top of many lists this award season.
Free Solo - If you love mountain climbing (and even if you don't) this film is sure to get your heart pounding as a many attempts to climb the dawn wall of El Capitan.
Minding the Gap - Following Netflix's Oscar win last year in this category for Icarus, Hulu hopes to get in on the action with their skateboarding doc.
RBG - She may be short in stature, but Ruth Bader Ginsburg has been big at the movies this past year.
Three Identical Strangers - In the truth is stranger than fiction category, this documentary follows triplets separated at birth and reunited nearly 20 years later.

First one out:
On Her Shoulders - A truly important documentary about women speaking out has a chance to get a nomination, but I feel will be left out of the race.

---