2023 brings a diverse set of Oscar contenders. Will the final nominees reflect this?

2022 marked both a changing of the guard at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and a year of transformation for the film industry, which is still dealing with the fallout of the pandemic.

As for the ongoing question of whether the Oscars will get better at recognizing a more diverse set of nominees, that's all in the hands of the voters.

The edict that "diversity sells" doesn't seem to have much impact on the projects the awards body chooses to honor. The Academy tends to lean into high-profile projects rather than accessible box office hits. There's a chance that up to four big-budget sequels make it into the Best Picture category — not just to be popular, but to be among the highest-reviewed films of the year — and they've all made it a point to have sets that are racially diverse. Even smaller hits like "Everything Everywhere All at Once", now A24's highest-grossing release, remained in the spotlight throughout the year, in part as a major win for Asian-American representation.

If the recently released Oscar shortlists are any indication, Oscar voters seem keen this year to expand the field of filmmakers they recognize. Of the 15 films on the documentary feature shortlist, eight are directed by women and four are directed by people of color. Meanwhile, the International Film category includes films from five different continents, and although European countries make up half of the list, many of the films these countries have chosen to represent them focus on characters from underworld backgrounds. -represented (i.e. "Saint Omer" (France), "Sainte Araignée" (Denmark)).

Overall, the Oscars electorate is still 66% male and 81% white, so the drive to significantly diversify its makeup and governing bodies to have a voters who give fair consideration to eligible films is not more than. But 2022 provided more than enough award contenders who both kept diversity and inclusion in mind, and passed on all the criteria that make an Oscar-worthy film.

Here is a preview of the shots of these potential nominees in the main categories.

“Saint-Omer”

Venice

History: While the Best Picture 2022 nominees weren't as racially diverse in front of and/or behind the camera as the year before, "CODA's" win was a major step in the right direction. direction for the representation of people with disabilities (the film centers on a mostly Deaf cast). The "Drive My Car" nominee also indicated that Academy voters continue to broaden their horizons, considering more films with predominantly Asian casts, as well as more non-English films.

While it's still true that six of the last 10 Best Picture winners have been directed by filmmakers of color: '12 Years a Slave', 'Birdman o...