Oscars 2022 Nominations: Indian Documentary ‘Writing with Fire’ Gets a Nod in the Best Documentary Feature Category

Writing with Fire, the Indian documentary film that revolves around a team of reporters who launch India’s sole Dalit women-run newspaper in a media landscape dominated by men, has been nominated in the Best Documentary Feature category at the Oscars 2022.

Writing with Fire competed with a total of 137 films to earn its place in the final nomination list. The documentary film is written, directed, and produced by Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh and had won two awards at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival.

The Academy of Motion Picture, Arts, and Sciences on Tuesday announced the nominations in 23 categories for the 2022 Oscars. Emmy-winning actor and comedian Leslie Jordan, and Emmy-nominated actor-CEO-producer Tracee Ellis Ross made the announcement.

Netflix‘s The Power of the Dog led with nods in 12 categories, including Best Picture. Other contenders in the Best Picture category, include, Belfast, CODA, Don’t Look Up, Drive My Car, Dune, King Richard, Licorice Pizza, Nightmare Alley, and West Side Story.

While Benedict Cumberbatch is nominated in the Leading Actor (Male) category for The Power of the Dog, co-actors Jesse Plemons, Kodi Smit-McPhee, and Kirsten Dunst received nods in the supporting actor categories. Ari Wegner, the film’s director of photography, became the second woman to be nominated in the Best Cinematography category.

The Power of the Dog‘s director Jane Campion meanwhile received a nod in the Best Director category, making her the first woman to be nominated twice in the category at the Oscars. This year she has been nominated alongside Kenneth Branagh (Belfast), Steven Spielberg (West Side Story), Paul Thomas Anderson (Licorice Pizza), and Ryusuke Hamaguchi (Drive My Car). Hamaguchi became the third Japanese director to get an Oscar nomination in the category, following Hiroshi Teshigahara and Akira Kurosawa.

Kristen Stewart might have been left out by both Screen Actor Guild and the British Academy of Film Awards, but the Academy nominated her in the Lead Actor category (Female) for her performance as Princess Diana in Pablo Larrain’s Spencer. She received the nod alongside Nicole Kidman (Being the Ricardos), Olivia Colman (The Lost Daughter), and Jessica Chastain (In the Eyes of Tammy Faye), and Penelope Cruz (Parallel Mothers).

The International Feature Film category saw Japan’s Drive My Car, Denmark’s Flee, Italy’s The Hand of God, Bhutan’s Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom, and Norway’s The Worst Person in the World, make it to the final nomination list.

The technical categories witnessed a few firsts this time. Singer and songwriter Billie Eilish earned her first-ever Oscar nomination for her song No Time to Die from the 25th James Bond film by the same name.

Marvel‘s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Spider-Man: No Way Home are nominated for Visual Effects. Black Widow and Eternals did not make the cut. Despite Disney and Sony putting their best foot forward during promotions, none of their superhero films earned nominations in the Best Picture category.

Disney’s Cruella, starring Emma Stone, received nods in two categories, namely, Makeup and Hairstyling, and Costume Design. Raya and the Last Dragon, Luca, and Encanto are nominated in the Animated Feature Film category, alongside Flee and The Mitchells vs the Machines. Flee also made history on Tuesday by becoming the first animated documentary to be nominated in the Best International Feature, Best Documentary Feature and Best Animated Feature categories.

While last year’s nominations saw two women get the nod in the Best Director category, Emerald Fennel for Promising Young Woman, and Chloe Zhao for Nomadland, Campion is the only woman competing in the category this year.

Ariana DeBose, of West Side Story, earned her first Oscar nomination, alongside Aunjanue Ellis (King Richard). Meanwhile Will Smith and multiple Oscar-nominee Denzel Washington received nods in the Leading Actor category for their respective performances in King Richard and The Tragedy of Macbeth. Smith saw a nommination at the Oscars after 15 years. Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz made the cut for their respective works in Being the Ricardos and Parallel Mothers.

Troy Katsur, of CODA, meanwhile became the second actor, and the first man, from the deaf community to get a nomination in the Supporting Actor (Male) category.

The 94th edition of the Oscar Awards will be held on March 27, and will be broadcast on ABC channel.