issue #12: where to watch the oscar-nominated films in south africa
time to get those ballot sheets out
Hey everyone,
It’s awards season and the Oscar nominations are finally out. This means tons of people have been asking me where they can watch the movies that are nominated, and I’ve taken on the task of hunting down where you can watch them in South Africa.
You can find the full list of nominees here. The 96th Academy Awards will be held on Sunday, 10 March 2024. So you have just over a month to catch up with everything. Sometimes films take a while to show this side of the world (sometimes they never do), which is always disappointing. But here are the ones you can watch:
Currently in cinemas:
The Color Purple - The musical version of the popular book/film tells the story of Celie who faces many hardships but finds her strength with the help of a sisterhood. Nominations: Actress in a Supporting Role: Danielle Brooks
Poor Things - Brought back to life by an unorthodox scientist, a young woman runs off with a lawyer on a whirlwind adventure across the continents. Nominations: Best Picture; Best Director - Yorgos Lanthimos; Actress in a Leading Role - Emma Stone; Actor in a Supporting Role - Mark Ruffalo; Adapted Screenplay; Cinematography; Costume Design; Original Score; Makeup and Hairstyling; Production Design; Film Editing
Godzilla Minus One - Post-war Japan is at its lowest point when a new crisis emerges in the form of a giant monster, baptised in the horrific power of the atomic bomb. Nominations: Visual Effects
Napoleon - A look at the military commander's origins and his swift, ruthless climb to become the emperor, viewed through the prism of his addictive and often volatile relationship with his wife, Josephine. Nominations: Production Design; Visual Effects; Costume Design
Side-note: these films are available to rent but are also still showing at speciality cinemas like the Labia:
Killers of the Flower Moon
Past Lives
May December
Coming soon to cinemas:
The Zone of Interest (02 February) - A Nazi commandant tries to build a dream life for his family near the Auschwitz concentration camp. Nominations: Best Picture; Best Director - Jonathan Glazer; Adapted Screenplay; Sound; International Feature Film
The Holdovers (09 February) - A curmudgeonly instructor at a New England prep school remains on campus during Christmas break to babysit a handful of students with nowhere to go. Nominations: Best Picture; Actor in a Leading Role - Paul Giamatti; Actress in a Supporting Role - Da’Vine Joy Randolph; Original Screenplay; Film Editing
Available to rent:
May December (DStv Box Office/Apple TV/Google Play) - Twenty years after their notorious tabloid romance, a married couple buckle under the pressure when a Hollywood actress meets them to do research for a film about their past. Nominations: Original Screenplay
Oppenheimer (DStv Box Office/Apple TV/Google Play) - It tells the story of J. Robert Oppenheimer and the journey he comes on to create the atomic bomb and the effects it has on him and his future. Nominations: Best Picture; Best Director - Christopher Nolan; Actor in a Leading Role - Cillian Murphy; Actor in a Supporting Role - Robert Downey Jr.; Actress in a Supporting Role - Emily Blunt; Adapted Screenplay; Cinematography; Costume Design; Sound; Original Score; Makeup and Hairstyling; Production Design; Film Editing
Past Lives (DStv Box Office/Apple TV/Google Play) - Nora and Hae Sung, two deeply connected childhood friends, were separated when Nora’s family emigrated from South Korea. Decades later, they are reunited for one fateful week as they confront destiny, love and the choices that make a life. Nominations: Best Picture; Original Screenplay
Barbie (DStv Box Office/Apple TV/Google Play) - Barbie and Ken are having the time of their lives in the colourful and seemingly perfect world of Barbie Land. However, when they get a chance to go to the real world, they soon discover the joys and perils of living among humans. Nominations: Best Picture; Actor in a Supporting Role - Ryan Gosling; Actress in a Supporting Role - America Ferrera; Adapted Screenplay; Original Song - I’m Just Ken, What Was I Made For?; Costume Design; Production Design
Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One (DStv Box Office/Apple TV/Google Play) - Ethan Hunt and the IMF team must track down a terrifying new weapon that threatens all of humanity if it falls into the wrong hands. Nominations: Visual Effects; Sound
Golda (DStv Box Office/Apple TV/Google Play) - The film depicts the life of Golda Meir, the 4th Prime Minister of Israel, particularly during the Yom Kippur War. Nominations: Makeup and Hairstyling
Available to stream on Apple TV+
Killers of the Flower Moon - Love crosses paths with unspeakable betrayal as Mollie Burkhart, a member of the Osage Nation, tries to save her community from a spree of murders fuelled by oil and greed. Nominations: Best Picture, Best Director - Martin Scorsese; Actress in a Leading Role - Lily Gladstone; Actor in a Supporting Role - Robert De Niro; Cinematography; Original Song - Wahzhazhe (A Song For My People); Costume Design; Original Score; Production Design; Film Editing
Available to stream on Netflix
Maestro - On the verge of securing a golden opportunity, American conductor Leonard Bernstein begins a tumultuous relationship with actress Felicia Montealegre, upturning their lives. Nominations: Best Picture; Actor in a Leading Role - Bradley Cooper; Actress in a Leading Role - Carey Mulligan; Original Screenplay; Cinematography; Sound
Nyad - The true-life story of 64-year-old marathon swimmer Diana Nyad attempts to become the first person ever to swim from Cuba to Florida. Nominations: Actress in a Leading Role - Annette Bening; Actress in a Supporting Role - Jodie Foster
Society of the Snow - In 1972, a Uruguayan flight crashed in the remote heart of the Andes, forcing survivors to become each other's best hope. Nominations: International Feature Film; Makeup and Hairstyling
Rustin - Bayard Rustin, advisor to Martin Luther King Jr., dedicates his life to the quest for racial equality, human rights and worldwide democracy. Nominations: Actor in a Leading Role - Colman Domingo
El Conde - Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet is a two-hundred-and-fifty-year-old vampire. Now tired of his life, he wants to die at last after the disgrace and family crises he has caused. Nominations: Cinematography
American Symphony - Musician Jon Batiste sets out to compose a symphony just as he learns his life partner, author Suleika Jaouad’s cancer is back. This documentary is a portrait of two artists at a crossroads and a meditation on art, love and the creative process. Nominations: Original Song - It Never Went Away
The After - After losing a family member to a violent crime, a shattered ride-share driver picks up a passenger who forces him to confront his grief. Nominations: Live Action Short Film
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar - Henry Sugar, a wealthy man, decides to take on an extraordinary challenge - he wants to master an extraordinary skill to cheat at gambling games. Nominations: Live Action Short Film
Nimona - A knight is framed for a crime he didn't commit, and the only person who can help him prove his innocence is Nimona, a shape-shifting teen who might also be a monster he's sworn to kill. Nominations: Animated Feature Film
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse - In an attempt to curb the Spot, a scientist, from harnessing the power of the multiverse, Miles Morales joins forces with Gwen Stacy. Nominations: Animated Feature Film
Available to stream on Disney+
The Creator - As a future war between the human race and artificial intelligence rages on, ex-special forces agent Joshua is recruited to hunt down and kill the Creator, the elusive architect of advanced AI. Nominations: Sound; Visual Effects
Flamin’ Hot - Richard Montanez, the son of a Mexican immigrant, was a janitor at Frito Lay when he came up with the idea for Flamin' Hot Cheetos. Nominations: Original Song - The Fire Inside
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny - Daredevil archaeologist Indiana Jones races against time to retrieve a legendary dial that can change the course of history. Nominations: Original Score
Elemental - In a city where fire, water, land, and air residents live together, a fiery young woman and a go-with-the-flow guy discover something elemental: how much they have in common. Nominations: Animated Feature Film
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 - Still reeling from the loss of Gamora, Peter Quill must rally his team to defend the universe and protect one of their own. If the mission is not completely successful, it could lead to the end of the Guardians as we know them. Nominations: Visual Effects
The Last Repair Shop - In Los Angeles, a few devoted craftspeople keep over 80,000 student instruments in good repair. Nominations: Documentary Short Film
Available to watch on YouTube:
Pachyderme - Like every summer, Louise stays with her grandparents in the countryside for a few days during the holidays. It will snow at the height of summer and a monster is going to die. Nominations: Animated Short Film. Watch it here.
The Barber of Little Rock - Barber Arlo Washington forms a nonprofit community bank, with a visionary approach to a just economy that could reshape the future of banking. Nominations: Documentary Short Film. Watch it here.
Island in Between - A short documentary about the relationship with Taiwan, the United States, China and the islands of Kinmen. Nominations: Documentary Short Film. Watch it here.
No news of availability in SA yet:
So these are the titles that I struggled to find on streaming services or on the upcoming lists at the cinema. This is a very legitimate newsletter so there might be other ways to watch these films online but you might need to do that research yourself.
American Fiction (probably going to come to Amazon Prime Video)
Anatomy of a Fall
Invincible
Knight of Fortune
Red, White and Blue
Letter to a Pig
War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko
Bobi Wine: The People’s President (probably going to come to Disney+)
The Eternal Memory
Four Daughters
To Kill a Tiger
20 Days in Mariupol
The ABCs of Book Banning
Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó (coming to Disney+)
Io Capitano
Perfect Days
The Teachers’ Lounge
The Boy and the Heron
Robot Dreams
xoxo
Caryn