Throughout awards season, there is the general buzz of excitement as who doesn’t enjoy an award show or two, even if you only catch the red carpet frenzy or the host’s opening speech and at least a few shiny statues being handed out. Every year, there are films that people whisper about, predicting someone will be nominated, it’s their time, the film was a masterpiece and so on. Usually as early on as at the major festivals such as Cannes and Venice, the buzz begins. We all have our favourite films before the year is out and look ahead to later releases of the films we think will be nominated. However, if a film we adore or have taken bets on, is not included as a contender at the biggest award shows, that film has been deemed, officially snubbed. Or, going further that actor, director, cinematographer has been snubbed or if we are feeling dramatic, robbed! How dare the Academy not include this film, how dare they neglect to acknowledge the talent. Each time the nominees for the Golden Globes, BATFAs, Oscars are announced, there is a flood of articles about what film has been snubbed this year as well as speculation on how diverse the voting has or hasn’t been. But we forget, just because a film has not been nominated, doesn’t mean its a ‘bad’ film. The voters of the award bodies are not out to get the filmmakers of those snubbed films. Lest we also forget that there are actual campaigns from various studios, distributors and even actors themselves building momentum as well as sorting out that all important marketing budget. If a film is backed by money, it is more than likely to succeed, even more so if it’s a ‘good’ film. Films are also likely to be nominated, let alone win if it’s ‘their time’ or if, in particular, the Oscars need to correct their mistakes every other year and when they forget about broarder diversity.
There are always a myriad of questions from the wider audiences as to why certain films are in the running for awards and why other films, no matter how universally praised they are, never get a look in. Firstly, it’s all about strategy, when a film is released it is usually key to see if they will appear on long lists and of course to gain the most momentum with voters. Secondly, as we all know, the general public do not get to voice their opinions, it is the voters of these various boards who get to decide the fate of film. After various amounts of paper work has been filled out, films are submitted to be considered by these voters. Maybe not in all categories. Producers will decide what categories the film will aim for, resulting in some very odd choices for supporting and leading actors/actresses, but its all in the name of maximising opportunities. Once these films have been considered, this is where the most important play comes, the marketing. Those ‘For Your Consideration’ campaigns are not just for show. This is all part of the plan. Awards are not on merit alone. You have to spend money to win.
When it comes down to money, studios, distributors and even producers have to decide to back a horse (here a film) which they believe will be more likely to get nominated. Such as A24, who usually in more recent times have had to choose from their releases which film to back. Unlucky for them, they chose Marty Supreme, which in light of the latest gossip surrounding Josh Safdie, paid off. Whereas Sorry, Baby has not been honoured or given a campaign, ultimately snubbed, despite being very well received by critics and audiences, even getting a mention from Julia Roberts while at the Golden Globes.
Alongside writer-director Eva Victor’s debut, there were plenty of snubs that were complained about; Wicked: For Good getting no love, Paul Mescal in the wrong category resulting in no nomination for Hamnet, Jennifer Lawrence getting no acknowledgment for Die My Love, nothing in the screenplay department for Rian Johnson on Wake Up Dead Man and so on. A stand out snub was The Testament of Ann Lee getting nothing, but this may be a distributor decision. Not wanting to spend on the campaign does seem to weigh heavy on some companies’ minds.
Of course there are snubs that have been widely acknowledged. This is the case of No Other Choice, the latest from Park Chan-wook. The lack of any Oscar nominations has sent the fans of the film, in the industry and out of it into a bit of a frenzy. But no one took this snub harder than Neon, the US distributor, when they put up billboards expressing exactly how they felt. Having won big at the previous Oscars with Anora, as well as seemingly being able to pick the Palm d’Or winner every year, they were very disappointed with the snub.
Ultimately, the snubs that occurred doesn’t diminish how the film is received or perceived. Not every film can be nominated, cuts and decisions have to be made and making nomination lists longer doesn’t help. There has to be a line somewhere, we just have to let the snubs go and move on to the next year of film. Thinking about the amazing films that were released in the past year and plenty never would have ever been considered. A snub is also a badge of honour.
