"I Saw the TV Glow" leads the 16th annual Dorian Award nominations

by Nathaniel R

I SAW THE TV GLOW © A24

Oopsie. While celebrating Paul Newman's centennial we forgot to mention another round of nominations. This time it's GALECA: THE SOCIETY OF LGBTQ ENTERTAINMENT CRITICS taking on the challenge of naming "best" this and than of the year. This group, which includes over 500 entertainment journalists (including some of us here at TFE) and media personalities, showered I Saw the TV Glow with nominations. Perpetually overperforming gonzo horror satire The Substance was a close second.  

For my part I'm grateful that the category list has been expanded to make the awards more LGBTQ centric, because what is the point of any critics groups if they don't have a specific point of view/ place of origin apart that differentiates them from other critics groups? See the nominee list after the jump...

FILM OF THE YEAR

• Anora (Neon)
• Challengers  (Amazon MGM Studios)
• I Saw the TV Glow (A24)
• Nickel Boys (Orion Pictures/Amazon MGM Studios)
• The Substance (Mubi)

LGBTQ FILM OF THE YEAR

QUEER © A24

• Challengers (Amazon MGM Studios)
• Emilia Peréz (Netflix)
• I Saw the TV Glow (A24)
• Love Lies Bleeding (A24)
• Queer (A24)

Challengers and I Saw the TV Glow get double film of the year nominations, but the rest of the LGBTQ list changes. On that front I find it interesting that Emilia Perez couldn't crack the non-queer "Best" category, given how well it's been performing elsewhere. It could well be that several trans critics speaking out against it made GALECA more wary about it's actual merits. Since I haven't been writing much you might not be aware that though I admire the big swing, I don't think it's particularly strong in the execution apart from Zoe Saldana's leading performance. 

DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR

• Brady Corbet, The Brutalist (A24)
• Coralie Fargeat, The Substance (Mubi)
• Luca Guadagnino, Challengers (Amazon MGM Studios)
• RaMell Ross, Nickel Boys (Orion Pictures/Amazon MGM Studios)
• Jane Schoenbrun, I Saw the TV Glow (A24)

Corbet is the only contender who isn't up for Film of the Year honors, which only shows his strength yet again moving toward the Oscar competition.

SCREENPLAY OF THE YEAR 
— Original or adapted

• Anora (Neon)
• Challengers (Amazon MGM Studios)
• Conclave (Focus Features)
• I Saw the TV Glow (A24)
• The Substance (Mubi)

I rewatched Challengers the other day and I am of two minds about the film (still). On the one hand it's a ton of fun with sexy performances and playful filmmaking but on the other the constant ADHD time jumping still gets on my nerves, a little time jumping goes a long long way but it's never enough for this screenplay! 

LGBTQ SCREENPLAY OF THE YEAR

CHALLENGERS © Amazon MGM Studios

• Challengers (Amazon MGM Studios)
• I Saw the TV Glow (A24)
• Love Lies Bleeding (A24)
• Problemista (A24)
• Queer (A24)

Again you see Emilia Perez struggling with this group. It's the only "Film" nominee to miss this category. In super happy news, it's replaced by the infinitely superior Problemista. In a just world, Problemista would be an absolute lock for screenplay honors everywhere and yet it's scarcely mentioned. I was thrilled by this nod and it happened even without my vote as a major stan (Dumb confession: I had my ballot already to go but was saving it for the final night to squeeze in two more movies for the "unsung film" nominations and then promptly forgot until a few hours after the cut-off. ARGH. 

NON-ENGLISH LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR

• All We Imagine as Light (Sideshow / Janus Films)
• Emilia Peréz (Netflix)
• Flow (Sideshow / Janus Films)
• I’m Still Here (Sony Pictures Classics)
• The Seed of the Sacred Fig (Neon)

It'll be interesting to see whether or not Oscar rubber-stamps the wide support of these five pictures (of course, it can't honor All We Imagine... in Best International Film given that it wasn't submitted but the film could place elsewhere). 

LGBTQ NON-ENGLISH FILM OF THE YEAR

• Crossing (Mubi)
• Emilia Peréz (Netflix)
• Queendom (Greenwich Entertainment)
• Vermiglio (Sideshow / Janus Films)
• All Shall Be Well (Strand Releasing) 

A fine group here and hopefully this brings attention to the lesser-known pictures (i.e. everything that isn't Emilia Perez). I'm worried about Vermiglio missing at the Oscars because a) it absolutely deserves a nomination but b) I never hear anyone talking about it the way people talk about its competitive set. 

UNSUNG FILM OF THE YEAR
—To an exceptional movie worthy of greater attention

• Didi (Focus Features)
• Hundreds of Beavers (Cineverse, Vinegar Syndrome)
• My Old Ass (Amazon MGM Studios)
• Problemista (A24)
• Thelma (Magnolia)

Very fun group, no? 

UNSUNG LGBTQ FILM OF THE YEAR

PROBLEMISTA © A24

• Femme (Utopia)
• My Old Ass (Amazon MGM Studios)
• National Anthem (Variance, LD Entertainment)
• The People’s Joker (Altered Innocence)
• Problemista (A24)

Again I'm delighted that I wasn't the only Problemista fanatic among Dorian voters. That said I was hoping for more obscure pictures to show up here and I wish that you couldn't get double nominations in the unsung categories (thankfully the rules have changed to prevent 'unsung' nominees that are also up for the regular Film of the Year category as it previously begged the question "how is this unsung when it's being showered with top nominations?". I was trying to squeeze a few pictures from the reminder list that I was only vaguely aware of and I'm glad I did.

FILM PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR

• Adrien Brody, The Brutalist (A24)
• Daniel Craig, Queer (A24)
• Colman Domingo, Sing Sing (A24)
• Karla Sofía Gascón, Emilia Peréz (Netflix) 
• Cynthia Erivo, Wicked (Universal)
• Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Hard Truths (Bleecker Street)
• Nicole Kidman, Babygirl (A24)
• Mikey Madison, Anora (Neon)
• Demi Moore, The Substance (Mubi)
• Justice Smith, I Saw the TV Glow (A24)

I say this with love -- since I am a fan of Justice Smith and thought he deserved Emmy recognition for Genera+ion  -- but I do not get why he keeps being honored for this film. He's solid in it, sure, but "best"? The character forces him into a very limited range and doesn't really open up to offer additional complexities. The twin stars of this movie are clearly the director and her crew,  and Bridget Lundy-Payne's monologuing prowess.

In better news Nicole Kidman scored here for her best work in some years now. 

SUPPORTING FILM PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR

HARD TRUTHS © Bleecker Street

• Michele Austin, Hard Truths (Bleecker Street)
• Yura Borisov, Anora (Neon)
• Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain (Searchlight Pictures)
• Ariana Grande, Wicked (Universal)
• Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Nickel Boys (Orion Pictures/Amazon MGM Studios)
• Brigette Lundy-Paine, I Saw the TV Glow (A24)
• Clarence Maclin, Sing Sing (A24)
• Guy Pearce, The Brutalist (A24)
• Margaret Qualley, The Substance (Mubi)
• Zoe Saldaña, Emilia Peréz (Netflix)

Yay for Michele Austin making this list... but a real bummer that every critics group under the sun has absolutely no problem pretending along with the publicists that protagonists are "supporting" in their own movie. Ah well, at least 50% of them are supporting players. 

DOCUMENTARY OF THE YEAR

• Dahomey (Mubi)
• Daughters (Netflix)
• The Remarkable Life of Ibelin (Netflix)
• Sugarcane (National Geographic)
• Will & Harper (Netflix)

I'm suddenly regretting my Oscar predictions because it's close to this but no way will Oscar voters align this closely. 

LGBTQ DOCUMENTARY OF THE YEAR

• Chasing Chasing Amy (Level 33)
• Frida (Amazon MGM Studios)
• Merchant Ivory (Cohen Media Group)
• Queendom (Greenwich Entertainment)
• Will & Harper (Netflix)

A nice surprise to see Merchant Ivory here. I was surprised that the film really dug into the marriage (albeit without the license) of the filmmaking team. 

ANIMATED FILM OF THE YEAR

• Flow (Sideshow / Janus Films)
• Inside Out 2 (Disney)
• Memoir of a Snail (IFC Films)
• Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (Netflix)
• The Wild Robot (Universal, DreamWorks)

My exact predictions for the Oscar lineup... but then it doesn't feel super competitive this year with these five way out front, give or take the possible disruption of Moana 2 if voters get lazy. 

GENRE FILM OF THE YEAR
For excellence in science fiction, fantasy and horror

WICKED © Universal

• Dune: Part Two (Warner Bros.)
• I Saw the TV Glow (A24)
• Nosferatu (Focus Features)
• The Substance (Mubi)
• Wicked (Universal)

FILM MUSIC OF THE YEAR

• The Brutalist (A24)
• Challengers (Amazon MGM Studios)
• Emilia Peréz (Netflix)
• I Saw the TV Glow (A24)
• Wicked (Universal)

VISUALLY STRIKING FILM OF THE YEAR

THE SUBSTANCE © MUBI

• The Brutalist (A24)
• Dune: Part Two (Warner Bros.)
• Nosferatu (Focus Features)
• Nickel Boys (Orion Pictures/Amazon MGM Studios)
• The Substance (Mubi)

CAMPIEST FLICK 

• Hundreds of Beavers (Cineverse, Vinegar Syndrome)
• Madame Web (Sony)
• Megalopolis (Lionsgate)
• The Substance (Mubi)
• Trap (Warner Bros.)

“WE’RE WILDE ABOUT YOU!” RISING STAR AWARD

• Jonathan Bailey
• Vera Drew
• Karla Sofía Gascón 
• Brigette Lundy-Paine
• Mikey Madison
• Katy O’Brian
• Drew Starkey

WILDE ARTIST AWARD
To a truly groundbreaking force in entertainment

• Colman Domingo
• Luca Guadagnino
• Coralie Fargeat
• Jane Schoenbrun
• Tilda Swinton

GALECA LGBTQIA+ FILM TRAILBLAZER
For creating art that inspires empathy, truth and equity

• Vera Drew
• Cynthia Erivo
• Luca Guadagnino
• Jane Schoenbrun
• Julio Torres

What do you make of this year's nominee list and who would you vote for? 

Comments

[Mike in Canada]

Right on about Vermiglio. I saw it this weekend, and it's beautiful. Remarkable how specific each character is in that large family. Hoping it can get on the list with the oscars so more people will see it.