Fantasy film tops Oscar nominations as awards celebrate rich diversity

Films about diversity and inclusion have triumphed at the Oscar nominations where women, people of colour and a host of Britons landed nods.

The Shape Of Water – a fantasy love story about a mute woman and a sea monster – directed by Mexican filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro leads the nominations with 13.

There was also acknowledgement for diverse stories such as race satire and thriller Get Out and Greta Gerwig’s directorial debut Lady Bird.

Rachel Morrison became the first woman to receive a best cinematography nod for Mudbound, while Gerwig is the fifth woman to receive a best director nomination.

The last woman to be nominated was Kathryn Bigelow in 2010 for The Hurt Locker. She is the only female director to ever win the category.

Gerwig will compete against Get Out filmmaker Jordan Peele, who is only the fifth African-american to earn a best director nomination in Oscar history. None has won.

Mudbound writer and director Dee Rees became the first black woman to receive a nomination for best adapted screenplay. Just two years after the #Oscarssowhite controversy, a host of non-white faces are included in the acting categories.

There were best actor nods for Briton Daniel Kaluuya and American Denzel Washington, as well as best supporting actress nominations for Octavia Spencer and Mary J Blige.

Kaluuya, who is nominated for Get Out, will compete for best actor alongside fellow Britons Gary Oldman and Daniel Day-lewis for Darkest Hour and Phantom Thread respectively. Call Me By Your Name’s Timothee Chalamet and Washington for Roman J Israel Esq round out the best actor nominations.

The Shape Of Water’s Sally Hawkins was nominated for leading actress, as was Ireland’s Saoirse Ronan for her role in Lady Bird.

Hawkins said: “This nomination is for every single one of us who brought our hearts to this film. I am here because of the greatness of others. I stand on the shoulders of giants.”

Lesley Manville was nominated for supporting actress for her role opposite Daylewis in Phantom Thread.

Christopher Nolan landed his first best director nod for Dunkirk, which is up for best picture.

The war film faces Joe Wright’s Darkest Hour and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri by Martin Mcdonagh, who also got a nod for original screenplay.

Oldman was nominated for best actor fresh off his success at the Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild Awards for his portrayal of Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour.

Get Out’s Kaluuya is a firsttime nominee unlike Daylewis, who already has three Oscars in his trophy cabinet.

Christopher Plummer was nominated for supporting actor for his role in Sir Ridley Scott’s All The Money In The World, in which he was an 11th-hour replacement to scrub disgraced actor Kevin Spacey from the finished film.

He is up against Woody Harrelson and Sam Rockwell, both for Three Billboards, and The Shape Of Water’s Richard Jenkins and The Florida Project’s Willem Dafoe.

Hawkinsandronanfacethe Post’s Meryl Streep, I, Tonya’s Margot Robbie and Three Billboard’s Frances Mcdormand, who has already triumphed at the Globes with the role.

0 Sally Hawkins, left, and Octavia Spencer in The Shape of Water which leads the nominations list