Even as India’s official Oscar entry Laapataa Ladies couldn’t make the cut this year for the 97th Academy Awards, two films with an Indian connection — Sandhya Suri’s Santosh and Guneet Monga’s live action short film Anuja — have made it to the shortlist unveiled by The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Tuesday.
The Academy unveiled the shortlists for 10 categories ahead of the 97th Oscars, set to take place in March 2025. The preliminary voting covers categories including animated short film, documentary feature, documentary short, international feature, live action short, makeup and hairstyling, original score, original song, sound, and visual effects.
One of the standout films in this year’s international feature race is Sandhya Suri’s Santosh, a Hindi-language international co-production set in rural north India. Submitted by the United Kingdom as its official entry for the Academy Awards 2025, the film has been shortlisted from among 85 entries in the category.
Actress Shahana Goswami celebrated the recognition on Instagram, praising writer-director Sandhya Suri for the achievement. “So happy for the team especially our writer-director Sandhya Suri for this little glory of recognition for our film Santosh! Thank you to everyone who loved it, supported it, and voted for it,” she wrote.
Indian film producer Guneet Monga also found herself in the spotlight as her short film Anuja secured a place in the live action short film category. The film sheds light on child labour in the garment industry.
Among the other major contenders this year is Emilia Pérez, which earned six mentions across various categories, including makeup, sound, original score, international feature, and two nominations for original song for El Mal and Mi Camino. Universal Pictures’ Wicked followed closely with four mentions.
Oscar voting to determine the nominees in all 23 categories will open on January 8 and close on January 12. The final nominations will be announced on January 17. The 2025 Oscars ceremony, hosted by Conan O’Brien, is scheduled for March 2.
The complete list of films on the shortlist:
Documentary Feature
- The Bibi Files (Jolt.Film)
- Black Box Diaries (MTV Documentary Films)
- Dahomey (Mubi)
- Daughters (Netflix)
- Eno (Film First Co.)
- Frida (Amazon MGM Studios)
- Hollywoodgate (Fourth Act Film)
- No Other Land (ImmerGuteFilme)
- Porcelain War (Picturehouse)
- Queendom (Greenwich Entertainment)
- The Remarkable Life of Ibelin (Netflix)
- Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat (Kino Lorber)
- Sugarcane (National Geographic Documentary Films)
- Union (Level Ground)
- Will & Harper (Netflix)
International Feature
- Armand (IFC Films) from Norway
- Dahomey (Mubi) from Senegal
- Emilia Pérez (Netflix) from France
- Flow (Janus Films and Sideshow) from Latvia
- From Ground Zero (No U.S. Distribution) from Palestine
- The Girl With the Needle (Mubi) from Denmark
- How to Make Millions before Grandma Dies (Well Go USA Entertainment) from Thailand
- I’m Still Here (Sony Pictures Classics) from Brazil
- Kneecap (Sony Pictures Classics) from Ireland
- Santosh (Metrograph Pictures) from United Kingdom
- The Seed of the Sacred Fig (Neon) from Germany
- Touch (Focus Features) from Iceland
- Universal Language (Oscilloscope Laboratories) from Canada
- Waves (No U.S. Distribution) from Czech Republic
- Vermiglio (Janus Films) from Italy
Makeup and Hairstyling
- The Apprentice (Briarcliff Entertainment)
- Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (Warner Bros.)
- A Different Man (A24)
- Dune: Part Two (Warner Bros.)
- Emilia Pérez (Netflix)
- Maria (Netflix)
- Nosferatu (Focus Features)
- The Substance (Mubi)
- Waltzing with Brando (Filmin’Tahiti)
- Wicked (Universal Pictures)
Sound
- Alien: Romulus (20th Century Studios)
- Blitz (Apple Original Films)
- A Complete Unknown (Searchlight Pictures)
- Deadpool & Wolverine (Marvel Studios)
- Dune: Part Two (Warner Bros.)
- Emilia Pérez (Netflix)
- Gladiator II (Paramount Pictures)
- Joker: Folie à Deux (Warner Bros.)
- Wicked (Universal Pictures)
- The Wild Robot (DreamWorks Animation)
Visual Effects
- Alien: Romulus (20th Century Studios)
- Better Man (Paramount Pictures)
- Civil War (A24)
- Deadpool & Wolverine (Marvel Studios)
- Dune: Part Two (Warner Bros.)
- Gladiator II (Paramount Pictures)
- Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (20th Century Studios)
- Mufasa: The Lion King (Walt Disney Pictures)
- Twisters (Universal Pictures)
- Wicked (Universal Pictures)
Original Score
- Alien: Romulus (20th Century Studios) — Benjamin Wallfisch
- Babygirl (A24) — Cristobal Tapia de Vee
- Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (Warner Bros.) — Danny Elfman
- Blink Twice (Amazon MGM Studios) — Chanda Dancy
- Blitz (Apple Original Films) — Hans Zimmer
- The Brutalist (A24) — Daniel Blumberg
- Challengers (Amazon MGM) — Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
- Conclave (Focus Features) — Volker Bertelmann
- Emilia Pérez (Netflix) — Clément Ducol, Camille
- The Fire Inside (Amazon MGM Studios) — Tamar-kali
- Gladiator II (Paramount Pictures) — Harry Gregson-Williams
- Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1 (Warner Bros.) — John Debney
- Inside Out 2 (Pixar) — Andrea Datzman
- Nosferatu (Focus Features) — Robin Carolan
- The Room Next Door (Sony Pictures Classics) — Alberto Iglesias
- Sing Sing (A24) — Bryce Dessner
- The Six Triple Eight (Netflix) — Aaron Zigman
- Wicked (Universal Pictures) — John Powell, Stephen Schwartz
- The Wild Robot (DreamWorks Animation) — Kris Bowers
- Young Woman and the Sea (Walt Disney Pictures) — Amelia Warner
Original Song
- Forbidden Road from Better Man (Paramount Pictures)
- Winter Coat from Blitz (Apple Original Films)
- Compress/Repress from Challengers (Amazon MGM Studios)
- Never Too Late from Elton John: Never Too Late (Walt Disney Pictures)
- El Mal from Emilia Pérez (Netflix)
- Mi Camino from Emilia Pérez (Netflix)
- Sick In The Head from Kneecap (Sony Pictures Classics)
- Beyond from Moana 2 (Walt Disney Pictures)
- Tell Me It’s You from Mufasa: The Lion King (Walt Disney Pictures)
- Piece By Piece from Piece by Piece (Focus Features)
- Like A Bird from Sing Sing (A24)
- The Journey from The Six Triple Eight (Netflix)
- Out Of Oklahoma from Twisters (Universal Pictures)
- Kiss The Sky from The Wild Robot (DreamWorks Animation)
- Harper And Will Go West from Will & Harper (Netflix)
Animated Short Film
- Au Revoir Mon Monde
- A Bear Named Wojtek
- Beautiful Men
- Bottle George
- A Crab in the Pool
- In the Shadow of the Cypress
- Magic Candies
- Maybe Elephants
- Me
- Origami
- Percebes
- The 21
- Wander to Wonder
- The Wild-Tempered Clavier
- Yuck!
Documentary Short Film
- Chasing Roo
- Death by Numbers
- Eternal Father
- I Am Ready, Warden
- Incident
- Instruments of a Beating Heart
- Keeper
- Makayla’s Voice: A Letter to the World
- Once upon a Time in Ukraine
- The Only Girl in the Orchestra
- Planetwalker
- The Quilters
- Seat 31: Zooey Zephyr
- A Swim Lesson
- Until He’s Back
Live Action Short Film
- Anuja
- Clodagh
- The Compatriot
- Crust
- Dovecote
- Edge of Space
- The Ice Cream Man
- I’m Not a Robot
- The Last Ranger
- A Lien
- The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent
- The Masterpiece
- An Orange from Jaffa
- Paris 70
- Room Taken