The 97th Academy Awards ceremony on Sunday, March 2, will celebrate a mammoth year of film with a star-studded show of the medium’s finest talent. Will frontrunner Anora be pipped to the golden Oscar statuette? Could Cynthia Erivo nab the Best Actress Oscar and achieve EGOT status? Or will 29-year-old Timothée Chalamet make history as the youngest Best Actor winner since his competitor, Adrien Brody, achieved the same feat for 2002’s The Pianist? As we wait to find out, it’s worth remembering that the Oscars showcase only a tiny pool of the breadth of cinematic greatness on offer. As with every awards show, some gems were shut out of nominations entirely but still deserve to have the spotlight. In no particular order, here are nine Oscar-worthy films that received no nominations that you should still seek out:
All We Imagine As Light
Directed by: Payal Kapadia
Where to watch: Prime Video
All We Imagine As Light has been awards bait all season, garnering a Best Director nod at the Golden Globes for Payal Kapadia and a coveted Palme d’Or nomination at Cannes, where it premiered (it also won the festival’s Grand Pix prize). Still, it was shut out of the Oscars (and wasn’t even submitted by India for Best International Feature consideration). That doesn’t mean the moving portrait of modern sisterhood isn’t worth watching. Anchored by a trio of absorbing performances from Kani Kusruti, Divya Prabha, and Chhaya Kadam, Kapadia’s candid drama follows three women as they navigate relationship struggles and loneliness with deeply felt humanity in contemporary India.
Challengers
Directed by: Luca Guadagnino
Where to watch: Prime Video
Even though the Academy didn’t fall for Luca Guadagnino’s steamy tennis drama (not even for the moody score composed by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross), Challengers was one of 2024’s great cultural moments. Zendaya, Josh O’Connor, and Mike Faist are the trio at the heart of the film’s adrenalized love triangle, bolstered by a screenplay and direction that inventively utilize the back-and-forth structure of the sport to inform a ricocheting plot (not to mention the scene shot entirely from the perspective of a whizzing tennis ball).
Crossing
Directed by: Levan Akin
Where to watch: Prime Video
Swedish writer and director Levan Akin’s heartfelt and hopeful take on familial connection, Crossing, should’ve made it into the Best International Feature Film category with All We Imagine As Light, but it did sweep at the Guldbagge Awards (Swedish Oscars). The film follows a retired teacher (Mzia Arabuli) who travels from Georgia to Turkey in search of her estranged, trans niece to bring her home. Crossing explores the streets of Istanbul, with Arabuli’s grounded performance as the film’s guiding light.
Hard Truths
Directed by: Mike Leigh
Where to watch: Apple TV+
Hard Truths’s excellence rests on an exquisite performance by Marianne Jean-Baptiste as the short-tempered Pansy, whose family is struggling to deal with her mental health struggles. Jean-Baptiste’s performance has been the subject of widespread critical acclaim, and alongside Mike Leigh’s compassionate but sober direction, the pairing (a second collaboration following Leigh’s 1996, six-time Oscar-nominated film Secrets and Lies) proves formidable.
I Saw the TV Glow
Directed by: Jane Schoenbrun
Where to watch: Max
On its face, this psychological horror film is a deeply original tale of two teenagers’ obsession with a late-night TV show that leads to the splintering of their reality. It’s also a powerful allegory for trans identity, and Jane Schoenbrun is certainly worthy of a directorial nod, as is cinematographer Eric K. Yue, who imbues profoundly stunning frames with a hypnotizing purple hue that glows against the darkness.
Kneecap
Directed by: Rich Peppiatt
Where to watch: Prime Video
Music biopics may be all the rage, but this energetic and rebellious story about Irish hip-hop trio Kneecap has the special distinction of having its subjects star as themselves. The first Irish language film to premiere at Sundance (where is won the NEXT Audience Award), Kneecap was submitted as Ireland’s International Feature select for the Oscars, but ultimately snubbed. Still, the film is a raucous good time and a defiant call to arms for the preservation of native cultures.
The Last Showgirl
Directed by: Gia Coppola
Where to watch: Prime Video
Pamela Anderson returned to the big screen for Gia Coppola’s moving tale of an aging showgirl clinging to her love of dance and the fading glory of her closing revue. The Last Showgirl is in awe of Anderson’s performance, lingering on her (and the Las Vegas desert landscape) as muse. Anderson was shut out of the Oscars despite receiving Golden Globe and SAG Award nods for her role; however, she wasn’t bothered by the omission, later saying, “No nomination for the Oscar, but I couldn’t even imagine that…I always say the win is in the work. I got to do something I really love, and I needed to do that for my soul.”
The Outrun
Directed by: Nora Fingscheidt
Where to stream: Apple TV+
It seems criminal that Saoirse Ronan still does not have an Oscar despite being nominated four times. The Irish star has shown time and time again that she’s a phenomenal actor, and her pitch-perfect performance in The Outrun is no exception. Set amidst the rugged beauty of Scotland’s Orkney Island, Ronan depicts a young woman’s journey recovering from alcoholism with tenderness and grace. Ronan features in practically every shot of The Outrun, and as if that’s not enough, she also delivered a notable performance in Steve McQueen’s WWII drama Blitz, which was overlooked this awards season, too.
Queer
Directed by: Luca Guadagnino
Where to stream: Prime Video
If I had a nickel for every Guadagnino snub this year, I’d have two nickels. Which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice. Guadagnino’s adaptation of William S. Burroughs’s 1985 novella is a sensual odyssey starring Daniel Craig in a career-best turn as the drug-addled Lee. Also, it’s a travesty Jonathan Anderson wasn’t recognized for his cinematic costuming, particularly the sheer shirt that Drew Starkey effortlessly pulls off.
