As a part of the announcement of the 98th Oscar Nominations on the 23rd of Jan 2026, the feeling of shock, gratitude, tiredness, etc., has become the order of the day as the news of Oscar Nominations strikes the industry. Given that the Oscars are all about meaning rather than spectacle in film, introspection in this case needs to come from the nominees themselves.
There is no image out there that has made the kind of bold statement Sinners has made. A blues-inspired vampire epic is how Sinners can be described, earning an astonishing sixteen nominations, the most out of any picture this year. When discussing the nominations with the Associated Press, the filmmaker of Sinners, Ryan Coogler, was not interested in discussing the accolades, but something much deeper.
Emotional experiences beyond the prestige of awards
“I wrote this script for my uncle who passed away 11 years ago,” Coogler said. “I got to imagine that he’s listening to some blues music right now to celebrate. I love making movies. I’m honored to wake up every day and do it.”
His film has received the following Oscar nominations: Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay. This is a feat that only a handful of people have managed within the calendar year. It shows the evolution of the filmmaker as the mouthpiece of the present generation. But the answer was the actual reflection of the situation. “I was writing last night,” he admitted. “That’s why I didn’t get too much sleep. Honestly, I still feel a little bit asleep right now.”
Leonardo DiCaprio’s Best Actor nomination in the film One Battle After Another takes the opportunity to think of his ideas, but also to speak of the purpose of cinema as opposed to the honor of the award.
“At the end of the day it’s about trying to be in films that are memorable,” he said. “What matters is great ideas and original filmmaking. There’s something inherent in us as a species about gathering together—feeling music, opera, or watching a film and sharing those emotions with the people around you.”
That was the emphasis put upon the process as opposed to the prestige, and that was certainly an issue that was repeated throughout the events of the day. For Rose Byrne, who was up for the Best Actress category for her movie If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, the process for making the movie was very much an intimate experience for her insofar as the process was concerned. It was a low-budget movie, only taking 27 days to shoot. “This role was an absolute gift for an actress,” Byrne said. “I just didn’t want to mess it up.”
The way that the individual learned about being nominated was also just as emotional in nature. “It was the middle of the night in Australia,” she recalled. “My husband started screaming, my parents came into the room, and suddenly everyone was yelling.”
Delroy Lindo was nominated in the Best Supporting Actor category for the film Sinners in a different manner as well. “It took a few beats to sink in,” Lindo went on to say during a phone interview. This also speaks to the level of recognition that the Academy is receiving on a global level with regard to the nominees that are being selected. Ejae was also able to receive a nomination in the Best Original Song category for “Golden” in the film KPop Demon Hunters. She referred to the event as “surreal.” The fact that there are Korean words in it is just incredible. All these actions, in total, speak to a level that is not so much about glamour, but a level that is about connection, especially with regard to the nominees that are being honored in 2026.
