Oscars 2022: India's Pebbles out of race; now all hopes on documentary ‘Writing With Fire’ (Details Inside)

Tamil drama Pebbles failed to impress the jury, and is now out of the race of Oscar 2022. Currently, all hopes are with India's documentary ‘Writing With Fire’

India is out of the race in the Best International Feature Film Category as Tamil drama Pebbles failed to cut the Top 15. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences declared shortlists in 10 categories for the 94th Academy Awards. But there is a piece of good news that India’s Documentary Feature 'Writing With Fire' has managed to score a spot in the Top 15

'Writing With Fire' be competing in the category for the coveted Oscar come March 27. More than 138 films were eligible in this category. Members of the Documentary Branch vote to select the shortlist and the nominees. Nominations for all categories for the 94th Oscars will be announced on Feb 8, 2022. Winners will be announced at the ceremony on Sunday, March 27, broadcast live on ABC.

Members of the documentary branch of the academy culled from 138 eligible films to pick 15 shortlist selections. That including two pandemic-themed films 'In the Same Breath, The First Wave' and Questlove's 'Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)' about a near-forgotten 1969 music event, Julie Cohen and Betsy West's 'Julia' and Todd Haynes' The Velvet Underground.' 

'Flee', an animated documentary about an Afghan refugee made by Danish filmmaker Jonas Poher Rasmussen was also among the movies that advanced in the international feature category. Other special selections are The Rescue, about the Thai soccer team and their rescue for a remote cave, Procession, Attica and Flee. Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry also made the cut.

Other strong contenders include Ryusuke Hamaguchi Drive My Car, which has been a critics group darling, Asghar Farhadi’s Iranian drama A Hero, Italian director Paolo Sorrentino’s semi-autobiographical The Hand of God and Joachim Trier’s dark romantic comedy The Worst Person in the World, from Norway.