The 2018 Oscars ceremony is about to be underway, and there are nine films vying for the night’s biggest prize.
There are a ton of acclaimed films up for discussion, but only those nine are seen as the best of the best by the Academy.
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You have films from heavyweight directors like Steven Spielberg and Christopher Nolan up against first time flicks from Jordan Peele and Greta Gerwig, and serious biopics up against and lighter coming-of-age tales.
Scroll through to learn about all the films up for the Academy Award’s biggest prize.
‘Call Me By Your Name’
Director: Luca Guadagnino
Cast: Timothée Chalamet, Armie Hammer, Michael Stuhlbarg
Synopsis: In the summer of 1983, in the north of Italy, Elio Perlman, (Chalamet) a 17-year-old American spends his days in his family’s 17th century villa lazily transcribing music and flirting with his friend Marzia (Esther Garrel). One day Oliver (Hammer), a 24-year-old graduate student working on his doctorate arrives as the annual summer intern tasked with helping Elio’s father (Michael Stuhlbarg), an eminent professor specializing in Greco-Roman culture. Soon, Elio and Oliver discover a summer that will alter their lives forever. Call Me By Your Name, directed by Guadagnino and written by James Ivory, is based on the novel by André Aciman. (via Sony Pictures Classics)
Other Nominations: Actor in a Leading Role (Chalamet), Original Song (Sufjan Stevens’ “Mystery Of Love”), Adapted Screenplay
‘Darkest Hour’
Director: Joe Wright
Cast: Gary Oldman, Kristin Scott Thomas, Lily James
Synopsis: Controversial politician Winston Churchill (Oldman) is appointed prime minister during the early days of World War II and is faced with the momentous choice of continuing to fight or trying to parlay with Hitler. With the fall of France imminent and the possibility of a German invasion of Britain looming, Churchill knows his decision will affect the entire free world. (via The Academy)
Other Nominations: Actor in a Leading Role (Oldman), Cinematography, Costume Design, Makeup and Hairstyling, Production Design
‘Dunkirk’
Director: Christopher Nolan
Cast: Fionn Whitehead, Tom Glynn-Carney, Jack Lowden, Harry Styles, Tom Hardy
Synopsis: In the Spring of 1940, hundreds of thousands of British and Allied troops are trapped by German forces on the beaches of Dunkirk in northern France. The terrain precludes the use of large ships, compelling the military to request that civilian boats join the rescue efforts. While soldiers endure attacks and wait in fear, the RAF provides cover for the hundreds of small boats sailing the 26 miles from Britain. (via The Academy)
Other Nominations: Cinematography, Directing (Nolan), Film Editing, Original Score, Production Design, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing
‘Get Out’
Director: Jordan Peele
Cast: Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Bradley Whitford, Catherine Keener
Synopsis: When Chris (Kaluuya), a young African-American man, visits his white girlfriend’s (Williams) family estate, he becomes ensnared in the more sinister, real reason for the invitation. At first, Chris reads the family’s overly accommodating behavior as nervous attempts to deal with their daughter’s interracial relationship, but as the weekend progresses, a series of increasingly disturbing discoveries lead him to a truth that he could have never imagined. This speculative thriller from Blumhouse (producers of The Visit, Insidious series and The Gift) and the mind of Peele (Key & Peele) is equal parts gripping thriller and provocative commentary. (via Universal Pictures)
Other Nominations: Actor in a Leading Role (Kaluuya), Directing (Peele), Original Screenplay
‘Lady Bird’
Director: Greta Gerwig
Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf, Tracy Letts
Synopsis: In Lady Bird, Gerwig reveals herself to be a bold new cinematic voice with her directorial debut, excavating both the humor and pathos in the turbulent bond between a mother and her teenage daughter. Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson (Ronan) fights against but is exactly like her wildly loving, deeply opinionated and strong-willed mom (Metcalf), a nurse working tirelessly to keep her family afloat after Lady Bird’s father (Letts) loses his job. Set in Sacramento, California in 2002, amidst a rapidly shifting American economic landscape, Lady Bird is an affecting look at the relationships that shape us, the beliefs that define us, and the unmatched beauty of a place called home. (via A24)
Other Nominations: Actress in a Leading Role (Ronan), Actress in a Supporting Role (Metcalf), Directing (Gerwig), Original Screenplay
‘Phantom Thread’
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Cast: Daniel Day-Lewis, Lesley Manville, Vicky Krieps
Synopsis: In 1950s London, middle-aged couturier Reynolds Woodcock (Day-Lewis) is at the height of his fame and creative powers. His sister Cyril (Manville) helps to manage his precisely ordered world, but when he falls for a younger, high-spirited waitress (Krieps), Reynolds finds that his new muse has transformed his life in more ways than he thought possible. (via The Academy)
Other Nominations: Actor in a Leading Role (Day-Lewis) Actress in a Supporting Role (Lesley Manville), Costume Design, Directing (Anderson), Original Score
‘The Post’
Director: Steven Spielberg
Cast: Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, Bob Odenkirk, Sarah Paulson
Synopsis: Spielberg directs Streep and Hanks in The Post, a thrilling drama about the unlikely partnership between The Washington Post‘s Katharine Graham (Streep), the first female publisher of a major American newspaper, and editor Ben Bradlee (Hanks), as they race to catch up with The New York Times to expose a massive cover-up of government secrets that spanned three decades and four U.S. Presidents. The two must overcome their differences as they risk their careers – and their very freedom – to help bring long-buried truths to light. (via 20th Century Fox)
Other Nominations: Actress in a Leading Role (Streep)
‘The Shape of Water’
Director: Guillermo del Toro
Cast: Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins, Doug Jones
Synopsis: From master storyteller del Toro comes The Shape of Water – an other-worldly fable, set against the backdrop of Cold War era America circa 1962. In the hidden high-security government laboratory where she works, lonely Elisa (Hawkins) is trapped in a life of isolation. Elisa’s life is changed forever when she and co-worker Zelda (Octavia Spencer) discover a secret classified experiment. (via Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Other Nominations: Actor in a Supporting Role (Jenkins), Actress in a Leading Role (Sally Hawkins), Actress in a Supporting Role (Spencer), Cinematography), Costume Design, Directing, Film Editing, Original Score, Production Design, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, Original Screenplay
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Director: Martin McDonagh
Cast: Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell
Synopsis: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is a darkly comedic drama from Academy Award winner McDonagh (In Bruges). After months have passed without a culprit in her daughter’s murder case, Mildred Hayes (McDormand) makes a bold move, commissioning three signs leading into her town with a controversial message directed at William Willoughby (Harrelson), the town’s revered chief of police. When his second-in-command Officer Dixon (Rockwell), an immature mother’s boy with a penchant for violence, gets involved, the battle between Mildred and Ebbing’s law enforcement is only exacerbated.
Other Nominations: Actor in a Supporting Role (Harrelson), Actor in a Supporting Role (Rockwell), Actress in a Leading Role (McDormand), Film Editing, Original Score, Original Screenplay
