Film News: 2019 Oscar Nominations includes ‘Minding the Gap,’ by Chicago’s Kartemquin Films

CHICAGO – Chicago’s Kartemquin Films continues their winning streak, as director Bing Liu’s “Minding the Gap” scores an Oscar nomination for Best Documentary. The 91st Academy Awards will take place on February 24th, 2019.

Alfonso Cuarón’s vital period picture from Mexico, “Roma,” was the favorite nominee, with 10 nods, but the excellent “Black Panther” – the first superhero film to score a Best Picture nomination – also was strong with seven nominations. There were no other major surprises in the Best Picture category, as many of the awards season favorites (including “The Favourite”) were recognized. Veteran filmmaker Spike Lee got his first Best Director nomination for “BlacKkKlansman” (also Best Picture nominee) and all three of the main actresses in “The Favourite” scored nominations (Olivia Coleman for Best Actress, Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone for Best Supporting Actress).

’Roma,’ Directed by Alfonso Cuarón, Received 10 Oscar Nominations
Photo credit: Netflix

But it is the legendary Kartemquin Films that makes the news locally, as “Minding the Gap” is the second film in a row (after Steve James’ “Abacus: Small Enough to Jail” in 2018) from Kartemquin to be nominated for Best Documentary.

The complete list of nominees are as follows…

BEST PICTURE
“Black Panther”
“BlacKkKlansman”
“Bohemian Rhapsody”
“The Favourite”
“Green Book”
“Roma”
“A Star Is Born”
“Vice”

BEST ACTOR
Christian Bale, “Vice”
Bradley Cooper, “A Star Is Born
Willem Dafoe, “At Eternity’s Gate”
Rami Malek, “Bohemian Rhapsody”
Viggo Mortensen, “Green Book”

BEST ACTRESS
Yalitza Aparicio, “Roma”
Glenn Close, “The Wife”
Lady Gaga, “A Star Is Born”
Olivia Colman, “The Favourite”
Melissa McCarthy, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Mahershala Ali, “Green Book”
Adam Driver, “BlackKKlansman”
Sam Elliott, “A Star Is Born”
Richard E. Grant, “Can You Ever Forgive Me”
Sam Rockwell, “Vice”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams, “Vice”
Marina de Tavira, “Roma”
Regina King, “If Beale Street Could Talk”
Emma Stone, “The Favourite”
Rachel Weisz, “The Favourite”

DIRECTING
Spike Lee, “BlacKkKlansman”
Pawel Pawlikowski, “Cold War”
Yorgos Lanthimos, “The Favourite”
Alfonso Cuarón, “Roma”
Adam McKay, “Vice”

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
“Incredibles 2”
“Isle of Dogs”
“Mirai”
“Ralph Breaks the Internet”
“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
“The Ballad of Buster Scruggs”
“BlacKkKlansman”
“Can You Ever Forgive Me?”
“If Beale Street Could Talk”
“A Star Is Born”

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
“First Reformed”
“Green Book”
“Roma”
“The Favourite”
“Vice”

Director Bing Liu (center) in the Oscar nominated ‘Minding the Gap,’ Produced by Kartemquin Films
Photo credit: Hulu

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
“Free Solo”
“Hale County This Morning, This Evening”
“Minding the Gap”
“Of Fathers and Sons”
“RBG”

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
“Capernaum”
“Cold War”
“Never Look Away”
“Roma”
“Shoplifters”

ORIGINAL SONG
“All The Stars” - “Black Panther”
“I’ll Fight” - “RBG”
“Shallow” - “A Star Is Born
“The Place Where Lost Things Go” - “Mary Poppins Returns”
“When A Cowboy Trades His Spurs For Wings” - “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs”

ORIGINAL SCORE
“Black Panther”
“BlacKkKlansman”
“If Beale Street Could Talk”
“Isle of Dogs”
“Mary Poppins Returns”

ANIMATED SHORT
“Animal Behaviour”
“Bao”
“Late Afternoon”
“One Small Step”
“Weekends”

LIVE ACTION SHORT
“Detainment”
“Fauve”
“Marguerite”
“Mother”
“Skin”

DOCUMENTARY SHORT
“Black Sheep”
“End Game”
“Lifeboat”
“A Night at the Garden”
“Period. End of Sentence.”

FILM EDITING
“BlacKkKlansman”
“Bohemian Rhapsody”
“Green Book”
“The Favourite”
“Vice”

SOUND EDITING
“A Quiet Place”
“Black Panther”
“Bohemian Rhapsody”
“First Man”
“Roma”

SOUND MIXING
“Black Panther”
“Bohemian Rhapsody”
“First Man”
“Roma”
“A Star Is Born”

PRODUCTION DESIGN
“Black Panther”
“The Favourite”
“First Man”
“Mary Poppins Returns”
“Roma”

VISUAL EFFECTS
“Avengers: Infinity War”
“Christopher Robin”
“First Man”
“Ready Player One”
“Solo: A Star Wars Story”

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
“Cold War”
“The Favourite”
“Never Look Away”
“Roma”
“A Star Is Born”

MAKEUP AND HAIR STYLING
“Border”
“Mary Queen of Scots”
“Vice”

COSTUME DESIGN
“The Ballad of Buster Scruggs”
“Black Panther”
“The Favourite”
“Mary Poppins Returns”
“Mary Queen of Scots”

Click here [29] for a Podtalk with director Bing Liu of the Oscar nominated “Minding the Gap,” with Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com

Click here [30] for the red carpet interviews of Yalitza Aparico (Best Actress Nominee) and Marina de Tavira (Best Supporting Actress nominee) of “Roma” at the 54th Chicago International Film Festival, by Jon Lennon Espino of HollywoodChicago.com.

Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com will participate in a panel discussion of Live Award Predictions TONIGHT, January 22nd, 2019, at CMX CinéBistro in the Old Orchard Shopping Center in Skokie, Illinois. The event is at capacity, but tickets may be available if you call. Click here [31] for details.

[32]	By PATRICK McDONALD [33] Editor and Film Writer HollywoodChicago.com pat@hollywoodchicago.com [32]