We all knew that streaming services have the creative potential and visual imagination to be Oscar contenders, but none of us knew the time would have come so soon. For the first time in history Netflix, Hulu and Amazon have been nominated for Oscars.
Netflix and Amazon had both been nominated before. It is the first time that Hulu has received a nomination. Netflix pushed hard to get nominated in 2015. Netflix worked hard on the intense and drama-packed war-crime film Beasts of No Nation. Amazon Studios announced it was pushing its first film, the Spike Lee-directed Chi-Raq, in hopes of getting a nomination, in the same year.
Both films got snubbed by Oscar voters. Both video streaming platforms got nominated in several categories over the years eventually. Both Netflix’s and Amazon’s clever planning and dedicated hard work paid off when Netflix’s short documentary ‘The White Helmets’ and Amazon’s drama Manchester ‘By the Sea’ went on to win Oscars.
Since that period, both Netflix and Amazon have been nominated more than twenty times. Hulu which has been in existence for eleven years, received not one but two nominations, marking a new chapter in the streaming service’s career.
Both nominations came in the documentary series department. Hulu’s films in the running for Best Documentary Feature include Bing Liu’s movie about skateboarding and troubled youth called Minding the Gap. The second documentary is Stephen Maing’s “Crime + Punishment,” which is about corruption within the New York Police Department.
Both documentaries received great praise at the Sundance Film Festival 2018. Once Hulu heard this news, the video streaming platform was quick to nab both documentaries. Hulu has won an Emmy for its TV series ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ in the past, but its original movies have been pretty lackluster.
Hulu usually created pop culture documentary series, but now it seems it is changing its course towards real drama and “coming of age” tales. The streaming service will face some intense competition from Netflix and Amazon.
Both streaming services are veterans and have put up some really gritty and Oscar potential original stuff. Hulu will face off against Netflix’s mesmerizing Shirkers, along with The Ballad of Buster Scruggs which is nominated for both Best Score and Best Song categories, Quincy ( which is nominated for Best Song), End Game (Best Documentary Short Subject) and Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma (Best Foreign Language Film).
Amazon Studios was nominated for Suspiria and Cold War. Suspiria was shortlisted for Best Makeup and Hairstyling and Best Song while Cold War was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film. Netflix has a better chance of winning just by sheer numbers alone.
But it seems like Hulu’s Minding the Gap stands a good chance of winning. It already won a lot of awards and is a favorite among both critics and audiences. Minding the Gap recently won an award from the New York Film Critics Circle.
This isn’t the final list but its still a big achievement for streaming services. Only five years back there was no nomination for any of the streaming platform. Streaming services will be featured prominently in future awards shows. This is the victory that really matters.
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