Netflix’s effort to break into Oscar fields not named “Best documentary Feature” failed this year. Despite earning acclaim and critics awards for Cary Fukunaga’s Beasts of No Nation, the film didn’t connect with Academy voters.
Beasts’ lack of any nominations at all was a surprise. Idris Elba, who stars as the leader of child soldiers in an African country, was pegged for Best Supporting Actor, but he was one of the casualties of the overwhelming support for The Revenant.
Elba was nominated for a Golden Globe, but lost. He is up for a BAFTA Award and a Screen Actors Guild award. The fact that the film was also nominated for the SAG Best Ensemble Award appeared to show that Beasts was gaining steam, but it was not to be.
With Beasts left in the field of also-rans, Netflix is only left with documentary nominations again. Both What Happened, Miss Simone? and Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight For Freedom were nominated. However, they will probably lose to either Asif Kapadia’s Amy or Joshua Oppenheimer’s The Look of Silence.
Overall, it was a bad day for streaming sites, as Amazon’s Chi-Raq also failed to earn any nods. The film was directed by Spike Lee, who just picked up an Honorary Oscar for his career. Like Beasts, Chi-Raq needed at least a limited theatrical run before the Oscars to qualify.