Academy releases 91st Oscars shortlists

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Monday announced shortlists in consideration for the 91st Academy Awards in nine categories, including foreign language films, documentaries, music, visual effects and shorts.

It is the first time for the organization to release those shortlists in consideration for Academy Awards, also known as the Oscars, on the same day.

Nine films will advance to the next round of voting in the Foreign Language Film category. A total of 87 films, including three Chinese-language films, had originally been considered in the category.

According to the Academy, Los Angeles-based Academy members from all branches screened the original submissions in the category between mid-October and Dec. 10. The group's top six choices, augmented by three additional selections voted by the Academy's Foreign Language Film Award Executive Committee, constitute the shortlist.

Failing to qualify for the next round were the action comedy film "Hidden Man," which was selected as the Chinese entry of the mainland; the military action film "Operation Red Sea," which was submitted in the category by Hong Kong, China; and the dark comedy film "Great Buddha+," which was selected as the entry of Taiwan, China.

The Foreign Language Film race was narrowed down to nine films, including Colombia's "Birds of Passage," Denmark's "The Guilty," Germany's "Never Look Away," Japan's "Shoplifters," Kazakhstan's "Ayka," Lebanon's "Capernaum," Mexico's "Roma," Poland's "Cold War" and South Korea's "Burning."

Front-runners in the Foreign Language Film category include Alfonso Cuaron's critically lauded "Roma," which won the top prize at the Venice Film Festival; Japan's "Shoplifters," which won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival; and Poland's "Cold War," which won the Best Director prize at Cannes.

Academy members eligible to participate in the nominations round of voting will view the shortlisted films. Members must see all nine films before casting their ballots.

Fifteen films will advance in the Documentary Feature category from a total of 166 films that were originally submitted. "Three Identical Strangers," "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" and "RBG" are among the highly acclaimed films in this category.

Out of 104 films originally submitted in the Documentary Short Subject category, 10 will advance to the next round of voting. Seven films will advance in the Makeup and Hairstyling category. Fifteen scores will advance in the Original Score category and 15 songs will advance in the Original Song category. Ten films will advance in the Animated Short Film category, the Live Action Short Film category and the Visual Effects category respectively.

Nominations for the 91st Academy Awards will be announced on Jan. 22, 2019. The awards ceremony is set for Feb. 24, 2019, at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood in the western U.S. state of California.