The Oscars are just around the corner, and we hope you have your calendars marked. Sinners has already made history by clinching a record 16 nominations, but it’s not the only film PEN America will be keeping an eye out for during the 98th Academy Awards ceremony. The page-to-screen action is strong this year. Here are some nominees with bookish flair, featuring movies we’ve screened and directors and actors we’ve hosted at some of our favorite recent events.
Hamnet
Adapted from Maggie O’Farrell’s New York Times bestseller of the same name, this drama explores the event that may have inspired Shakespeare’s Hamlet: the tragic death of the playwright’s only son. It’s nominated for eight Oscars.
PEN America held a special “Book to Film” event in December with Chloé Zhao, nominated for best directing, and Jessie Buckley, nominated for best actress for her portrayal of Shakespeare’s wife, Agnes.
It Was Just an Accident
It Was Just an Accident follows a former political prisoner who kidnaps the man he’s sure tortured him during his time in prison — or is he? The darkly comic thriller is Jafar Panahi’s first since he was released from Tehran’s Evin Prison in 2023 after a seven-month detention. It’s nominated twice, for best original screenplay and best international feature film.
In February, the film’s writer, Mehdi Mahmoudian, was arrested for condemning the Iranian government’s crackdown on protesters, prompting PEN America to speak out on his behalf. PEN America also advocated for Pahani’s release in 2022, calling his arrest a “brazen violation” of human rights.
In October, PEN America and Film Forum jointly hosted a screening of It Was Just an Accident.
Train Dreams
Train Dreams follows the life of Robert Grainier, a logger and railroad worker whose work takes him across America during the early 20th century. Inspired by Denis Johnson’s novella of the same name, the film secured four nominations, including one for best picture.
In October, PEN America hosted a free screening of Train Dreams, which was followed by a discussion with director Clint Bentley as well as actors Joel Edgerton, who plays Robert, and Kerry Condon, who plays a U.S. Forest Service worker whom Robert befriends.
One Battle After Another
One Battle After Another racked up a whopping 13 nominations, taking second place only to Sinners, which garnered a record-breaking 16 nominations. Loosely inspired by Thomas Pynchon’s 1990 postmodern novel Vineland, the daring and frequently laugh-out-loud thriller presents an alternative version of the United States in which revolutionaries take on a fascist government.
In addition to best picture, the movie received nods for best cinematography, directing, and editing. Leonardo DiCaprio, who plays the radical group’s explosives expert, is also nominated for best actor.
Frankenstein
Based on Mary Shelley’s classic, Frankenstein is nominated nine times, including for best picture and best adapted screenplay. Writer and director Guillermo del Toro, who has spent much of his career making films about misunderstood monsters, has called this one his lifelong dream. Jacob Elordi also received his first Oscar nomination, for best actor, for his role as Frankenstein’s Creature.
Little Amélie or the Character of Rain
Adapted from Amélie Nothomb’s autobiographical novelThe Character of Rain, Little Amélie or the Character of Rain secured a nomination for best animated feature. The tender film depicts Amélie’s early life experiences, including her discoveries of the immaculate taste of white Belgian chocolate, the transcendent beauty of the natural world, and the complicated fact of her own mortality.
Still looking for more films to root for come March 15? Check out a full list of nominations here.
