Usually, award season would be over by now, but in this unusual year the best is yet to come! If you are new to all this, or you need a refresher, check out our guide on the important ones, what to look out for, what to expect and for the movie buffs, who’s already familiar with all of this; the dates.
Emmy Awards
Nominees announced: July 28, 2020
Ceremony: September 20, 2020
Officially known as the Primetime Emmy Awards, used to be conjoined with its less prestigious twin, the Daytime Emmy Awards, until their eventual separation in 1974. Referred to colloquially as the “Oscars of TV”, the Emmys are awarded by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (or ATAS) to television show airing between 6:00 pm and 2:00 am, in at least 50% of the US. The winners tend to be the more popular and commercially successful shows compared to the Golden Globes’, more “mainstream”.
This year’s winning shows were: “Schitt’s Creek”, “Succession”, “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver”, and the awarded actors were: Eugene Levy, Jeremy Strong, Catherine O’Hara and Zendaya. The ceremony was entirely online.
Golden Globes
Nominees announced: February 3, 2021
Ceremony: February 28, 2021
Usually, the first of the big, standalone award for movies and also recognizing television shows the Golden Globes are presented by about 90 members HFPA (Hollywood Foreign Press Association). The small number of decision makers make the award pretty unique, and their choices are harder to predict. There’s no overall “Best Picture” category, films compete in their respective genres – Drama, Musical/Comedy and Animated. There’s another one for Non-English language movies (where less than 50% of the dialogue is in English); they can only participate in this separate category, and are non eligible for the other awards. Unless you’re Quentin Tarantino presenting “Inglorious Basterds”, that is.
Screen Actors Guild Awards
Nominees announced: February 4, 2021
Ceremony: April 4, 2021
Given by the SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) since 1995, the importance of this seemingly unimportant award lies in the fact that the overwhelming majority of the AMPAS (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences), the decision makers behind the Oscars, are actors, and as such member of SAG-AFTRA. Given the huge overlap, whoever gets nominated or honored have quite the chance to win one of the Academy Awards.
Also – it’s all about the actors. Movies as a whole receive no awards here, neither the screenwriter, nor the the rest of the cast, with the exception of the often overlooked stunt performers. Performances on the small screen are also recognized.
BAFTAs
Nominees announced: March 9, 2021
Ceremony: April 11, 2021
Awarded to movies, television series and even video games, BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) originally started out as the British Film Academy. It was founded by, among others, the Hungarian-born British film producer Alexander Korda, whose name was tied to the Award now known as the BAFTA Award for Outstanding British Film. But don’t be mistaken; the nominees don’t need to come from Isles. In fact, every movie that made an appearance in UK movie theatres can qualify, except for a few categories, honoring local talents.
There’s a bit of an overlap in their Best Films and the Oscar’s Best Picture, but since any international title would be eligible here, if there’s a strong foreign movie, that could steal first place.
Independent Spirit Award
Nominees announced: January 26, 2021
Ceremony: April 24, 2021
Regularly held just one day before the Oscars, ISA is somewhat akin to a rebellious hipster cousin to the Academy Awards, with the intention of awarding independent filmmakers. But if you’re afraid that they only going to include weird art-house films you haven’t heard about and have no intention of watching, here’s a list of some of the previous winners: “Pulp Fiction”, “Fargo”, “Lost in Translation”, “The Wrestler”. If you’re still not convinced, then maybe the fact, that many recipients turned out to be Oscar winners the next day, will. Such was the case with “Moonlight” or “Birdman”. So keep a close eye on Independent Spirit, whether your interested in betting, or just watching a good movie.
Academy Awards
Nominees announced: March 15, 2021
Ceremony: April 25, 2021
After the Nobel Prize, this might be the most known award on our planet (or maybe the other way around?), so I don’t think there’s much need for an introduction. Frequently surrounded by scandals, weird stage antics and laced with political massages, the award itself transcends movie industry, shaping everything from public discussions to pop culture.
The academy has the well known tendency to favor movies people often call “Oscar baits”. The winner of Best Movie tends to be a drama about historical or recent political issues, oftentimes making a statement on race, gender and sexuality. It does help too, if it stars Meryl Streep. So, no light-hearted comedy, no superhero blockbuster and certainly no sci-fi here.
