The 95th Oscars ceremony, set to take place on March 11th in Los Angeles, is making history with an unprecedented number of nominations for actors of Asian origin. For the first time ever, four Asian actresses have been nominated for the famous statuette. Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, Stephanie Hsu, and Hong Chau are all in the running for their performances in popular films, including the comedy “Everything Everywhere All At Once,” which has received eleven nominations.
This year’s Oscars also mark a breakthrough for the Asian film industry, with the epic Indian film “RRR” nominated for best song and Kazuo Ishiguro, a Nobel Prize-winning author, receiving a nomination for best screenplay for his adaptation of Kurosawa’s classic “Living” (or “Vivre” in French) set in London.
Despite this exceptional showing, the inclusion of Asian communities at the Oscars has historically been limited. In the past 95 years, only 23 actors of Asian origin have been nominated, or just 1.2% of all nominations. Indian actor Ben Kingsley is the only one who has been nominated more than once. These nominations are therefore a long-awaited breakthrough for actors of Asian origin.
Michelle Yeoh, in particular, is set to make history as the first Asian actress to be awarded the Oscar for Best Actress for her role in “Everything Everywhere All At Once.” The Oscars have come under criticism in recent years for their lack of diversity and inclusion, but this year’s nominations show that progress is being made.