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It's never too early to predict awards season!
Oscar voting doesn't take place until December, but already we have more than enough queer films and talent that have shown themselves to be Oscar-worthy.
More queer nominees are sure to develop as movies like Wicked (starring Cynthia Erivo), Joker: Folie a Deux (starring Lady Gaga), Nickel Boys (with Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor), the documentary Will & Harper, and Luca Guadagnino's Queer hit theaters, but these are the ones we're already looking out for.
Here are six LGBTQ+ filmmakers and actors who have already got significant Oscar buzz a little more than halfway through the year!
Colman Domingo, 'Sing Sing'
Fresh off an Oscar nomination for playing Bayard Rustin in the biopic Rustin, Domingo should be back at the Oscars in 2025 with his deeply vulnerable performance in the prison drama Sing Sing. Critics are calling it the best performance of his already storied career!
Lily Gladstone, 'Fancy Dance'
Another nominated actor who should be back this year is Lily Gladstone. In my opinion, she should've won for Killers of the Flower Moon earlier this year, and she's equally great as a lesbian auntie trying to help her niece find her missing mom and get to a powwow in this year's Fancy Dance from Erica Tremblay.
Luca Guadagnino, 'Challengers'
Guadagnino was in top form with Challengers this year. The tennis-themed queer love triangle film starring Zendaya, Josh O'Connor, and Mike Faist was a huge hit and is one of the best sports movies ever. Will it be able to come back and win Guadagnino his first Oscar?
Justice Smith, 'I Saw the TV Glow'
Horror movies rarely get Oscar noms, but this complex and layered thriller from writer/director Jane Schoenbrun should definitely get the Academy's attention. The film is just so smart, building a metaphor for transition while also showing one of the most textually disturbing portrayals of trans life that we've ever seen. Schoenbrun could definitely get some award season love for their directing and screenplay, and Smith deserves a ton of credit, playing a character throughout decades of his life. It's an unquieting performance that will haunt you.
Katy O'Brian, 'Love Lies Bleeding'
From the moment I first saw O'Brian in Love Lies Bleeding at the Sundance Film Festival I could tell she was ready for the awards stage. Bursting out in the intense film with all the strength and gravitas of a giant, O'Brian leaves an impression that is impossible to forget in Rose Glass's lesbian crime thriller.
Karla Sofia Gascon, 'Emilia Pérez'
After hopes that Trace Lysette might get a nomination last year for Monica, trans actors are looking to Karla Sofia Gascon's breakout performance in the French comedy Emilia Pérez. In the film, she plays a Mexican cartel leader who has transitioned and is trying to evade authorities. Along with co-stars Selena Gomez, Adriana Paz, and Zoe Saldana, she won the Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival.
