Oscars: Best Visual Effects Predictions 2021

Thanks to the pandemic and the absence of big budget, VFX-intensive studio films, this is the wildest, most idiosyncratic VFX shortlist in Academy history.

How else do you explain the inclusion of such outliers as HBO’s “Welcome to Chechnya” (the first documentary entry in the category), “Bloodshot” (Sony), the low-budget Vin Diesel comic book actioner, and “Love and Monsters” (Paramount), the even lower-budgeted post-apocalyptic monster comedy? The VFX branch included them alongside the sci-fi trappings of George Clooney’s “The Midnight Sky,” David Fincher’s black-and-white “Mank” (both from Netflix), and Christopher Nolan’s time-inversion thrill ride, “Tenet” (Warner Bros.).Whatever the reason for singling out smaller films at the expense of commercial fare as a result of online viewing and streaming, the surprising exposure for “Welcome to Chechnya” is fascinating.

It proves that the executive committee is willing to be more daring during this new normal.

Director David France

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