Canadians competing in top categories at tonight’s Oscars

Canadians are well-positioned ahead of Hollywood’s biggest night, competing in some of the top categories at tonight’s Academy Awards.

Ontario-born filmmakers Sarah Polley and James Cameron are both vying for best picture for their movies “Women Talking” and “Avatar: The Way of Water.”

Polley is also in the running for best adapted screenplay for her take on Miriam Toews’ 2018 novel of the same name.

In the performance categories, Canadian-American actor Brendan Fraser is up for best leading actor for his role in Darren Aronofsky’s “The Whale.”

Meanwhile, Toronto filmmaker Domee Shi’s “Turning Red” is competing for best animated feature, and Calgary-based Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis are nominated in the best animated short category with “The Flying Sailor.”

Two Canadians are in the running for best documentary feature: Montreal’s Ina Fichman is on the team nominated for the Canadian-U.S. film “Fire of Love,” and Toronto director Daniel Roher is nominated for “Navalny.”

In the technical categories, Montreal makeup artist Adrien Morot scored a nomination for best makeup and hairstyling for his work on “The Whale,” along with Judy Chin and Anne Marie Bradley.

Bryan Litson, who works out of the Vancouver office of the creative studio Framestore, is up for achievement in visual effects for his work on “Top Gun: Maverick” along with Ryan Tudhope, Seth Hill and Scott R. Fisher.

The Oscars get underway at 8 p.m. Eastern, and will be broadcast in Canada on CTV.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 12, 2023.