The Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF), a cornerstone event closing out the 2024 film festival circuit, has set the stage for what is shaping up to be an exciting 2025 awards season. Among the standout contenders is Netflix’s Emilia Pérez, which has captured attention with its daring storytelling, stellar performances, and a narrative that resonates deeply with audiences and critics alike. After a strong showing at Palm Springs, the film is already being touted as a potential awards-season juggernaut.

This past Friday, Emilia Pérez director Jacques Audiard was honored with the prestigious Vanguard Award at the Palm Springs International Film Festival. The award was presented by to him by the film’s three leading stars—Karla Sofía Gascón, Selena Gomez, and Zoe Saldaña. This recognition, arriving just days before the 82nd Golden Globes airing today, Sunday, January 5, 2025, has amplified excitement around Emilia Pérez and its prospects for awards season glory.

When the Golden Globe nominations were unveiled in December, Emilia Pérez made history with an extraordinary 10 nominations—the most ever for a film in the Musical/Comedy category. Including for the three female stars:

Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy: Karla Sofía Gascón and Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture: Selena Gomez, Zoe Saldaña

The nominations have placed a bright spotlight on the film’s cast and creatives, as a strong performance at the Globes is often seen as a bellwether for Oscar success.

Here is the full list of Emilia Pérez’s Golden Globe nominations:

• Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy: Emilia Pérez (Netflix)
• Best Motion Picture – Non-English Language: Emilia Pérez (France)
• Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy: Karla Sofía Gascón
• Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture: Selena Gomez, Zoe Saldaña
• Best Director – Motion Picture: Jacques Audiard
• Best Screenplay – Motion Picture: Jacques Audiard
• Best Original Score – Motion Picture: Clément Ducol, Camille
• Best Original Song – Motion Picture:
  • “El Mal” – Music by Clément Ducol, Camille; Lyrics by Clément Ducol, Camille, Jacques Audiard
  • “Mi Camino” – Music & Lyrics by Clément Ducol, Camille

As the awards season officially kicks off, Emilia Pérez seems poised to be a defining presence. Whether this Golden Globes momentum translates to Oscar glory remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: all eyes are firmly on this groundbreaking film and its exceptional team.

The post All Eyes on ‘Emilia Perez’ at the Golden Globes Tonight first appeared on .

Emilia Perez starring Zoe Saldana, Karla Sofia Gascón and Selena Gomez, is a gender-bending, genre-busting, phantasmagorical, operatic, hyper theatrical, electrifying crime and redemption melodrama.

Saldana plays Rita Mora Castro, an attorney tasked with negotiating a sex change operation for Manitas Del Monte, an arch drug cartel criminal . In a dark, unsettling scene, we meet the mobster with Gascón eerily portraying Del Monte in heavy prosthetic make-up.

Del Monte is born again as Emilia Perez. She tries to make up for her previous evil ways by helping  grief-stricken Mexican citizens find loved ones who have disappeared, often at Manitas’ hands. It’s a nice try, but sometimes redemption is a bridge too far.

Emilia Perez is a powerful Latina centric film. Saldana showcases her singing and dancing talents. Gomez, as Jessi, Manitas’ clueless spouse, gives a surprisingly strong and tough performance proving she has the acting chops for more demanding dramatic roles. Gascón shines in the dual role of Manitas and Emilia.

 The three leads, Saldana, Gascón and Gomez all shared a Best Actress Award for their performances in the film at the Cannes Film Festival. They will all get Oscar nominations. Hopefully, they won’t cancel one another out.

Writer / director Jacques Audiard will, no doubt, be considered for an Oscar for Best Director, as well as the movie for Best Picture. Could this, at long last, finally be the year Latinos make their too often overlooked and snubbed presence known at the Academy Awards? Hope so, otherwise the Academy will be on the receiving end of an acid drenched “WTF were you thinking? ¡Fideo Loco! blog from yours truly.

Emilia Perez is streaming on Netflix.
Director: Jacques Audiard
Cast: Karla Sofía Gascón , Zoe Saldana , Selena Gomez , Adriana Paz , Edgar Ramirez
Running time: 2 hr 10 minCast:  

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