LGBT-themed films were seldom honored by the motion picture academy in the 20th century. But the first two decades of the 21st century have seen the Oscars change their tune, with more and more films with LGBT stories winning awards. At least one LGBT-themed film has won an Oscar every year since 2013, including last year’s historic Best Picture win by “Moonlight,” the first film with a gay protagonist to win in the top category. Two more acclaimed films joined the list of Oscar-winning LGBT films in 2018: “Call Me by Your Name” and “A Fantastic Woman.” Click through our gallery to see the complete list.
“Call Me by Your Name” went into Oscars with four nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actor (Timothee Chalamet), and it took home the award for Best Adapted Screenplay. With that victory the film’s writer, James Ivory, made history by becoming the oldest Oscar-winner in any category. The 89-year-old Ivory had previously received Best Director nominations for “A Room with a View” (1986), “Howards End” (1992) and “The Remains of the Day” (1993) — all of which were produced by Ivory’s life partner, Ismail Merchant.
Ivory’s victory also made him the fifth LGBT writer to win Best Adapted Screenplay, following Peter Shaffer (“Amadeus,” 1984), Bill Condon (“Gods and Monsters,” 1998), Geoffrey Fletcher (“Precious,” 2009) and Tarell Alvin McCraney (“Moonlight,” 2016). If Ivory has a hand in writing the film’s recently-confirmed sequel, could he possibly win a second Oscar and break his own record as the oldest champ?
The transgender community also broke through in a big way at the Oscars this year. The Chilean drama “A Fantastic Woman,” which centers around a trans woman who faces discrimination following the death of her older lover, won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, the first time Chile has ever won in that category. And the film’s star, Daniela Vega, became the first openly transgender performer to be an Oscar presenter: she took the stage to introduce one of the nominees for Best Original Song — appropriately enough, “The Mystery of Love” by Sufjan Stevens from “Call Me by Your Name.”
What do you think of the motion picture academy’s recognition of LGBT films in recent years? And how do you think the film measures up against past champs from “Cabaret” to “Brokeback Mountain” to “Dallas Buyers Club”? Click through our gallery above.
