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OSCARS 2022: IS CODA ABOUT TO PULL OFF A SHOCK BEST FILM WIN OVER POWER OF THE
DOG AT THE ACADEMY AWARDS?

CODA, which tells the story of a hearing daughter from a deaf family, has seen
one of its stars, Troy Kotsur, picking up several prizes already this awards
season. Is it a sign of real change on screen - and could it be about to sneak
the best film Oscar from favourite Power Of The Dog?

Katie Spencer

Arts and entertainment correspondent @SkyKatieSpencer

Saturday 26 March 2022 01:30, UK



Image: Emilia Jones plays a young girl whose family members are deaf in CODA.
Pic: Apple TV+
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Filmmaker Jane Campion's gothic western Power Of The Dog has been a steady
favourite throughout this awards season - but could consistent crowd-pleaser
CODA be about to pull off a shock win this weekend by taking home the best
picture prize at the Academy Awards?

Its win at the Producers Guild Awards, the last big event pre-Oscars, has
certainly given momentum to the possibility of just that.



However, regardless of whether it takes home the night's big prize on Sunday,
CODA has already won something far greater - long-overdue recognition from
within the film industry that authentic casting matters.


Image: Amy Forsyth, Daniel Durant, Marlee Matlin and Troy Kotsur all star in the
film. Pic: Apple TV+

The story of a hearing daughter from a deaf family who wants to pursue a music
career (CODA stands for Child of Deaf Adults), the film is revolutionary in the
insights it offers into deaf culture.

While it might seem obvious that, of course, deaf actors should play those
parts, in the original 2014 French film that CODA is based on, La Famille
Belier, most of the deaf characters were played by hearing actors. This is less
than a decade ago.

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Troy Kotsur, who made history when he won best supporting actor at the BAFTAs,
for playing a loveable and sweary father in the film, told Sky News it is the
reason he has spent most of his career working in theatre until now.


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"There's been a lot of politics," he said. "Mainly it was fear, money and
wanting to have A-listers to make sure that they got their investment back, that
type of thing, so I understand that fear in Hollywood. It took many years and we
happened to have the right casting director, director and producing team to
really demand that authenticity."

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2:17




Will Oscars be affected by Ukraine?
With the war in Ukraine raging, Sky's Katie Spencer asks if the conflict could
affect the Oscars ceremony, to be held this weekend.
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With the war in Ukraine raging, Katie Spencer asks if the conflict could affect
the Oscars ceremony

In recent years, the Academy has made huge changes to its voting membership to
be more inclusive and diverse - following the #OscarsSoWhite controversy - and
CODA is now making history.

In what feels like a landmark moment for deaf people, Kotsur, who has already
won SAG and Independent Spirit awards, as well as his BAFTA, is the first deaf
male actor to be nominated for an Oscar.

It comes 35 years after Marlee Matlin, his on-screen wife in the film, won her
best actress Oscar for Children Of A Lesser God.

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0:53



First deaf BAFTA winner
Actor Troy Kotsur, 53, has become the first deaf actor to win a BAFTA after he
was given a best supporting actor award for his playing Troy in CODA.
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Troy Kotsur on his historic BAFTA win

Matlin said finally seeing an entire family interacting on-screen in sign
language is groundbreaking.

"We're talking about several deaf characters carrying a film that people will
see now and finally realise that, oh okay, there are thousands of stories,
universal stories that are within the deaf community, that need to be told and
to be shared," she said.

Does CODA mark a cultural shift within the big film studios?

While it's hard to know whether the film will be a genuine turning point in
terms of authentic casting, its popularity certainly sends out a clear message
that, in 2022, representation is clearly valued by audiences who aren't put off
by an absence of famous names.


Image: Siân Heder directs Jones and Ferdia Walsh-Peelo in CODA. Pic: Apple TV+

In fact, the opposite - the film's success is helping CODA's stars become
household names.

But star of A Quiet Place, deaf actress Millicent Simmonds, insists there should
be more than a handful of deaf actors working in Hollywood.

"There are so many different ways to be deaf, to be living a deaf life, so one
actor can't represent all that and one actor shouldn't have the responsibility
or burden of representing all of that," she said.

However, Simmonds says progress in sharing deaf stories through cinema is making
a difference: "Just to see this range of diversity allows children to see
themselves reflected in more stories, I'm happy about that."

Read more: The noteworthy legacy of CODA
Read more: Calls to expand subtitles in theatres and television
Read more: Rose Ayling-Ellis on making Strictly history
Read more: Sound Of Metal shows deafness isn't about being fixed
Read more: Oscars - diversity v data

Given that CODA set a Sundance Film Festival record when it was bought up by
Apple TV for a reported festival record of $25m (£18m), insisting the film had
to either be cast authentically or not made at all was a risk that has
ultimately paid off for its producers this award season.

And the Oscars does like to reward an "underdog", with smaller indie films often
coming out victorious - think Parasite beating 1917, The Irishman, Joker and
Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood to best picture in 2020; Moonlight triumphing
(eventually, after that famous envelope error) over La La Land in 2017, and The
Hurt Locker taking the prize ahead of blockbuster Avatar in 2010, to name just a
few.

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UK hopefuls for the Oscars
Dune and West Side Story are films up for Oscars in 2022, with Benedict
Cumberbatch, Dame Judi Dench and Olivia Colman acting nominees.
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UK hopefuls for the Oscars

So you never know, CODA may well sweep in quietly and win the big prize of the
night over The Power Of The Dog.

We will find out on Sunday.

You can watch the 94th Academy Awards on Sunday 27 March exclusively on Sky
Cinema from 11pm - and follow our live blog on the Sky News website and app. For
those not wanting to stay up late, you can watch again on Monday 28 at 7pm on
Sky Cinema or from 10pm on Sky Showcase


RELATED TOPICS

 * Oscars



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