Oscar 2016 – a sneak peek into the main contenders

By Aarati Shah, Christian Post Contributor Tuesday, September 15, 2015

The summer of superheroes is over and Fall is here and it means the time has come to lobby for the Oscars. The season of film festivals has started around the world. There will be the New York, Toronto and Venice circuit next month. With many film festivals lined up, a picture might emerge in a month or two as to who is where in the reckoning for the 2016 Oscars. The Oscars are still a long way off, but we can make our own list of favourites.

Since Iñárritu's "The Revenant" is top on the list as a contender for the Best Film, Best Director awards, could this be the year that Leonardo Di Caprio finally holds an Oscar in his hand?

Old favorite Jennifer Lawrence has again teamed up with David O Russell and Bradley Cooper for "Joy". So will it be JLaw again this year too? But she will probably have these stalwarts as company in the nominations list: Cate Blanchett for "Carol", Sandra Bullock for "Our Brand is Crisis", Naomi Watts for "Demolition" and Shailene Woodley for "Snowden"

Alejandro González Iñárritu's Birdman reputation is surely going to precede "The Revenant" this year. But this year, we are spoilt for choice. The ten films in contention for the title of Best Film this 2016 could be "Carol," "The Danish Girl," "Bridges of Spies," "The Revenant," "Steve Jobs," "Suffragette," "The Hateful 8," "Trumbo," "Macbeth" and "Joy."

"Me, Earl and the Dying Girl" could be a wild card in this list. The buzz is very good for this film after its success in the Sundance Festival.

These five might slug it out for the Best Director category: Danny Boyle for "Steve Jobs", Ron Howard for "In The Heart of the Sea", Alejandro Inarritu for "The Revenant", David O. Russell for "Joy" and Martin Scorsese for "Silence". If Martin Scorsese does not complete "Silence" in time, it could be Director Robert Zemeckis for "The Walk"

Again, fans will keep their fingers crossed for Leonardo Di Caprio, but he will have competition from the best: Michael Fassbender has two aces up his sleeve this year - the biopic, "Steve Jobs," and the stunning "Macbeth", Joseph Gordon-Levitt for "The Walk", Bryan Cranston for "Trumbo"and of course, Eddie Redmayne for "The Danish Girl".

We really do have a lot to look forward to the coming 2016 Oscars. As the film festivals start and favourites emerge, we will keep you posted on the 2016 Oscars race.