Jewish-themed films up for Oscars
FOUR Jewish-themed films and an Israeli film are in the running for this year's Oscars.
ADAM KAMIEN
THERE are a host of Jews in line for Oscars when nominations for the 2010 Academy Awards were announced on Wednesday.
Four of the 10 films nominated for best picture have Jewish themes or filmmakers, with Inglourious Basterds, Up In The Air, An Education and A Serious Man all getting selected.
Maggie Gyllenhaal is in the running for her first Academy Award, after being nominated in the Best Actress in a Supporting Role category for her part in the acclaimed drama Crazy Heart.
Inglourious Basterds, Quentin Tarantino’s revenge fantasy about a group of Jewish soldiers that brutalise Nazis, leads the Jewish charge with eight nominations overall, including Best Original Screenplay and Best Director.
Up In The Air, helmed by Jewish director Jason Reitman, garnered six nominations, including best direction and original screenplay.
Israeli film Ajami is up for Best Foreign Language Film, marking the third year in a row Israel has had a film in this category and the country’s ninth overall.
Another Israeli, Oren Moverman, has received a nomination in the Best Original Screenplay category for The Messenger, a film about veterans of the Iraq war.
Jewish director JJ Abrams’ Star Trek has been nominated for four Oscars, Jewish-themed An Education received three nominations and the Coen Brothers’ A Serious Man two nominations.