Apple TV Apple TV

THE 2021 OSCARS is set to take place tomorrow night, with animated feature Wolfwalkers from Cartoon Saloon leading the charge for Irish films at the awards ceremony.

With Covid-19 restrictions still in place, the 93rd Academy Awards will look different to the previous ceremonies, with the show expected to take place across multiple locations, including the traditional Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

Hubs in London and Paris will allow European nominees to dial into the show, through satellite hookups rather than Zoom.

A star-studded lineup of presenters has also been announced, with household names like Reese Witherspoon, Brad Pitt, Harrison Ford and Halle Berry all set to give out awards, alongside many others.

However, the host of the ceremony has not yet been unveiled.

The event will conclude awards season, albeit later than usual due to the ceremony being pushed back from February 28.

Irish animated feature Wolfwalkers, from Kilkenny-based animation studio Cartoon Saloon, is among those nominated for Best Animated Feature Film.

The film is being nominated alongside:

• Soul
• Onward
• A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon
• Over the Moon

For this year’s awards, two women – Chloé Zhao and Emerald Fennell – have been nominated for Best Director, the first time this has happened in Oscars history.

Fennell is nominated for Promising Young Woman, while Zhao is nominated for Nomadland.

Others nominated for Best Director include:

• Thomas Vinterberg – Another Round
• David Fincher – Mank
• Lee Isaac Chung – Minari

Chadwick Boseman, who passed away in August 2020, is among those nominated for Best Actor for his role in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom as Levee Green. 83-year-old Anthony Hopkins is also nominated for his role in The Father.

A full list of the nominees for the 93rd Academy Awards can be found here.

Additional reporting by AFP