Jonathan Melville: Oscar voters have plenty to choose

AS 2013 starts to bed in and the awards season gets underway, a fresh wave of films are hitting our screens which could scoop BAFTAs and Oscars in the coming months.

Three films nominated in both best film categories - Life of Pi, Les Misérables and Django Unchained - are still floating around in most Edinburgh cinemas. From tomorrow there’s also a chance to see Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty and Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln, two pictures which are favourites to win big.

Zero Dark Thirty tells of the decade-long mission to find and kill Bin Laden and has been nominated for five Oscars, including best actress for lead Jessica Chastain.

Spielberg’s first film as director since 2011’s War Horse, Lincoln stars Daniel Day-Lewis as the eponymous President Abraham Lincoln, covering the final four months of his life as he attempts to abolish slavery in the USA.

I wasn’t overly impressed with Life of Pi, which looks stunning but lacks depth, though it does seem to be a film which divides audiences. One film which came out last year and which is nominated in various categories is Ben Affleck’s Argo, and I hope it does well in 2013.

A film which has had a big effect on Scottish tourism is Brave, nominated in the animated film category for both the BAFTAs and the Oscars. Fans from around the globe have fallen for our pixellated hills and glens and, if figures are to be believed, are booking their flight ticket here.

Finally, Edinburgh-based animator, Will Anderson, has found himself on the BAFTA shortlist for best short animation with his innovative film, The Making of Longbird.

Will has won numerous awards over the last year or so and it’s great to see someone doing so well nationally.

@jon_melville

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