Oscar Nominated Latinos Dominate Behind the Camera

By Eduardo Sanchez-Ubanell, Voxxi

Host Seth Macfarlane and actress Emma Stone announced the nominations for the 85^th Annual Academy Awards last week. Though the flashy, high-profile categories of directing and acting did not feature any Hispanic nominees, many Latinos were honored for their work behind the camera.

Four Hispanics received Oscar nominations: Spaniard Paco Delgado for Best Costume Design for Les Miserables, Chilean Claudio Miranda for Best Cinematography for Life of Pi, Chilean Pablo Larrain for Best Foreign Film for No, and Jose Antonio Garcia for Best Sound Mixing for Argo.

The Barcelona-born costume designer Paco Delgado is having a particularly good year. His talent in costuming helped create a world of fantasy and drama in the new film Les Miserables.

“You just never know how a film is going to turn out or how your work will look. You are always so concentrated on the work every day. It’s not until the movie is finished that you can see the world you created.” —Delgado

Apart from receiving his first ever Oscar nomination yesterday, Delgado was also nominated for Spain’s Goya Award in Costume Designing for Blancanieves, an artistic, black and white interpretation of Snow White; and the BAFTA, England’s highest honor in film.

He explained the elation of receiving the news of his Oscar nomination: “I’m in Madrid when a friend called me and gave me the Oscar news. I’m very happy to be recognized. I’m trying to keep my head on my shoulders because if not… *laughs.” He insists, “Being nominated was never in the back of my mind.” Now, he is just enjoying the moment.

Hispanic film ‘No’ receives Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Film

Chileans Pablo Larrain and Claudio Miranda say they are thrilled to be nominated as well. Larrain is nominated for his film No, which is in the running to win Best Foreign Film. For his work on Life of Pi, Miranda has received his second Oscar nomination for Best Cinematography, after his 2009 nomination for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

This is the first Oscar nomination for Jose Antonio Garcia who shares it with fellow sound mixers John Reitz and Gregg Rudloff. Argo received a whopping eight Oscar nominations and won big at the Golden Globes, taking home several awards including Best Picture and Best Director.

For Hispanics in Hollywood, the trend this year was off-camera work. Since the turn of the century, actors such as Javier Bardem, Penélope Cruz, and Benecio del Toro have won Oscars for their work in front of the camera, but Hispanics are now a formidable force behind the scenes as well. As our influence in the industry continues to grow, the next few decades look quite promising for Hispanics in mainstream cinema.

Except for Chile’s No, you can still witness the incredible work of all the nominees on the big screen. Les Miserables, Argo, and Life of Pi are still playing nationwide.

The 85th Annual Academy Awards will be televised Sunday, February 24 on ABC.

This article was first published in Voxxi.

Eduardo Sanchez-Ubanell has always had a fascination with journalism and news. He is currently studying film and television production at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.