The recent Oscars nominations announcement made the newly minted nominees giddy, as expected, but for Filipino-American H.E.R., it was doubly exciting.

Just hours after winning the Grammy’s top award, song of the year, and also best R&B song, H.E.R. – whose real name is Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson – became, at only 23 years old, a first-time Academy nominee.

The trailblazing artist, whose mom Agnes Sarmiento Wilson hails from Nueva Ecija (dad is Ken Wilson), earned the Oscars’ best original song nod for Fight for You, which she composed with Dernst Emile and Tiara Thomas for Judas and the Black Messiah.

The Shaka King-directed film, starring Daniel Kaluuya and LaKeith Stanfield, who both bagged best supporting actor nominations, is also up for best picture.

With all these honors coming her way, the singer-composer who told me earlier that she sang hits by Sharon Cuneta, Rey Valera, and other Filipino performers when she was a kid growing up in Vallejo, California, took time to celebrate her Pinoy heritage.

“Shout out to my Filipinos. #pinoypride,” tweeted H.E.R. The tweet came with a photo of the artist and her Grammys and a TikTok video where she impersonated her Tita Joan, accent and all.

I Can’t Breathe, written in honor of George Floyd who died at the hands of the police, is the track that made H.E.R. win song of the year over Beyonce, Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Roddy Rich, Post Malone, JP Saxe and Julia Michaels. The Fil-Am won R&B song for “Better Than I Imagined.”

In 2019, H.E.R. won two Grammys for R&B album and performance.

The movies may be next for H.E.R. In the family comedy Yes Day, she appears as herself, singing the Four Tops’ classic 1964 hit, Baby I Need Your Loving, alongside Jennifer Garner and Jenna Ortega.

With her triumphs, H.E.R. scored historic firsts. She became the first Filipina-American to win both the Grammys’ song of the year and R&B song honors, and to snag the Oscars’ best song nomination.

In other Academy firsts, Chloe Zhao became the first woman of color to cinch the best director nod for her acclaimed Nomadland. If Chloe wins, she will be the first woman since Kathryn Bigelow in 2010 (for The Hurt Locker) to bag the Academy’s best director prize and only the second woman to get that award.

Screen grab image courtesy of HFPA

“I’m so thrilled for our nominations!” Chloe said in her statement. “I’m grateful to have gone on this journey with our talented team of filmmakers and to have met so many wonderful people who generously shared their stories with us. Thank you so much to my academy peers for recognizing this film that is very close to my heart.”

With Emerald Fennell also nominated for Promising Young Woman, it’s the first time in Oscars history that more than one woman are in the best director race.

Photo courtesy of HFPA.

It’s the first Academy best director nod for both Chloe and Emerald, who stars as Camilla Parker Bowles in The Crown and made her feature directing debut with Promising Young Woman.

Emerald gushed in her statement, “I’m barely able to speak in coherent sentences after this unbelievable news. I am so incredibly grateful to every single wonderful person who worked on Promising Young Woman, the greatest, most hardworking and talented cast and crew in the world.”

“For their work to be honored by the Academy means so much, and I am especially thrilled for Carey, whose extraordinary genius made this film what it is, and for Fred (Thoraval, film editing nominee) whose dedication made the impossible possible, for their individual nominations.”

“To be part of this historic year for the Academy, alongside so many exceptionally gifted filmmakers means more than I can possibly describe, and I’m particularly proud to be nominated beside the amazing Chloe Zhao.”

“There have been so many exceptional female filmmakers this year, making such beautiful, inspiring, challenging, varied work, that I am truly honored and grateful to be among their number…I will stop crying eventually, but not yet.”

There is debate, based on heritage, on who is the first Asian to land the Oscars best actor nod, with brand new nominees Steven Yeun and Riz Ahmed thrown in the mix along with previous nominees – Yul Brynner, Ben Kingsley, Topol, and Ben Kingsley.

What is, for sure, is that for the first time in the Academy’s history, two actors of Asian descent, Steven and Riz, are competing for best actor in the same year.

Photo by Ruben V. Nepales

I can also definitely write that Steven is the first performer of Korean descent to earn the Academy’s best actor citation for Minari.

Steven, who starred as Glenn Rhee in The Walking Dead, reacted to his nomination: “Thank you to the Academy for this honor to be nominated alongside such incredible artists. I am also grateful to see the talent of Lee Isaac Chung (director), Youn Yuh-Jung (supporting actress), Emile Mosseri (original score) and Christina Oh (best picture) be recognized as well.”

“If I’ve learned anything from this past year and from the experience of this film, it is that this life is shared. I am blessed to have shared in this with our brilliant cast and crew and I am only here because of them.”

There is also no debate that Yuh-Jung Youn is the first performer of Korean descent to capture the Oscars’ best supporting actress nod. She’s the fourth Asian to grab the best supporting actress citation.

Courtesy of A24

Yuh-Jung enthused, “Never in my dreams did I ever think a Korean actress would be nominated for an Oscar, and I can’t believe it’s me! I am incredibly humbled by the honor…. We made this film with love, and I thank you for loving us back. And thank you, Isaac. This is all because of you!”

For his part, Lee Isaac Chung said about his best director and best picture citations for Minari: “I couldn’t imagine this happening as we struggled on the journey to make this film, and now I understand why Oscar moments are filled with endless thank yous.”

“I feel incredibly grateful to the entire family of cast and crew behind Minari who persevered to make this film. I am especially thankful to my mom, dad and sister, who filled that small trailer home in Arkansas where we started, and my wife and daughter who mean more to me than anything. I’m blessed that the minari my grandmother planted by the water continues to grow.”

There is also no argument that Riz Ahmed is the first Muslim and the first person of Pakistani heritage to snag the Oscars best actor nod for Sound of Metal.

“Wow!” Riz exclaimed. “I’m honored to be nominated by my fellow actors alongside such inspiring performances, and am grateful to the Academy for their support and encouragement.”

“I’m equally thrilled for our visionary writer-director Darius Marder and the brilliant Paul Raci (nominated for best supporting actor), as well as our editor Mikkel, sound designer Nicolas, and co-writer Abe Marder.”

“These nominations represent the time, generosity and talents of so many — all of our incredible cast, crew, producers and in particular I’d like to thank my mentors in the drumming, addiction recovery, and D/deaf communities.”

Daniel Kaluuya woke up to the news that he bagged his second Oscar nod. His first was for best actor for Get Out in 2018. This time, he’s in the running for best supporting actor (his first in this category) for Judas and the Black Messiah.

Still courtesy of Warner Bros.

He said about the real-life person whom he portrayed and for which he got his new nomination: “Chairman Fred Hampton was a light, a beacon of a being who would illuminate all he touched with his incredible message. With the ability to command any stage and robbed of his opportunity to captivate a global audience.”

“He created strategies that supported and uplifted the black community but also unified other communities with his laugh, mind, passion and love.”

“Today, I am humbled to be nominated for portraying a man whose principles I deeply respect and for guiding me to walk in his footsteps.”

“With the blessing of Chairman Fred Hampton’s family, and the unwavering support from Ryan Coogler, Shaka King and Charles King, and the cast led by LaKeith Stanfield and Dominique Fishback, I became a vessel for Chairman Fred’s spirit at a time when we need his rally cry for equality and justice more than ever. I commend my fellow nominees for their impressive work.”

Over the Moon director Glen Keane and producers Gennie Rim and Peilin Chou exulted over their best animated feature nod.

Groundbreaking for a Hollywood animated film because it features an all Asian-cast, Over the Moon is voiced by Cathy Ang (Fei Fei), the daughter of Filipino immigrants who are both University of Santo Tomas alumni, Phillipa Soo, John Cho, Conrad Ricamora (the Fil-Am actor who played Ninoy Aquino in David Byrne’s off-Broadway musical, Here Lies Love) and Ruthie Ann Miles (who played Imelda Marcos in the same musical).

“What a dream come true for Over the Moon to be recognized by the Academy today!” said Glen and the producers in a joint statement. “We share this incredible honor with our entire cast and crew who came together during this highly unusual time, to create something truly beautiful.”

“We are so grateful to have had the opportunity to share Fei Fei’s extraordinary journey of love, loss and healing with the world. We are also forever indebted to our screenwriter and friend, the late Audrey Wells, for entrusting us with this most precious love letter to her daughter.”

“We hope our film moves and inspires those who may be trying to find their own way, and helps to make our world feel a little smaller and more connected.”

Pixar’s Soul, which also bagged best animated feature nomination, showcases the contributions of Pixnoys (Pinoys who work at Pixar), including Paul Abadilla, Gini Cruz Santos, Ricky Nierva, and Trevor Jimenez.

Photo courtesy of Pixar

The film’s Pete Docter, Dana Murray, Kemp Powers jointly said, “Soul represents several years of research, intense work, self-doubt and also a good deal of fun. Our journey on the film was similar to that of Joe Gardner’s (lead character). Well, except the part where he falls down a manhole.”

“As we struggled with story clarity and tried out who-knows-how-many different endings, we began to realize how important it was to savor what may have felt like minor moments along the way: the satisfaction of jotting down a preliminary sketch on a scrap of paper; hearing the first chords from the earliest music demos; laughing with the crew.”

“Though we might not have known it at the time, moments like these helped inspire us and fed back into the film in innumerable ways. Though we are living through challenging times, being recognized by the Academy gives us hope that the joy we found and put into our film was shared by audiences, and nothing could be more meaningful than that.”

Sacha Baron Cohen received his first Academy best supporting actor nod as activist Abbie Hoffman in The Trial of the Chicago 7 and his second adapted screenplay citation for Borat Subsequent Moviefilm.

“I’m incredibly humbled and grateful to the Academy for both nominations,” Sacha said. “First, to the team of The Trial of the Chicago 7 – acting is a team sport, and I would not be in this position if it were not for the brilliance of Aaron Sorkin and the incredibly talented actors and crew that he surrounded us with and who lifted us up every day.”

He quipped about the 9 names, including his own, who are nominated for writing Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: “Thank you, also, to the Academy for nominating Borat for the second time for adapted screenplay and for giving us the award for hiring the most WGA members in one movie.”

He added about his co-star’s first-time Academy nod: “And, of course, congratulations to the sensational Maria Bakalova for her nomination.”

“As a cast and crew, we took insane risks because we believed so deeply in the message of this movie – exposing the dangers of the last administration, but also celebrating the underlying goodness of ordinary people.”

“Because underneath it all, we’re all the same, as Rudy Giuliani so very nearly demonstrated in that hotel room.”

Aaron Sorkin, Sacha’s writer-director in The Trial of the Chicago 7, which netted best picture and best original screenplay nods, said, “It took 14 years to make The Trial of the Chicago 7 and I’m thankful for all of them. We thank the Academy for recognizing so much individual achievement this morning, but our biggest thanks is for including our film among the extraordinary movies nominated for best picture.”

“We learned a lot of hard lessons last year, but a nice one was that people will find a way to go to the movies, even if they can only go as far as their living rooms.”

“Chicago 7 is a very modern period piece. It takes place in 1968 but it’s about today. It’s a Valentine to the patriotism of protest, and to the courage of ordinary people who stand toe-to-toe with power.”

“Jerry Rubin called the trial ‘the Academy Awards of protest.’ Well this is the Academy Awards of Academy Awards, and it’s an honor to be nominated.”

The Oscars will be held on Sunday evening, April 25 (Monday morning, April 26, in Manila), for the first in these two locations – the historic Union Station in Los Angeles and the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood. The show will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide. – Rappler.com