South African Oscar winners and nominations over the years
Here's a list of South African Oscar winners and nominees.
Over the years, many South Africans have graced the Oscars red carpet, both as nominees and winners, proof of this country’s deep-rooted talent, as well as a good eye for the arts.
In 2021, 'My Octopus Teacher' won the Oscar for Best Documentary.
READ: Our top five favorite looks at the 2021 Oscars
'My Octopus Teacher’, which has won more than 20 international awards, including Best Documentary at the British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) and Producers Guild of America Awards, became the first nature documentary to win an Academy Award since 'The Cove' in 2010.
'My Octopus Teacher' chronicles the year-long relationship between man and octopus.
We look back at our winners and nominees over the years:
1966
Ted Moore (South African-born cinematographer) – WON the first South African Oscar for 'A Man For All Seasons'.
1972
Janet Suzman (University of the Witwatersrand’s Alumni) – Nominated for Best Actress in 'Nicholas and Alexandra'.
1986
Caiphus Semenya (South African composer and musician) – Nominated for Best Music, Original Score, for 'The Color Purple'.
1988
Jonas Gwangwa (South African jazz legend) – Nominated for Best Music, Original Score, and Best Music, Original Song, for 'Cry Freedom'.
1992
Stephen Goldblatt (South African born) - Nominated for Best Cinematography for 'The Prince of Tides'.
1996
Stephen Goldblatt - Nominated for Best Cinematography for 'Batman Forever'.
2003
Charlize Theron (Benoni-born South African actress and film producer ) – WON Best Actress for 'Monster'. Theron is the first South African actress to ever win an Oscar.
2003
Ronald Harwood (Cape Town-born playwright) – WON for Best Adapted Screenplay for 'The Pianist'.
2004
Darrel Roodt (South African Director) - Nominated for Best Foreign Language Film for 'Yesterday'. 'Yesterday' is the first-ever feature-length isiZulu film.
2005
Charlize Theron – Nominated for Best Actress in 'North Country'.
2005
'Tsotsi' – WON Best Foreign Language Film. It was the first non-French-language African film to win in this category.
2010
Director Neill Blomkamp (South African–Canadian film director, film producer, screenwriter, and animator) – Nominated for Best Picture and Adapted Screenplay for 'District 9'.
2013
Herbert Kretzmer (South African-born English journalist and lyric writer) – Nominated for Best Music, Original Song for the 'Les Misérables' song, 'Suddenly'.
2016
Margaret Sixel (South African-born, Australian film editor ) – WON Best Film Editing for 'Mad Max: Fury Road'.
2018
Jakob Schuh and Jan Lachauer (Directors) - Nominated for Best Animated Short Film for 'Revolting Rhymes'.
2019
Charlize Theron - Nominated for Best Actress In A Leading Role for 'Bombshell'.
2021
Pippa Ehrlich, James Reed (Writers and Directors), and Craig Foster - WON Best Documentary for 'My Octopus Teacher'.
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Image: YouTube/ The Academy