It’s a big night for Canadian Oscar nominees competing in categories including production design, documentaries, and makeup and hairdo.

Among the highest-profile is Montreal-based writer, director and producer Denis Villeneuve, whose sci-fi epic “Dune” has the second most nominations after “The Power of the Dog” with 10. He’s poised for trophies in best adapted screenplay and categories. best pictures.

Also for “Dune,” Montrealers Donald Mowat and Patrice Vermette received best make-up and hairdo, and best production design respectively.

Meanwhile, the Canadian “Nightmare Alley” team, received nominations for Saskatoon-bred Tamara Deverell and Halifax’s Shane Vieau for best production design, Toronto’s Luis Sequeira for best costume design and Toronto producer J. Miles Dale for best picture with a Mexican director. Guillermo del Toro.

Montreal-based producer Roger Frappier is also up for best picture with the team for “The Power of the Dog,” which leads with 12 nominations.

The Academy Awards airs tonight on ABC and CTV.

In the nominations for best documentary short subject are two Canadian contenders: Halifax filmmaker Ben Proudfoot and his film “The Queen of Basketball,” and Toronto producer Geoff McLean for “Audible.”

In the best animated short category is the Canadian/UK National Film Council co-production “Affairs of the Art.”

The party came amid controversy over the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences’ decision to present eight awards before the three-hour live broadcast in an effort to keep broadcasts “tighter and more electric” for viewers.

The categories include short documentaries, film editing, hair and make-up, original scores, production design, animation shorts, live action shorts, and sound.

Several filmmakers have criticized the move, including Proudfoot, who said the decision “demeans certain categories,” and the NFB, which predicts it “will further marginalize short films, which are already struggling to find large audiences.”

The winner’s presentation and speech will be edited and broadcast later during the live broadcast.

Canadian stars Elliot Page, Shawn Mendes and Simu Liu will also attend, while Wanda Sykes, Regina Hall and Amy Schumer will host the first official Oscars since 2018.

This Canadian Press report was first published March 27, 2022.