It’s no secret that Filipino films have always walked a long, hard road towards an Oscar campaign (and with little success). But that doesn’t mean that Filipino filmmakers and creatives haven’t managed to bag an Academy Award or two along the way.
The 98th Academy Awards are set to take place on March 16 (Philippine Time), and with it comes the hope that a few more Filipinos take home the Oscar gold. Filipino-American cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw earned a nod for Best Cinematography for her work on Sinners, making her the first Filipino and the first woman of color to be nominated in the category. Sinners’ producer Zinzi Coogler, whose husband Ryan Coogler directed the vampire thriller, is also up for Best Picture alongside her husband. She is the first Filipino producer to be nominated for the ceremony’s most prestigious award.
As we gear up for the upcoming Academy Awards, we look back on all the times when Filipinos took the stage at the Oscars and walked away with Hollywood’s most famous golden man.
Robert Lopez, ‘Frozen’
Prior to Frozen, Robert Lopez had already established himself as an acclaimed songwriter and playwright, having co-created musicals like The Book of Mormon and Avenue Q. In 2014, Lopez became the first Filipino-American to win the Oscar for Best Original Song for co-writing “Let It Go” with his wife, Kristen. In 2018, the couple won the same award for writing Coco’s “Remember Me.” The two wins cemented Lopez’s status as the only Filipino-American two-time EGOT winner to date.
Gigi Dement, Stephen Dypiangco, and Stefanie Walmsley, ‘God of Love’
The three Filipino-Americans made headlines in 2011 when their short film, God of Love, won the Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film. Dement, Dypiangco, and Walmsley were all producers on the project, which starred and was directed by Luke Matheny.
Paul D. Austerberry, ‘The Shape of Water’
Paul Austerberry, a Canadian production designer who is part-Filipino and part-British, is no stranger to working on major films and television series (his most recent projects include IT: Welcome to Derry, The Color Purple, and The Flash). Austerberry won the Academy Award for Best Production Design in 2018 for his work on The Shape of Water, which also earned that year’s award for Best Picture.
H.E.R., ‘Judas and the Black Messiah’
In 2021, H.E.R. won the Oscar for Best Original Song for her collaboration with Dernste Emile II and Tiara Thomas on the song “Fight for You,” from Judas and the Black Messiah. The Filipino-American singer’s song won against tracks from The Trial of the Chicago 7, Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, The Life Ahead, and One Night in Miami.
