Close but no cigar: Meet the Aussies who can almost claim an Oscar

It wasn’t Australia’s night at the 98th Academy Awards. Not even our top hopefuls Rose Byrne and Jacob Elordi took home a golden statuette. So, naturally, all that was left for us to do was milk any adjacent Oscar glory for all it was worth.

Kiwi costume designer Kate Hawley’s win for her work on Frankenstein was celebrated so exuberantly Down Under, you’d think she were actually Australian. News flash: She isn’t. But we’ll generally take any recognition we can get, no matter how seemingly tangential. Just think of the times we’ve celebrated the wins of Russell Crowe and Jane Campion as our own, or the times we’ve even tried to claim credit for American stars who have lived in Australia (apparently it was thanks to this country that Matthew McConaughey won his Oscar).

Our other adjacent Oscar winners this year were actually Australian at least. Elordi didn’t scoop the trophy for best supporting actor, but he did wear the Frankenstein make-up and costumes that went on to win prizes on Monday. Surely, the artists’ subject deserves some glory too?

Elsewhere, American cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw became the first-ever female to win the best cinematography award. This doesn’t sound relevant to Australia, but it turns out she’s married to Australian cinematographer Adam Arkapaw, best known for his collaborations with director Justin Kurzel. Sure, Adam wasn’t nominated for anything at this year’s Oscars, but he will presumably be able to stare fondly at his wife’s trophy in their shared home. Let’s call it a victory!

Then there was Townsville-born singer-songwriter Judah Kelly who starred in The Singers, a short film that tied for the win in the live-action short film category. While Kelly didn’t technically win the prize – that went to director Sam A. Davis and producer Jack Piatt in a tie with Alexandre Singh and Natalie Musteata for their short Two People Exchanging Saliva – he and Australia have been luxuriating in this near-enough victory.

“It’s crazy,” Kelly, who is best known for winning The Voice Australia in 2017, said on ABC News Breakfast on Tuesday. “I still wouldn’t say I’m an actor. I’ve done one film and that’s a 100 per cent hit-rate for winning an Oscar. I think I might have to leave it there.”

In fact, Kelly got so close to Oscar glory that he was able to get his hands on the little golden statue. The singer tightly clutched the trophy, on loan to him from his director, during Oscars after-parties and interviews.

He continued to maximise the time he had with the coveted award, posting a video of himself lip-synching to Olivia Dean’s Man I Need while holding the Oscar trophy.

Directed by filmmaker Sam A. Davis, The Singers is an 18-minute musical comedy that is based on a 19th century short story by Russian author Ivan Turgenev. It captures a spontaneous singing competition between punters in a dive bar, many of whom eventually display unexpected musical talent.

The entire cast was made up of real-life musicians, all of whom were sourced from viral videos and street performances. This included Kelly, who plays a younger patron initially too shy to sing, but who later reveals a gorgeous voice while singing to himself in the bathroom.

As for what it was like inside the room, Kelly told the ABC it was “insane, loud, busy and hectic”. He saw many famous faces, including Michael B. Jordan and Timothée Chalamet, though he said his highlight was meeting American blues guitarist Buddy Guy.

“As soon as it was announced that we’d won, it was on,” he said. “I thought [filming the short] would be the hardest work of the lot. But after [winning], it’s just crazy … I don’t think I quite grasp how big this thing really is. I’m not an actor. People keep trying to tell me that I am now because of this film, but I’ve done one week of filming and that’s about it. So, I’m still trying to learn a lot about how we even got nominated, how all of this works.

“I’m a singer, that’s what I know,” he added. “I’ve been doing it since I was 10 years old, so this is all just a whole new world for me.”

While it may initially appear a little pointless, perhaps even slightly desperate, celebrating these “proximate wins”, we can’t really be blamed for doing so. Being so far away from Hollywood, the epicentre of the Academy Awards, makes it tough for Australians to get a foot in. According to Ausfilm, over the Oscars’ near 100-year run (in which over 3000 prizes have been awarded) Australians have only scooped 58 wins.

The fact that there were any Australians at the Oscars this year, let alone several who played integral roles in the nominated films, is a massive achievement. The fact that some of them then got as close as they did to Oscars glory – so close they were literally cradling a little golden man – has to count for something.

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