- India did not win any awards at the 98th Academy Awards ceremony
- Geeta Gandbhir received two documentary nominations but won no trophies
- Gandbhir was the first woman with dual documentary nominations in one Oscars
India did not secure any wins at the 98th Academy Awards, and Indian-origin filmmaker Geeta Gandbhir, who made history with two documentary nominations, left the ceremony without a trophy.
Among the prominent names linked to India this year were filmmaker Alexandre Singh, co-director of Two People Exchanging Saliva, and Gandbhir, who earned dual nominations across documentary categories.
Alexandre Singh And Two People Exchanging Saliva
Alexandre Singh co-directed Two People Exchanging Saliva with Natalie Musteata. At the Oscars, the film shared the Best Live Action Short Film award with The Singers.
Based in Brooklyn, Musteata and Singh are both a couple and a creative partnership. Musteata is a Romanian American writer, curator, and filmmaker, while Singh is a Franco-Indian visual artist. Two People Exchanging Saliva is their second short film together.
Singh was born in Bordeaux, France, to an Indian father and a French mother. He was raised in Manchester in the United Kingdom, studied Fine Art at the University of Oxford, and is currently based in Brooklyn.
Geeta Gandbhir: Two Nominations, No Win
Born in Boston in 1970 to Indian immigrant parents, Geeta Gandbhir grew up with strong ties to her Indian heritage. Her father, Sharad, moved from India to the United States in the 1960s to study engineering and later settled there. Her mother, Lalita, joined him in the US after 1965. Gandbhir was raised alongside two siblings - her brother, Ashwin, is a filmmaker, and her sister, Una, is a Superior Court judge in Alaska.
At the 98th Academy Awards, Gandbhir earned two nominations:
Best Documentary Feature for The Perfect Neighbor
Best Documentary Short for The Devil is Busy, which she co-directed with Christalyn Hampton
With these nominations, Gandbhir made history as the first woman to receive two nominations across the documentary categories at the same Oscars ceremony. Speaking earlier to Variety India, she said, "The Academy told me it's a record of sorts because there has never been a woman who has had this recognition." She also noted that she is the first woman to be nominated for directing two films in the same year.
Before Gandbhir, only five men had achieved double nominations in the documentary categories - Walt Disney (1953), Louis Clyde Stoumen (1956), Ben Sharpsteen (1958), Charles Guggenheim (1994), and Eric Nyari (2024).
Despite the historic achievement, Gandbhir did not win in either category. Mr Nobody Against Putin won Best Documentary Feature, while All the Empty Rooms took home the Best Documentary Short award.
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