Shiva Baby is a 2020 film, written and directed by Emma Seligman. It has received many awards and nominations, particularly for Seligman's writing and directing as her feature film debut, and lead actress Rachel Sennott. Seligman was nominated for a Directors Guild Award; casting director Kate Geller won a Casting Society of America award; and the film won the Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award, in 2022. It also won a National Board of Review Award for 2021, and production designer Cheyenne Ford was selected to the 2021 BAFTA Breakthrough US cohort thanks to her work on the film. Between 2020 and 2022 it won a variety of critics', festival, and media titles; for 2021, and also 2020, it was included on many best-of lists.
As an awards contender, attention was particularly given to Seligman's adapted screenplay and Sennott's breakthrough performance in the lead role, with Seligman as a possible female director nominee also noted. In January 2022, The Guardian wrote that the ensemble cast in general, and Polly Draper and Dianna Agron as supporting actresses in particular, were among the performances that "ought to be in the mix [in the awards season], but haven't yet generated the buzz they deserve." Hungarian film website Hetedik Sor analyzed the whole season's awards performances and named Shiva Baby the "best of the rest".
Variety said that the film would be unlikely to impact the Academy Awards, but felt that it deserved to be considered; The Independent said it should get a Best Picture nomination but would miss out, while Fort Worth Weekly felt it was snubbed for a Best Original Score nomination for Ariel Marx, and Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian thought Sennott should have received a Best Actress nomination. Distributor Utopia initially considered releasing Shiva Baby in time for it to be eligible for the 93rd Academy Awards; they did not and the film was eligible for the 94th Academy Awards. It was one of the few potential nominees that were not made available in the Academy Screening Room.
Discussing the Independent Spirit Awards, Vulture theorized that "the stressful mental space" of the film may be a reason for it receiving fewer major nominations, and described the oversight as "kind of deeply insane". Shiva Baby was the expected winner of the John Cassavetes Award; the ceremony marked a return to fully in-person events following the COVID-19 pandemic and, when the film won, the cast and crew all accepted the award on stage. Interviewed there, Sennott said that "it means so much to [...] feel so supported by [...] the indie filmmaking community". In her acceptance speech, Seligman dedicated the award to members of the cast and crew who had died since it was made.
Best-of lists Shiva Baby placed on various best-of lists for both 2020, the year of its festival debut, and 2021, when it was released in movie theaters and on streaming. It has been included on overall lists as well as lists specifically for independent, debut, comedy, horror, Jewish, and LGBTQ+ movies.
+ Select 2021 year-end rankings of Shiva Baby Publication List Rank AnOther Magazine The Best Independent and Arthouse Films of 2021 Austin American-Statesman Best Movies of 2021 Autostraddle The Best Lesbian Movies of 2021 The best films of 2021: Leila Latif BuzzFeed The Best Movies We Watched In 2021 CBC 21 best films of 2021 The 10 best queer movies of 2021 CinemaBlend 10 Best Under-The-Radar 2021 Movies Collider 10 Best Movies Not Nominated For an Oscar This Year Javier Quintanar Polanco's Top Films of 2021 The 11 Best Movies of the Year Decider Best Movies of 2021 Dread Central Josh Korngut's Top 10 Horror Movies Of 2021 Empire The Best Movies Of 2021 Esquire España 21 films of 2021 that you should see Exclaim! Exclaim!'s 17 Best Films of 2021 Forbes The Best Movies Of 2021 Fox TV The essential comedy movies of 2021 The essential horror movies of 2021 GAY TIMES The 10 best LGBTQ+ films of 2021 Glamour The 34 Best Movies of 2021 The 50 Best Films of 2021 in the US The 50 Best Films of 2021 in the UK i-D 30 of the year's best movies and shows IndieWire The 10 Best First Feature Films of 2021 The 50 best films of 2021 The best movies of 2021 The most Jewish films of the year Little White Lies The 30 best films of 2021 Paste The 20 Best Comedies of 2021 The 50 Best Movies of 2021 Polygon The best movies of 2021 Pop Culture Happy Hour Aisha Harris's favorite moments of 2021 RogerEbert.com Matt Fagerholm's Top Ten of 2021 Peter Sobczynski's Top Ten of 2021 Monica Castillo's Top Ten of 2021 Kristy Puchko's Top Ten of 2021 Marya E. Gates's Top Ten of 2021 Mary Beth McAndrews's Top Ten of 2021 Rolling Stone The 20 Best Movies of 2021 RTÉ 10 great movies you might have missed in 2021 The top movies of 2021 Screen Rant The Best Movies Of 2021 Sight & Sound The 50 best films of 2021 The Skinny's Films of 2021 Slant Magazine The 50 Best Films of 2021 Wes Greene's Top 10 Films of 2021 Talkhouse The 2021 Talkies Cheryl Dunn's Top 10 Movies of the Year Michael Gallagher's Top 10 Movies of the Year Chad Hartigan's Top 10 Movies of the Year Jonathan Wysocki's Top 10 Movies of the Year The Arts Fuse Best Movies of 2021: Nicole Veneto Best Movies of 2021: Sarah Osman Total Film The 25 best movies of 2021 Yardbarker The 25 best films of 2021
+ Select 2020 year-end rankings of Shiva Baby Publication List Rank Bay Area Reporter Top Five LGBT Movies of 2020: Comedy Letterboxd Best of the Fests 2020 Phoenix Film Festival Jeff Mitchell's Top 20 of 2020 Screen Rant The Biggest Movies Of 2020 That Audiences Won't Get To See Until Next Year them. 5 Queer Films We Loved in 2020 The climax of the film when "everything gets to be too much for Danielle" was listed as one of the Best Movie Moments of 2021 by Looper. Rachel Sennott was named on the RogerEbert.com list of 24 Great Performances of 2021, on The A.V. Club favorite film performances of 2021 list, and The Daily Beast 20 Funniest Performances of 2021. The trailer was listed by Screen Rant, The A.V. Club, and BuzzFeed as one of the best of the year. The poster, designed by High Council, was listed as one of the best posters of the year by IndieWire, Little White Lies, and The Film Stage. At the end of 2021, Shiva Baby was included on the TheJournal.ie list of "10 movie gems available to stream now", which featured films released in different years. In June 2021, Shiva Baby was included on Complex list of the Best Movies of 2021 (So Far).
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Juried awards + Association Date of ceremony Category Recipients Result Presented at the Mar del Plata International Film Festival November 29, 2020 Best International Cinematography Artios Awards March 23, 2022 Micro Budget – Comedy or Drama British Independent Film Awards December 5, 2021 Best International Independent Film Shiva Baby Directors Guild of America Awards March 12, 2022 Outstanding Directing – First-Time Feature Film Dorian Awards March 17, 2022 Best LGBTQ Film Shiva Baby Best Unsung Film Shiva Baby GLAAD Media Award April 2, 2022 Outstanding Film – Limited Release Shiva Baby Gotham Independent Film AwardsNovember 29, 2021 Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award Breakthrough Actor Greater Western New York Film Critics AssociationJanuary 1, 2022Breakthrough PerformanceRachel Sennott Independent Spirit Awards March 6, 2022 John Cassavetes Award Shiva Baby Emma Seligman, Kieran Altmann, Katie Schiller, Lizzie Shapiro Producers Award National Board of Review March 15, 2022 Top Ten Independent Films Shiva Baby Cheyenne Ford was selected to the 2021 British Academy of Film and Television Arts Breakthrough cohort (US) for production design on Shiva Baby.
Critics' awards + Association Date of ceremony Category Recipients Result Austin Film Critics AssociationJanuary 11, 2022 Best First Film The Robert R. "Bobby" McCurdy Memorial Breakthrough Artist Award Presented at the Americana Film Festival March 8, 2021 Best Feature Film Shiva Baby Chicago Film Critics AssociationDecember 15, 2021 Most Promising Performer Milos Stehlik Breakthrough Filmmaker Award Detroit Film Critics Society December 6, 2021 Breakthrough Florida Film Critics Circle Awards December 22, 2021 Best First Film Shiva Baby Emma Seligman Hollywood Critics Association Awards February 28, 2022 Best Independent Film Shiva Baby Hollywood Critics Association Midseason AwardsJuly 1, 2021 Best Picture Shiva Baby Best Actress Best Filmmaker Best Screenplay Shiva Baby Best Indie Film Shiva Baby IndieWire Critics Poll December 13, 2021 Best First Feature Shiva Baby Online Film Critics Society Awards January 24, 2022 Best Debut Feature Shiva BabyEmma Seligman Toronto Film Critics Association January 16, 2022 Best First Feature Shiva BabyEmma Seligman, Photon Films In the critics poll of the 2020 TIFF line-up, Shiva Baby placed second for Best Screenplay (behind One Night in Miami).
Film festival awards + Association Date of ceremony Category Recipients Result Adelaide Film Festival October 30, 2020 Audience Award for Feature Fiction Shiva Baby Calgary International Film Festival October 4, 2020 International Narrative Shiva Baby Deauville American Film Festival September 12, 2020 Grand Prize Shiva Baby Denver Film Festival November 13, 2020 American Independent Award Shiva Baby Image+Nation December 9, 2020 Best Feature Film Shiva Baby September 6, 2021 International Competition: Feature Film Shiva Baby Indie Memphis October 28, 2020 Best Narrative Feature Shiva Baby November 3, 2020 Audience Award – Best Narrative Feature Shiva Baby Los Cabos International Film Festival November 21, 2020 International Competition Shiva Baby Mar del Plata International Film Festival November 29, 2020 International Competition Shiva Baby Miami International Film Festival October 11, 2020 Jordan Ressler First Feature Award Outfest July 26, 2020 Best Screenwriting Out on FilmOctober 8, 2020 Best Narrative Feature Shiva Baby Best First Film Shiva Baby Emma Seligman Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival November 21, 2020 Rising Star South by Southwest March 24, 2020 Best Narrative Feature Shiva Baby Toronto International Film Festival September 20, 2020 Best Canadian Feature Film Shiva Baby Warsaw Jewish Film Festival November 21, 2021 Best Narrative Feature Shiva Baby
Media awards + Award/Outlet Date of ceremony Category Recipients Result Apolo Awards March 2, 2022 Best Film Shiva BabyFilmin Best Comedy Shiva Baby Best New Director Best Adapted Screenplay Best Editing Best Original Music Best Ensemble Cast Shiva BabyRachel Sennott, Dianna Agron, Polly Draper, Danny Deferrari, Fred Melamed, Molly Gordon Best New Actress December 16, 2021 Best Actress Best Debut Shiva Baby Emma Seligman Chlotrudis Society for Independent Films March 22, 2022 Best Original Screenplay Best Performance by an Ensemble Cast Shiva BabyDanny Deferrari, Dianna Agron, Fred Melamed, Jackie Hoffman, Molly Gordon, Polly Draper, Rachel Sennott Filmmaker Magazine October 28, 2020 25 New Faces of Indie Film January 21, 2022 Golden Brick Award (Best Overlooked or Underseen Film of the Year) Shiva Baby Golden Brick Award: Listeners' Choice Shiva Baby January 14, 2022 Best Movie Shiva Baby Best Limited Release Movie Shiva Baby Best Comedy Movie Shiva Baby Hey Alma September 13, 2021 Best Jewish Film Shiva Baby July 12, 2021 36 Under 36 December 17, 2021 Best Directing (Comedy) February 17, 2021 Narrative Feature Shiva Baby St. Louis Jewish Light December 27, 2021 Best Performance by an actress (in a Jewish movie) Variety Presented at the Mill Valley Film Festival October 13, 2020 10 Screenwriters to Watch The film poster was nominated in the "Best Picture (Literal Picture)" category of comedy podcast Las Culturistas culture awards.
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