Every year noteworthy memorable films miss the Academy Award nominations, either blatantly like this year in the case of Eddington and No Other Choice, gems that flew under the radar like Checkpoint Zoo and The Wedding Banquet, or the distributor fails to do an awards qualifying run in theaters like for Surviving Ohio State. Oscar campaigns can be expensive; sometimes smaller films with smaller distributors get overlooked, and distributors may decide to concentrate on films that have more buzz.
Here is a list of five of the best films of 2025 that did not receive a single Oscar nomination, for your consideration for community screenings, academic study, or library acquisition if they aren’t already part of your library’s collection.
A24
Final image in Eddington.
Eddington
While Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another is my favorite film of 2025 and seems to be the frontrunner to win Best Picture and Best Director at the Oscars, my second favorite film of the year equally captures the zeitgeist of a divided nation in Ari Aster’s Eddington. Taking place in 2020 during the height of COVID, Joaquin Phoenix plays Sheriff Joe Cross in the small fictional town of Eddington, New Mexico where he decides to launch a campaign against Mayor Ted Garcia (Pedro Pascal) who’s running for re-election. While it may depend on where one is on the political spectrum at first of whether or not Joe is a hero or a villain, once he starts committing crimes, it’s pretty clear he’s a Daniel Plainview-like anti-hero (from Anderson’s There Will Be Blood), and really even worse, as Joe becomes more sociopathic.
While political labels may not be outright referred to, it’s clear Joe is falling down the conspiracy ridden MAGA rabbit hole throughout, while Ted is supposed to be the more level-headed Democrat. Eventually, neither party is on the side of the people, as Ted has been pushing for the data center, and later the MAGA politicians do the same. The final haunting image of the data center has stuck with me as data centers are popping up all over the United States, “where states are forfeiting hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue,” and “they can drive up regional electricity prices through added demand,” as well as increased water consumption and costs. Even a recent NBC4 article states, “Data center emissions could cause breathing issues and premature deaths for those living nearby.” Eddington even mirrors politics happening in New Mexico, as Democratic Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham supports data centers and has faced criticism over it.
Eddington is essentially a neo western political thriller, complete with two memorable key stand-off scenes between Joe and Ted. In addition to the political divide and conspiracy theories, Aster captures a religious cult, racist criminal cops, protesting, murder, and falsely blaming the BLM movement. While overlooked by the Academy Awards this year and met with polarization upon release, in the years to come, Eddington is sure to be re-evaluated as one of the most important films of the decade aptly capturing what’s going on in America – both the divide and the tech industry takeover. Campy auteur filmmaker John Waters (Cecil B. Demented, Hairspray) listed Eddington as his favorite film of 2025 and comically wrote, “If you don’t like this film, I hate you” (Vulture). While I certainly wouldn’t go that far, Eddington can foster some intriguing discussions on America, politics, the culture wars, and negative costs of data centers. Like There Will Be Blood, Eddington can also be utilized for film studies courses to analyze the anti-hero as the lead.
▶ Eddington is distributed by A24.
▶ Click here to get your copy of Eddington on 4K UHD & Blu-ray.
Checkpoint Zoo
On the fringes of Kharkiv sits Feldman Ecopark, a Ukrainian zoo near the Russian border. Award-winning filmmaker Joshua Zeman’s riveting documentary Checkpoint Zoo captures the stirring 71-day evacuation and rescue of nearly 5,000 animals after Russia starts bombing Ukraine during their invasion in 2022. Ukrainian businessman and Parliament politician Oleksandr Feldman founded the zoo and leads the way in relocating the animals – including lions, tigers, bears, apes, and kangaroos – to his private estate, referred to as “Noah’s Ark.” Feldman also goes so far as to sell his wine to fund medication for the animals. When Feldman goes viral asking the whole world for help, with the story even making it onto The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, countries from the United States to Poland to Germany pitch in.
Checkpoint Zoo is an emotional journey through war, humanity, and death that’s centered on real heroes, many of them volunteers, with an impossible mission during a wartime invasion of their country. Executive produced by Academy Award winner Leonardo DiCaprio, Checkpoint Zoo premiered at Tribeca Festival where it won the Audience Award and went onto play numerous festivals including Woodstock (where I moderated a Q&A with Zeman); won awards at Annapolis (MD), Hamptons (NY), Miami (FL), Mill Valley (CA), Minneapolis St. Paul (MN), Palm Springs (CA), and Salem (MA) film festivals; and had a special screening at the Ukrainian Action Summit in Washington, D.C.
Checkpoint Zoo could be beneficial for community and educational screenings both in the US and abroad to show the effects of war and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, from the point-of-view of Ukrainians on the ground. Since the largest invasion in Europe since World War II is ongoing and talks broke down in early 2025 with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy because of President Trump’s poor international relations strategy and uncouth support of Putin and Russia in the war, Checkpoint Zoo continues to be relevant. Zeman’s documentary could open eyes to the horrors of the war authoritarian Putin has caused by invading Ukraine, along with the negative effects the war has had on both Ukraine and Russia. An article in January about the war published by the Center for Strategic & International Studies states, “Russia is paying an extraordinary price for minimal gains and is in decline as a major power.”
▶ Checkpoint Zoo is distributed by Abramorama.
▶ Click here to buy or rent a digital copy of Checkpoint Zoo.
No Other Choice
What’s a family man to do when he’s laid off from his job and can no longer support their way of life? Well obviously, he has no other choice than to murder the manager who humiliated him during an interview and take out the competition for the role. That’s the premise in Oldboy and The Handmaiden South Korean director Park Chan-wook’s new dark comedic thriller No Other Choice, based on Donald Westlake’s novel The Ax. Mozart’s “The Piano Concerto No. 23” in the opening aptly sets the tone for the tragedy to come. What’s so brilliant in the storytelling is how Park subverts expectations, at least for a while, as Man-su (Lee Byung-hun) is not a murderer by nature and he struggles to enact his devious plan. At times his fumbles make No Other Choice feel like a Coen Brothers’ film, as his intended crimes continue to go haywire. “Losing your job is not the problem. The problem is how you deal with it,” unfaithful wife A-ra (Yeom Hye-ran) tells her husband Beom-mo (Lee Sung-min), a theme that also applies to Man-su.
It’s quite a surprise No Other Choice missed the Academy Award nomination for editing, as the editing throughout is superb. Editors Kim Sang-bum and Kim Ho-bin utilize match cuts – like the sun shining on Mi-ri’s (Son Ye-jin) face as she's reading a letter about foreclosure on their house and then the light shining in Man-su’s face through the office window making his interview comedically difficult – and compositing – like the image of Mi-ri’s face over Man-su digging, almost used like a metaphor for him digging her grave with his actions. The cinematography also stands out, with Kim Woo-hyung using fast and slow zooms to create tension, as well as wide, close-up and angle shots to capture the atmosphere and key items like a bullet shell. Many scenes have darkly comedic lines like the homebuyer mentioning that he'll tear down the greenhouse for a golf course after it was previously mentioned Man-su built the greenhouse himself.
No Other Choice captures so much about society including cold corporate takeovers and layoffs, the declining paper industry in a digital age, the competitive job market, what’s important to family, marital problems and misunderstandings. Like in Eddington, the final scene is equally jarring and memorable commenting on the effects of a more automated society.
No Other Choice premiered last year at Venice International Film Festival (Italy), opened the Busan International Film Festival and won awards at Adelaide (Australia), Newport Beach (California), Savannah (Georgia), Sitges (Spain), and Toronto (Canada) film festivals as well as winning awards with multiple critics associations including Boston (Massachusetts), Florida, Indiana, New Jersey, Phoenix (Arizona), and Portland (Oregon). After missing the Oscar nominations, distributor Neon came up with a very creative marketing billboard prominently featured in Los Angeles at Olympic and La Brea showing a key shot with Man-su holding the plant over his head, but this time in a very convenient spot in the middle of “For Your Consideration.”
▶ Click here to buy or rent a digital copy of No Other Choice.
The Wedding Banquet
The first thought I had when I read Ang Lee’s The Wedding Banquet was being remade is: do we really need another remake, and especially of classic queer cinema? But then when I saw one of the original writers James Schamus was also co-writing the remake along with director Andrew Ahn, this remake showed promise, and it certainly delivers. Capturing Chinese and South Korean cultures, Ahn’s The Wedding Banquet tackles complicated relationships and how families play into them.
Throughout his updated remake, Ahn balances the drama and comedy inherent in the story well, starting with the opening scene where Angela’s mother May Chen (Joan Chen) receives a Queer Ally Award talking about how she knew she had to be there for Angela (Kelly Marie Tran). Angela though is clearly disdained being consoled by her romantic partner Lee (Lily Gladstone), who knows the history between them that comes out later. Ahn’s version also tackles Min (Han Gi-chan) marrying for the need of a green card to escape the family business he has no interest in, and Angela and Lee trying to have a baby by IVF and the issues surrounding that. Min’s romantic partner Chris (Bowen Yang) suffers from millennial indecision about committing to Min. At one point Min’s grandmother Ja-Young (played by Youn Yuh-jung who won the Academy Award for Minari) comes to visit and reveals she knows more than Min thought, and agrees to help with their plan.
I screened Ahn’s sophomore feature film Driveways at Tribeca Film Festival and then programmed it at Chandler International Film Festival, so I’ve been a fan from early on, and also enjoyed his third film Fire Island, also starring Bowen Yang. The Wedding Banquet continues to show Ahn’s growth as a filmmaker. The Wedding Banquet could be utilized for community screenings to support the LGBTQ community, or for back-to-back academic screenings with Lee’s original to study how a remake can work by updating the story to current times.
▶ The Wedding Banquet is distributed by Bleecker Street.
▶ Click here to get your copy of The Wedding Banquet on Blu-ray & DVD.
Surviving Ohio State
Academy Award and Emmy-winning producer of Taxi to the Dark Side Eva Orner documents a scathing indictment of Ohio State University in Surviving Ohio State. Her latest documentary covers the sexual abuse scandal by lead student athlete Doctor Richard Strauss, and the subsequent cover-up and failure to admit any wrongdoing by OSU. Over a period of over 20 years from the 1970s to the 1990s, Strauss sexually abused a variety of student athletes including wrestlers, hockey and football players, and fencers, leading up to and including rape. Many of the male student athletes abused come forward to tell their story, which includes their complaints falling on deaf ears to their Wrestling Coach Russ Hellickson, Assistant Wrestling Coach Jim Jordan (now a Congressman for Ohio who was given the nickname “Gym” Jordan due to this scandal), and OSU administration including Student Health Director Ted Grace.
Living in such a macho society, even after the story broke, many questioned, “How could 18-19 year-old athletes be victims of sexual assault from a university sports doctor?” “How come they just didn’t punch him out?” One athlete was raised very religious and taught never to question authority. Many athletes had scholarships that might be at risk if they make waves, and some even left the sport they love due to the sexual abuse. Later in life, there were high divorce rates among the victims, as well as substance abuse and suicidal thoughts. Even after confronted with all the evidence from an independent study, OSU fails to offer a settlement on the level of other universities like Michigan State and Penn State for their sexual abuse scandals, and further fails to admit any liability for the many decades of cover-up.
Produced by Academy Award-winner George Clooney, Surviving Ohio State is an eye-opener and frustrating account of how OSU and the people in power like Jim Jordan continue to fail to take any accountability and outright lie about what they knew. In the interview with Coach Hellickson, he says he didn’t know about the abuse and then goes on to completely contradict himself. Just like Jordan, it’s clear he knew and failed to stick up for the student athletes it was his duty to protect.
In the midst of the Epstein scandal, sexual abuse cases like this are more important than ever to be documented, and Surviving Ohio State should definitely be screened at every university, especially those with sports programs, to administration, faculty and students, to foster discussion in an effort to never allow this to happen again, and put safeguards in place to ensure it never does. Students should know their voices will be heard and that the administration and faculty have a duty, both ethically and legally, to immediately deal with any sexual abuse claims.
Distributor HBO apparently didn’t deem this story important enough for an awards-qualifying run in theaters, so Surviving Ohio State wasn’t even eligible for the Academy Awards this year, and it certainly should have been. While Surviving Ohio State premiered at Tribeca Festival, it was quickly released on HBO Max soon thereafter last June and doesn’t appear to have played any other festivals, including in Ohio where it most certainly should have been screened. This brings up one vital question while this country is in the middle of the Epstein scandal and clear cover-up by the current administration: what powerful people didn’t want this documentary elevated more? OSU continues to be blanketed in controversy and scandal in wake of the Epstein files release, as protesters demand OSU remove billionaire Les Wexner's name from multiple buildings because he’s mentioned in the Epstein files and had a close relationship with Jeffrey Epstein (The Columbus Dispatch).
▶ Watch Surviving Ohio State on HBO Max.
Leading up to the Academy Awards on Sunday, March 15, or even after, these five films that missed nominations this year are recommended to program for community screenings, either as a full series of films, or individually for specific needs. Each film covers important themes relevant to our country and the world abroad today, including conspiracy theories and data centers in Eddington, the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine in Checkpoint Zoo, the competitive job market and automation in No Other Choice, supporting the LGBTQ community in The Wedding Banquet, and sexual abuse in colleges by authority figures and university cover-ups in Surviving Ohio State. And both Eddington and No Other Choice can be used in film studies courses to study anti-heroes Joe and Man-su, what forces them to become that, and what other choices they could have made. Films can change people’s perspective on subjects and enact change, and hopefully these films can aid in making that happen.
Enjoyed this list? Subscribe to Video Librarian today for access to over 40,000 pages of film resources tailored for librarians, educators, and non-theatrical audiences.