Oliver Hermanus’s period film Living is already creating a buzz about a possible Oscar nomination. Set in the 1950s, the film walks us through the journey of Mr. Williams, a bureaucrat, whose life changes after he is diagnosed with a fatal illness. 

The plot of Living has been adapted from legendary filmmaker Akira Kurosawa’s ‘Ikiru’, a 1952 Japanese film set in post World War 2 Japan. Nobel Prize-winning novelist Kazuo Ishiguro, who expressed the desire to cast Bill Nighy in the lead role, had the idea of transferring the backdrop of the film to a post World War 2 Britain. All of this was conveyed to Nighy over a dinner. 

Also Read| Severus Snape actor Alan Rickman wanted to quit Harry Potter franchise

“I don’t get out much, so I really haven’t heard anything about it,” Nighy says about the Oscar buzz, “I’m not being cute, I assure you. If the film were honoured in that way, it would be absolutely marvellous. I want people to watch it. If the Academy were to decide to nominate us in any way, it would be an enormous thing for us,” he told Variety.

Nighy called the film one of his most personal projects while introducing it at The Telluride Film Festival. In his long and fruitful career, Nighy has been featured in film series such as Pirates of The Caribbean, Harry Potter and films like Love Actually, About Time. But this film might just prove to be his most celebrated work, since it has been showered by a lot of positive comments by the critics. 

Also Read| A day in the wizardly world of Harry Potter: List of all his films from worst to best

Living premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival and it was subsequently announced that its distribution rights have been acquired by Sony Pictures. The film stars Aimee Lou Wood, Alex Sharp and Tom Burke as well.  

It is set to release on December 23, 2022, in New York and Los Angeles. The producers plan to expand the same to other markets in near future.