Watch award season contenders

It may be the start of the holiday season, but for many movie lovers, it’s the most wonderful time of the year: awards season. While the awards shows themselves proceed from January (the Golden Globes) to March (the Academy Awards), the fall and winter is the time to catch up on the contenders, whether in theaters or streaming.

Streaming this week on AppleTV+ is the World War II film from British filmmaker Steve McQueen. “Blitz” follows a young boy (Elliott Heffernan) who sets off on a journey to return to his mother (played by Saorise Ronan) during the 1940 German bombing campaign on London. Harris Dickinson, Benjamin Clementine and Stephen Graham also co-star in supporting roles. “Blitz” streams on AppleTV+ on Friday.

Or catch up with the audacious Netflix musical the streaming behemoth is touting as their Oscar-season frontrunner, “Emilia Perez.” The Jacques Audiard narco-musical follows the story of a Mexican lawyer, played by Zoe Saldaña, who becomes entangled with the title character, a cartel boss (Karla Sofia Gascon), who undergoes gender reassignment surgery both to support their trans identity and to evade capture for their crimes. The pair later reconnect and start an NGO to support the families whose loved ones have been disappeared by cartels. It’s a strange, often ridiculous film, but Saldaña gives it her all and Gascon is a captivating screen presence. Selena Gomez co-stars as Emilia’s ex-wife. Stream it on Netflix and see what all the fuss is about.

Or stream “The Piano Lesson,” which also drops this week on Netflix. This is a Washington family affair, as the debut feature of Malcolm Washington (son of Denzel), “The Piano Lesson” also co-stars Washington siblings John David and Olivia (as well as mom Pauletta) and is produced by Katia Washington. Denzel’s progeny take on an August Wilson adaptation, and turn it into a family ghost story that almost becomes a horror film. “The Piano Lesson” co-stars Danielle Deadwyler, Ray Fisher, Cory Hawkins, and Samuel L. Jackson. Stream it on Netflix on November 22nd.

Streaming on Mubi is the movie of the fall, “The Substance,” a body-horror satire of Hollywood and the beauty industry from the French director Coralie Fargeat. Demi Moore stars as an aging actress who turns to a mysterious fountain of youth called the Substance, which produces a younger doppelganger, Sue (Margaret Qualley). This is a film that must be seen to be believed, and has become a cultural phenomenon, inspiring Halloween costumes, memes and drag performances. Moore’s performance is deservedly gaining praise and awards attention. Stream it now on Mubi.

There are also several films that opened earlier that deserve attention and may factor into the awards race. Check out Jane Schoenbrun’s cerebral identity crisis through the TV film “I Saw the TV Glow,” Annie Baker’s delicate and thoughtful mother-daughter story “Janet Planet,” and Julio Torres’ wildly imaginative art world and immigration examination “Problemista.” All three films are streaming now on Max.