The 80th Annual Academy Awards are almost upon us, and I’m sure you all have your favorite films that you’re routing for. We here at TakePart have our fave films too, of course based on their relevance to social action and advocacy. Check out our picks for these top 10 Oscar categories, and how these films have left the world a bit of a better place than before they arrived on the big (or little) screen!

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Actor in a Leading Role: Tommy Lee Jones in In the Valley of Elah

Tommy Lee Jones gives an incredible performance as a war veteran searching for his son, a soldier who recently returned from Iraq, but has now mysteriously disappeared. The shadow of the Iraq war is cast across several films that have been nominated this year, but Jones’ moving performance highlights the emotional and spiritual battles soldiers and their families must face long after they’ve come home from the combat zone.

and find out what you can do to help Veterans for Peace seek justice for veterans and victims of war, and to abolish war as an instrument of national policy.

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Actor in a Supporting Role: Hal Holbrook in Into the Wild

Holbrook plays Ron Franz, an old-timer who befriends a well-to-do young man who turns his back on society and heads out into the wilderness in search of deeper meaning. Holbrook, who is receiving his first Oscar nomination at 83, says of the film, “since the beginning (we) have been seekers - searchers for a better way of life,” and his performance illuminates the idea that great risk can lead to great rewards in the search for a purer, better way of living.

and find out 51 things you can do to help preserve your natural world.

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Actress in a Leading Role: Ellen Page in Juno

Page’s role in Juno is an honest and thoughtful portrayal of a young woman who must decide how to deal with an unplanned pregnancy. Page has been noted for her choice of feminist roles that look at girls’ experiences through the lenses of power and control.

and see what the United Nations Population Fund is doing to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment globally.

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Actress in a Supporting Role: Ruby Dee in American Gangster

The fabulous Ruby Dee, also being nominated for her first Academy Award at age 83, plays the no-nonsense mother of Frank (Denzel Washington), a 1970s-era ruthless drug kingpin from New York. One of the most memorable moments in the film - a scene that Dee pushed for - is one where she gives her son a jarring slap in the face. Dee wanted to be sure that the film didn’t portray Frank’s crime spree as “one big fairy tale.”

and find out how YES America is helping inner-city youth to fulfill their creative dreams through their Music/TV/Film summer camps.

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Best Animated Feature Film: Persepolis

This poetic, animated feature is based on the graphic memoirs of Marjane Satrapi, a Paris-based cartoonist and illustrator who was born in Iran in 1969. It is an intimate, autobiographical film that shows how people’s lives can be completely altered, and yet surprisingly unchanged in their interminable spirit under the rule of an authoritarian regime that attempts to use religion to subvert an entire community and its beliefs.

and find out how you can get involved with VitalVoices.org, and invest in women for progress in Iran and throughout the world.

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Best Picture: No Country For Old Men

The suspense, the wilderness, and the cinematography are all breathtaking in the Cohen Brothers’ latest thriller, but the best part of this film is the subtext: old-country lawmen are faced with a new kind of criminal character in this contemporary Western morality tale that illuminates the fight between good and evil in people and in society. Think of yourself as Tommy Lee Jones and Javier Bardem’s character as racial injustice, gender discrimination, and environmental degradation.

Feeling up to the challenge of taking on all three? and check out our very own TakePart.com blogs for ideas on social action and change.

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Foreign Language Film: Beaufort

The futility of war resonates throughout this earnest film about a small group of Israeli soldiers who have been commanded to hold down an outpost in Southern Lebanon, which the military has imminent plans to abandon. The political implications of why the military is holding onto the outpost “haunts” rather than obstructs the film, and presents an almost philosophical perspective on Israeli military and Hezbollah relations.

and peruse Middle East Report online for thoughtful articles and essays on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.

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Documentary Feature: War Dance

Fellow blogger Gina said it best in her excellent review of War Dance, a film about a group of schoolchildren at a Ugandan refugee camp who have turned the power of dance into the power of healing. No reason to improve on perfection! If you haven’t seen this incredibly moving film yet, run run run to the theater!

The International Rescue Committee works with refugees all over the world in delivering aid and helping many of them resettle in the United States. and see how you can get involved.

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Short Film (Live Action): Il Supplente (The Substitute)

This short satiric comedy by Italian filmmaker Andrea Jubin tells the story of a substitute teacher, who through speaking to students “on the level” and challenging them to communicate outside of the confines of normal classroom behavior, rejuvenates their interest in education and the classroom.

What’s not to love about kids being excited about school? and see what Communities In Schools is doing to promote just that.

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Best Director: Paul Thomas Anderson for There Will Be Blood

Part history lesson, part prophesy about the coming oil-centric American society, this “fire and brimstone” tale of the Southern California oil boom during the late 19th/early 20th centuries shows us that there IS more to life than money, power, and of course, petroleum.

by calculating your carbon footprint, and learn helpful tips on how to reduce it at CarbonFootprint.com.