#berlin express

March 9, 2025

By Anna Kodé

(The New York Times) — The Academy Awards always bring with them a series of firsts. First Black man to win for best costume design (Paul Tazewell). First openly trans person to be nominated for an Oscar (Karla Sofía Gascón). First Latvian film to win an Oscar (“Flow”).

But one first that’s often overlooked is Merle Oberon’s. In 1936, Merle became the first Asian actress to be nominated for an Oscar for her role in “The Dark Angel.” There was, however, no barrage of splashy news headlines to follow.

This was because Merle wasn’t widely known to be a person of color: Years before, as she was beginning her career, she decided to pass as white, hiding her South Asian identity to make it in an industry that was resistant to anything else.

“The inspiring thing about Merle is that she succeeded in a system that was stacked against her at every turn,” said Padma Lakshmi, the host of the Hulu documentary series “Taste the Nation.” “That subterfuge that she engaged in regarding her identity was a necessary tactic that she needed to employ.”

Berlin Express (1948) Jacques Tourneur