Alabama-born filmmakers Daniel Scheinert and Paul Rogers’ film “Everything Everywhere All at Once” will very likely join elite company that includes “The Godfather,” “Gone with the Wind” and “Casablanca.”

During Sunday’s 95th Annual Academy Awards (airing live on ABC at 7 p.m. CST), their critically acclaimed science fiction adventure is the favorite to win best picture — as in, Hollywood will announce to millions watching across the world that their film is the best 2023 had to offer.

It leads all Oscar nominees with 11 total, including best picture, director, screenplay, actress, supporting actor and supporting actress. Scheinert, from Birmingham, could take home three Oscars as a producer, director and writer of the film. Editor Rogers, a Birmingham native, also is nominated and widely considered the favorite to win his category. The movie just swept the Screen Actors Guild Awards, winning best acting ensemble, lead actress (Michelle Yeoh), supporting actress (Jamie Lee Curtis) and supporting actor (Ke Huy Quan), putting it on a collision course with Oscar glory.

Nothing is guaranteed on Oscar night. Upsets happen. Consider these Oscar history tidbits. “Everything Everywhere All at Once” marks the 55th film to receive at least 11 Oscar nominations; 27 of those films won best picture. We’ve seen five films (out of 14) with at least 11 nominations win best picture since 2000 (”Gladiator,” “Chicago,” “The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King,” “The King’s Speech,” “The Shape of Water”).

But Scheinert’s film, which he co-wrote and co-directed with his filmmaking partner Daniel Kwan (forming the Daniels directing duo) has a key piece of history on its side. The Oscars mark the culmination of a long award season in Hollywood. Multiple industry guilds, critics’ circles and other organizations hand out trophies, often considered precursors that indicate the likelihood of certain films and artists winning in the same categories at the Academy Awards.

“Everything Everywhere All at Once” pulled off the rare feat of sweeping the all-important and predictive Writers Guild, Producers Guild, Directors Guild and Screen Actors Guild — something achieved only by “American Beauty,” “No Country for Old Men,” “Slumdog Millionaire” and “Argo,” all of which went on to win best picture.

So what does this mean for the state of Alabama? Culturally and historically, this is a huge moment we should breathe in, if and when it happens.

The state has had its share of Oscar triumphs by way of Louise Fletcher (from Birmingham) and Octavia Spencer (from Montgomery) winning acting awards, or films set in Alabama like “To Kill a Mockingbird” and “My Cousin Vinny” walking away with victories.

Arguably our biggest claim to Oscar fame was “Forrest Gump,” winning six Oscars including best picture and actor (Tom Hanks) after grossing nearly $700 million worldwide. Robert Zemeckis’ Oscar-winning adaptation of Winston Groom’s novel tells the unbelievable fictional story of a good-natured Alabama man who witnesses and participates in many of the defining events of American history during the latter half of the 20th century.

“Everything Everywhere All at Once” is not “Forrest Gump.” It does not take place in Alabama. Nothing about it looks or sounds like the South, though you could say the same for “Gump,” which wasn’t even in filmed in our state. And it is not so easily accessible. It introduces and explores the complex idea of the multiverse, jumping from one timeline to another and sometimes leaving the viewer exhausted, in an entertaining way. The film follows an aging Chinese immigrant (Michelle Yeoh) swept up in an insane adventure, where she alone can save the world by exploring other universes and connecting with the lives she could have led.

While fast-paced and complicated, the film has a heavy dose of heart and warmth, with a message that emphasizes kindness. It has action, comedy and romance, and it tugs at the heartstrings with career-best performances by Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan. One of the best-reviewed movies of the year, it has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 95%. The consensus says, “Led by an outstanding Michelle Yeoh, ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ lives up to its title with an expertly calibrated assault on the senses.” It also earned $107 million at the global box office, making it the highest grosser in distributor A24′s history.

And Scheinert is a proud Alabamian, born in Birmingham, where he attended Oak Mountain Elementary and Middle Schools before going to high school at Shades Valley. His parents, Ken and Becky, now live in Guntersville where his dad practices law while his mom is retired from a career in marketing. Scheinert got into filmmaking through local competitions and musical theater during high school. He then became involved in his hometown Sidewalk Film Festival where he interned and entered competitions, and Sidewalk would later screen his and Kwan’s feature films.

A best picture win would also indicate the Academy’s commitment to subversive, independently made storytelling that wouldn’t have stood a chance getting nominated back when films like “Gump” or Titanic” dominated. After slightly more left-of-the-dial winners like “The Shape of Water,” “Parasite” and “Nomadland,” Scheinert and Kwan’s film could do its part in changing the industry as a whole, at least in what it now welcomes to the “adult table.”

Scheinert would be in elite company with a win for best picture (with producers Kwan and Jonathan Wang), and Scheinert winning best director (with Kwan) would put them in the ranks of John Ford, David Lean, Francis Ford Coppola, Jane Campion, Martin Scorsese and their fellow nominee this year, Steven Spielberg. If they win best original screenplay, they join a group that includes Herman J. Mankiewicz and Orson Welles, William Goldman, Paddy Chayefsky, Quentin Tarantino, Pedro Almodóvar, Sofia Coppola and Jordan Peele.

And if they win all three, they would join an even shorter list with Billy Wilder (”The Apartment”), Alejandro G. Iñárritu (”Birdman”) and Bong Joon-ho (”Parasite”). And let’s note that a Paul Rogers win would etch his name in the same book as legends Thelma Schoonmaker, Michael Kahn and William H. Reynolds.

But even with all these implications, Scheinert and his “Everything Everywhere All at Once” team have already won. Yes, they’ve won a truckload of other awards, but they made what has inarguably become one of (if not the) movies of the year. The film is so beloved by critics, audiences and their own industry, the Daniels took over the cultural conversation with googly eyes, talking rocks and a dancing raccoon.

We in Alabama are proud to watch them make history.

More on Daniel Scheinert:

Mom’s going to the Oscars! ‘Everything Everywhere’ director’s parents talk son’s success

Stephen Colbert calls on Alabama filmmaker to save ‘Late Show’ opening

Daniels shout out Sidewalk Film Festival during Independent Spirit Awards sweep

What Steven Spielberg learned from Oscar-nominated Alabama filmmaker

One of the Daniels on his Alabama roots, fitting his state into ‘Everything Everywhere’