The 94th Academy Awards ceremony, known as the Oscars, was held on last Sunday, March 27 at the Los Angeles’ Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood. The awards ceremony was hosted by Amy Schumer, Wanda Sykes, and Regina Hall.
Twenty-three awards were presented to the artistes in respected categories in the ceremony, which is the highest number of Oscars in its history.
Apart from awards ceremonial events, 94th Academy Awards also witnessed several significant moments this year, with actor Troy Kotsur creating history as the first deaf actor to win an Oscar Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role - CODA, and actress Ariana DeBose becoming the first openly queer woman of colour to bag an Acting Oscar - West Side Story.
And Will Smith won the Best Actor award for his performance in King Richard, while Jessica Chastain won the Best Actress award for her role in The Eyes of Tammy Faye. CODA bagged the title of Best Picture, while Encanto was named the Best Animated Feature. Jane Campion won the Best Director award for The Power of the Dog, becoming the second woman to win in the category in a row after Chloe Zhao won for Nomadland last year.
The Power of the Dog had set high expectations in the Oscars race by bagging nominations under a whopping 12 categories including Best Picture, Best Music (Original Score), and Best Actor in a Leading Role. This was followed by Dune, which was nominated under 10 categories, including Best Picture and Best Music (Original Score).
Other films that were nominated under multiple categories include Belfast, West Side Story, and King Richard.
The Academy Awards will be remembered for the wins by Coda in the best picture, best adapted screenplay, and best supporting actor categories, making it the second best picture winner in a row to be directed by a woman. Sunday night's Oscars ceremony could also be remembered for the almost unbelievable moment when Will Smith strode onto the stage, slapped Chris Rock, the presenter of the awards ceremony, in the face, and bellowed, "Keep my wife's name out of your [expletive] mouth!" However, after the incident, Smith, shedding his tears, apologised for the whole thing. Anyway, apart from this, the ceremony ended on a grand scale.
Following are all the winners from the 94th annual Academy Awards"
1. Best Picture: CODA
Other nominees: Don’t Look Up, Dune, Belfast, West Side Story, Licorice Pizza, King Richard, Nightmare Alley, Drive My Car
2. Best Actress: Jessica Chastain, The Eyes of Tammy Faye
Other nominees: Olivia Colman, The Lost Daughter; Nicole Kidman, Being the Ricardos; Penélope Cruz, Parallel Mothers; Kristen Stewart, Spencer
3. Best Actor: Will Smith — King Richard
Other nominees: Benedict Cumberbatch, The Power of the Dog; Andrew Garfield, Tick, Tick ... Boom!; Denzel Washington, The Tragedy of Macbeth; Javier Bardem, Being the Ricardos
4. Best Director: Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog
Other nominees: Paul Thomas Anderson, Licorice Pizza; Steven Spielberg, West Side Story; Kenneth Branagh, Belfast; Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Drive My Car
5. Best Original Song: Billie Eilish and Finneas, “No Time to Die,” in No Time to Die”
Other nominees: “Dos Oruguitas,” Encanto; “Be Alive,” King Richard; “Down to Joy,” Belfast; “Somehow You Do,” Four Good Days
6. Best Documentary Feature: Summer of Soul
Other nominees: Flee, Ascension, Attica, Writing with Fire
7. Best Adapted Screenplay: CODA
Other nominees: The Power of the Dog, The Lost Daughter, Dune, Drive My Car
8. Best Original Screenplay: Belfast
Other nominees: Licorice Pizza, Don’t Look Up, King Richard, The Worst Person in the World
9. Best Costume Design: Cruella
Other nominees: Dune, Nightmare Alley, Cyrano, West Side Story
10. Best International Feature Film: Drive My Car
Other nominees: The Worst Person in the World, Flee, The Hand of God, Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom
11. Best Supporting Actor: Troy Kotsur, CODA
Other nominees: Kodi Smit-Mcphee, The Power of the Dog; Ciarán Hinds, Belfast; J.K. Simmons, Being the Ricardos; Jesse Plemons, The Power of the Dog
12. Best Animated Feature: Encanto
Other nominees: Luca, The Mitchells vs. the Machines, Flee, Raya and the Last Dragon
13. Best Visual Effects: Dune
Other nominees: Spider-Man: No Way Home, Free Guy, No Time To Die, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
14. Best Sound: Dune
Other nominees: The Power of the Dog, The Tragedy of Macbeth, Nightmare Alley, West Side Story
15. Best Supporting Actress: Ariana DeBose, West Side Story
Other nominees: Kirsten Dunst, The Power of the Dog; Aunjanue Ellis, King Richard; Jessie Buckley, The Lost Daughter; Judi Dench, Belfast
16. Best Production Design: Dune
Other nominees: Dune, Nightmare Alley, The Power of the Dog, The Tragedy of Macbeth, West Side Story
17. Best Film Editing: Dune
Other nominees: The Power of the Dog, Don’t Look Up, Tick, Tick ... Boom!, King Richard
18. Best Original Score: Dune
Other nominees: The Power of the Dog, Parallel Mothers, Don’t Look Up, Encanto
19. Best Live Action Short Film: The Long Goodbye
Other nominees: The Dress, On My Mind, Please Hold, Ala Kachuu – Take and Run
20. Best Animated Short Film: The Windshield Wiper
Other nominees: Robin Robin, Boxballet, Affairs of the Art, Bestia
21. Best Documentary Short: The Queen of Basketball
Other nominees: Audible, Lead Me Home, Three Songs for Benazir, When We Were Bullies
22. Best Makeup And Hairstyling: The Eyes of Tammy Faye
Other nominees: Coming 2 America, Cruella, Dune, House of Gucci
23. Best Sound: Dune
Other nominees: Belfast, No Time to Die, The Power of the Dog, West Side Story
