The 97th Academy Awards proved to be a night of surprises, triumphs and heartfelt moments as the indie anti-fairytale Anora dominated the ceremony, taking home five Oscars, including the coveted Best Picture award, per sky.com. The film, directed by Sean Baker, captivated audiences and critics alike with its raw storytelling and bold performances, cementing its place as one of the most talked-about films of the year.
Anora not only won Best Picture but also claimed awards for Best Director (Sean Baker), Best Actress (Mikey Madison), Best Original Screenplay and Best Editing. Baker’s win tied him with Walt Disney’s record for the most Oscars won by a single person in one night, though Baker achieved this feat for a single film, a first in Academy history.
In his acceptance speech, Baker made an impassioned plea for audiences to support cinemas, calling them “a vital part of our culture” that must be preserved. Both Baker and Madison also thanked the sex workers who consulted on the film, acknowledging their invaluable contributions to its authenticity.
Mikey Madison’s win for Best Actress was a highlight of the evening. Her portrayal of a sex worker who marries the son of a Russian oligarch was both poignant and powerful, edging out stiff competition from industry veteran Demi Moore, who was nominated for her role in The Substance.
Adrien Brody won his second Best Actor Oscar for his role as Hungarian architect Lazlo Toth in The Brutalist, a sprawling architectural epic. This win came 22 years after his first Academy Award for The Pianist in 2003. In a heartfelt speech, Brody thanked his partner, Georgina Chapman, for reinvigorating his “self-worth” and “sense of value.” The Brutalist also took home awards for Best Cinematography and Best Original Score, solidifying its place as a cinematic masterpiece.
The Oscars celebrated global talent, with Brazilian director Walter Salles winning Best International Feature for I’m Still Here, a powerful film set during Brazil’s military dictatorship in the 1970s. Its star, Fernanda Torres, has become a breakout sensation in the US, transitioning from relative obscurity to Hollywood’s radar in just a few months.
Latvian animated film Flow won Best Animated Feature, while Iran’s The Shadow of the Cypress took home Best Animated Short Film. Both films, dialogue-free, showcased the universal power of visual storytelling.
The documentary categories brought both inspiration and political commentary. No Other Land, a Palestinian-Israeli collaborative film, won Best Documentary Feature. Its creators, Basel Dra and Yuval Abraham, used their acceptance speech to call for peace and criticize US foreign policy, urging, “It’s not too late for life, for the living.”
The ceremony also paid tribute to late industry legends, including Gene Hackman, Dame Maggie Smith, Donald Sutherland and Quincy Jones. Morgan Freeman led a moving tribute to Hackman, while Oprah Winfrey and Whoopi Goldberg honoured Quincy Jones with a heartfelt segment featuring Queen Latifah.
See the full list of winners and nominees here
- Featured image: Zoe Saldaña with her best supporting actress Oscar/Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images
