The 92nd Annual Oscars Academy Awards ceremony was one to be remembered for its highly competitive battles, mutual love and respect, and its history-making victories.
After the outrage in 2015 and 2016 about the lack of ethnic diversity in the Oscars with Twitter users lambasting the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences with #OscarsSoWhite; this year was clearly one that had been thoroughly thought through in the hope of diversifying its voting ranks.
People are not happy, and understandably so. The number of racially diverse nominees has in fact decreased over the years. And on a night like the Oscars, where there were only five black nominees, it was considered distasteful to bring out one of the most successful white artists in Hip-Hop, Eminem, to perform.
To give some context, he performed his Oscar-winning some from 2003, Lose Yourself. It was very much a surprise, and although a great performance, it’s understandable that some of the audience were bamboozled by the choice.
But there was one very big positive. For the first time ever, a foreign-language film won best picture. “Parasite”, the South Korean gem of a movie deserved the win among a number of great films including “Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood” and “1917”. “Parasite” picked up a total of four awards, with the director, Bong Joon Ho, winning Best Director.
The film tells the tale of existing disparities in class, producing viewers with a very strong and compelling message. This may be the start of Hollywood embracing foreign-language stories instead of constantly relying on white stories told by white filmmakers. Kwak Sin Ae, who produced “Parasite” with Ho, said that she feels like this is a “very opportune moment in history happening right now.” She may just be right about that – let’s hope anyways.
A Bittersweet Night for Netflix
Netflix had reason to smile, and yet also reason to feel disappointed. They would have felt confident of winning something this year with the likes of “The Irishman”, “Marriage Story” and “The Two Popes”, but it wasn’t to be. Scorsese’s “The Irishman” was nominated a total of 10 times, Noah Baumbach’s “Marriage Story” got six nominations and “The Two Popes” racked up three.
Best of Acting
Best Actor went to Joaquin Phoenix for his marvellous performance in “Joker”, while best actress went to Renée Zellweger for her stunning portrayal of Judy Garland in “Judy”.
In what was a very emotional speech, Joaquin Phoenix expressed his gratitude after having previously been nominated three times for his performances in “Gladiator”, “Walk The Line” and “The Master”. He also used his speech as an opportunity to thank the industry, talk of equal rights, and pay tribute to his late brother, actor River Phoenix.
Renée made a comeback to her winning ways after having previously being nominated two times for “Bridget Jones’s Diary” and “Chicago”, and winning for “Cold Mountain”.
Other Highlights
Elsewhere, Brad Pitt was recognised for his commanding performance as Cliff Booth in “Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood”.
The night was very much one of speaking out, from Chris Rock and Steve Martin talking about female inclusion, to Janelle Monáe describing life as a “black queer artist”.
It was a night of strong messages, mutual love for the industry and history-making.
See the full list of winners and nominees below.
Best Picture
- “Ford v Ferrari”
- “The Irishman”
- “Jojo Rabbit”
- “Joker”
- “Little Women”
- “Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood”
- “Marriage Story”
- “Parasite” – WINNER
- “1917”
Actress in a Supporting Role
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Laura Dern wins Best Supporting Actress -
Laura Dern wins Best Supporting Actress
- Kathy Bates, “Richard Jewell”
- Laura Dern, “Marriage Story” – WINNER
- Scarlett Johansson, “Jojo Rabbit”
- Florence Pugh, “Little Women”
- Margot Robbie, “Bombshell”
Actor in a Supporting Role
- Brad Pitt, “Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood” – WINNER
- Tom Hanks, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood”
- Anthony Hopkins, “The Two Popes”
- Al Pacino, “The Irishman”
- Joe Pesci, “The Irishman”
International Feature Film
- South Korea, “Parasite” – WINNER
- Spain, “Pain and Glory”
- France, “Les Misérables”
- North Macedonia, “Honeyland”
- Poland, “Corpus Christi”
Documentary (Short)
- “In The Absence”
- “Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl” – WINNER
- “Life Overtakes Me”
- “St. Louis Superman”
- “Walk Run Cha-Cha”
Documentary Feature
- “American Factory” – WINNER
- “The Edge of Democracy”
- “Honeyland”
- “For Sama”
- “The Cave”
Original Song
- “I’m Standing With You,” “Breakthrough”
- “Into the Unknown,” “Frozen II”
- “Stand Up,” “Harriet”
- “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again,” “Rocketman” – WINNER
- “I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away,” “Toy Story 4”
Animated Feature Film
- “How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World”
- “I Lost My Body”
- “Klaus”
- “Missing Link”
- “Toy Story 4” – WINNER
Adapted Screenplay
- “The Irishman”
- “Jojo Rabbit” – WINNER
- “Little Women”
- “The Two Popes”
- “Joker”
Original Screenplay
- “Marriage Story”
- “Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood”
- “Parasite” – WINNER
- “Knives Out”
- “1917”
Actor in a Leading Role
- Antonio Banderas, “Pain and Glory”
- Leonardo DiCaprio, “Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood”
- Adam Driver, “Marriage Story”
- Joaquin Phoenix, “Joker” – WINNER
- Jonathan Pryce, “The Two Popes”
Actress in a Leading Role
- Cynthia Erivo, “Harriet”
- Scarlett Johansson, “Marriage Story”
- Saoirse Ronan, “Little Women”
- Renée Zellweger, “Judy” – WINNER
- Charlize Theron, “Bombshell”
Director
- Martin Scorsese, “The Irishman”
- Quentin Tarantino, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
- Bong Joon Ho, “Parasite” – WINNER
- Sam Mendes, “1917”
- Todd Phillips, “Joker”
Production Design
- “Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood” – WINNER
- “The Irishman”
- “1917”
- “Jojo Rabbit”
- “Parasite”
Cinematography
- “1917” – WINNER
- “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
- “The Irishman”
- “Joker”
- “The Lighthouse”
Costume Design
- “Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood”
- “Little Women” – WINNER
- “The Irishman”
- “Jojo Rabbit”
- “Joker”
Sound Editing
- “1917”
- “Ford v Ferrari” – WINNER
- “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”
- “Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood”
- “Joker”
Sound Mixing
- “1917” – WINNER
- “Ford v Ferrari”
- “Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood”
- “Ad Astra”
- “Joker”
Animated Short Film
- “Dcera (Daughter)”
- “Hair Love” – WINNER
- “Kitbull”
- “Memorable”
- “Sister”
Live Action Short Film
- “Brotherhood”
- “Nefta Football Club”
- “The Neighbors’ Window” – WINNER
- “Saria”
- “A Sister”
Original Score
- “1917,” Thomas Newman
- “Joker,” Hildur Guðnadóttir – WINNER
- “Little Women,” Alexandre Desplat
- “Marriage Story,” Randy Newman
- “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” John Williams
Visual Effects
- “Avengers: Endgame”
- “The Lion King”
- “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”
- “The Irishman”
- “1917” – WINNER
Film Editing
- “The Irishman”
- “Ford v Ferrari” – WINNER
- “Parasite”
- “Joker”
- “Jojo Rabbit”
Makeup and Hairstyling
- “Bombshell” – WINNER
- “Joker”
- “Judy”
- “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil”
- “1917”
