Last night, the 97th Oscars were awarded in the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. The big winner was the independent film ANORA. The tragic comedy was nominated 6 times and won 5 awards - and Sean Baker also made Oscar history: Never before had a single person received four of the coveted golden boys. Baker's ANORA was awarded "Best Film" and won "Best Directing", "Best Original Screenplay" and "Best Film Editing"! Mikey Madison was also awarded "Best Actress". Everyone was expecting Demi Moore to win the Oscar for her performance in THE SUBSTANCE, which we would have loved for her.
The movies with the most nominations were able to win comparatively few awards. The controversial EMILIA PÉREZ, nominated 13 times, only received two Oscars. It was no surprise that Zoë Saldaña was awarded "Best Supporting Actress" The actress gave the most emotional acceptance speech of the evening, amid tears of joy. »El Mal« was also awarded "Best Original Song". And speaking of supporting actors: Kieran Culkin was awarded "Best Supporting Actor" on the male side for his role in A REAL PAIN.
The big favorites included THE BRUTALIST and the musical WICKED - both were nominated 10 times each. Three Oscars went to THE BRUTALIST for "Best Cinematography" and "Best Original Score". Adrien Brody was the favorite for "Best Actor" and his win was hardly surprising, although Timothée Chalamet for A COMPLETE UNKNOWN also had a chance of winning the trophy after his win at the SAG Awards last week. A COMPLETE UNKNOWN though came away empty-handed despite 8 nominations. For Brody, this is his second Oscar after THE PIANIST in 2003. WICKED won in the categories "Best Costume Design" and "Best Production Design".
CONCLAVE, the film by German director Edward Berger, was nominated 8 times like A COMPLETE UNKNOWN and at least won the award for "Best Adapted Screenplay".
DUNE: PART TWO was nominated 5 times and won the Oscars for "Best Sound" and "Best Visual Effects". We are pleased about the German participation of Gerd Nefzer, who has already won his 3rd Oscar! THE SUBSTANCE was one of our favorite movies of last year. Like DUNE: PART TWO, it was nominated 5 times and deservedly won the Oscar in the category "Best Make-up and Hairstyling". Unfortunately, the 4-time nominee NOSFERATU also went home empty-handed.
The award for "Best Animated Film" went to Latvia for the wonderful FLOW. The award for "Best International Film" went to Brazil for FOREVER HERE.
Last but not least, a few more side notes: Late-night talker Conan O'Brien hosted the evening. His presentation was relatively tame and largely apolitical, apart from a few small allusions. We expected more, considering the current political situation in the world. The only speech that was really political and clearly addressed was the acceptance speech for NO OTHER LAND by the Israeli-Palestinian team which was awarded "Best Documentary".
We really liked some of the presentations, such as the laudation for the nominees' costume designers. That was well done. The JAMES BOND tribute show made us frown, as it seemed a bit wildly thrown together. The award for the "Best Song" was presented by Mick Jagger. Man, he's still in great shape at 81 years old!
Here are all the nominees and winners at a glance:
https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2025Did you also party all night long? Are you happy with how your favorites performed?