One of the most unpredictable and exciting awards seasons in recent memory came to an end this past Sunday with an extravagant and historic Oscars ceremony.
From host Conan O’Brien’s signature antics and thoughtful jabs to some surprising yet well-deserved upsets, the 97th Academy Awards was another welcome addition to the show’s storied and expansive history overall.
While last year’s ceremony ended up being fairly easy to predict with the monumental achievement that was Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer basically sweeping major categories all season, 2024 kept us on our toes till the very end.
This past year in film has given us a wide range of stellar performances and unforgettable works from a variety of genres, visions, and budgets. While you had the beloved blockbusters of Dune: Part Two and Wicked, both scoring some technical prizes, you also had the more awards-friendly films like A Complete Unknown or Conclave, the latter of which won Best Adapted Screenplay.
Another major contender was the historical epic The Brutalist, as it won in some key categories like Score and Cinematography and snagged Adrien Brody his second Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role.
However, the most celebrated film of the night was Sean Baker’s abrasive, hilarious, and poignant story about a sex worker who falls for the son of a Russian oligarch and the chaos that consumes her–Anora. It just so happens to be my favorite film of last year as well.
Winning five awards on Sunday, Anora truly triumphed at the Oscars while also making history in the process. Sean Baker became the first person to ever win four Oscars in one night for the same film, as Baker won for directing, writing, editing, and producing the movie.
Mikey Madison, who plays Anora herself, also ended up winning Best Actress over a stacked lineup of nominees, most notably beating Demi Moore for one of her career-defining roles in The Substance. While I would’ve loved to see Moore take this, Madison gave the performance of the year to me while also proving herself as a one-of-a-kind actor, especially for her young age.
Madison also made history by being one of the youngest people to ever win in this category, while also only being the third actor born in the ‘90s to win an Oscar.
Though, maybe the biggest achievement this film is still being recognized for is the fact that it’s independent. All throughout this awards season, Baker has praised independent film, filmmakers, and movie theaters and how important they are and continue to be for the film industry and lovers of the art form. For a low-budget, indie film like Anora to win an award as coveted and celebrated as Best Picture is easily a step in the right direction for further recognition and celebration.
In an ever-evolving media landscape and a world of parent companies, for an institution as esteemed as the Academy to continue to award smaller features and filmmakers is definitely a sign of hope and passion for these smaller voices and original ideas that are only becoming harder to come by.
This sentiment doesn’t end with Anora either. As exciting as those wins were, other beloved films like Flow and I’m Still Here were given their flowers in the Animated and International Feature categories, respectively.
Flow was able to beat out huge studios like DreamWorks and Pixar with its universal story about community, climate change, and an adorable cat. The film was also incredibly low-budget, being made solely using free software like Blender to create its detailed and gorgeous world. This also marked Latvia’s first-ever Oscar win, shining a light on the ever-growing international voting body in the Academy.
I’m Still Here was also incredibly embraced by the Oscars. With its deserved win in International Feature, the Academy also gave a nod to Fernanda Torres’ stellar lead performance as well as a surprise Best Picture nomination.
Some of my other favorite wins of the night were Kieran Culkin’s heartwarming win for A Real Pain in Best Supporting Actor, the Israeli-Palestinian call for action and peace No Other Land winning Documentary Feature, and of course the Best Makeup win going to the beautiful insanity of The Substance.
As I stated before, this show was a welcome addition to the Academy Awards ever-growing canon and an optimistic step forward for the world of independent film and the cinema experience as a whole.
