On April 25th, the 2021 Oscars took place and it came with a lot of surprises. From Chloé Zhao becoming the first-ever woman of color to win “Best Director” to H.E.R winning “Best Original Song” with Fight For You, this year’s award show was quite unique and special. It was presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and it was the 93rd year of the Academy Awards ceremony. 

Winners: 

Actor in Leading Role: Anthony Hopkins (The Father) 

Actor in Supporting Role: Daniel Kaluuya (Judas and the Black Messiah)

Actress in Leading Role: Frances McDormand (Nomad Land)

Actress in Supporting Role: Yuh-Jung Youn (Minari)

Animated Feature Film: Soul (Pete Docter and Dana Murray)

Cinematography: Mank (Erik Messerschmidt)

Costume Design: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Ann Roth)

Directing: Nomadland (Chloe Zhao)

Documentary (Feature): My Octopus Teacher (Pippa Ehrlich, James Reed and Craig Foster)

Documentary (Short Subject): Colette (Anthony Giacchino and Alice Doyard)

Film Editing: Sound of Metal (Mikkel E. G. Nielsen)

International Feature Film: Another Round (Denmark)

Makeup and Hairstyling: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Sergio Lopez-Rivera, Mia Neal and Jamika Wilson) 

Music (Original Score): Soul (Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross and Jon Batiste)

Music (Original Song): “Fight For You” (from Judas and the Black Messiah; Music by H.E.R. and Dernst Emile II; Lyric by H.E.R. and Tiara Thomas) 

Best Picture: Nomadland (Frances McDormand, Peter Spears, Mollye Asher, Dan Janvey and Chloé Zhao, Producers) 

Production Design: Mank (Production Design: Donald Graham Burt; Set Decoration: Jan Pascale) 

Short Film (Animated): If Anything Happens I Love You (Will McCormack and Michael Govier)

Short Film (Live Action): Two Distant Strangers (Travon Free and Martin Desmond Roe)

Sound: Sound of Metal (Nicolas Becker, Jaime Baksht, Michellee Couttolenc, Carlos Cortés and Phillip Bladh)

Visual Effects: Tenet (Andrew Jackson, David Lee, Andrew Lockley and Scott Fisher)

Writing (Adapted Screenplay): The Father (Screenplay by Christopher Hampton and Florian Zeller) 

Writing (Original Screenplay): Promising Young Woman (Written by Emerald Fennell) 

This year’s Oscars made history for the diverse nomination lineup and for making space to discuss justice after a shocking year. 

• 70 women “earned nods” in 23 categories
• 9 people of color were nominated for their acting
• Chloé Zhao becoming the first woman of color to win “Best Director” 
• Riz Ahmed received a  “Best Actor” nomination and was the first Muslim man to be recognized for the category
• Steven Yeun received a “Best Actor” nomination and was the first Asian-American actor to be included in the category
• For the second time in history, 2 Black women were nominated for “Best Actress” (Viola Davis and Andra Day)
• Yuh-Jung Youn becoming the first South Korean to win “Best Supporting Actress”
• Regina King, an American actress and director, opened up the 2021 Oscars with a mention of George Floyd, saying the verdict of the Derek Chauvin trial decided her outfit. If Chauvin had been found innocent, she would have worn marching boots instead of heels
• “Two Distant Strangers” is about a white police officer killing an African American and it won in the “live-action short” category
• Although Glenn Close hasn’t received an Oscar yet, she received her 8th nomination this year
• Tyler Perry gave a powerful speech urging Americans to “refuse hate”
• To introduce the “In Memoriam” piece, Angela Bassett pushed others to recognize and acknowledge all of the lives lost from the coronavirus pandemic and to the “violence of inequality, injustice, hatred, racism, and poverty”

Sources: 

https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2021

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/25/movies/tyler-perry-honorary-oscar.html

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/04/25/movies/the-oscars-academy-awards-live