98th Academy Awards highlights…and the Oscar goes to!

by Chumasande Matiwane
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The 98th Academy Awards took place at the Dolby Theatre in Ovation Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, on March 15, marking a historic occasion.

Leading up to the Academy Awards, the major talk was about the showdown between Sinners and One Battle After Another, after both films received groundbreaking nominations.

Ultimately, Sinners took home four awards from its record-breaking 16 nominations, including one  Original Screenplay win for director Ryan Coogler, and a historic win for cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw. However, it was One Battle After Another that took home Best Picture, and Paul Thomas Anderson, Best Director.

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The lead actor awards were not short of amazing; the competition was tough, but ultimately the honour for Best Actor went to Michael B. Jordan for Sinners, and Jessie Buckley won Best Actress for Hamnet.

Amy Madigan won Supporting Actress for Weapons, and an absent Sean Penn was awarded for One Battle After Another, marking Sean Penn’s 3rd Oscar win.

In Michael’s acceptance speech, he highlighted his family in the crowd and recognised his relationship with Sinners director Ryan Coogler, stating; “You’re an amazing, amazing person. I’m so honoured to call you a collaborator and a friend, and you gave me the opportunity and space for me to be seen, and I love you, too, bro, love you to death.”

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Of course, the Oscars wouldn’t be complete without some shocking moments. This year was no different, with the Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film being a tie. This is the first time an Oscar vote has ended in a tie in well over a decade.

The creators of The Singers and Two People Exchanging Saliva took turns coming to the stage to accept their awards.

Presenting the award, Kumail Nanjiani said “And the Oscar goes to… It’s a tie! I’m not joking. It’s actually a tie. Everyone, calm down. We’re going to get through this. Focus up.

I’m going to name one winner. They’ll come up and accept their award. Then I’ll come back and name another winner”.

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Feature Image: Gettys

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