The 97th Academy Awards unfolded on March 2 in Hollywood and presented many unexpected surprises. Conan O’Brien hosted, presenting a strong opening monologue including jabs at controversies regarding some of the night’s nominees.
For the actual awards, Anora emerged as the evening’s biggest winner, taking home five Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director for Sean Baker, Best Actress for Mikey Madison, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Film Editing. The film’s victory surprised many, as Emilia Perez, who led the nominations with 13 nods, only managed to snag two.
Junior Valentina Diaz said, “Anora deserved all of these Oscars. It was such an entertaining movie and was very well made.”
Following Anora, the historical epic The Brutalist secured three wins, including Best Actor for Adrien Brody, whose acceptance speech made history as the longest ever at five minutes and 40 seconds. The box office hit Wicked took home Best Production Design and Best Costume Design.
Dune: Part Two stood out in technical categories, earning Best Sound and Best Visual Effects. When Senior Ben Lewis was asked if he thought there was anyone that should’ve gotten an award, he answered “Dune was robbed of an Oscar. Especially the star, Timothee Chalamet. Dune was definitely the movie of the year, and Chalamet was phenomenal in the film. He was also super well dressed and stood out in a crowd.”
Emilia Perez, one of the most controversial films of the year due to its depiction of Mexican culture and transgender representation as well as resurfaced racist tweets from lead actress Karla Sofía Gascón won two Oscars: Best Supporting Actress for Zoe Saldaña and Best Original Song for “El Mal.” The song’s win was followed by an awkward moment, as its recipients concluded their acceptance speech presumably by singing the song a capella. They were quickly played off and the moment was met by a confused reaction by the audience.
Other major winners included Kieran Culkin, who won Best Supporting Actor for A Real Pain, and Conclave, which took home Best Adapted Screenplay. Flow became the first Latvian film to win Best Animated Feature, while Brazil’s I’m Still Here won Best International Feature. The Best Documentary Feature award went to No Other Land, which highlights the destruction of a Palestinian village by the Israeli military. Despite critical acclaim, the film has yet to secure U.S. distribution, starting much controversy online.