Sean Baker while accepting the best director award for Anora at Oscars 2025 Photo: X/ABC News Sean Baker while accepting the best director award for Anora at Oscars 2025 Photo: X/ABC News

The 97th edition of the Academy Awards, hosted annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on Sunday, March 2, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, US. It honoured outstanding achievements across 23 categories.

Comedian Conan O’Brien made his debut as a host of the Oscars 2025. He spoke Spanish, Hindi, and Mandarin and mentioned how in India, they would be watching the show while having their breakfast. He also sent a message to the Chinese, requesting them to cast him in their movies and also asked for ‘financial help’.

There were some great performances, speeches, and a traditional in memoriam segment which remembered Gene Hackman who died recently. Late actor David Lynch, who won an honorary Oscar in 2019, was also recognised in the Academy’s annual tribute.

Maggie Smith, Donald Sutherland, Shelley Duvall, Kris Kristofferson, M Emmet Walsh, James Earl Jones, Dick Pope, Jeff Baena, Robert Towne, Gena Rowlings, Bob Newhart, Joan Plowright and Teri Garr were also remembered.

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Oscar 2025 Winners

Although Emilia Pérez led the Oscars nominations with a total of 13, The Brutalist and Wicked with 10 each, romantic comedy-drama Anora scored big as it grabbed five statuettes.

Sean Baker bagged the Academy Award for Best Director for Anora. The film also took Oscars for Best Film Editing and Best Original Screenplay.

During his acceptance speech, Baker said, “We are all here tonight and watching this broadcast because we love movies. Where did we fall in love with the movies? At the movie theater. Watching a film in a theater with an audience is an experience. We can laugh together, cry together, scream in fright together, perhaps, sit in devastated silence together. And in a time in which the world can feel very divided, this is more important than ever.”

He added, “Filmmakers: Keep making films for the big screen. I know I will,” he said. “Distributors: Please focus first and foremost on the theatrical releases of your films. Neon did that for me, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

Mikey Madison took home the Best Actress trophy. The Best Picture award also went to Anora.

"It's a communal experience you simply don't get at home." After winning Best Director for "Anora," Sean Baker used his #Oscars acceptance speech to encourage viewers to support their local movie theaters.https://t.co/nl9CxOviL4 pic.twitter.com/HU8AJkyS2g

— ABC News (@ABC) March 3, 2025

It is indeed a significant victory for a lesser-known independent and a low-budget film like Anora, which gathered most of the trophies at the prestigious film ceremony by beating some of the top contenders.

At this year's Oscars, diversity shone as Flow became the first Latvian film to receive an Academy Award, by winning best animated feature. The filmmakers of In the Shadow of the Cypress,fef777 who clinched the trophy for best animated short — are Iranian

Zoe Saldana became the first American of Dominican descent to bag the prestigious Oscar in Best Supporting Actress category, for her role in Emilia Pérez.

No Other Land, which is a collective project of Palestinian and Israeli filmmakers, took the prestigious award for best documentary film. The film is about the expulsion of communities from the West Bank by the Israeli military.

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The other competitors in the category were Black Box Diaries, Porcelain War, Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat and Sugarcane.

It's a big win for No Other Land, as the film has faced hurdles in its distributions in the US, which makes it impossible for American moviegoers to watch it in theaters or to stream it.

The filmmakers called out the US foreign policy in Israeli-Palestinian relations, in their Oscars acceptance speech.

It was thus curtains for India in the tournament.

Sathish, ranked 47th in the world, will take on Kantaphon Wangcharoen of Thailand in the round of 16.

Despite the lack of distribution, the film received support from the documentary community and has bagged several awards, including IDA and Spirit awards.

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Also, Walter Salles' I'm Still Here cemented history by becoming the first film from Brazil to win in the Best International Feature Film category at the Academy Awards.

I'm Still Here stars Fernanda Torres as Eunice Paiva- wife of Rubens Paiva, a former leftist Brazilian congressman. Set during and after the military dictatorship in Brazil, the film is based on the memoir by Marcelo.

In his acceptance speech, Salles dedicated the honour to Eunice's bravery. "I'm so honored to receive this in such an extraordinary group of filmmakers. This goes to a woman [who], after a loss suffered during an authoritarian regime, decided not to bend and not to resist. This prize goes to her. Her name is Eunice Paiva,'' he said.

He also thanked Fernanda Torres and Fernanda Montenegro for playing the role of Eunice Paiva, and added, "And, it goes to the two extraordinary women who gave life to her, Fernanda Torres and Fernanda Montenegro.”

I'm Still Here has beaten France's Emilia Perez, Denmark's The Girl with the Needle, Germany's The Seed of the Sacred Fig, and Latvia's Flow in the Best International Feature Film category.

Here's the full list of Oscars 2025 winners

Best supporting actor: Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain

Best animated feature: Flow

Best animated short: In the Shadow of the Cypress

Best costume design: Paul Tazewell, Wicked

Best original screenplay: Sean Baker, Anora

Best adapted screenplay: Peter Straughan, Conclave

Best makeup and hairstyling: Pierre-Olivier Persin, Stéphanie Guillon and Marilyne Scarselli, The Substance

Best editing: Sean Baker, Anora

Best supporting actress: Zoe Saldana, Emilia Pérez

Best production design: Nathan Crowley and Lee Sandales, Wicked

Best original song: El Mal from Emilia Pérez

Best documentary short: The Only Girl in the Orchestra

Best documentary feature: No Other Land

Best sound: Dune: Part Two

Best visual effects: Dune: Part Two

Best live-action short: I’m Not a Robot

Best cinematography: Lol Crawley, The Brutalist

Best international feature: I’m Still Here (Brazil)

Best original score: Daniel Blumberg, The Brutalist

Best actor: Adrien Brody, The Brutalist

Best director: Sean Baker, Anora

Best actress: Mikey Madison, Anora

Best picture: Anora

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For the first time, the Academy Awards was streamed live on JioHotstarreceba, that started at 5.30 am IST on Monday (March 3). It was broadcast live from the Dolby Theater in Hollywood on ABC.