After a unique year for filmmakers and moviegoers, Sunday’s Oscars honored the best films from 2020 and early 2021 as several nominees and award winners made history.
This year’s Oscars marked the first time two actors of Asian descent were nominated for best actor, the first time an all-black producing team was nominated for best picture, and the first time two women were nominated for best director.
The 93rd Academy Awards took place in-person at Union Station in Los Angeles and broadcast from multiple locations across the globe after its initial showing, slated for Feb. 28, was postponed amid the coronavirus pandemic.
LOS ANGELES OFFICIALS REMOVED HOMELESS FROM UNION STATION AHEAD OF OSCARS: REPORT
Among its notable nominees and winners, Chloe Zhao made a historic win, taking home the Oscar for best director for Nomadland, becoming the second woman and first woman of color to win the award.
“My entire Nomadland company, what a crazy, once-in-a-lifetime journey we’ve all been on together,” Zhao said in her acceptance speech.
Nomadland tells the story of a woman in her 60s who embarks on a journey through the American West while living in her van. Just hours prior to the awards ceremony, reports emerged that local officials ushered homeless people living in Los Angeles’s Union Station out of the train station, a move some of the displaced homeless people believe was designed to mitigate negative optics ahead of the live broadcast.
Along with Zhao, Emerald Fennell was nominated for the award for her film Promising Young Woman, marking the first time two women were nominated for the category. Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman to win best director for The Hurt Locker in 2009.
In addition to Zhao’s victory, Ann Roth became the oldest woman to earn an Oscar, winning the award for best costume design at the age of 89, and Mia Neal and Jamika Wilson became the first black winners in the category of best makeup and hairstyling.
The Motion Picture & Television Fund, a charitable organization that offers assistance and care to those in the motion picture and television industries and their families with limited or no resources, became the first organization to receive the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
To close out the night, the coveted award of best picture was presented to Nomadland, best actress was won by Frances McDormand for her work in Nomadland, and Anthony Hopkins of The Father took home the Oscar for best actor.
