Anora dominates the 97th Academy Awards
The 97th Academy Awards crowned Anora as Best Picture, marking a historic triumph for Sean Baker. The film, which tells the story of a sex worker from Brooklyn, won five Oscars, including Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Actress for Mikey Madison.
On the stage of the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, producers Alex Coco, Samantha Quan, and Sean Baker himselfexpressed their emotions over this unexpected victory. “We made it with little money but with all our hearts,” said Quan while accepting the award.
Morgan Freeman’s tribute to Gene Hackman
One of the most touching moments of the evening was Morgan Freeman’s tribute to Gene Hackman, his co-star in Unforgiven. “We lost a giant, and I lost a great friend,” said Freeman while introducing the In Memoriam segment, which honored great cinema figures lost in the past year, including Maggie Smith, Joan Plowright, Anouk Aimée, Donald Sutherland, Shelley Duvall, David Lynch, James Earl Jones, Gena Rowlands, and Kris Kristofferson.
Hackman’s passing deeply shook Hollywood: the actor was found dead in his Santa Fe home on February 26, alongside his wife and their dog.
“No Other Land” shakes up the Oscars with its political message
One of the night’s most discussed moments was the Best Documentary Feature award given to No Other Land, directed by an Israeli-Palestinian collective. The filmmakers Basel Adra, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal, and Yuval Abraham used their speech to deliver a powerful message: “We will never be safe if others are not safe,” calling on the world to stop “ethnic cleansing” against the Palestinian people.
The documentary chronicles the destruction of the Palestinian community of Masafer Yatta in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, and struggled to find a distributor in the U.S. before its Oscar win.
A bitter night for Italian cinema
While the 2025 Academy Awards were filled with emotions and surprises, for Italy, it was a missed opportunity. Isabella Rossellini, nominated for Best Supporting Actress for Conclave, lost to Zoe Saldana for her performance in Emilia Perez.
Likewise, Cynthia Sleiter, set decorator for the same film, missed out on the Best Production Design award, which instead went to the team behind Wicked. Another year without recognition for Italian cinema, which will have to try again next year.
Anora also wins Best Original Screenplay
In addition to winning Best Picture, Anora also took home the Best Original Screenplay award, once again honoring Sean Baker. In his acceptance speech, Baker dedicated the award to the sex worker community, the often-invisible protagonists of both society and his film.
The movie tells the story of a 23-year-old stripper who supplements her income with occasional escort work and falls in love with the son of a Russian oligarch. A raw and intense story that captivated both audiences and critics.
Kieran Culkin wins Best Supporting Actor
A proud moment for Kieran Culkin, who won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role in A Real Pain by Jesse Eisenberg. The actor, younger brother of Macaulay Culkin, beat out heavyweights like Edward Norton (A Perfect Stranger), Guy Pearce (The Brutalist), Jeremy Strong (The Apprentice: The Trump Story), and Yura Borisov (Anora).
Flow wins Best Animated Feature
In the Best Animated Feature category, the winner was Flow: A World to Save by Gints Zilbalodis. The film made history as the first Latvian film to be nominated for Best International Feature.
Additionally, the Best Animated Short Film award went to In the Shadow of the Cypress, an Iranian production that tackles the theme of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
