A Turbulent Year for Cinema
This year’s Academy Awards was different. The producers of the broadcast were challenged with filming at several locations to follow social distancing rules. The awards ceremony normally takes place at the shiny Dolby Theater in Hollywood. This year, however, Hollywood’s big night rolled out the red carpet at LA’s Union Station. Tables and seating arrangements were set up at the train station into safely-distant pods that sat just a few people. And while the event looked much different, the night was still a toast to filmmaking. Some Oscar winners were not in attendance. Some were wired into the broadcast from different states and even different countries.
With all of the challenges, however, there weren’t any major mishaps from a technical standpoint. One thing that was noticeably different, though, was the surprise in the order of awards. I was used to the winner for Best Picture getting announced last. This time around it was announced before Best Actress and Best Actor.
Notable highlights
Some Oscar winners we saw coming. Nomadland snagged some big ones, as expected. With that said, there were some surprises. The award for Best Cinematography hardly ever goes out to films shot in black & white. Schindler’s List (1997) and Roma (2018) are the only two black & white films to win Best Cinematography in the last 30 years. This year, Nomadland DP Joshua James Richards was the front-runner to win. The David Fincher film, Mank, which was shot on black & white, won the award. The Oscar went to DP Erik Messerschmidt.
Also, the late Chadwick Bosman was the front-runner for Best Actor with his performance in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. And, as previously stated, the final award of the evening instead went to Anthony Hopkins for The Father. All of the awards were well-deserved. However, it seemed as though the structure of the ceremony was set up to deliver the last award to Boseman, who passed away last year after a battle with cancer.
2021 Oscar Winners
Best Picture
The Father
Judas and the Black Messiah
Mank
Minari
Nomadland
Promising Young Woman
Sound of Metal
The Trial of the Chicago 7
Best Actor
Riz Ahmed, Sound of Metal
Chadwick Boseman, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Anthony Hopkins, The Father
Gary Oldman, Mank
Steven Yeun, Minari
Best Director
Lee Isaac Chung, Minari
Emerald Fennell, Promising Young Woman
David Fincher, Mank
Thomas Vinterberg, Another Round
Chloé Zhao, Nomadland
Best Supporting Actress
Maria Bakalova, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
Glenn Close, Hillbilly Elegy
Olivia Colman, The Father
Amanda Seyfried, Mank
Yuh-Jung Youn, Minari
Best International Feature
Another Round
Better Days
Collective
The Man Who Sold His Skin
Quo Vadis, Aida?
Best Animated Feature
Onward
Over the Moon
Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon
Soul
Wolfwalkers
Best Documentary Feature
Collective
Crip Camp
The Mole Agent
My Octopus Teacher
Time
Best Original Score
Da 5 Bloods
Mank
Minari
News of the World
Soul
Best Original Screenplay
Judas and the Black Messiah
Minari
Promising Young Woman
Sound of Metal
The Trial of the Chicago 7
Best Adapted Screenplay
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
The Father
Nomadland
One Night in Miami
The White Tiger
Best Cinematography
Judas and the Black Messiah
Mank
News of the World
Nomadland
The Trial of the Chicago 7
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Emma
Hillbilly Elegy
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Mank
Pinocchio
Best Costume Design
Emma
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Mank
Mulan
Pinocchio
Best Film Editing
The Father
Nomadland
Promising Young Woman
Sound of Metal
The Trial of the Chicago 7
Best Sound
Greyhound
Mank
News of the World
Soul
Sound of Metal
Best Live-Action Short
Feeling Through
The Letter Room
The Present
Two Distant Strangers
White Eye
Best Animated Short
Burrow
Genius Loci
If Anything Happens I Love You
Opera
Yes-People
Best Documentary Short
Colette
A Concerto is a Conversation
Do Not Split
Hunger Ward
A Love Song for Latasha
Best Visual Effects
Love and Monsters
The Midnight Sky
Mulan
The One and Only Ivan
Tenet
Best Production Design
The Father
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Mank
News of the World
Tenet
