Last Sunday, the winners of the 97th Academy Awards were announced at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood in Los Angeles.
The evening's biggest winner was the comedy-drama Anora, which was written, directed, produced, and edited by filmmaker Sean Baker. The film entered the evening with six nominations and ended up winning in the five categories Actress in a Leading Role, Directing, Film Editing, Writing (Original Screenplay), and Best Picture.
In his acceptance speech, director Sean Baker talked about preserving the cinema experience:
“Watching a film in the theater with an audience is an experience. We can laugh together, cry together, scream in fright together, perhaps sit in devastated silence together. In a time in which the world can feel very divided, this is more important than ever...And right now, the theatergoing experience is under threat. Movie theaters, especially independently owned theaters, are struggling, and it’s up to us to support them. During the pandemic, we lost nearly 1000 screens in the U.S., and we continue to lose them regularly. If we don’t reverse this trend, we’ll be losing a vital part of our culture. This is my battle cry. Filmmakers keep making films for the big screen. I know I will.”
This follows Baker’s recent speech on the indie production landscape, made when accepting the award for Best Director at last month’s Independent Spirit Awards: “We are creating a product that creates jobs and revenue for the entire industry. We shouldn’t be barely getting by (….). And we can work together, it can be filmmakers working with agencies, working with financiers, film sales companies, and distributors to make indie film sustainable for creatives and keep indie film alive."
The period drama The Brutalist was nominated in ten categories and went home with three awards: Actor in a Leading Role, Music (Original Score), and Cinematography.
Other winners include Conclave, Wicked, and Dune: Part Two – we are particularly proud that PGGB Members have worked on these productions.
The epic fantasy musical Wicked starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo won two categories: Costume Design and Production Design - after being nominated in ten categories. Several PGGB Members were involved in the production: Jon Duncan as Financial Controller, Owen Keys as Production Accountant, Miranda Marks as Production Manager, Tom Reed as Payroll Supervisor, Rajneet Jabbal as AP Supervisor, and Julia Hutchison as Payroll Accountant.
Edward Berger’s tense papal election thriller Conclave starring Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, and Isabella Rossellini won in the category Writing (Adapted Screenplay). Three PGGB Members worked on the production: John Gillett as UK Production Accountant, Alice Dawson as Producer, and Gareth Jones as Financial Controller.
Denis Villeneuve's sci-fi blockbuster Dune: Part Two starring Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya won two categories: Visual Effects and Sound. Seven PGGB Members worked on the production: Julia Valentine as Head of Production, Darren Chesney as Production Manager, Giles Barnett as Production Accountant, Bettina Lyster as Production Supervisor, Viktoria Havel as Production Coordinator, Fraser Grant as Production Accountant, and Matt Blain as Location Accountant.
You can find the full list of winners here:
Actor in a Leading Role
Winner
Adrien Brody
The Brutalist
Actor in a Supporting Role
Winner
Kieran Culkin
A Real Pain
Actress in a Leading Role
Winner
Mikey Madison
Anora
Actress in a Supporting Role
Winner
Zoe Saldaña
Emilia Pérez
Animated Feature Film
Winner
Flow
Gints Zilbalodis, Matīss Kaža, Ron Dyens and Gregory Zalcman
Animated Short Film
Winner
In the Shadow of the Cypress
Shirin Sohani and Hossein Molayemi
Cinematography
Winner
The Brutalist
Lol Crawley
Costume Design
Winner
Wicked
Paul Tazewell
Directing
Winner
Anora
Sean Baker
Documentary Feature Film
Winner
No Other Land
Basel Adra, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal and Yuval Abraham
Documentary Short Film
Winner
The Only Girl in the Orchestra
Molly O’Brien and Lisa Remington
Film Editing
Winner
Anora
Sean Baker
International Feature Film
Winner
Brazil
I'm Still Here
Makeup and Hairstyling
Winner
The Substance
Pierre-Olivier Persin, Stéphanie Guillon and Marilyne Scarselli
Music (Original Score)
Winner
The Brutalist
Daniel Blumberg
Music (Original Song)
Winner
El Mal
from Emilia Pérez; Music by Clément Ducol and Camille; Lyric by Clément Ducol, Camille and Jacques Audiard
Best Picture
Winner
Anora
Alex Coco, Samantha Quan and Sean Baker, Producers
Production Design
Winner
Wicked
Production Design: Nathan Crowley; Set Decoration: Lee Sandales
Live Action Short Film
Winner
I'm Not a Robot
Victoria Warmerdam and Trent
Sound
Winner
Dune: Part Two
Gareth John, Richard King, Ron Bartlett and Doug Hemphill
Visual Effects
Winner
Dune: Part Two
Paul Lambert, Stephen James, Rhys Salcombe and Gerd Nefzer
Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
Winner
Conclave
Screenplay by Peter Straughan
Writing (Original Screenplay)
Winner
Anora
Written by Sean Baker
