The night of March 2 to March 3, 2025, the 97th Academy Awards took place in Los Angeles.
This year, there was a lot of controversy about who would win the statuettes because almost all the nominated films made a splash in cinema, and all the actors who claimed to win were really talented. The intrigue lasted until the cherished night.
Best movie – “Anora”
The movie Anora, directed by Sean Baker, received one of the main statuettes for Best Picture. It also won four other nominations. In particular, the film won Best Original Screenplay, Best Editing, and Best Director, and Mikey Madison won Best Actress.
The film tells the story of a young sex worker from Brooklyn named Anora who falls in love with the son of a Russian oligarch and marries him. It stars several Russian actors, including Mark Eidelstein and Yuri Borisov, who had already appeared in projects filmed in occupied Crimea before participating in Anora.
Best Actor – Adrien Brody
Adrien Brody played Laszlo Tóth in The Brutalist, a Hungarian architect who survived the Holocaust. The hero emigrates to the United States in 1947, facing poverty and anti-Semitism, but realizes himself through a millionaire’s commission for a grand project.
Brody skillfully portrays Laszlo’s character, revealing the hero’s evolution. Critics praise Brody, comparing this work to The Pianist, noting his deep immersion in the character.
Best Supporting Actor – Kieran Culkin
Kieran Culkin played Benji in the movie True Grit, directed by Jesse Eisenberg, the eccentric cousin of the protagonist David. Benji is an attractive and emotionally open character. Culkin added a mixture of sarcasm and vulnerability to the role, which reveals the character and soul of the hero. Critics praised Culkin’s work. And the Oscar is not his first award for this role.
Best Supporting Actress – Zoe Saldana
Zoe Saldana played lawyer Rita Moro Castro in the Jacques Audiard film Emilia Perez. Rita is an emotional personality whose character is revealed through dramatic scenes and musical numbers. Saldana skillfully combines strength and fragility, and her dancing and singing skills enhance her character.
The full list of Oscar winners for 2025 is as follows:
Best picture
- WINNER: Anora
- The Brutalist
- A Complete Unknown
- Conclave
- Dune: Part Two
- Emilia Pérez
- I’m Still Here
- Nickel Boys
- The Substance
- Wicked
Best actress
- WINNER: Mikey Madison – Anora
- Cynthia Erivo – Wicked
- Karla Sofía Gascón – Emilia Pérez
- Demi Moore – The Substance
- Fernanda Torres – I’m Still Here
Best actor
- WINNER: Adrien Brody – The Brutalist
- Timothée Chalamet – A Complete Unknown
- Colman Domingo – Sing Sing
- Ralph Fiennes – Conclave
- Sebastian Stan – The Apprentice
Best supporting actress
- WINNER: Zoe Saldaña – Emilia Pérez
- Monica Barbaro – A Complete Unknown
- Ariana Grande – Wicked
- Felicity Jones – The Brutalist
- Isabella Rossellini – Conclave
Best supporting actor
- WINNER: Kieran Culkin – A Real Pain
- Yura Borisov – Anora
- Edward Norton – A Complete Unknown
- Guy Pearce – The Brutalist
- Jeremy Strong – The Apprentice
Best director
- WINNER: Sean Baker – Anora
- Jacques Audiard – Emilia Pérez
- Brady Corbet – The Brutalist
- Coralie Fargeat – The Substance
- James Mangold – A Complete Unknown
Best international feature
- WINNER: I’m Still Here – Brazil
- The Girl with the Needle – Denmark
- Emilia Pérez – France
- The Seed of the Sacred Fig – Germany
- Flow – Latvia
Best animated feature
- WINNER: Flow
- Inside Out 2
- Memoir of a Snail
- Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
- The Wild Robot
Best original screenplay
- WINNER: Anora – Sean Baker
- The Brutalist – Brady Corbet and Mona Fastvold
- A Real Pain – Jesse Eisenberg
- September 5 – Moritz Binder, Tim Fehlbaum, Alex David
- The Substance – Coralie Fargeat
Best adapted screenplay
- WINNER: Conclave – Peter Straughan
- A Complete Unknown – Jay Cocks and James Mangold
- Emilia Pérez – Jacques Audiard
- Nickel Boys – RaMell Ross and Joslyn Barnes
- Sing Sing – Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar
Best original song
- WINNER: El Mal – Emilia Pérez
- Never Too Late – Elton John: Never Too Late
- Mi Camino – Emilia Pérez
- Like A Bird – Sing Sing
- The Journey – The Six Triple Eight
Best original score
- WINNER: The Brutalist
- Conclave
- Emilia Pérez
- Wicked
- The Wild Robot
Best documentary feature
- WINNER: No Other Land
- Black Box Diaries
- Porcelain War
- Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat
- Sugarcane
Best costume design
- WINNER: Wicked
- Nosferatu
- A Complete Unknown
- Conclave
- Gladiator II
Best make-up and hairstyling
- WINNER: The Substance
- A Different Man
- Emilia Pérez
- Nosferatu
- Wicked
Best production design
- WINNER: Wicked
- The Brutalist
- Dune: Part Two
- Nosferatu
- Conclave
Best sound
- WINNER: Dune: Part Two
- A Complete Unknown
- Emilia Pérez
- Wicked
- The Wild Robot
Best film editing
- WINNER: Anora
- The Brutalist
- Conclave
- Emilia Pérez
- Wicked
Best cinematography
- WINNER: The Brutalist
- Dune: Part Two
- Emilia Pérez
- Maria
- Nosferatu
Best visual effects
- WINNER: Dune: Part Two
- Alien: Romulus
- Better Man
- Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
- Wicked
Best live action short
- WINNER: I’m Not a Robot
- Anuja
- The Last Ranger
- A Lien
- The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent
Best animated short
- WINNER: In the Shadow of the Cypress
- Beautiful Men
- Magic Candies
- Wander to Wonder
- Yuck!
Best documentary short
- WINNER: The Only Girl in the Orchestra
- Death by Numbers
- I Am Ready, Warden
- Incident
- Instruments of a Beating Heart