Javier Bardem‘s presence on stage, who at the moment of presenting the Oscar for Best Documentary to Mr Nobody against Putin by David Borenstein, expressed support for a Free Palestine!: if these were perhaps the most evident acts of a ceremony where politics was nonetheless the elephant in the room, Sean Penn‘s absence at the 96th Academy Awards, where he was honored as Best Supporting Actor for The Battle of Baktan County by Paul Thomas Anderson, because, (reports Ansa), he was in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, in the two films competing for the podium, The Battle of Baktan County, which emerged victorious with six statuettes, including, in addition to the aforementioned, those for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Casting (a new award introduced this year and given to Cassandra Kulukundis), Best Editing (to Andy Jurgensen). And Sinners, which of the 16 nominations with which it had on paper ‘beaten’ its rival, saw four transformed into Oscars, albeit very significant ones: Best Original Screenplay to Ryan Coogler, Best Actor to Michael B. Jordan, Best Original Score to Ludwig Göransson, and Best Cinematography to Autumn Durald Arkapaw. For the first time a woman, and a woman of color, received the highest recognition in this category, for a film that uses horror, vampires and music to address segregation in the southern states of the 1930s and therefore, evidently, of today.
Two films that express political and social anxieties and which, ironically, both ‘come from’ Warner’s ‘stable,’ the studio most at the center of attention at the moment, protagonist of the Netflix-Paramount battle, won by the latter after months of negotiations, offers and counter-offers thanks to an agreement of $31 per share for the entire company, including CNN, with a total value of $110 billion.
Best Actress is, as expected (and hoped), Irish actress Jessie Buckley, splendid interpreter of Hamnet, another period piece that speaks volumes about our own times. On Mother’s Day in the United Kingdom, Buckley dedicates the award “to the beautiful chaos of a mother’s heart.” And she bursts into laughter, from joy and nervousness, upon receiving the statuette, just as Amy Madigan will do, Best Supporting Actress for the gem Weapons.
And to a woman, a producer, we also owe the small Italian presence among the winners: Valentina Merli, from Bologna and based in Paris, co-producer of the live action short Two People Exchanging Saliva.
APIC – Associazione Produttori Indipendenti Cortometraggio, extends warm congratulations to Merli, emphasizing how the value of the award is significant for the entire short film sector, a fundamental segment of the global audiovisual industry.
“The victory also takes on particular significance in light of the statements made by Merli herself, who lives and works in France, where she has developed her production activity. In commenting on the award, the producer emphasized how, in her view, cinema and culture in Italy do not receive adequate support, highlighting how in France the sector is perceived as being more accompanied and supported by institutions.” reads the statement released by APIC, which also reiterates, “its institutional commitment so that in Italy too, independent producers can operate in an industrial ecosystem capable of adequately supporting the short film genre.”
Absolutely expected, the Oscar for best international film to Sentimental Value by Joachim Trier; for Best Original Song, “Golden” from K Pop Demon Hunters (the song’s authors are Ejae, Mark Sonnenblick, Joong Gyu Kwak, Yu Han Lee, Hee Dong Nam, Jeong Hoon Seon and Teddy Park) which also won for Best Animated Feature. The Oscar for best visual effects goes to Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon and Daniel Barrett for Avatar: Fire and Ash. Frankenstein wins the statuette for Best Production Design (to Tamara Deverell and Shane Vieau), Best Costume Design (Kate Hawley), Best Makeup and Hairstyling (to Mike Hill, Jordan Samuel and Cliona Furey). The Oscar for best sound goes to Gareth John, Al Nelson, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Gary A. Rizzo and Juan Peralta for F1.
Best Animated Short is The Girl Who Cried Pearls; Best Documentary Short, All the Empty Rooms by Joshua Seftel and Conall Jones.
