Eye For Film >> News >> Anora sweeps to Oscar victory

Anora sweeps to Oscar victory

Big wins for I'm Still Here, No Other Land and Flow

by Jennie Kermode

Anora accepts the Oscar® for Best Picture during the live ABC Telecast of the 97th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 2, 2025. Photo: ©A.M.P.A.S., Trae Patton/The Academy

Anora was triumphant at last night's Oscars, winning in five of the six categories in which it had been nominated. It was a victory nobody had really expected, least of all writer/director Sean Baker. Winning Best Original Screenplay early on in the night, he thanked members of the sex worker community for sharing stories with him, and said that he wished to share his award with them. Picking up the award for Best Editing, he thanked his dog, Bunsen. By the time he came to win Best Director and Best Picture, he seemed overwhelmed by the moment and not sure how to respond.

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande perform onstage during the live ABC Telecast of the 97th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 2, 2025. Photo: ©A.M.P.A.S., Phil McCarten/The Academy

"It really feels wonderful that the Academy is recognising independent film," he said later, backstage. "We always jump into these projects knowing that we will have to compete with budgets and films that have budgets that are literally almost 100 times what we are...so, you know, when we're actually able to do that, get into the same room as other films such as Wicked, a wonderful movie but a totally different type of a film from ours. it means that we're doing something right."

"I grew up in Los Angeles, but Hollywood always felt so far away from me, so to be here standing in this room today is really incredible," said Mikey Madison as she received her Best Actress award. She echoed Baker's tribute to sex workers. "All of the incredible people, the women, that I've had the privilege of meeting from that community has been one of the highlights of this entire incredible experience."

The evening's events opened with a rousing rendition of music from Wicked, performed by Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. While it wasn't the most energetic of Oscar nights, it did have its highlights.

Receiving the Oscar for Best Actor, an emotional Adrien Brody thanked his partner and her children for welcoming him into their lives and turning his life around. He added "I'm here once again to represent the lingering traumas and the repercussions of war and systematic oppression, and of anti-Semitism and racism, and of othering...I pray for a healthier and a happier and a more inclusive world, and I believe if the past can teach us anything, it's a reminder to not let hate go unchecked."

The first Oscar of the night went to Kieran Culkin, who won Best Supporting Actor for his work in Jesse Eisenberg's A Real Pain. In his speech he reminded his wife, as both laughed, that she had promised him they could have a fourth child if he won an Oscar.

No Other Land best documentary attend the Governors Ball following the live ABC telecast of the 97th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood in Los Angeles, CA, on Sunday, March 2, 2025. Photo: ©A.M.P.A.S., Oscar Aguila/The Academy

"I am floored by this honour," said Zoe Saldaña, winning Best Supporting Actress. "My grandmother came to this country in 1961. I am a proud child of immigrant parents. With dreams and dignity and hardworking hands, and I am the first American of Dominican origin to accept an Academy Award, and I know I will not be the last."

Her award was one of just two for Emilia Pérez, which had led the nominations with 13 but has since been subject to multiple controversies. It also won Best Song for El Mal.

Perhaps the most unexpected result of the night, and the most loudly celebrated, was No Other Land winning best Documentary Feature. "About two months ago, I became a father," said Basel Adra as he went up to accept it. "My hope to my daughter that she will not have to live the same life I'm living now, always fearing, always, always fearing settlers' violence, home demolitions and forcible displacements that my community, Masafer Yatta is living and facing every day under the Israeli occupation. No Other Land reflects the harsh reality that we have been enduring for decades and still resist, as we call on the world to take serious actions to stop the injustice and to stop the ethnic cleansing of Palestinian people."

"We made this film, Palestinians and Israelis, because together our voices are stronger," said his co-director Yuval Abraham. "When I look at Basel, I see my brother, but we are unequal...There is a different path, a political solution, without ethnic supremacy, with national rights for both of our people...It's not too late for life, for the living."

Isabella Rossellini arrives on the red carpet of the 97th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 2, 2025. Photo: ©A.M.P.A.S., Mark Von Holden/The Academy

Taking the award for Best Costume Design, for his work on Wicked, Paul Tazewell became the first Black man ever to win in that category. Speaking backstage later, he said that he would tell his younger self "Hold on tight, it will all be fine and the world is going to be wonderful."

Brazilian fans were over the moon about I’m Still Here winning Best International Film - a category in which they have been nominated multiple times without ever quite crossing the line. it was more important, they explained, because of what the film represents, dealing with a traumatic episode in their country's history which was kept silent for many years even after things began to change for the better. Director Walter Salles said "This goes to a woman who, after a loss suffered during an authoritarian regime, decided not to bend, and to resist, so this prize goes to her. Her name is Eunice Paiva."

In light of its sheer artistry, few could argue with Flow winning Best Animated Feature, but it also mattered because, like Anora, it was a truly independent production. "I'm really, moved by the warm reception our film has had," said director Gints Zilbalodis. "I hope that it will open doors to independent animation filmmakers around the world. This is the first time a film from Latvia has ever been nominated, so it really means a lot to us. We are very inspired and we hope to be back soon."

There was a preponderance of white, ivory and beige on the red carpet, along with some striking metallics. Timothée Chalamet made another brave costume choice, though a lemon yellow suit, which looked as if it had come straight from the set of a new Wes Anderson collaboration, may not quite be what his fans had been hoping for.

Erivo and Grande each chose to play to their characters with their choice of gowns, while Zoe Saldaña looked magnificent in burgundy, Halle Berry wore a tumult of mirrors and the only woman nominated for Best Director, Coralie Fargeat, kept in simple in shimmering black. Isabella Rossellini, meanwhile, paid tribute to the recently departed David Lynch by wearing a certain very special blue velvet gown.

Check out this year's list of nominees to see who the hopefuls were.

Those award winners in full:

Best Picture