The biggest awards of the entertainment industry – Academy Awards held last night after a two months delay and with new protocols and rules for the attendees as well as the nominations.
The 93rd Academy awards night was opened by Regina King who talked about the George Floyd trial, and unapologetically infused politics into entertainment. The whole night was largely dominated by actors and artists coming out and expressing their views regarding police brutality and injustice in America.
The night was one of its kind, being different than its prior award ceremonies in more ways than one. For the starters, the best actor award went to Anthony Hopkins for his role in The Father, making him the oldest winner of the prestigious award at the age of 83. The last Oscar he won was 30 years ago.
Chloe Zhao won the award for the best director for her film Nomadland, making her the first woman of color to win an academy award. Meanwhile, Youn Yuh-Jung also became the first Korean to win the best-supporting actress award for her jaw-breaking performance in Minari. Frances McDormand won the award for best actress for her earth-shattering role in Nomansland.
The best-animated feature film award went to Soul by Pixar studios. It became the first movie to be awarded without getting streamed in theatres or cinemas.
“Two distant strangers” won the award for a best live-action short film; which was loosely based on the incident of George Floyd’s death at the hands of the police. One of the directors of the movie Travon Free was seen donning a customized Dolce & Gabbana suit, which was embellished with the names of all the people who were killed by police across America. He even condemned the police brutality and asked for support to introduce newer police control legislations in his acceptance speech.
The ceremony was presented by many legendary actors and actresses as per the rituals; Reese Witherspoon, Brad Pitt, Harrison Ford, Hally Berry, and Zendaya are among the few names from the list.
The producers of the show worked day and night to produce a show which was supposed to be maskless and went under huge criticism because of the decision amidst the pandemic. But the show was mask-less and immense work was done behind the scenes such as testing and retesting and high levels of strict SOPs were followed to ensure the safety of the attendees and the guests.
