The 2021 Oscars – or the 93rd Academy Awards, to give them their full, official title – were handed out on Sunday night, with history made more than once. Most notably, Nomadland director Chloé Zhao became the first Asian woman to lift the directing trophy, while Minari's Youn Yuh-jung was named the second Asian woman to win for acting.
With a producing team that included Steven Soderbergh, this year's ceremony looked to eschew the Zoompocalypse that has afflicted so many award events this year (and lots of our lives). The physical, in-person aspect was back as much as possible. The event was hosted mostly at LA's Union Station (with some moments at the ceremony's usual haunt of the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, eerily empty), and had the vibe of a nightclub more than a traditional gong show. Mostly, it was about the makers and performers. The speeches were allowed to run as long as needed, and there was a pleasing focus on talking up those nominated rather than long clip packages about certain films or random movie-adjacent subjects. It was inclusive, diverse and felt refreshing if still slightly strange thanks to the necessary safety protocols, but took an unusual left turn when the Best Picture award was given out before the main acting categories.
Brits did well, with Emerald Fennell scoring Best Screenplay for Promising Young Woman and Daniel Kaluuya taking home Best Supporting Actor, while making his poor mum blush while talking about his parents having sex. There were a lot of expected winners – Soul triumphed again, the Ma Rainey's Black Bottom team got more awards for their hair, make-up and costuming efforts, while Nomadland was the Best Picture, even if it didn't quite win everything that it might have.
Here is the full list of winners:
Best Picture
Nomadland – Winner
The Father
Judas And The Black Messiah
Mank
Minari
Promising Young Woman
Sound Of Metal
The Trial Of The Chicago 7
Best Director
Chloé Zhao - Nomadland – Winner
Thomas Vinterberg - Another Round
David Fincher - Mank
Lee Isaac Chung - Minari
Emerald Fennell - Promising Young Woman
Best Actress
Frances McDormand - Nomadland – Winner
Viola Davis - Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Andra Day - The United States V. Billie Holiday
Vanessa Kirby - Pieces Of A Woman
Carey Mulligan - Promising Young Woman
Best Actor
Anthony Hopkins - The Father – Winner
Riz Ahmed - Sound Of Metal
Chadwick Boseman - Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Gary Oldman - Mank
Steven Yeun - Minari
Best Supporting Actress
Yuh-Jung Youn - Minari – Winner
Maria Bakalova - Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
Glenn Close - Hillbilly Elegy
Olivia Colman - The Father
Amanda Seyfried - Mank
Best Supporting Actor
Daniel Kaluuya - Judas And The Black Messiah – Winner
Sacha Baron Cohen - The Trial Of The Chicago 7
Leslie Odom Jr. - One Night In Miami
Paul Raci - Sound Of Metal
Lakeith Stanfield - Judas And The Black Messiah
Best Adapted Screenplay
The Father - Christopher Hampton, Florian Zeller - Winner
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm - Peter Baynham, Sacha Baron Cohen, Jena Friedman, Anthony Hines, Lee Kern, Dan Mazer, Nina Pedrad, Erica Rivinoja, Dan Swimer
Nomadland - Chloé Zhao
One Night In Miami - Kemp Powers
The White Tiger - Ramin Bahrani
Best Original Screenplay
Promising Young Woman - Emerald Fennell – Winner
Judas And The Black Messiah - Will Berson, Shaka King, Keith Lucas, Kenneth Lucas
Minari - Lee Isaac Chung
Sound Of Metal - Abraham Marder, Darius Marder, Derek Cianfrance
The Trial Of The Chicago 7 - Aaron Sorkin
Best Costume Design
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom - Winner
Emma
Mank
Mulan
Pinocchio
Best Original Score
Soul – Winner
Da 5 Bloods
Mank
Minari
News Of The World
Best Sound
Sound Of Metal – Winner
Greyhound
Mank
News Of The World
Soul
Best Animated Feature Film
Soul – Winner
Onward
Over The Moon
Shaun The Sheep Movie: Farmageddon
Wolfwalkers
Best Cinematography
Mank – Winner
Judas And The Black Messiah
News Of The World
Nomadland
The Trial Of The Chicago 7
Best Documentary Feature
My Octopus Teacher – Winner
Collective
Crip Camp
The Mole Agent
Best Film Editing
Sound Of Metal – Winner
The Father
Nomadland
Promising Young Woman
The Trial Of The Chicago 7
Best International Feature Film
Another Round - Denmark – Winner
Better Days - Hong Kong
Collective - Romania
The Man Who Sold His Skin - Tunisia
Quo Vadis, Aida?- Bosnia and Herzegovina
Best Makeup And Hairstyling
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom – Winner
Emma
Hillbilly Elegy
Mank
Pinocchio
Best Original Song
Fight For You - Judas And The Black Messiah – Winner
Hear My Voice - The Trial Of The Chicago 7
Húsavík - Eurovision Song Contest: The Story Of Fire Saga
Io Si - Seen - The Life Ahead
Speak Now - One Night In Miami
Best Production Design
Mank – Winner
The Father
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
News of the World
Tenet
Best Visual Effects
Tenet Winner
Love And Monsters
The Midnight Sky
Mulan
The One And Only Ivan
Best Live Action Short Film
Two Distant Strangers – Winner
Feeling Through
The Letter Room
The Present
White Eye
Best Documentary Short Subject
Colette – Winner
A Concerto Is A Conversation
Do Not Split
Hunger Ward
A Love Song for Latasha
Best Animated Short Film
If Anything Happens I Love You – Winner
Burrow
Genius Loci
Opera
Yes-People