Oscar Winners 2021

A Turbulent Year for Cinema

This year’s Academy Awards was different. The producers of the broadcast were challenged with filming at several locations to follow social distancing rules. The awards ceremony normally takes place at the shiny Dolby Theater in Hollywood. This year, however, Hollywood’s big night rolled out the red carpet at LA’s Union Station. Tables and seating arrangements were set up at the train station into safely-distant pods that sat just a few people. And while the event looked much different, the night was still a toast to filmmaking. Some Oscar winners were not in attendance. Some were wired into the broadcast from different states and even different countries.

With all of the challenges, however, there weren’t any major mishaps from a technical standpoint. One thing that was noticeably different, though, was the surprise in the order of awards. I was used to the winner for Best Picture getting announced last. This time around it was announced before Best Actress and Best Actor.

Notable highlights

Some Oscar winners we saw coming. Nomadland snagged some big ones, as expected. With that said, there were some surprises. The award for Best Cinematography hardly ever goes out to films shot in black & white. Schindler’s List (1997) and Roma (2018) are the only two black & white films to win Best Cinematography in the last 30 years. This year, Nomadland DP Joshua James Richards was the front-runner to win. The David Fincher film, Mank, which was shot on black & white, won the award. The Oscar went to DP Erik Messerschmidt. 

Also, the late Chadwick Bosman was the front-runner for Best Actor with his performance in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. And, as previously stated, the final award of the evening instead went to Anthony Hopkins for The Father. All of the awards were well-deserved. However, it seemed as though the structure of the ceremony was set up to deliver the last award to Boseman, who passed away last year after a battle with cancer.

2021 Oscar Winners

Best Picture

The Father

Judas and the Black Messiah

Mank

Minari

Nomadland

Promising Young Woman

Sound of Metal

The Trial of the Chicago 7

Best Actor

Riz Ahmed, Sound of Metal

Chadwick Boseman, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Anthony Hopkins, The Father

Gary Oldman, Mank

Steven Yeun, Minari

Best Director

Lee Isaac Chung, Minari

Emerald Fennell, Promising Young Woman

David Fincher, Mank

Thomas Vinterberg, Another Round

Chloé Zhao, Nomadland

Best Supporting Actress

Maria Bakalova, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm

Glenn Close, Hillbilly Elegy

Olivia Colman, The Father

Amanda Seyfried, Mank

Yuh-Jung Youn, Minari

Best International Feature

Another Round

Better Days

Collective 

The Man Who Sold His Skin

Quo Vadis, Aida?

Best Animated Feature

Onward

Over the Moon

Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon 

Soul

Wolfwalkers

Best Documentary Feature

Collective

Crip Camp

The Mole Agent

My Octopus Teacher

Time

Best Original Score

Da 5 Bloods

Mank

Minari

News of the World

Soul

Best Original Screenplay

Judas and the Black Messiah

Minari

Promising Young Woman

Sound of Metal

The Trial of the Chicago 7

Best Adapted Screenplay

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm

The Father

Nomadland

One Night in Miami

The White Tiger

Best Cinematography

Judas and the Black Messiah

Mank

News of the World

Nomadland

The Trial of the Chicago 7

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

Emma

Hillbilly Elegy

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Mank

Pinocchio

Best Costume Design

Emma

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Mank

Mulan

Pinocchio

Best Film Editing

The Father

Nomadland

Promising Young Woman

Sound of Metal

The Trial of the Chicago 7

Best Sound

Greyhound

Mank

News of the World

Soul

Sound of Metal

Best Live-Action Short

Feeling Through

The Letter Room

The Present

Two Distant Strangers

White Eye

Best Animated Short

Burrow

Genius Loci

If Anything Happens I Love You

Opera

Yes-People

Best Documentary Short

Colette

A Concerto is a Conversation

Do Not Split

Hunger Ward

A Love Song for Latasha

Best Visual Effects

Love and Monsters

The Midnight Sky

Mulan

The One and Only Ivan

Tenet

Best Production Design

The Father 

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Mank

News of the World

Tenet