Top 10 Oscar Winners 2021

The 93rd Annual Academy Awards were presented on Sunday night, April 25. So who won in this most unusual year?

“Nomadland” won Best Picture at the Golden Globes, Critics Choice Awards, Producers Guild Awards, BAFTA Awards, and Independent Spirit Awards, while its filmmaker Chloe Zhao was feted by the Directors Guild.

What do you think of the winners, and did any of them take you by surprise? Check out the list of winners below.

 

1.“Nomadland” – A woman embarks on a journey through the American West after losing everything during the recession. A poetic character study on the forgotten and downtrodden, Nomadland beautifully captures the restlessness left in the wake of the Great Recession.

AWARDS: Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actress: Frances McDormand, Peter Spears, Mollye Asher, Dan Janvey and Chloé Zhao

 

2.“Minari” -- Led by arresting performances from Steven Yeun and Yeri Han, Minari offers an intimate and heart-wrenching portrait of family and assimilation in 1980s America, following a Korean-American family that moves to a tiny Arkansas farm in search of their own American Dream

AWARDS: Best Actor: Yuh-Jung Youn

 

3.“The Father” – Led by stellar performances and artfully helmed by writer-director Florian Zeller, this film is a devastatingly empathetic portrayal of dementia, by Anthony Hopkins, a 80-year-old mischievous man , living defiantly alone and rejecting the carers that his daughter,

AWARDS: Best Actor & Best Supporting Actor:  Anthony Hopkins, Christopher Hampton, and Florian Zeller

 

4.“Promising Young Woman” -- Nothing in Cassie's life is what it appears to be -- she's wickedly smart, tantalizingly cunning, and she's living a secret double life by night. A boldly provocative, timely thriller, Promising Young Woman is an auspicious feature debut for writer-director Emerald Fennell -- and a career highlight for Carey Mulligan.

AWARDS: Best Original Screenplay: Emerald Fennell

 

5. “Mank” -- 1930s Hollywood is reevaluated through the eyes of scathing wit and alcoholic screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz as he races to finish "Citizen Kane." Sharply written and brilliantly performed, Mank peers behind the scenes of Citizen Kane to tell an old Hollywood story that could end up being a classic in its own right.

AWARDS: Best Cinematography & Best Production Design: Donald Graham Burt, Jan Pascale and Erik Messerschmidt

 

6. “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” --  In 1920s Chicago as a band of musicians await trailblazing performer, the legendary “Mother of the Blues,” Ma Rainey framed by a pair of powerhouse performances,  pays affectionate tribute to a blues legend -- and Black culture at large. 

AWARDS:  Best Costume Design, Best Makeup and Hairstyling: Ann Roth, Sergio Lopez-Rivera, Mia Neal and Jamika Wilson.

 

7. “Sound of Metal” – During a series of adrenaline-fueled one-night gigs, itinerant punk-metal drummer Ruben (Riz Ahmed) begins to experience intermittent hearing loss. An evocative look at the experiences of the deaf community, brought to life by Riz Ahmed's passionate performance.

AWARDS: Best Film Editing & Best Sound: Mikkel E.G. Nielsen, Nicolas Becker, Jaime Baksht, Michelle Couttolenc, Carlos Cortés, Phillip Bladh.

 

8. “Soul” – Joe is a middle-school band teacher whose life hasn't quite gone the way he expected. But when he travels to another realm to help someone find their passion, he soon discovers what it means to have soul.

A film as beautiful to contemplate as it is to behold, Soul proves Pixar's power to deliver outstanding all-ages entertainment remains undimmed.

AWARDS: Best Animated Feature & Best Original Score:  Pete Docter and Dana Murray Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, Jon Batiste.

 

9. “Judas and the Black Messiah” -- FBI informant William O'Neal infiltrates the Illinois Black Panther Party and is tasked with keeping tabs on their charismatic leader, Chairman Fred Hampton. An electrifying dramatization of historical events, this film is a forceful condemnation of racial injustice -- and a major triumph for its director and stars.

AWARDS: Best Original Song:  “Fight for You” from— H.E.R., Dernst Emile II, Tiara Thomas.

 

10. “Tenet”— A secret agent embarks on a dangerous, time-bending mission to prevent the start of World War III. A visually dazzling puzzle for film lovers to unlock, Tenet serves up all the cerebral spectacle audiences expect from a Christopher Nolan production 

AWARDS: Best Visual Effects -- Andrew Jackson, David Lee, Andrew Lockley, Scott Fisher