Written by Kianna Best on Mar 3, 2025. Posted in Awards and Festivals

97th annual Academy Awards celebrate 2025 winners

Last night, Hollywood’s stars came together for the 97th edition of the Academy Awards, held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles California. Culminating the US awards circuit, the prestigious night was hosted by Conan O’Brien. Winners of the night included The Brutalist, Anora, Emilian Pérez, Wicked and many more.

L-R The Brutalist (courtesy Universal Pictures), Anora, (courtesy Universal Pictures), Emilia Pérez (courtesy Netflix), A Real Pain (courtesy Searchlight Pictures)

This year, the industry celebrations were jolted by one of the worst natural disasters in Los Angeles history, a topic on the tongues of many host and presenters throughout the circuit. No differently, the Oscars paid their respects to the many firefighters who have supported the affected communities as well as highlighting films shot in the city.

The awards circuit gave spectators a glimpse into the suspected successes of the night, and following suit,  top performer throughout, Anora, came out with a staggering 5 wins, including the prize for Best Picture and Best Actress for Mikey Madison. Sean Baker also made a sweep, winning four Oscars for his contribution to producing, editing, directing and writing the screenplay. 

Following close behind, The Brutalist took home three of the prestigious awards, with Adam Brody winning Best Actor. The film also took home the honour for Best Original Score, and Best Cinematography for Lol Crawley. 

After an opening performance by Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, including a belting rendition of Defying Gravity, Wicked took home the awards Best Production Design and a historical honour for Best Costume Design, led by Paul Tazewell, making him the first Black man to win the award. 

Israeli-Palestinian film No Other Land took home the award for Best Documentary, for their look into the displacement of Palestinians from their Masafer Yatta. Co directors Basel Adra and Yuval Abraham took to stage with their fellow filmmakers, making a poignant plea for an end to the violence and destruction to end, stating “together our voices are stronger” in emphasis of the Israeli and Palestinian collaboration. 

Other winners included FOCUS speaker Peter Starughan for Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay) for Conclave, El Mal from Emilia Pérez for Best Original Song, I'm Still Here by Walter Salles for Best International Feature, Flow for Best Animated Feature,  I’m Not A Robot for Best Live Action Short Film, Dune:Part Two for Best Visual Effects and Best Sound, The Only Girl in the Orchard for Best Documentary (Short Film), The Substance for Best Hair and Makeup, and In the Shadow of the Cypress for Best Short Film (Animated).