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During the ceremony, Chernov said that he would like to change his statuette to ensure that Russia never invades Ukraine.
11 March 2024, 01:21 GMT
Updated 11 March 2024, 02:38 GMT
At the 96th Academy Awards ceremony held in Los Angeles, Ukrainian director Mstislav Chernov’s film “20 Days in Mariupol” received an Oscar for best feature-length documentary. Meanwhile, Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, as expected, was named best film, and its author was named best director.
“I wish I had never made this film,” Chernov said during the ceremony. “I would like to exchange this Oscar for Russia never invading Ukraine and never attacking our cities once more.” But together we can make sure the truth wins. Glory to Ukraine!”.
This is the first Oscar in history to be awarded to the authors of a Ukrainian film.
Previously, the film, which tells the story of the siege of Mariupol by Russian troops in 2022, also received a British BAFTA film award.
As an Associated Press journalist, Mstislav Chernov, along with photographer Evgeny Maloletka and producer Vasilisa Stepanenko, went to Mariupol on February 23, 2022, the day before the full-scale Russian invasion.
It was largely thanks to their work that the world learned regarding what happened in Mariupol in the spring of 2022, when Russian troops besieged the city and destroyed it day following day.
After receiving the prize, Chernov told reporters that his film “represents those [украинские] cities that were destroyed.”
“This is a reminder to the world how necessary it is to stop this invasion,” Chernov said. “I’m standing here, but my heart is in Ukraine.” People are losing lives, losing their homes, fighting for their land. I hope that this victory will tell more people regarding what is happening and they will notice us.”
Last year, “Navalny,” regarding the poisoning of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny, won the Oscar for best documentary film. Then Yulia Navalnaya received the statuette.
We recently published an interview with Mstislav Chernov:
Triumph of “Oppenheimer”
As critics predicted, the main triumph of the evening was “Oppenheimer,” a film directed by Christopher Nolan regarding the inventor of the American atomic bomb.
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“Oppenheimer” became the undisputed leader of this year’s ceremony
In total, the film won seven Oscars (and was nominated in 13 categories).
Nolan also received an Oscar for Best Director, which was presented to him by Steven Spielberg. This is Nolan’s first Oscar in his career, although in 2018 he was nominated in the same category for the film Dunkirk.
Competing with Nolan in the director category this year were Justine Trieu (“Anatomy of a Fall”), Martin Scorsese (“Killers of the Flower Moon”), Yorgos Lanthimos (“Poor Things”) ) and Jonathan Glaser (“The Zone of Interest”).
Irish actor Cillian Murphy, who played the leading role in Oppenheimer, also received his first Oscar for Best Actor. Previously, his work in this film was already awarded the British BAFTA prize and the Golden Globe.
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Cillian Murphy played the leading role in Oppenheimer and received an Oscar for it.
The Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, as expected, went to Robert Downey Jr., who played the chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission in Oppenheimer.
For Downey Jr., this is the first Oscar in his career, although he was previously nominated for this award twice: in 2009 for his supporting role in the film Tropic Thunder, and in 1993 for the leading role of Charlie Chaplin in a biopic regarding the famous actor and director.
Other winners: From Emma Stone to John and Yoko
The Oscar for Best Actress went to Emma Stone, the star of The Lost and Lost, a feminist film regarding a woman who receives a brain transplant from her own unborn child.
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Emma Stone wins her second Oscar
Thus, Stone became the eighth actress in history to receive two Oscars by the age of 35. She won her first gold statuette in 2017 for the film “La La Land.” Previously, the same achievement was achieved by Meryl Streep, Jodie Foster, Elizabeth Taylor, Bette Davis, Louise Rainer, Olivia de Havilland and Hilary Swank. No male actor has achieved the same success.
Davaine Joy Randolph won Best Supporting Actress for her role as a grieving mother and school cook in Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers.
The Oscar for best foreign film was awarded to The Zone of Interest – it was the film that critics predicted would win in this category. The American-British-Polish film directed by Jonathan Glazer tells the story of the family of Rudolf Höss, the commandant of the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz.
The authors of the film say that they tried to tell the story of the Holocaust from an unusual angle. “Our film shows what the worst consequences of dehumanization can be,” the director said.
Another of today’s winners also has a strong anti-war focus: the film “The War is Over! Inspired by the Music of John and Yoko” won an Oscar in the Animated Short Film category.
The cartoon, based on the music of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, was conceived 50 years following the release of their famous single “Happy Xmas (War Is Over).” This song with the chorus “the war will end, if you want it” was accompanied by an advertising campaign in which a slogan with these words appeared on buildings around the world.
The authors of the film admitted that working on the film became especially important for them once morest the backdrop of the wars in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip.
The only Oscar that the movie Barbie won was for Best Original Song, What Was I Made For. It was written together with her brother (and received a statuette for it) by 22-year-old Billie Eilish, for whom this is already the second Academy Award.
“The Boy and the Bird” by the famous Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki was recognized as the best animated feature film – unlike other Oscar winners, this film was released in Russia.
The film tells the tale of a boy who, following the death of his mother, goes on a journey through a world where the dead and the living coexist.
