Oscars 2021: the winners
From Chloé Zhao's picturesque journey through the American west in Nomadland to Emerald Fennell's controversial rape-revenge thriller Promising Young Woman, here are this year's Oscar winners
Chloé Zhao and Frances McDormand behind the scenes on Nomadland (Photo: Searchlight Pictures/EPK)
Nomadland
Three wins: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress
This picturesque examination of nomadic life in the American West is currently the favourite, following a successful global premiere at the Venice Film Festival. Director Chloé Zhao (The Rider) adapts the non-fiction book by Jessica Bruder, and uses fictional traveller Fern to move through that remote world.
Frances McDormand won her third Oscar for her performance as Fern, and Zhao became the second-ever woman to win the Best Director Oscar (and the first woman of colour to win, too). Joshua James Richards was robbed of the Best Cinematography Oscar, with his vast, beautiful and rural visuals.
Read our five-star review
Mank
Two wins: Best Cinematography, Best Production Design
Hollywood loves movies about Hollywood, so it's no surprise that David Fincher’s black-and-white passion project, about the writer of Citizen Kane, received the most nominations. The directing is innovative, returning to the common style of performance in the 30s (when the film is set). The Oscar-winning cinematography glistens in monochrome. And Gary Oldman’s central performance as Herman J Mankiewicz is predictably outstanding.
Read our review
Judas and the Black Messiah
Two wins: Best Supporting Actor, Best Original Song
The Get Out stars Daniel Kaluuya and LaKeith Stanfield reunite for this French Connection-inspired political drama Judas and the Black Messiah. The story follows Black Panther member Fred Hampton (Kaluuya), who was killed by law enforcement in 1969. He was betrayed by William O’Neal (Stanfield), who befriended Hampton and infiltrated the Panthers. Kaluuya predictably won his first Oscar for the performance.
According to Variety, the film was incredibly difficult to make. Many studios, including the risk-takers at Netflix and A24, passed up the opportunity because of the budget and subject matter.
Read our review
The Father
Two wins: Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actor
Despite the favourite nominee being the late Chadwick Boseman, Anthony Hopkins (The Silence of the Lambs) deservedly won for his performance in The Father. Florian Zeller’s daring dementia drama unfolds with vividly cinematic direction and elliptically intelligent writing, winning for the latter.
Read our review
Sound of Metal
Two wins: Best Editing, Best Sound
Darius Marder’s debut feature film explores the experience of a heavy-metal drummer (Riz Ahmed) who suddenly loses his hearing. He starts to break down, leaning on his bandmate and partner (Olivia Cooke) before going into rehab. Abandoning any hope of recovering his hearing, he now has to find ways of coping with that loss.
Riz Ahmed made history as the first Muslim to be nominated for Best Actor, but was unsuccessful. The film scooped wins for Best Sound and Best Editing.
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Two wins: Best Costume Design, Best Makeup and Hairstyling
The late Chadwick Boseman was the favourite to win a posthumous Best Actor Oscar for this absorbing adaptation of the August Wilson play. But Anthony Hopkins was a tough one to beat. In Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Boseman explodes with energy across the screen as a young, smug and ambitious horn player. Davis plays the blues diva Ma Rainey as she records her latest album.
Their performances compete against each other at every turn. And although the film is a bit stagey, watching these gripping actors at the height of their powers is an endlessly immersive experience.
Read our review
Minari
One win: Best Supporting Actress
This 80s family drama from Korean-American director Lee Isaac Chung sparked some controversy back in December. When the Hollywood Foreign Press announced its Golden Globe considerations, they placed Minari in their Best Foreign Language category – thus excluding it from the top honours. Although much of the film is spoken in Korean, the story is based around an immigrant family in the States. It’s also produced by the American company Plan B Entertainment, which was co-founded by Brad Pitt.
The Academy’s decision to rename the Best Foreign Language Oscar as ‘Best International Feature’ has allowed Minari to compete in all the major categories. But the film only won one Oscar in the end, with Best Supporting Actress awarded to the vivid and brilliant Yuh-Jung Youn – playing the eccentric grandmother.
Read our review
Promising Young Woman
One win: Best Original Screenplay
Killing Eve showrunner and The Crown actor Emerald Fennell writes and directs this #MeToo revenge drama. Carey Mulligan (previously nominated for 2009’s An Education) stars as Cassie, a woman who deliberately lures suspicious, rapey men into a false sense of security and fulfils her vengeance. But she seeks out the males who are, apparently, ‘nice guys’ – the ones who outwardly want to help, but inwardly want to cause harm.
Emerald Fennell won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.
Read our review
The Oscars winners/nominations in full:
Best Picture
Best Director
Best Original
Screenplay
Best Adapted Screenplay
Best Actress in a Leading Role
Best Actor in a Leading Role
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Best Original Score
Best Original Song
Best International Feature Film
Best Animated Feature Film
Best Documentary Feature
Best Cinematography
Best Film Editing
Best Sound
Best Visual
Effects
Best
Production Design
Best Costume Design
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Humanitarian Award
The Motion Picture and Television Fund
Tyler Perry
Best Animated Short Film
Best Live Action Short Film
Documentary Short Subject
Three wins: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress
This picturesque examination of nomadic life in the American West is currently the favourite, following a successful global premiere at the Venice Film Festival. Director Chloé Zhao (The Rider) adapts the non-fiction book by Jessica Bruder, and uses fictional traveller Fern to move through that remote world.
Frances McDormand won her third Oscar for her performance as Fern, and Zhao became the second-ever woman to win the Best Director Oscar (and the first woman of colour to win, too). Joshua James Richards was robbed of the Best Cinematography Oscar, with his vast, beautiful and rural visuals.
Read our five-star review
Mank
Two wins: Best Cinematography, Best Production Design
Hollywood loves movies about Hollywood, so it's no surprise that David Fincher’s black-and-white passion project, about the writer of Citizen Kane, received the most nominations. The directing is innovative, returning to the common style of performance in the 30s (when the film is set). The Oscar-winning cinematography glistens in monochrome. And Gary Oldman’s central performance as Herman J Mankiewicz is predictably outstanding.
Read our review
Judas and the Black Messiah
Two wins: Best Supporting Actor, Best Original Song
The Get Out stars Daniel Kaluuya and LaKeith Stanfield reunite for this French Connection-inspired political drama Judas and the Black Messiah. The story follows Black Panther member Fred Hampton (Kaluuya), who was killed by law enforcement in 1969. He was betrayed by William O’Neal (Stanfield), who befriended Hampton and infiltrated the Panthers. Kaluuya predictably won his first Oscar for the performance.
According to Variety, the film was incredibly difficult to make. Many studios, including the risk-takers at Netflix and A24, passed up the opportunity because of the budget and subject matter.
Read our review
The Father
Two wins: Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actor
Despite the favourite nominee being the late Chadwick Boseman, Anthony Hopkins (The Silence of the Lambs) deservedly won for his performance in The Father. Florian Zeller’s daring dementia drama unfolds with vividly cinematic direction and elliptically intelligent writing, winning for the latter.
Read our review
Sound of Metal
Two wins: Best Editing, Best Sound
Darius Marder’s debut feature film explores the experience of a heavy-metal drummer (Riz Ahmed) who suddenly loses his hearing. He starts to break down, leaning on his bandmate and partner (Olivia Cooke) before going into rehab. Abandoning any hope of recovering his hearing, he now has to find ways of coping with that loss.
Riz Ahmed made history as the first Muslim to be nominated for Best Actor, but was unsuccessful. The film scooped wins for Best Sound and Best Editing.
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Two wins: Best Costume Design, Best Makeup and Hairstyling
The late Chadwick Boseman was the favourite to win a posthumous Best Actor Oscar for this absorbing adaptation of the August Wilson play. But Anthony Hopkins was a tough one to beat. In Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Boseman explodes with energy across the screen as a young, smug and ambitious horn player. Davis plays the blues diva Ma Rainey as she records her latest album.
Their performances compete against each other at every turn. And although the film is a bit stagey, watching these gripping actors at the height of their powers is an endlessly immersive experience.
Read our review
Minari
One win: Best Supporting Actress
This 80s family drama from Korean-American director Lee Isaac Chung sparked some controversy back in December. When the Hollywood Foreign Press announced its Golden Globe considerations, they placed Minari in their Best Foreign Language category – thus excluding it from the top honours. Although much of the film is spoken in Korean, the story is based around an immigrant family in the States. It’s also produced by the American company Plan B Entertainment, which was co-founded by Brad Pitt.
The Academy’s decision to rename the Best Foreign Language Oscar as ‘Best International Feature’ has allowed Minari to compete in all the major categories. But the film only won one Oscar in the end, with Best Supporting Actress awarded to the vivid and brilliant Yuh-Jung Youn – playing the eccentric grandmother.
Read our review
Promising Young Woman
One win: Best Original Screenplay
Killing Eve showrunner and The Crown actor Emerald Fennell writes and directs this #MeToo revenge drama. Carey Mulligan (previously nominated for 2009’s An Education) stars as Cassie, a woman who deliberately lures suspicious, rapey men into a false sense of security and fulfils her vengeance. But she seeks out the males who are, apparently, ‘nice guys’ – the ones who outwardly want to help, but inwardly want to cause harm.
Emerald Fennell won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.
Read our review
The Oscars winners/nominations in full:
Best Picture
- WINNER: Nomadland
- The Father
- Judas and the Black Messiah
- Mank
- Minari
- Nomadland
- Promising Young Woman
- Sound of Metal
- The Trial of the Chicago 7
Best Director
- WINNER: Chloé Zhao for Nomadland
- Lee Isaac Chung for Minari
- Emerald Fennell for Promising Young Woman
- David Fincher for Mank
- Thomas Vinterberg for Another Round
- WINNER: Emerald Fennell for Promising Young Woman
- Will Berson, Shaka King, Keith Lucas and Kenneth Lucas for Judas and the Black Messiah
- Lee Isaac Chung for MinarI
- Abraham Marder, Darius Marder and Derek Cianfrance for Sound of Metal
- Aaron Sorkin for The Trial of the Chicago 7
Best Adapted Screenplay
- WINNER: Christopher Hampton and Florian Zeller for The Father
- Ramin Bahrani for The White Tiger
- Peter Baynham, Sacha Baron Cohen, Jena Friedman, Anthony Hines, Lee Kern, Dan Mazer, Nina Pedrad, Erica Rivinoja and Dan Swimer for Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
- Kemp Powers for One Night in Miami…
- Chloé Zhao for Nomadland
Best Actress in a Leading Role
- WINNER: Frances McDormand for Nomadland
- Viola Davis for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
- Andra Day for The United States vs Billie Holiday
- Vanessa Kirby for Pieces of a Woman
- Carey Mulligan for Promising Young Woman
Best Actor in a Leading Role
- WINNER: Anthony Hopkins for The Father
- Riz Ahmed for Sound of Metal
- Chadwick Boseman for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
- Gary Oldman for Mank
- Steven Yeun for Minari
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
- WINNER: Daniel Kaluuya for Judas and the Black Messiah
- Sacha Baron Cohen for The Trial of the Chicago 7
- Leslie Odom Jr for One Night in Miami…
- Paul Raci for Sound of Metal
- Lakeith Stanfield for Judas and the Black Messiah
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
- WINNER: Yuh-Jung Youn for Minari
- Maria Bakalova for Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
- Glenn Close for Hillbilly Elegy
- Olivia Colman for The Father
- Amanda Seyfried for
Mank
- WINNER: Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross and Jon Batiste for Soul
- Terence Blanchard for Da 5 Bloods
- James Newton Howard for News of the World
- Emile Mosseri for Minari
- Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for Mank
- WINNER: Fight for You in Judas and the Black Messiah
- Hear My Voice in The Trial of the Chicago 7
- Husavik in Eurovision Song Contest
- Io Si (Seen) in The Life Ahead
- Speak Now in One Night in Miami...
Best International Feature Film
- WINNER: Another Round (Denmark)
- Better Days (Hong Kong)
- Collective (Romania)
- The Man Who Sold His Skin (Tunisia)
- Quo Vadis, Aida? (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Best Animated Feature Film
- WINNER: Soul
- Onward
- Over the Moon
- A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon
- Wolfwalkers
Best Documentary Feature
- WINNER: My Octopus Teacher
- Collective
- Crip Camp
- The Mole Agent
- Time
Best Cinematography
- WINNER: Erik Messerschmidt for Mank
- Sean Bobbitt for Judas and the Black Messiah
- Phedon Papamichael for The Trial of the Chicago 7
- Joshua James Richards for Nomadland
- Dariusz Wolski for News of the World
Best Film Editing
- WINNER: Mikkel EG Nielsen for Sound of Metal
- Alan Baumgarten for The Trial of the Chicago 7
- Yorgos Lamprinos for The Father
- Frédéric Thoraval for Promising Young Woman
- Chloé Zhao for Nomadland
Best Sound
- WINNER: Jaime Baksht, Nicolas Becker, Phillip Bladh, Michelle Couttolenc and Carlos Cortés for Sound of Metal
- Beau Borders, Michael Minkler, Warren Shaw and David Wyman in Greyhound
- Coya Elliott, Ren Klyce and David Parker for Soul
- Ren Klyce, Jeremy Molod, David Parker, Nathan Nance and Drew Kunin for Mank
- William Miller, John Pritchett, Mike Prestwood Smith and Oliver Tarney for News of the World
- WINNER: Mike Chambers, Andrew Jackson, Andrew Lockley and Scott R Fisher for Tenet
- Genevieve Camilleri, Brian Cox, Matt Everitt and Matt Sloan for Love and Monsters
- Nick Davis, Greg Fisher, Ben Jones and Santiago Colomo Martinez for The One and Only Ivan
- Sean Faden, Steve Ingram, Anders Langlands and Seth Maury for Mulan
- Matt Kasmir, Chris Lawrence, Max Solomon and Dave Watkins for The Midnight Sky
- WINNER: Donald Graham Burt and Jan Pascale for Mank
- Cathy Featherstone and Peter Francis for The Father
- Karen O’Hara, Mark Ricker and Diana Stoughton for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
- David Crank and Elizabeth Keenan for News of the World
- Nathan Crowley and Kathy Lucas for Tenet
Best Costume Design
- WINNER: Ann Roth for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
- Alexandra Byrne for Emma
- Bina Daigeler for Mulan
- Massimo Cantini Parrini for Pinocchio
- Trish Summerville for Mank
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
- WINNER: Matiki Anoff, Mia Neal and Larry M Cherry for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
- Dalia Colli, Anna Kieber, Sebastian Lochmann and Stephen Murphy for Pinocchio
- Patricia Dehaney, Eryn Krueger Mekash and Matthew Mungle for Hillbilly Elegy
- Marese Langan for Emma
- Kimberley Spiteri and Gigi Williams for Mank
Humanitarian Award
The Motion Picture and Television Fund
Tyler Perry
Best Animated Short Film
- WINNER: If Anything Happens I Love You
- Burrow
- Genius Loci
- Opera
- Yes-People
Best Live Action Short Film
- WINNER: Two Distant Strangers
- Feeling Through
- The Letter Room
- The Present
- White Eye
Documentary Short Subject
- WINNER: Colette
- A Concerto Is a Conversation
- Do Not Split
- Hunger Ward
- A Love Song for Latasha
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