‘Anora’ takes the Oscar for best picture, director and actress; ‘No Other Land’ wins best documentary

HOLLYWOOD: Anora a tragicomic Cinderella story set in a murky modern world of New York strippers, Russian billionaires and incompetent gangsters, won the coveted Oscar for best picture at the 97th Academy Awards. Mikey Madison and Sean Baker took the award for best actress and best director respectively on Sunday. Adrien Brody has taken his second Oscar for Brutalist. Palestinian-Israeli documentary feature No Other Land has won the award for the best documentary feature.

Balancing a nuanced portrayal of sex work with emotional heartbreak and crowd-pleasing farce, US indie director Sean Baker’s film about a young escort marrying an oligarch’s son seduced Academy Awards voters to claim the industry’s top prize. The movie with a paltry budget bested its nine competitors including stiff competition from Conclave and The Brutalist to take home the statuette. The movie with a paltry budget bested its nine competitors including stiff competition from Conclave and The Brutalist to take home the statuette.

Porn stars: Oscar favorite ‘Anora’ gets sex work right

Palestinian-Israeli documentary feature No Other Land which depicts the alliance between a Palestinian activist and an Israeli journalist amid the oppression if Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) on the occupied West Bank, won the documentary feature film Oscar.

Palestinian Basel Adra, born in 1996, and journalist Yuval Abraham, born in 1995 accepted the award at Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre.

The film shows Adra resisting the forced displacement of Palestinians by the Israeli army in the West Bank community of Masafer Yatta, and how soldiers tear down homes, evicting residents to create a military training zone.

Adra and Abraham become friends, but their relationship is challenged by the gap in their living conditions. Adra said that the film No Other Land reflects the harsh reality that the Palestinians have been enduring for decades and still resist as they call on the world to take serious actions to stop the injustice and to stop the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians.

Here is the complete list:

• Best Film: Anora
• Best Director: Sean Baker for Anora
• Best Actor: Adrien Brody for Brutalist
• Best Actress: Mikey Madison for Anora
• Best International Film: I’m Still Here (Brazil)
• Best Supporting Actor: Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain
• Best Supporting Actress: Zoe Saldaña, Emilia Pérez
• Best Original Screenplay: Anora
• Best Adapted Screenplay: Conclave
• Best Animated Feature Film: Flow
• Best Animated Short Film: In the Shadow of the Cypress
• Best Documentary (Feature): No Other Land
• Best Documentary (Short): The Only Girl in the Orchestra
• Best Original Score: The Brutalist
• Best Original Song: El Mal from Emilia Pérez
• Best Sound: Dune: Part Two
• Best Production Design: Wicked
• Best Live Action Short Film: I’m Not a Robot
• Best Cinematography: The Brutalist
• Best Makeup and Hairstyling: The Substance
• Best Costume Design: Wicked
• Best Visual Effects: Dune: Part Two
• Best Film Editing: Anora