The 98th Academy Awards delivered a night of historic firsts and heartfelt moments, with Jessie Buckley becoming the first Irish woman to win Best Actress. The 36-year-old, clutching her Oscar backstage, reflected on a personal milestone: 'My daughter got her first tooth this week. It feels like some kind of crazy alchemy that all of these things are colliding on a day like today.'
Paul Thomas Anderson finally claimed his first Oscars after 27 years, winning Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Picture for 'One Battle After Another'. Ryan Coogler's 'Sinners' also triumphed, with Coogler winning Best Original Screenplay and Michael B Jordan taking Best Actor. Coogler paid tribute to his late uncle, saying, 'He was the closest thing I had to a grandfather. I’m so proud that he gave me the gift of his stories about the Mississippi.'
History was made by Autumn Durald Arkapaw, who became the first woman and first person of colour to win Best Cinematography for 'Sinners'. Backstage, she said, 'A lot of little girls who look like me will sleep really well tonight because they want to be cinematographers.' She added, 'You have to see you to be you.'
The ceremony featured a poignant In Memoriam segment, with tributes to Rob Reiner and Diane Keaton, and a showstopping performance by Barbra Streisand of 'The Way We Were'. Host Conan O'Brien struck a serious note, saying, 'These are very chaotic, frightening times. It’s at moments like these that I believe that the Oscars are particularly resonant.'
Other winners included Joachim Trier for 'Sentimental Value', the documentary 'Mr Nobody Against Putin', and 'Golden' from 'KPop Demon Hunters', which became the first K-pop song to win an Oscar, with the film also winning Best Animated Feature.
