The 98th Annual Oscars!
Photo courtesy of Jonathan Goncalves/Pexels
Winning an award at the Oscars comes with gaining a very recognizable golden statue. It is an honor and so many deserving people who worked on the fantastic films of the past year got to go home with one of these statues in the latest Oscars.
Just last month, on Mar. 15, the Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, hosted their 98th annual ceremony. The Oscars are a celebration of all things film-related. Each of the movies and short films that came out in the past year are voted on by the Academy of Motion Pictures and Art Sciences, and are able to win awards that celebrate all aspects of the film, anywhere from the writing to the acting to the costumes, and so much more.
This year, the Oscars were hosted by Conan O’Brien, and it was his second time hosting the show according to an article by Forbes. As most of the awards are given out by actors, usually previous winners or nominees, the host’s main job is to introduce those who are sharing the stage with him and to provide hilarious comedy throughout the show. O’Brien was certainly a star at this! He opened the show with a skit of himself dressed as the character Aunt Gladys from Weapons (2025) running through the world of multiple movies that were nominated this year in order to get to the Oscars. Upon “arriving,” he did not hesitate to make jokes regarding the current political climate of the United States, according to Forbes, and claimed there was an alternate Oscars hosted by Kid Rock if anyone was uncomfortable with them, a reference to the alternate Super Bowl halftime show hosted earlier this year.
However, O’Brien also took a break from the comedy to celebrate what seemed to be the theme of the event, the idea that film is an opportunity to bring people together. According to The Hollywood Reporter, O’Brien said “[E]very film we salute is the product of thousands of people speaking different languages, working hard to make something of beauty.”
The collaboration it takes to make any kind of film, and the different people that hold each other up in the process has always been highlighted in the amount of gratitude so many people give in their acceptance speeches. They thank their co-stars, directors, and everyone who brought the film to life. “You’re not rattling [names] off. They’re people that mean something to you, that you couldn’t be here without them,” Amy Madigan said in her speech after winning the award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Aunt Gladys in Weapons (2025).
In fact, this year, appreciation for those who helped bring films to life expanded greatly with the addition of a brand new category to the Oscars. According to KTLA, this was the first time a new category was added in more than two decades, bringing an award for Best Casting to the Oscars. When actually presented in the ceremony, it consisted of a rather beautiful scene of five actors coming out and thanking the nominees personally for casting them. The award was actually given to Cassandra Kulukundis, who casted for One Battle After Another (2025), making her the very first winner of Best Casting in the history of Oscars.
The idea of togetherness does not just come from making the films, but also from watching them. When giving out the award for the Best International Feature Film—an honor which was given to the Norway film, Sentimental Value (2025)—Javier Bardem stated, “My love for cinema comes from its unique ability to connect the human experience across cultures.” Similarly, when KPop Demon Hunters (2025) won Best Animated Picture, the co-director, Chris Appelhans, said that “Music and stories have this power to connect us across cultures and borders.”
On top of winning Best Animated Picture, KPop Demon Hunters (2025) went on to make Oscars history when the movie's hit song, “Golden” won the award for Best Original Song. According to an article on The Guardian, this marks the first K-Pop song to win the award for Best Original Song at the Oscars. “Golden” was even performed live at the Oscars by its original singers, according to an article from People.
The song “I Lied to You” from the hit film Sinners (2025) was also performed live at the Oscars, guest-starring multiple celebrities according to Fader, which included Misty Copeland, Alice Smith, and so many more. Although “I Lied to You” did not quite earn Best Original Song, Sinners (2025) still earned many awards including Michael B. Jordan winning Best Leading Actor for playing the lead characters, Smoke and Stack. The cinematographer of the film, Autumn Durald Arkapaw, even became the very first woman to win the award for Best Cinematography according to an article in The New York Times.
The winner of one the most notable categories of the Oscars, which is Best Picture, ended up being One Battle After Another (2025), although it clearly had some absolutely stellar competition. Nonetheless, One Battle After Another (2025) went on to win a total of six Oscars according to the official website, including Best Directing and Best Writing in an Adapted Screenplay.
The past year was a great one for film, and it was a pleasure to see so many different and beautiful stories be recognized. For anyone interested in seeing the celebration of film and togetherness that the 98th Oscars Ceremony was, it is available to stream on multiple services, including Disney+ and Hulu.