‘Roma’, Lady Gaga, Regina King, Spike Lee and ‘Period. End of Sentence’ were the biggest and surprise winners at the 2019 Oscars.
The 91st Academy Awards, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honoured the best films of 2018.
The ceremony was held on February 24, 2019, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. AMPAS presented Academy Awards (commonly referred to as Oscars) in 24 categories.
Netflix’s ‘Roma’ became the first movie to win an Oscars for best foreign language film, although the 9th Mexican film to be nominated.
In accepting the award, director Alfonso Cuarón said he was inspired by films like “Jaws,” “Citizen Kane,” “The Godfather and “Breathless.”
Cuarón also took home an Oscar for best director for his work in the film. According to the Academy Awards, it was his 4th Oscar and second win on Sunday.
Accepting the award, he said, “I want to thank the academy for recognizing the film centred around an indigenous woman,” he said
Meanwhile, ‘Green Book’ star, Mahershala Ali won best supporting actor for his performance in the award-winning film.
Ali is the second African-American actor to win multiple Oscars after Denzel Washington. He is also a Golden Globe and Critics’ Choice winner.
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Lady Gaga won an Oscar for ‘Shallow’, the hit song from her acting debut “A Star Is Born”.
She was left in tears as she, along with her song writing team and producer Mark Ronson, took to the stage to accept the award for best original song.
Also, Rami Malek, who played Freddie Mercury, won best actor for “Bohemian Rhapsody.”
Malek is the first actor of Arab descent to win an Oscar and the second to be nominated for the coveted award, after “Lawrence of Arabia” star Omar Sharif.
Regina King won best supporting actress for “If Beale Street Could Talk”, making her the third black actress to win both an Oscar and a Primetime Emmy.
King, who has three Emmys, which she won in 2015, 2016 and 2018, joins Halle Berry and Viola Davis on this honour.
NAN reports that the award for best costume design went to Ruth Carter and in her own words, it was “a long time coming.”
Carter won for “Black Panther” and became the first African American to take home the statue.
She thanked Spike Lee for giving her her start and said she hoped she made him proud and also paid homage to the film that made her a trailblazer.