Category Archives: Awards and prizes

No Other Land co-director condemns Academy’s letter to members after Hamdan Ballal attack

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Yuval Abraham criticised the Academy’s statement defending its silence after Israeli settlers attacked his co-director Hamdan Ballal

The Israeli director of the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land has condemned the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for its response to a violent attack on his Palestinian co-director Hamdan Ballal, who was beaten by Israeli settlers and detained by Israeli forces in the West Bank on Monday.

Earlier this week, Israeli journalist and filmmaker Yuval Abraham criticised the Academy for failing to publicly speak out in support of Ballal. Now he has criticised a statement issued by the Academy to its members on Wednesday, in which it appeared to defend its silence.

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‘Impressive, ingenious and affecting’ poem about missing an absent son wins National Poetry Competition

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Fiona Larkin’s poem uses Finnish grammar to explore her feelings about her son’s move from the UK to Brisbane

A poem inspired by the writer’s experience missing her son after he moved from the UK to Australia has won this year’s £5,000 National Poetry Competition.

Fiona Larkin’s poem, Absence has a grammar, was picked from nearly 22,000 entries.

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US playwright ak payne wins Susan Smith Blackburn prize

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Furlough’s Paradise, a ‘lyrical’ journey about grief, scoops award for female, transgender and non-binary playwrights

The Susan Smith Blackburn prize for female, transgender and non-binary playwrights has been awarded to the US writer ak payne for their poignant and funny two-hander Furlough’s Paradise.

The play has been described by payne as a “lyrical journey about grief, home and survival”. It follows two cousins, one of whom is on a three-day release from prison, as the pair attend a funeral in their childhood town.

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Adrien Brody breaks record for longest ever Oscar acceptance speech

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The actor, who won for The Brutalist, spoke for five minutes and forty seconds, beating Greer Garson in 1943

Adrien Brody has broken the record for the longest ever Oscars acceptance speech.

The 51-year-old, who picked up his second best actor Oscar on Sunday, spoke for five minutes and 40 seconds, beating Greer Garson, who spoke for five minutes and 30 seconds when she accepted for Mrs Miniver in 1943.

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Oscar winner’s shoutout for London music venue Cafe Oto stuns owner

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The Brutalist composer Daniel Blumberg mentioned the experimental music space in his acceptance speech

The co-owner of a cafe in east London that doubles up as a venue for creative new music in the evenings said he was stunned that an Oscar winner mentioned it during his acceptance speech.

Hamish Dunbar, of Cafe Oto in Dalston, woke up on Monday to find the 150-capacity venue had received the shoutout at the Oscars from Daniel Blumberg, the composer of The Brutalist score.

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Zoe Saldaña apologises to Mexicans offended by Emilia Pérez: ‘Never our intention’

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Best supporting actress Oscar winner addressed complaints about the Netflix musical after a journalist said it was ‘really hurtful’

Oscar winner Zoe Saldaña has apologised to Mexicans who were offended by controversial musical Emilia Pérez.

The star picked up the best supporting actress Oscar for her role in the Netflix movie and in the press room after her win, a journalist told her the film has been “really hurtful for us Mexicans”.

Anora takes home best picture Oscar

Adrien Brody and Mikey Madison win best acting prizes

Kieran Culkin and Zoe Saldaña win supporting awards

Anora’s Sean Baker wins for directing, editing ands creenplay

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The Oscars were silent on Trump, diverging from protests of past years

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No one uttered the US president’s name, and speeches bore few references to Gaza or Ukraine, focusing on the LA fires

The 97th Academy Awards had one of the longest run times for the annual show in recent history, yet the least mentions of the current political climate – with not a single person uttering the name “Donald Trump”.

While few people watch awards shows – least of all the Oscars – for political discussion, comments on world events have long been an expected part of the broadcasts. Trump himself has even weighed in on a show – at least once while it aired: last year, while campaigning for re-election, he posted on Truth Social and asked rhetorically whether there was ever a “worse host” than Jimmy Kimmel at the 2024 Oscars and criticized his opening monologue.

Anora takes home best picture Oscar

Adrien Brody and Mikey Madison win best acting prizes

Kieran Culkin and Zoe Saldaña win supporting awards

Anora’s Sean Baker wins for directing, editing and screenplay

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Anora dominates the Oscars as Mikey Madison named best actress and Adrien Brody wins for The Brutalist

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Sean Baker’s film picks up five awards including best picture while Israel-Palestine documentary No Other Land also gets major win

Low-budget comedy Anora has triumphed at this year’s Oscars winning five Oscars, including best picture and best actress while Adrien Brody took home best actor.

Anora, which follows Mikey Madison’s sex worker who gets married to the son of a Russian oligarch, premiered at the Cannes film festival last year and has become the fourth Palme d’Or winner to be named best picture.

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Sean Baker wins best director Oscar for Anora

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Director who made his name with microbudget indie films wins with his self-penned drama about a lapdancer who falls for one of her clients

Sean Baker has won the best director Oscar for Anora at the Academy Awards, which are taking place in Los Angeles, California.

A romance/thriller about a lapdancer who impulsively marries a Russian playboy, Anora stars Mikey Madison and Mark Eydelshteyn. It is Baker’s eighth feature, having made his debut with the microbudget indie Four Letter Words in 2000, and his fourth film since making a breakthrough in 2015 with Tangerine, a drama about trans sex workers shot on iPhones.

Anora wins best original and Conclave wins best adapted screenplay

Kieran Culkin and Zoe Saldaña win supporting prizes

No Other Land wins best documentary andFlow wins best animated feature

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Adrien Brody wins best actor Oscar for The Brutalist

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Former youngest-ever winner of best actor Oscar wins award again for his portrayal of fictional architect in Brady Corbet’s epic drama

Adrien Brody has won the Academy Award for best actor for his role in Brady Corbet’s post-war epic The Brutalist.

In 2003, Brody became the youngest ever winner of the same award, when he took the prize for his role in Roman Polanski’s The Pianist, aged 29 years, 343 days.

Anora takes home best picture Oscar

Adrien Brody and Mikey Madison win best acting prizes

Kieran Culkin and Zoe Saldaña win supporting awards

Anora’s Sean Baker wins for directing, editing and screenplay

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British composer Daniel Blumberg wins best original score Oscar for The Brutalist

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Sole previous scoring credit on a full-length film for the singer, guitar player and visual artist is The World to Come

The young British composer Daniel Blumberg has won his first Oscar for his second-ever musical score for a feature film, for Brady Corbet’s The Brutalist.

Blumberg, 34, won the Bafta award last month for the score, which has met with considerable praise and which plays a prominent role in the film. The Brutalist is the story of a fictitious Hungarian architect, László Tóth, who moves to the US after surviving the Holocaust.

Anora takes home best picture Oscar

Adrien Brody and Mikey Madison win best acting prizes

Kieran Culkin and Zoe Saldaña win supporting awards

Anora’s Sean Baker wins for directing, editing and screenplay

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I’m Still Here wins Oscar for best international film, becoming first Brazilian film to do so

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Brazil’s official entry beats beleaguered French favourite Emilia Pérez to the podium

I’m Still Here has won the Oscar for best international film at the Academy Awards, which are currently taking place in Los Angeles. It is the first Brazilian film to win the award – and was also the first to be nominated.

Directed by Walter Salles and starring Fernanda Torres, I’m Still Here is a political drama based on the true story of Eunice Paiva, whose husband Rubens was “disappeared” and murdered in 1970s Brazil. The film had to overcome a lineup including Danish true-crime story The Girl With the Needle, Iran-set legal drama The Seed of the Sacred Fig and trans gangster musical Emilia Pérez, which had been the hot favourite for the award.

Anora takes home best picture Oscar

Adrien Brody and Mikey Madison win best acting prizes

Kieran Culkin and Zoe Saldaña win supporting awards

Anora’s Sean Baker wins for directing, editing and screenplay

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No Other Land directors criticise US as they accept documentary Oscar: ‘US foreign policy is helping block the path’ to peace

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Self-distributed film about Israeli displacement of a Palestinian community beat out Porcelain War and Sugarcane

The West Bank-based film No Other Land has won this year’s best documentary feature Oscar.

The film, which is made by a Palestinian-Israeli collective, won out against competition from Black Box Diaries, Porcelain War and Sugarcane.

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‘I chose to NOT follow the gutless rules’: Francis Ford Coppola says he’s ‘thrilled’ by Golden Raspberry votes

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Veteran film-maker defends his sci-fi epic Megalopolis as it scores two Razzies from nominations that included ‘worst picture’

Francis Ford Coppola has said he was “thrilled” to accept multiple Golden Raspberry nominations for his film Megalopolis, which ended up winning two awards.

On Instagram, Coppola said that he was treating the nominations, which are voted for by Razzie members, who pay for the privilege, as a “distinctive honour … when so few have the courage to go against the prevailing trends of contemporary moviemaking!”

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Karla Sofía Gascón to attend Oscars despite tweet controversy

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The Emilia Pérez best actress nominee will be at Sunday’s ceremony with Netflix paying for all expenses incurred

The Emilia Pérez star Karla Sofía Gascón is reportedly set to attend this Sunday’s Oscars after controversy over bigoted tweets.

The Spanish actor, who is nominated for best actress, had been removed from the campaign trail by Netflix after resurfaced tweets led to a backlash.

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Sag awards 2025: Timothée Chalamet, Demi Moore, Kieran Culkin and Zoe Saldaña win major categories

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Screen Actors Guild awards go to Shōgun and Conclave ensembles, while Jane Fonda gives a rousing political speech while accepting a life achievement award

Timothée Chalamet has won best actor in a surprise upset at the 2025 Screen Actors Guild awards for his performance as Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown, with Demi Moore and the ensembles of Shōgun and Conclave also winning big.

Chalamet won best male actor in a leading role, his first in an awards race that has been led all season by The Brutalist’s Adrien Brody, who has picked up the Golden Globe, Bafta and Critics’ Choice awards and is still widely predicted to win the Oscar next week.

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Bashy, Darkoo and Odeal top winners at 2025 Mobo awards

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There are two awards apiece for the UK artists, while Nigerian singer Ayra Starr also wins two at Newcastle-hosted ceremony for Black musical excellence

Seventeen years since his debut single, British rapper Bashy has capped his long-awaited return to music with two wins at the 2025 Mobo awards, given each year to the best music of Black origin in the UK and overseas.

The 40-year-old vocalist and actor, born Ashley Thomas, won best hip-hop act as well as album of the year for Being Poor Is Expensive. While it didn’t make the UK charts, the album earned critical acclaim and a dedicated audience on streaming, drawn to its examination of race, mental health and working-class life in north-west London.

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Emilia Pérez wins top Spanish film prize amid Karla Sofía Gascón furore

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Best European film at Goya awards goes to musical at centre of storm over past social media posts written by its star

The multi-Oscar-nominated narco-musical Emilia Pérez, whose success has been overshadowed by the emergence of a series of racist and Islamophobic social media posts written by its star, Karla Sofía Gascón, won best European film at Spain’s prestigious Goya awards on Saturday night.

Gascón, the first out transgender woman to be nominated for a best actress Oscar, stayed away from the ceremony after posts came to light in which she called George Floyd “a drug addict swindler”, denigrated China, and said Islam was “becoming a hotbed of infection for humanity”.

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‘I was deeply upset’: Karla Sofía Gascón to miss Spanish ‘Oscars’ as storm over racist tweets continues

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The actor was due to attend the Goya awards on Saturday but has pulled out and has also been dropped by publishers

Karla Sofía Gascón will not attend this weekend’s prestigious Goya awards as the fallout from the Spanish actor’s racist and Islamophobic social media posts continues with her being dropped by her publisher and criticised by prominent politicians.

Gascón – the star of Emilia Pérez and the first transgender woman to be nominated for a best actress Oscar – is already understood to have been removed from the film’s campaigning materials by its studio, Netflix. Her comments have been described as “absolutely hateful” by the movie’s director, Jacques Audiard, while Gascón’s co-star, Zoe Saldana, has said the views expressed had saddened and disappointed her.

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Emilia Pérez director criticises Karla Sofia Gascón’s ‘inexcusable’ tweets

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Oscar nominee Jacques Audiard has called the social media behaviour of the actor ‘hateful’ in a new interview

The director of Emilia Pérez, Jacques Audiard, has responded to the controversial unearthed tweets of his Oscar-nominated star Karla Sofía Gascón, branding them “hateful”.

The French film-maker, who is also nominated for the best director Oscar, has expressed disappointment over the social media behaviour of Gascón, who had shown bigoted views towards people of colour, Muslims and increased diversity at the Oscars.

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