Published on March 25, 2026
The 89th Academy Awards unfolded with glamour and controversy, evoking sharp critiques of President Trump, celebrating black artists, and culminating in a monumental blunder regarding the Best Picture award.
This year, six golden statuettes were awarded to African Americans—absent from last year’s ceremony—while the frontrunner with 14 nominations, *La La Land*, walked away with six Oscars, including Best Director for Damien Chazelle, who at 31 became the youngest to win in that category, and Best Actress for Emma Stone. The film also garnered awards for Best Cinematography, Production Design, Original Score, and Original Song for “City of Stars,” performed solely on piano . *La La Land* is a classic musical that started as a favorite, paying tribute to the genre’s rich history.
However, the Oscar for Best Picture—a mishap involving Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway, the veterans of *Bonnie and Clyde*, in the announcement—went to the more unconventional film *Moonlight*, which depicts the challenging life of a gay drug dealer. Its lead actor, Mahershala Ali, secured the Best Supporting Actor award, alongside Viola Davis, who received the Best Supporting Actress honor for her powerful performance in *Fences*, delivering one of the evening’s most emotional speeches.
Another intense drama, *Manchester *, captured the Oscars for Best Actor for Casey Affleck and Best Original Screenplay, penned Lonergan. Meanwhile, Mel Gibson’s film *Hacksaw Ridge* received two technical Oscars for Best Film Editing and Sound, although his contributions did not culminate in a win for Best Director. Martin Scorsese left empty-handed for his work on *Silence*, while Canadian filmmaker Denis Villeneuve took home an Oscar for Best Sound Mixing for *Arrival*. The Spanish film *Timecode*, helmed énez, also fell short of winning Best Short Film, with that award going to the Hungarian film *Mindenski*.
Iranian director Asghar Farhadi, who declined to attend the ceremony in protest against the travel ban affecting citizens from several Muslim-majority countries, won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film for *The Salesman*. Coincidentally, this is his second time winning, having previously garnered the award five years ago for *A Separation*. The Oscar for Best Documentary was awarded to *O.J.: Made in America*, a seven-hour examination of O.J. Simpson, a former football star accused of murdering his wife.
Host Jimmy Kimmel praised the esteemed actress Meryl Streep—whom President Trump has called “overrated”—as she received a standing ovation from the audience at the Kodak Theatre for her twentieth nomination for *Florence Foster Jenkins*. However, Streep fell short of securing her fourth Oscar, as did favorite Natalie Portman for her role in *Jackie*, a biopic about Jacqueline Kennedy.
Reflecting on the event, some critics expressed disappointment, noting the lack of standout films and professionalism in the award presentations. Hollywood, the former Mecca of cinema, is seen as needing to strive for higher artistic and ethical standards.