It was a great ceremony for the Anora team which picked most wins at this year's Academy Awards. The 97th Academy Awards had Conan O'Brien as its host with the whos who of the Hollywodo celebrity world in attendance. Among the films, Anora was a surprise winner which picked most awards in major categories including Best Film, Best Actress for Mikey Madison and Best Director for Sean Baker.

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Exhilarated on the win, Sean Baker took to the stage and thanked his mother for introducing him to films. He mentioned he was introduced to films at a tender age of five. Sean went on to say that it was his mother's birthday, so he wanted to thank his mom for introducing him to films. 

Encourage watching films in movie theatres

The Oscar winner also spoke at length about the idea of watching movies in theatres. Before he began his speech on why we must encourage people to watch films in theatres, he said, "We’re all here tonight and watching this broadcast because we love movies. Where did we fall in love with the movies? At the movie theater. Watching a film in the theater with an audience is an experience. We can laugh together, cry together, and, in a time in which the world can feel very divided, this is more important than ever. It’s a communal experience you don’t get at home. And right now, the theater-going experience is under threat."

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He added, "Movie theaters, especially independently-owned theaters are struggling. During the pandemic, we lost 1,000 screens in the U.S. And we continue to lose them regularly. If we don’t reverse this trend, we’ll be losing a vital part of our culture. This is my battle cry.”

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Anora won Best Film, Best Director

Sean Baker won Best Director for Anora and the film was also crowned Best Film Oscars. The two Academy Awards have been closley linked through the history of the awards. Of the 89 films that won Best Picture and were also nominated for Best Director, 68 won the award.

Other films that made a buzz at this year's Oscars was The Brutalist, A Complete Unknown, Conclave, Dune: Part Two, Emilia Perez, I’m Still Here, Nickel Boys, The Substance and Wicked. 

Oscars 2025 Full Winners List | Here is the complete list of winners