The records broken at the 2022 Oscars
The milestones include the first award for a male deaf actor and back-to-back wins by female directors.
The 2022 Oscars set new records for diversity and representation, besides giving long-awaited recognition for two big-screen veterans.
Here are some of the key milestones:
– First back-to-back wins by female directors
Jane Campion’s award for best director, for the tense Western drama The Power of the Dog, comes just a year after Chloe Zhao’s victory with the film Nomadland.
It represents the first back-to-back wins by women in this category since the Oscars began in 1929.
Campion had already broken new ground this year by becoming the only woman to be nominated twice for best director.
Her first nod came nearly 30 years ago in 1994, for The Piano.
She didn’t win in 1994, but success in 2022 means Campion is now the third female in the history of the Academy Awards to be named best director, after Chloe Zhao in 2021 and Kathryn Bigelow in 2010 (for The Hurt Locker).
– First win for a male deaf actor
Troy Kotsur is the first male deaf performer to win an Oscar, having being named best supporting actor for his role in the film Coda.
It is only the second time a deaf performer has won an Academy Award for acting, coming 35 years after Marlee Matlin was named best actress for Children Of A Lesser God.
– First ‘character’ to twice win best supporting actress
In 1962, Rita Moreno won the Oscar for best supporting actress for her role as Anita in the original film adaptation of the musical West Side Story.
Exactly 60 years later, Ariana DeBose won best supporting actress for playing the same role – Anita – in Steven Spielberg’s new version of the same film.
– First streaming service to win best film
Apple TV+ is the first streaming service to receive an Oscar for best film, winning for Coda.
The company beat off strong competition from Netflix, which had two movies up for the award, The Power of the Dog and Don’t Look Up.
Netflix has had several productions nominated in this category in recent years, including Roma in 2019, The Irishman in 2020 and The Trial of the Chicago 7 in 2021.
But Coda is the one of the first ever films to be distributed by Apple TV+, and its win this year means Netflix’s wait for Oscar glory goes on.
– First Oscars for two big-screen veterans
Sir Kenneth Branagh has been nominated for Academy Awards across seven different categories during his career – itself an Oscars record – including best actor, but until this year had always come away empty-handed.
His win for best original screenplay, for the film Belfast, comes four decades after he made his screen acting debut on BBC television in 1982.
Another actor with a long career on the screen, Will Smith, also picked up his first ever Academy Award this year, for best actor in the film King Richard.
Smith made his film debut 30 years ago in the film Where the Day Takes You, and had previously been twice nominated for the best actor Oscar, for Ali in 2002 and The Pursuit of Happyness in 2007.
– And one record that remains unbroken:
Ari Wegner this year became only the second woman in the history of the Oscars to be nominated for best cinematography, for her work on The Power Of The Dog.
No female has ever won the award, but despite being tipped as one of the frontrunners, Wegner lost out on the night to fellow Australian Greig Fraser, who shot the sci-fi epic Dune – a repeat of what happened at the Baftas earlier this month.
It means the list of winners of the best cinematography Oscar is still a men-only zone.
