Canada's triumph at the Oscars 2023
Canadian filmmakers won four Academy Awards. Among them are Best Screenplay and Best Documentary.
The statuettes of the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences were presented in Los Angeles. The world's premier award has been honoring industry professionals for 95 years. Yesterday's success of Canadian filmmakers was tremendous.
One of the most moving moments of the evening was the announcement of Brendan Fraser as Best Actor. The Canadian-American performer was awarded the top honor for his role as a professor of literature in Darren Aronofsky's drama 'The Whale'. Fraser was a hero in the early noughties and extremely beloved for his role as Rick O'Connell in the adventure film 'The Mummy'. But after being harassed by the former head of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (they award The Golden Globes) Philip Berk, that happened in 2003, his career slowly began to fade and Fraser himself was sinking into depression. His role in 'The Whale' marked his return to cinema after many years of loneliness and creative lull.
The award for Best Makeup and Hairstyling went to Adrien Moreau, who also worked on 'The Whale'. This is not his first experience in big cinema. He previously worked as a makeup artist on such landmark films as 'X-Men: Days of Future Past', 'The Lighthouse' and 'The Revenant' which was partially shot in Canada.
Canadian director Sarah Polley, known for her role in 'Mr. Nobody', won the award for Best Adapted Screenplay for 'Women Talking. She was previously nominated as a screenwriter for her directorial debut 'Away from Her' based on the prose of Canadian and Nobel Prize winner Alice Munro, but she did not receive the award. This year fate has paid off and the Oscar for Best Screenplay has become a milestone in her career.
This year industry veteran and innovator James Cameron released a sequel to the epic saga of the planet Pandora. For the new film 'Avatar: The Way of Water' his crew received an Oscar for Best Visual Effects and was nominated 4 times. The statuettes were awarded to Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon, and Daniel Barrett.
After having been released the animation fantasy 'Turning Red' immediately became one of the most notable films of the year. This cartoon was created by the Chinese-Canadian director Domee Shi. She became the first woman at Pixar to direct a full-length animation film.
The winner in Best Documentary Feature is 'Navalny', directed by Daniel Roher. He previously participated in Toronto Film Festival, the biggest one on the North American continent, and now he wins an Oscar for his second film.
It's not uncommon for major films to be shot in Canada and Canadian filmmakers working in and out of Hollywood have consistently been contributing to the film industry. This year's tremendous success is another proof.
