It’s a year of multiple firsts at this year’s Oscars, the 93rd Academy Awards ceremony for the highest achievement in film.
Following is a list of major milestones this year.
The winners will be announced at a ceremony in Los Angeles on Sunday (Monday in South African time).
CHLOE ZHAO – First Asian woman and first woman of color to be nominated for best director (“Nomadland”).
EMERALD FENNELL – First woman to be nominated best director for her feature film debut (“Promising Young Woman”).
DIRECTORS – This is the first time two women have been nominated for directing in the same year.
WOMEN received a record 76 nominations across all categories.
RIZ AHMED – First Muslim to be nominated best actor (“Sound of Metal”).
[Mahershala Ali was the first Muslim actor to win for his supporting roles in “Moonlight” (2016) and “Green Book” (2018)].
CHADWICK BOSEMAN – First Oscar nomination for Boseman, who died of cancer in August 2020, before the release of his final film (“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”).
“JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH” – First best picture nominee made by an all-Black production team.
YOUN YUH-JUNG – First South Korean actor or actress to land an Oscar nomination (“Minari”).
STEVEN YEUN – First Asian American to receive a best actor nomination (“Minari”).
VIOLA DAVIS – Her fourth acting nomination makes Davis the most nominated Black actress in Oscar history. (“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”) She has won once.
ANTHONY HOPKINS – At age 83, Hopkins is the oldest best actor nominee ever.
TUNISIA – First nomination for the North African country (“The Man Who Sold His Skin”).
ROMANIA – First nomination for Romania (“Collective”), which is competing in both the international film field and best documentary categories.
MARIA BAKALOVA – First Bulgarian actress to be Oscar nominated (“Borat Subsequent Moviefilm”).
DIVERSITY – A record nine of the 20 acting nominees are people of color: Andra Day, Chadwick Boseman, Leslie Odom Jr., LaKeith Stanfield, Riz Ahmed, Daniel Kaluuya, Viola Davis, Steven Yeun, Youn Yuh-jung.
ACADEMY AWARDS CEREMONY – Will be held on April 25 at Union Station in downtown Los Angeles for the first time, as well as at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.
