MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
One of the big winners of last night's Academy Awards was not picked up by any American distributors. Despite that, "No Other Land," made by a Palestinian-Israeli collective, claimed the Oscar for documentary feature film. Palestinian filmmaker Basel Adra spoke with Leila back in November.
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BASEL ADRA: I always thought that when the people would see what's happening in the videos that we - I risk my life and other Palestinians risk their lives to film, it would change something.
MARTIN: NPR entertainment correspondent Mandalit del Barco has more from Oscar night. Good morning.
MANDALIT DEL BARCO, BYLINE: Good morning.
MARTIN: Or I should probably say good evening, 'cause you probably haven't been to bed yet.
DEL BARCO: Hasn't ended yet.
MARTIN: No. Well, you were in the room when the team behind "No Other Land" picked up their Oscar. What did they say?
DEL BARCO: Yeah. Well, Basel Adra talked about how he had hoped his daughter would not have to face violence and displacement like he's had to. He spoke out against what he called the ethnic cleansing of Palestinian people. So did co-director Yuval Abraham, who's an Israeli journalist.
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YUVAL ABRAHAM: When I look at Basel, I see my brother, but we are unequal. We live in a regime where I am free under civilian law, and Basel is under military laws that destroy his life and he cannot control. There is a different path - a political solution without ethnic supremacy, with national rights for both of our people.
DEL BARCO: Abraham said that U.S. foreign policy is helping to block that path. But most of the Oscars ceremony was apolitical, except for just a couple of moments, like this one from host Conan O'Brien talking about the success of the film "Anora." It's the story of a Brooklyn sex worker who marries the son of a Russian oligarch.
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CONAN O'BRIEN: I guess Americans are excited to see somebody finally stand up to a powerful Russian.
(OOHING)
O'BRIEN: Our...
DEL BARCO: That film, "Anora," went on to win best picture.
MARTIN: Not just picture, but I am seeing that it was the big winner of the night. Was that a surprise, Mandalit?
DEL BARCO: Well, "Anora" had been one of the front-runners going into the ceremony, so it wasn't that much of a surprise, although, maybe a bit for Mikey Madison, who beat out Demi Moore and Fernanda Torres when she won the lead actress award. She thanked sex workers for sharing their stories. And so did director Sean Baker, who also wrote, edited and produced the movie. You know, he's been such an indie filmmaker. But here he was at the most Hollywood of ceremonies winning four Oscars for the same film. During his speech, Baker made a pitch for going to the movies.
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SEAN BAKER: Watching a film in a theater with an audience is an experience. We can laugh together, cry together, scream and fight together, perhaps sit in devastated silence 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 simply don't get at home.
MARTIN: Yeah, that was interesting. But still, the Oscars is a show about movies but made for television. So, Mandalit, what kind of show did they put on last night?
DEL BARCO: Yeah. Well, the ceremony kicked off with Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo singing a medley of songs from "The Wizard of Oz," "The Wiz" and "Wicked." And the Oz theme continued with Queen Latifah singing another song from "The Wiz" during a tribute to Quincy Jones. There was also a tribute to James Bond movies and a salute to Los Angeles and those who recently fought the devastating wildfires here.
There were other notable winners and a few firsts. Brazil won its first international feature film award for "I'm Still Here." And Paul Tazewell from "Wicked" became the first Black man to win the Oscar for costume design.
I was watching the ceremony from inside the theater, but apparently, some livestream viewers didn't get to see everything. I hear that Hulu glitched for some of the millions watching from home.
MARTIN: Well, I did it the old-school way. I watched it in my kitchen on the TV (laughter). Thanks, Mandalit.
DEL BARCO: Thank you.
MARTIN: That is NPR's Mandalit del Barco.
(SOUNDBITE OF DANIEL BLUMBERG'S "OVERTURE (BUS)") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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