The Oscars

The Oscars

The Oscars, also known as Academy Awards, are presented annually to directors, actors and film writers as a reward for contributing exceptional work regarding the film industry. These are presented by The American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS).

The whole affair originated in 1929, at a private ceremony at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, in front of an audience of 270 people.

Since then, the awards have always been publicly broadcast, at first by radio then by at 1953, on TV. At first, results were given to newspapers at 11pm, the time of the awards. This soon changed, as the Los Angeles Times announced the winners before the ceremony began; as a result, since 1941, the Academy has used a sealed envelope to reveal the name of the winners. From 2002, the awards have been broadcast from the Kodak Theatre.

The most well known award is the Academy Award of Merit, or, as it is more popularly known, the Oscar statuette. Made of gold-plated britannium (93% tin, 5% antimony and 2% copper), it stands at 13.5 inches (34 cm) tall and weighs 8.5 lb (3.85 kg). It resembles a knight wielding a crusader’s sword standing on a reel of film, with five protruding spokes, each representing different important roles in film making; actors, writers, directors, producers and technicians. The statue takes on an art deco design.

There are also seven other types of awards presented at the events, which include the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award, the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, the Gordon E. Sawyer Award, the Scientific and Engineering Award, the Technical Achievement Award, the John A. Bonner Medal of Commendation, and the Student Academy Award.

A Film Festival is an organised event in which a number of films (usually quite short) are shown one after the other at a single venue. These festivals are typically annual events, with the first major film festival held in Venice in 1938. Entry fees must usually be paid by filmmakers wishing to show off their material in most film festivals if they wish their films to be considered for the event.

“A” festivals, or category one festivals, are the most well-known and best film festivals. These include festivals at Cannes, Venice, Toronto, Berlin, Shanghai, Moscow, San Sebastian, Montreal, Locarno, Karlovy Vary, Mar del Plata, Cairo and Tokyo.

Experimental Film Festivals are events, which show films of the experimental genre. There aren’t a great deal of major festivals in this category, but the Ann Arbor Film Festival has being going strong ever since 1963, and is the oldest continually operated experimental film festival in North America.

Animation Film Festivals are events, which show films primarily containing animation and include festivals such as Zagreb, Ottawa, Hiroshima, KROK, Anima Mundi and the Annecy International Animated Film Festival.

Environmentally Significant Film Festivals contain various short films concerning the state of the environment and informing the world of how we can improve it. 2009 also marks the first year of Yale University’s Environmental Film Festival.

Latin American Film Festivals include The Cartagena Film Festival, The Festival De Gramado, The Guadalajara International Film Festival, and The Dominican International Film Festival etc.

Famous North American Film Festivals include The San Francisco International Film Festival, The Torontino International Film Festival, The Seattle International Film Festival, and The New York Film Festival.

Asian Film Festivals include The Kara Film Festival, and The Pusan International Film Festival is the largest and a definite contender in the most significant film festivals in Asia.

Other types of festivals are The International Digital Film Festival in Romania, and Travelling Film Festivals.

Academy Awards (Oscars) Include:

Ø Best Actor In A Leading Role (includes Spencer Tracy, Jack Nicholson, Marlon Brando, Dustin Hoffman etc).

Ø Best Supporting Actor (includes Walter Brennan, Heath Ledger etc.)

Ø Best Actress In A Leading Role (includes Katharine Hepburn, Ingrid Bergman, Jane Fonda etc.)

Ø Best Supporting Actress (Shelley Winters, Dianne West etc)

Ø Best Animated Feature (Shrek, Happy Feet, WALL-E etc.)

Ø Best Animated Short Feature (Three Little Pigs, A Christmas Carol, A Close Shave etc.)

Ø Best Art Direction (Cedric Gibbons, Terence Marsh, Dante Ferretti etc.)

Ø Best Cinematography (Charles Rosher, Billy Williams, Guillermo Navarro etc.)

Ø Best Director (John Ford, William Wyler, Frank Capra etc.)

Ø Best Foreign Language Film (Shoe Shine, Z, The Lives Of Others etc.)

Ø Best Picture (All Quiet On The Western Front, Amadeus, No Country For Old Men etc.)

Other Academy Awards:

Ø Best Costume Design.

Ø Best Documentary Feature.

Ø Best Documentary Short Subject.

Ø Best Film Editing.

Ø Best Live Action Short Film.

Ø Best Makeup.

Ø Best Original Score.

Ø Best Original Song.

Ø Best Sound Editing.

Ø Best Sound Mixing.

Ø Best Visual Effects.

Ø Best Writing- Adapted Screenplay

Ø Best Writing- Original Screenplay

Retired Academy Awards Include:

Ø Best Assistant Director- 1933-1937

Ø Best Dance Direction- 1935-1937

Ø Best Engineering Effects- 1927-1928

Ø Best Original Story- 1927-1956

Ø Best Short Film- Colour- 1936-1937

Ben-Hur- 11 Awards and 12 nominations.

Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King- 11 Awards and 11 nominations.

Titanic- 11 Awards and 14 nominations.

West Side Story- 10 Awards and 11 nominations.

By Paddy Johnson 10S1