James Friend ASC BSC wins Oscar for Best Cinematography

Netflix’s German war epic All Quiet on the Western Front brought home four awards: international feature film, original score, production design and cinematography.

James Friend ASC BSC took home the award for best cinematography, after also receiving the BAFTA earlier this year. Friend triumphed over Mandy Walker AM ASC ACS, Florian Hoffmeister BSC, Roger Deakins CBE BSC ASC, and Darius Khondji ASC AFC.

“It’s not my birthday, but I feel like it is,” Friend said as he accepted the Academy Award for his work on the Netflix film, referencing the previous speech from An Irish Goodbye, where the audience sang “Happy Birthday” for star James Martin. Among his emotional thanks, Friend attributed his success to his parents for supporting his decision to “join the circus of the film industry.”

Friend also thanked his entire crew, saying they “made this happen for me and made me look better than I am. And Edward Berger… just thank you so much… from the bottom of my heart thank you so much.”

Everything Everywhere All at Once however dominated this year’s Oscars, winning seven awards including best picture in a major night for Asian and Asian American representation.

The film saw wins for best actress, best director, best supporting actor, best supporting actress, best editing and best original screenplay at the 95th Academy Awards ceremony. It was the most nominated film of the night.

Michelle Yeoh has become only the second woman of colour to win the best actress Oscar following in the footsteps of Halle Berry back in 2002. “For all the little boys and girls who look like me watching tonight this is a beacon of hope and possibility,” she said, before adding: “Ladies don’t ever let anyone tell you you are past your prime.”

Ke Huy Quan was named best supporting actor for his role in the film, beating out Barry Keoghan and Judd Hirsch. He has become the first Vietnam-born actor to win an Oscar. “Mom, I just won an Oscar!” he said emotionally. “They say stories like this only happen in the movies, I cannot believe this is happening to me.”

Jamie Lee Curtis was also named best supporting actress for her performance in the A24 hit, triumphing over Angela Bassett and Kerry Condon. It was the veteran actor’s first ever nomination.

Best actor went to Brendan Fraser for his lead role in The Whale, beating out Austin Butler and Colin Farrell. He thanked director Darren Aronofsky for throwing him “a creative lifeline”.

Sarah Polley won the Oscar for adapted screenplay for Women Talking. “I want to thank the Academy for not being mortally offended by the words women and talking being so close together,” she said during her speech. Polley is only the ninth woman to win this category.

An emotional in memoriam segment was led by an emotional John Travolta whose Grease co-star Olivia Newton John died in August 2022. Other featured figures included Louise Fletcher, Ray Liotta, Robbie Coltrane, Angelo Badalamenti, James Caan, Angela Lansbury and Burt Bacharach.

Other major winners included Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio for animated feature film and Navalny for documentary. Imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s family were brought onstage to accept and a message from Alexei was read out, reminding people to “not be afraid to oppose dictators and authoritarianism”.

The award for costume design was given to Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’s Ruth E Carter, who became the first black woman to have won two Oscars. She previously won for her work on the first Black Panther film.

James Cameron’s major sequel Avatar: The Way of Water won for visual effects and Top Gun: Maverick won for best sound. Naatu Naatu from RRR was named best original song after an electric performance earlier in the night. It was awarded over songs by Rihanna and Lady Gaga.

Despite seven nominations, Spielberg’s personal drama The Fabelmans failed to win in any of its categories. Todd Field’s drama Tár, Baz Lurhmann’s Elvis, and Martin McDonagh’s The Banshees of Inisherin, also went home empty handed.

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Best Cinematography