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On Sunday 27th March, an array of A-listers gathered at Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre to celebrate the very best in cinema at the 94th Academy Awards. And after 2021’s socially-distanced affair, this year’s event saw the great and good of Tinseltown getting up close and personal once more – perhaps even a little too close in the case of Will Smith vs Chris Rock.

Dune was the night’s big winner, with Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi epic all-but sweeping the board in the technical categories – including cinematography, editing and sound – while legendary composer Hans Zimmer picked up his second ever Oscar for his work on the film’s spellbinding score.

The other big musical win of the evening went to Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas, who picked up Best Original Song for their brilliantly atmospheric Bond theme ‘No Time To Die’.

Dig into all this and previous years’ winners below, all while picking up a little sonic inspiration for your own productions.

2022 Academy Award Winners

Best Picture

From Jane Campion’s epic western The Power of The Dog to Guillermo del Toro’s neo-noir Nightmare Alley, this year’s Best Picture contenders were an eclectic bunch, with no obvious frontrunner.

Congratulations to writer/director Sian Heder then, who took top prize home for Coda, a stunning coming of age tale about a child of deaf parents.

• Belfast
• Coda – WINNER
• Don’t Look Up
• Drive My Car
• Dune
• King Richard
• Licorice Pizza
• Nightmare Alley
• The Power of the Dog
• West Side Story

Best Director

A full 28 years since she was first nominated for The Piano, New Zealand-born auteur Jane Campion finally took home the trophy for Best Director.

In doing so, she became only the third woman ever to win the award in the Academy Awards’ 94-year history.

• Kenneth Branagh (Belfast)
• Ryûsuke Hamaguchi (Drive My Car)
• Paul Thomas Anderson (Licorice Pizza)
• Jane Campion (The Power of the Dog) – WINNER
• Steven Spielberg (West Side Story)

Best Original Screenplay

Nominated in seven different categories since 1990 – including Best Actor, Best Picture and Best Director – this was the year Kenneth Branagh finally got to take an Oscar home for Belfast, his touching account of the Troubles in Northern Ireland in the late 1960s.

• Belfast (Kenneth Branagh) – WINNER
• Don’t Look Up (Adam McKay, David Sirota)
• Licorice Pizza (Paul Thomas Anderson)
• King Richard (Zach Baylin)
• The Worst Person in the World (Eskil Vogt, Joachim Trier)

Best Adapted Screenplay

Adapted from the 2014 French-language film La Famille Bélier, Sian Heder’s screenplay for Coda featured a 60/40 split between English dialogue and American Sign Language.

It continues to strike a chord with everyone who watches it.

• Coda (Sian Heder) – WINNER
• Drive My Car (Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Takamasa Oe)
• Dune (Eric Roth, Jon Spaihts, Denis Villeneuve)
• The Lost Daughter (Maggie Gyllenhaal)
• The Power of the Dog (Jane Campion)

Best International Feature

Beating Italian drama The Hand of God, and Flee – a Danish animated documentary the extraordinary journey of a child refugee from Afghanistan – Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Drive My Car is a dramatic road movie set in Japan and based on the Haruki Murakami short story.

• Drive My Car – WINNER
• Flee
• The Hand of God
• Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom
• The Worst Person in the World

Best Documentary Feature

One of the evening’s most popular wins, Questlove took top prize for Summer Of Soul, his documentary about 1969’s criminally-overlooked Harlem Cultural Festival AKA the Black Woodstock, which covered rock, R&B, soul, jazz, pop and gospel.

Featuring a mix of modern-day talking heads and archive performance footage – including seminal shows by Nina Simone, Stevie Wonder, and Sly and the Family Stone – it was acclaimed by Pitchfork as “a breathtaking capsule of Black music history.”

• Ascension
• Attica
• Flee
• Summer of Soul – WINNER
• Writing With Fire

Best Documentary Short

Produced by industry legends Shaquille O'Neal and Stephen Curry, The Queen Of Basketball tells the story of Lusia Harris, the first woman ever to be officially drafted in the NBA.

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• Audible
• Lead Me Home
• The Queen of Basketball – WINNER
• Three Songs for Benazir
• When We Were Bullies

Best Animated Feature

Beating Danish drama documentary Flee and sci-fi comedy The Mitchells vs. The Machines was Encanto, Pixar’s smash hit feature set in Colombia, and telling the story of the magical Madrigal family.

• Encanto – WINNER
• Flee
• Luca
• The Mitchells Vs the Machines
• Raya and the Last Dragon

Best Animated Short

Allowing himself just 15 minutes to answer the question, ‘What is love?’ Spanish animator and artist Alberto Mielgo set himself a mammoth task.

But as anyone who’s seen The Windshield Wiper will attest, it’s a gamble that more than paid off.

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• Affairs of the Art
• Bestia
• Boxballet
• Robin Robin
• The Windshield Wiper – WINNER

Best Live Action Short

A 2021 Best Actor nominee for his performance in Sound of Metal, this year British-Pakistani actor/producer Riz Ahmed took home an Oscar for The Long Goodbye, the powerful live action short that he co-wrote and starred in.

• Ala Kachuu – Take and Run
• The Dress
• The Long Goodbye – WINNER
• On My Mind
• Please Hold

Best Actress

Seeing off previous winners Olivia Colman and Nicole Kidman, Jessica Chastain’s portrayal of troubled televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker was every bit as larger than life than her hair and make-up.

• Jessica Chastain (The Eyes of Tammy Faye) – WINNER
• Olivia Colman (The Lost Daughter)
• Penélope Cruz (Parallel Mothers)
• Nicole Kidman (Being the Ricardos)
• Kristen Stewart (Spencer)

Best Actor

Turning in a nuanced performance of Venus and Serena Williams’ father Richard, Will Smith finally received his Oscar for Best Actor (he narrowly missed out in 2002 and 2007, for Ali and The Pursuit of Happyness respectively).

Thank goodness nothing overshadowed his big mo… Oh.

• Will Smith (King Richard) – WINNER
• Denzel Washington (The Tragedy of Macbeth)
• Javier Bardem (Being the Ricardos)
• Benedict Cumberbatch (The Power of the Dog)
• Andrew Garfield (tick, tick … BOOM!)

Best Supporting Actress

Recognised for her powerhouse performance as Anita in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story remake, Ariana DeBose became the second Latina actor ever to win an Oscar, following in the footsteps of Rita Moreno who played Anita in the 1961 original.

• Jessie Buckley (The Lost Daughter)
• Ariana DeBose (West Side Story) – WINNER
• Judi Dench (Belfast)
• Kirsten Dunst (The Power of the Dog)
• Aunjanue Ellis (King Richard)

Best Supporting Actor

Troy Kotsur became the second deaf Oscar winner ever, following in the footsteps of his Coda co-star Marlee Matlin.

• Ciarán Hinds (Belfast)
• Troy Kotsur (Coda) – WINNER
• Jesse Plemons (The Power of the Dog)
• JK Simmons (Being the Ricardos)
• Kodi Smit-McPhee (The Power of the Dog)

Best Original Score

Transporting viewers to the harsh desert landscapes of Arrakis with his atmospheric compositions, Hans Zimmer beat Nicolas Britell, Germaine Franco and Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood to the prize for Best Original Score.

• Don’t Look Up
• Dune – WINNER
• Encanto
• Parallel Mothers
• The Power of the Dog

Best Original Song

Delaying Lin-Manuel Miranda’s dreams of achieving EGOT status (he’ll make it at some point, we’re sure), Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas won the Oscar for their Bond Theme, adding to an impressive haul that already includes a GRAMMY, an EMMY and a Golden Globe.

• ‘Be Alive’ (King Richard)
• ‘Dos Oruguitas’ (Encanto)
• ‘Down to Joy’ (Belfast)
• ‘No Time to Die’ (No Time to Die) – WINNER
• ‘Somehow You Do’ (Four Good Days)

Best Visual Effects

Credited with bringing a famously “unfilmable” story to life, the visual effects team did a lot of the heavy lifting on Denis Villeneuve’s spectacular adaptation of Dune.

• Dune – WINNER
• Free Guy
• Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
• No Time to Die
• Spider-Man: No Way Home

Best Film Editing

There was some very stiff competition in the editing category, with Dune eventually seeing off the likes of apocalyptic comedy Don’t Look Up and Lin-Manuel Miranda’s love letter to musical theatre tick, tick… BOOM!

• Don’t Look Up
• Dune – WINNER
• King Richard
• The Power of the Dog
• tick, tick… BOOM!

Best Sound

Another technical triumph for Dune, whose innovative sound design brought Frank Herbert’s ornithopter ships to life.

• Belfast
• Dune – WINNER
• No Time to Die
• The Power of the Dog
• West Side Story

Best Cinematography

Nominated in 2016 for his work on Lion, cinematographer Greig Fraser finally took top prize for the epic, arid landscapes of Dune.

• Dune – WINNER
• Nightmare Alley
• The Power of the Dog
• The Tragedy of Macbeth
• West Side Story

Best Production Design

One last win for Dune, who kicked Joel Coen’s pitch-black take on Macbeth into touch.

• Dune – WINNER
• Nightmare Alley
• The Power of the Dog
• The Tragedy of Macbeth
• West Side Story

Best Costume Design

Jenny Beavan's brilliantly outre designs on Cruella won the English designer her third Oscar for Costume Design, following Mad Max: Fury Road in 2015 and A Room With A View in 1986.

• Cruella – WINNER
• Cyrano
• Dune
• Nightmare Alley
• West Side Story

Best Makeup & Hairstyling

Jessica Chastain’s transformation into American evangelist Tammy Faye was so convincing, there really could only be one winner in the category for Best Makeup & Hairstyling.

• Coming 2 America
• Cruella
• Dune
• The Eyes of Tammy Faye – WINNER
• House of Gucci

Oscar Winners Through The Years

John Williams

With 52 nods to his name, legendary composer John Williams is the most nominated individual in Academy Awards history.

And how many Oscars has he actually won? Five: for Fiddler On The Roof (1972), Jaws (1976), Star Wars (1978), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1983), and Schindler's List (1994).

Check out more much more music for film, in our dedicated feature.

Katharine Hepburn

Katharine Hepburn is officially the most decorated actor in Oscar history, boasting four wins for Best Actress across the films Morning Glory (1933), Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967), The Lion in Winter (1968), and On Golden Pond (1981).

Snapping at her heels are Daniel Day Lewis and Frances McDormand, both of whom currently possess three leading actor Oscars.

Sidney Poitier

On April 13, 1964, Sidney Poitier became the first African American to win the Oscar for Best Actor, for his performance in Lilies of the Field.

It would be another 38 years until another Black man won the award, with Denzel Washington picking up the prize in 2001 for Training Day.

La La Land

Presentation gaffe for Best Feature aside, Damien Chazelle’s love letter to Hollywood remains one of the most successful Oscar movies of all time, winning seven of the 13 categories in which it was nominated, including for Best Original Score and Best Original Song.

Martin Scorsese

Until 2007, Martin Scorsese was amongst the most overlooked nominees in Oscar history, picking up five nods for Best Director (Raging Bull, The Last Temptation of Christ, Goodfellas, Gangs of New York, The Aviator) with zero wins.

The Departed turned out to be the film that reversed the Italian-American director’s fortunes, though he’s subsequently been nominated for The Wolf of Wall Street and The Irishman with no success.

Iconic Oscar Performances

Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper – ‘Shallow’ (2019)

AKA the performance that sparked a thousand “are they or aren’t they?” rumours.

Performing the powerful torch song from A Star Is Born, Gaga and Bradley Cooper convincingly recreated their on-screen chemistry, and took home the Oscar for Best Original Song to boot. Turns out they weren’t, FYI.

Adele – ‘Skyfall’ (2013)

What is an Oscars ceremony without a Bond theme? And what better artist to perform a brooding orchestral number than Britain’s biggest pop star?

Yes, Adele stole the show at the 2013 Oscars with her winning performance of ‘Skyfall’.

Björk –  'I’ve Seen It All' (2001)

Performing the theme from Lars Von Trier’s devastating drama Dancer In The Dark (in which she also played the leading role), Björk turned in an astonishing performance that succeeded in putting *that* swan dress firmly in the shade.

Elliott Smith – ‘Miss Misery’ (1997)

Pretty much the antithesis of Hollywood glitz and glamour, Elliott Smith was adored for his heartbreakingly intimate indie-folk.

Nevertheless, in 1997 the late Seattle singer-songwriter found himself performing before the great and good of Hollywood, performing ‘Miss Misery’ from the Good Will Hunting soundtrack. It proved a brilliant break from the usual script.

Elton John – ‘Can You Feel the Love Tonight’ (1995)

Performing the love song from Disney’s Lion King, Elton John picked up his first Oscar for Original Song, beating two of his own compositions, ‘Hakuna Matata and ‘Circle Of Life’.

A second Oscar would follow 25 years later for ‘(I'm Gonna) Love Me Again’, a song from his own biopic Rocketman. 

Diana Ross and Lionel Richie – 'Endless Love' (1982)

Two soul icons joined forces for ‘Endless Love’, taken from Franco Zeffirelli's film adaptation of Scott Spencer's novel of the same name.

Sadly, Di and Li were pipped to the post by ‘Best That You Can Do’ from Bruno, but we all know which song endured in listeners’ imaginations.

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