The 97th Academy Awards: Long Live Independent Film

Sean Baker, winner of 4 awards at the 97th Academy Awards, at the 2024 Toronta International Film Festival. Photo by Frank Sun via Wikimedia Commons

After winning Best Picture, writer-director Sean Baker stepped up to the microphone for the fourth time Sunday night, having already picked up awards for Best Original Screenplay, Best Film Editing and Best Directing for his indie smash “Anora.”

He ended his short speech with four imperative words that echoed throughout the Dolby Theatre and summed up 2024 in film: “Long live independent film.

Baker, a journeyman in the independent film space for 25 years now, has championed independent cinema throughout “Anora’s” awards campaign, reminding film distributors to focus on theatrical releases. 

“This is my battle cry. Filmmakers: keep making films for the big screen,” he said after winning Best Directing.

In a year vastly different from the blockbuster-heavy and studio-led 2023, indie films and filmmakers struggled with this more than ever. Being an independent filmmaker means having complete creative control but less money, fewer resources and less time to make your movie.

The same was true for “The Brutalist,” Brady Corbet’s three-and-a-half-hour epic that won Best Actor in a Leading Role for Adrien Brody, Best Cinematography for Lol Crawley and Best Original Score for Daniel Blumberg.

The film, which garnered comparisons to “The Godfather,” was made for $10 million and shot on VistaVision, a complete revival of the 35mm film format popularized in the 1950s.

“The Brutalist,” despite its epic scale and nature, is an independent film, proving just how much can be done with a low budget and a singular vision behind the camera.

Indie filmmaking also prevailed in the Best Animated Feature category, as “Flow” got the win over the favorite, “The Wild Robot.”

This proves two things: the shift from major studio animated films to more interesting and innovative films winning, and the Academy’s expansion of international voters following 2016’s #OscarSoWhite movement.

Would an hour-and-20-minute film about a cat's journey with no dialogue win over the studio-backed, A-List “The Wild Robot” ten years ago? Probably not.

The international branch of the Academy is flexing its influence across several categories, giving wins to movies that people are most passionate about rather than films that seem like juggernauts.

“Flow” gave Latvia its first ever Academy Award, just like “I’m Still Here” winning in the Best International Feature category gave Brazil its first win after five nominations. 

At MCTV's Oscar Watch Party, Marist University students debate on who they think will prevail at the 97th Academy Awards. Photo by Kyle Esoian '25

At the start of the season, “Emilia Pérez” looked like it would be an unstoppable force in this category and several others. However, Karla Sofía Gascón’s resurfaced tweets that praised Hitler, made fun of George Floyd and called out multiple other public figures completely derailed the film’s awards campaign. The only people seemingly able to avoid the backlash were Zoe Saldaña and the already-locked Best Original Song category.

However, the passion that Brazilians had for “I’m Still Here” cannot be overstated. Following the Academy Awards, many people started to call the Golden Globes a “red herring,” mostly because it was the first precursor ceremony in the season, and Anora picked up zero wins, despite dominating the Academy Awards with five.

But what the Golden Globes are good for, if nothing else, is creating narratives and shifting momentum. Fernanda Torres’s surprise win in the Best Actress - Drama category at the Globes put a spotlight on “I’m Still Here,” giving it a ton of momentum into a shock Best Picture nomination at the Oscars.

Another narrative that began at the Globes was Demi Moore’s comeback story for “The Substance,” which started with her Globes win and almost carried her to victory at the Oscars. Unfortunately, she was beaten out by Mikey Madison for Best Actress in a Leading Role. 

Moore’s loss wasn’t due to a “bias against horror.” The Substance got Best Picture, Best Directing and Best Original Screenplay nominations, as well as a win for Best Makeup. Madison was just in the stronger movie, and the BAFTA, which Madison won, is a great predictor for Best Actress at the Oscars when the race is tight. When close, the actor in the stronger movie usually prevails.

Kieran Culkin, who won Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Jesse Eisenberg’s “A Real Pain,” also completed a dominant sweep, one that started with critics and carried over into the industry. The Globes, Critics Choice, BAFTA and SAG all went with Culkin, who didn’t even attend half the ceremonies and still swept no problem. Culkin’s Oscar win was a foregone conclusion.

“Wicked” and “Dune: Part Two” also had decent nights, each winning two below-the-line categories. One was Best Costume Design for “Wicked,” done by the legendary Paul Tazewell, who’s finally an Oscar winner. Tazewell, the first Black man nominated for Best Costume Design for “West Side Story” three years ago, is now the first Black man to win the category. 

Many have discussed Conan’s job as the host, along with other head-scratching moments, such as the 10-minute James Bond sequence. I’m of the mind that if you can make intelligent, biting jokes while still clearly caring about and not making fun of the art that’s nominated, much like Conan did, you’ve done a great job.

Many at MCTV’s Oscar Watch Party were unsure who the winners would be. The club even had ballots for winner predictions. After going through a bunch of them, I realized that a lot of students missed a bunch of categories. I think this speaks to 2024 in film and this year’s Academy Awards as a whole. 

The Oscars embraced the grit and grind of independent film and auteur filmmakers who’ve been living paycheck to paycheck for their entire careers. Recognizing important filmmakers means risking a portion of casual Oscar viewers being unfamiliar with nominees and winners. However, if Academy voters continue championing unique voices and originality, as they did at the 97th Academy Awards, I’ll keep tuning in.