The 91st Academy Awards ceremony that honoured the best films of 2018 was held on February 24, 2019, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. The ceremony was telecasted in the United States by American Broadcasting Company (ABC) and produced by Donna Gigliotti and Glenn Weiss, with Weiss also serving as director. It was the first ceremony in three decades, since the 61st Academy Awards in 1989, to be conducted with no host.

Green Book won three awards, including Best Picture, and Bohemian Rhapsody won four awards (the most for the ceremony), including Best Actor for Rami Malek’s portrayal of Freddie Mercury. Roma and Black Panther also received three awards, with the former winning Best Director for Alfonso Cuarón. Olivia Colman was awarded Best Actress for portraying Anne, Queen of Great Britain in The Favourite.

Oscar Winners 2019 - Rami Malek, Olivia Colman, Regina King and Mahershala Ali

Tina Fey, Maya Rudolph, and Amy Poehler were the first set of presenters and started the evening by announcing the Best Actress in a Supporting Role. Regina King bagged the award for ‘If Beale Street Could Talk’.

The list of presenters for the ceremony through the night included Helen Mirren and ‘Aquaman’ actor Jason Momoa. It also included names like Samuel L. Jackson, Stephan James, Keegan-Michael Key, KiKi Layne, James McAvoy, John Mulaney, Tyler Perry, Pharrell Williams, Krysten Ritter, Laura Dern, Maya Rudolph, Angela Bassett, Amandla Stenberg, Melissa McCarthy, Sarah Paulson and Tessa Thompson among others.

On the Documentary feature, Free Solo won the highest recognition. The film features Jimmy Chin who is a stunning, intimate and unflinching portrait of the free soloist climber Alex Honnold, as he prepares to achieve his lifelong dream: climbing the face of the world’s most famous rock - the 3,000ft El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, without a rope. Celebrated as one of the greatest athletic feats of any kind, Honnold’s climb set the ultimate standard: perfection or death. Succeeding in this challenge, Honnold enters his story in the records of human achievement. Free Solo is an inspiring portrait of an athlete who exceeded the current understanding of human physical and mental potential.

Rayka Zehtabchi,  Melissa Berton and the team of Period.End of Sentence

A film on menstruation, set in rural India, titled Period. End of Sentence also won the Oscar in the Documentary Short Subject category. Award-winning filmmaker Rayka Zehtabchi is the director and was produced by Indian producer Guneet Monga’s Sikhya Entertainment. The film came into being as a part of The Pad Project, started by students at the Oakwood School in Los Angeles and their teacher, Melissa Berton. “I’m not crying because I’m on my period or anything. I can’t believe a film on menstruation won an Oscar,” Zehtabchi said in her acceptance speech. She also gave a nod to Monga. “Guneet Monga – know that you have been empowering women all over the world fight for menstrual equality,” she added.

Monga tweeted after the win: “WE WON!!! To every girl on this earth... know that you are a goddess... if heavens are listening... look MA we put @sikhya on the map”. The wire reports that she dedicated the award to her school and said the project was born because her students in LA and people in India wanted to make a human rights difference . “I share this award with the Feminist Majority Foundation, the entire team and cast. I share this with the teachers and students around the worlds – a period should end a sentence, not a girl’s education,” she said.
Academy Award winner Julia Roberts quickly wrapped up the Oscars after the producers of “Green Book” accepted their best picture award.

“Well, apparently, that wraps up the 91st Academy Awards,” she said. “I would like to say congratulations to all the nominees and winners. And good night to Bradley Cooper’s mother and my children. And thank you for watching,” Roberts added. And with that, the credits rolled and the show was over.

The winners of the prestigious ceremony are listed below:

Best picture - Green Book

Best actress - Olivia Colman - The Favourite

Best actor - Rami Malek - Bohemian Rhapsody

Best supporting actress - Regina King - If Beale Street Could Talk

Best supporting actor - Mahershala Ali - Green Book

Best director - Alfonso Cuaron - Roma

Best original screenplay - Green Book - Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie and Peter Farrelly

Best adapted screenplay - BlacKkKlansman - Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, Kevin Willmott and Spike Lee

Best animated feature - Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Best foreign language film - Roma - Mexico

Best documentary feature - Free Solo

Best original song - Shallow (A Star Is Born) - Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando and Andrew Wyatt

Best original score - Black Panther - Ludwig Goransson

Best production design - Black Panther - Hannah Beachler and Jay Hart

Best costume design - Black Panther - Ruth E Carter

Best cinematography - Roma - Alfonso Cuaron

Best visual effects - First Man - Paul Lambert, Ian Hunter, Tristan Myles and JD Schwalm

Best make-up and hairstyling - Vice - Greg Cannom, Kate Biscoe and Patricia DeHaney

Best sound editing - Bohemian Rhapsody - John Warhurst and Nina Hartstone

Best sound mixing - Bohemian Rhapsody - Paul Massey, Tim Cavagin and John Casali

Best film editing - Bohemian Rhapsody - John Ottman

Best animated short - Bao

Best documentary short - Period. End of Sentence.

Best live action short - Skin