Origins of Oscars

Academy Awards, commonly known as Oscars, were founded in 1927. It is a prestigious award that recognises personalities in the movie industry. It is presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The award presentation was first started in 1929, and winners since then receive a gold-plated statuette commonly called Oscar.

Category of Academy Awards.

Every year winners are chosen from the following 24 categories: best picture, actor, actress, supporting actor, supporting actress, directing, original screenplay, adapted screenplay, cinematography, production design, editing, original score, original song, costume design, makeup and hairstyling, sound mixing, sound editing, visual effects, foreign-language film, animated feature film, animated short, live-action short, documentary feature, and documentary short. 

The other awards include scientific and technical awards, special achievement awards, honorary awards, the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award (for excellence in producing), and the Gordon E. Sawyer Award (for technological contributions), although these are not necessarily awarded annually.

History of the Statuette 

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer art director Cedric Gibbons is credited with designing the statue. He is believed to have sketched the statuette of a knight standing on a reel of film, on a linen napkin. Subsequently, American sculptor George was commissioned to create the original statuette based on this sketch. Earlier, it was cast in bronze with gold plating and later, was made of plastic because of the shortage of metal during World War II. Currently, the statues are made of gold-plated britannium, which stands 13.5 inches and weighs 3.8 kg.

There are many theories as to how the statuette got its name, Oscar. One of the most popular theories is that Actress Bette Davis observed that the backside of the statuette looked like that of her husband Harmon Oscar Nelson.

Eligibility Requirements Of Oscars

A film must be publicly exhibited for paid admission for at least one week at a commercial theatre in Los Angeles county between January 1 and midnight of December 31 of a year, to be eligible for the award in that year. Only foreign-language films, which are submitted by their country of origin, are exempted from this eligibility criteria. Documentaries and short films have different eligibility requirements and are officially submitted by their producers, whereas music awards require the musical artist to file a submission form.

India Shines At Oscars 2023

1. Netflix documentary, The Elephant Whisperers, has scripted history by winning the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short category at the 95th Academy Awards. It is the first Indian documentary to win an Oscar. The Elephant Whisperers tells the story of an indigenous couple named Bomman and Bellie as they care for two orphaned baby elephants. The film explores the precious bond between the animals and their caretakers.

The film was competing against Haulout, How Do You Measure a Year?, The Martha Mitchell Effect and Stranger At The Gate.

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Interesting Facts –

• Director Kartiki Gonsalves followed the story of the elephants and their caretakers for five years. She shot a total of about 450 hours of camera footage for this short 41 minute documentary.

• The names of the two orphaned calves featured in this documentary are Raghu and Ammu.

• The caretaker couple and the two elephants live in Theppakadu Elephant camp in Tamil Nadu’s Mudumalai Tiger Reserve.

2. Telugu language song, Naatu Naatu from the film RRR has won the Academy Award for the Best Original Song. It has become the first song ever from any Indian film to win in the Best Song category. Naatu Naatu has been composed by MM Keeravani and penned by Chandra Bose. The song is sung by Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava, who also performed the song live at the 95th Academy Awards stage. Music composer MM Keeravani and lyricist Chandrabose accepted the award.

Interesting Facts.

• The song is a work of art that took a shoot for around 17 days in the palace, with about 1,000 artists working each day. It was shot in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, in August 2021.

• The song was shot in the presidential palace of Ukraine at Kyiv, which is officially called as Mariinsky Palace. This is where the president of the country usually receives his counterparts.

• Naatu Naatu is also the winner of the Golden Globe for Best Original Song in January 2023.

The award plays an important role in the rise of the winner significantly as he or she gets better work offers, pay hike, and media recognition. The event takes place in Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California.

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