Del Toro reaffirms Mexico at the film summit

Filmmaker Guillermo del Toro yesterday became the first Mexican to win an Oscar in the Best Animated Feature category with Pinocchio, which Pixar and Disney generally dominated.

“Animation is cinema, it is not a genre. She is about to reach the next level, please help us, keep her present in your conversations. To animate is to give soul to something that does not have it. It is the perfect vehicle to address the great questions of the universe,” said the Jalisco director at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles, California.

With Pinocchio, Guillermo del Toro showed that animated films are not only for children and can also talk about topics as profound as war, parent-child relationships, and the darker side of human beings.

In the 22 years that the category has existed, most of the awards have been for Pixar and Disney with films like Enchantment; Toy Story 3 and 4, to name a few. Netflix was the house that opened the doors to the most personal film by the director of The Shape of Water.

Pinocchio, the first award of the night to be handed out, was in competition with features such as Marcel the Shell with Shoes on, Puss in Boots: Last Wish, The Sea Monster and Red.

Another Mexican who was on the list of nominees was Alejandro González Iñárritu, in Best Photography for the work of Darius Khondji in Bardo, a false chronicle of a few truths; but he left empty-handed because the film All Quiet on the Front was the winner.

In this 95th edition of the Oscars, the Hollywood Academy opted for diversity and a risky story by awarding the highest award, Best Picture, to Everything Everywhere at the Same Time, by filmmakers Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, who they also won the Best Director award, beating great figures of the seventh art such as Steven Spielberg and Todd Field.

The crazy and strange story of multiverses, which was the favorite of the contest, triumphed in total in seven categories, added the awards for Best Actress, Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress and Best Editing.

Michelle Yeoh, the film’s protagonist, made history by receiving the Best Actress award, a category in which she had a strong contender, Cate Blanchett (Tár). Leaving behind the controversy generated by the article that she shared from Vogue days before the gala in which racial representation was discussed and Blanchett was directly named, the artist gave a powerful message about inclusion and diversity.

“To all the boys and girls who look like me and are looking at me tonight, this is a light of possibilities, that dreams come true, don’t let anyone tell you that your time is over, never give up. defeated”, he said to applause from the cream of the seventh art of Hollywood.

He dedicated the award to all “the mothers in the world, because they are the true superheroes, mine is 84 and she is watching this in Malaysia with my family and friends, I take this home to my family in Hong Kong where I started my career, Thank you for encouraging me”, she expressed visibly moved.

Also moving at the gala were the speeches by Ke Huy Quan, winner of the Best Supporting Actor statuette, as he talked about how he migrated to the United States with his mother; and Jamie Lee Curtis, for fulfilling her dream of winning the Best Supporting Actress award.

“My mother is 84 years old and she is watching, mom I just won an Oscar!”, he said excitedly and recalled the trip he took on a boat to the US. “I spent a year in a refugee camp and for some reason I ended up on the biggest stage in Hollywood, I can’t believe it’s happening to me, this is the American dream, thanks to the Academy for this honor, thanks to my mom for the sacrifice he made,” he said, moved almost to tears.

He called on those who saw him to follow their dreams and keep them alive, because although he was sure that one day his time would come, there were times when he wanted to throw in the towel.

For his part, Jamie Lee Curtis, who in his long career managed to be nominated for an Oscar for the first time and won, said: “My dad and my mom were nominated in different categories, I just won an Oscar!”, celebrated crying of happiness.

The Oscars ceremony was distinguished by messages about racial diversity and at the beginning there was no mention of the embarrassing moment of the 2022 gala when Will Smith slapped comedian Chris Rock.

“If anyone in this theater commits an act of violence at any time during the show, they will receive the Academy Award for Best Actor and get to give a 19-minute speech. But seriously, the Academy has a crisis team in place. If something unpredictable or violent happens during the show, sit down and do absolutely nothing. Maybe I can even give the abuser a hug”, commented with irony the director of the evening Jimmy Kimmel when inaugurating the ceremony.

As expected, the Hollywood Academy awarded Brendan Fraser for his endearing role as Charlie in The Whale, a film by Darren Aronofsky that marked his return to the seventh art after leaving for having experienced alleged sexual harassment by Philip Berk, who was President of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

Fraser went up on stage crying with emotion to receive the statuette and exclaimed: “So this is what the multiverse looks like… Only whales can love the depths, I started in this business 30 years ago and things did not go down easy for me, I want to give thank you for this recognition because it could not have happened with the cast, it is as if I were on an expedition and the air on the surface was in charge of people like my children.

At the gala, the emotional musical presentations of Rihanna stood out, who performed “Lift me up”, with which a tribute was paid to the late actor Chadwick Boseman; and that of Lady Gaga with “Hold My Hand”, from Top Gun: Maverick.

“You may find that you can be your own hero, even if you feel broken inside,” Gaga said before her emotional performance that was applauded by the audience.