16/03/2026 - Joachim Trier’s film grabs some spotlight in a ceremony dominated by One Battle After Another, which also awarded Mr. Nobody Against Putin as Best Documentary

Yesterday, the ceremony for the 98th Oscars celebrated the cream of this year's crop and closed the awards season by crowning One Battle After Another. Winning a total of six awards, trouncing Ryan Coogler’s Sinners, which pocketed four, Paul Thomas Anderson’s film was the main winner during an evening that didn’t leave much space for European films.

After picking up nine nominations, Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value kept its promise of being the frontrunner in the Best International Film category by scooping that very Oscar. The Cannes Grand Prix and European Film Awards winner became the first Norwegian movie to triumph in the category in the history of the awards. Trier, who stated he’s “just a filmmaker from Norway” in order to emphasise how rare it is for international filmmakers to achieve this, said the titles in the category were “important, beautiful films that reflect our present crises and the crises of the past”. He continued, “I want to end by paraphrasing the wonderful US writer James Baldwin, who urges us to remember that all adults are responsible for all children, so let’s not vote for politicians who don’t take this seriously or don't take it into account.”

The Oscar for Best Documentary went to a 100% European film, Mr. Nobody Against Putin, the Danish-Czech co-production directed by David Borenstein and Pavel Talankin, which emerged as the year’s most successful doc. Its world premiere at Sundance, where it won the Special Jury Award, was followed by several wins, such as the main awards at Les Arcs and ZagrebDox, and even the BAFTAs. US filmmaker Borenstein stated the documentary is “a story about how you lose your country”, and reminded the audience of the need to take control, as “even a nobody can be more powerful than we think”, while Russian teacher Talankin, the protagonist of the documentary, pleaded: “In the name of our future and our children, stop all of these wars, now.”

In the acting categories, frontrunner Jessie Buckley won the Oscar for Best Actress, for her heartfelt turn in Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet. In her speech, the Irish actress gave a shout out to her country, to the Irish people there with her, as well as to mothers and women in the arts.

Lastly, in an uncommon and unexpected tie, a European title shared the Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film with another film. Two People Exchanging Saliva, a 35-minute French-US co-production directed by Natalie Musteata and Alexandre Singh, starring Zar Amir, Luàna Bajrami and Vicky Krieps and portraying a romance in a repressive society where kissing is punishable by death, was one of the two winners, alongside the US title The Singers.

At a ceremony during which the most political speeches came from these European teams, another European talent, Javier Bardem, presenter of the Oscar for Best International Film, stated loud and clear: “No to war” and “Free Palestine”. The other nominees produced or co-produced by Europe in the list - led by Yorgos Lanthimos’ Bugonia and Kleber Mendonça Filho’s The Secret Agent, both with four nominations; Jafar Panahi’s It Was Just an Accident and Óliver Laxe’s Sirāt, both with two; and also including Kaouther Ben Hania’s The Voice of Hind Rajab, Emilie Blichfeldt’s The Ugly Stepsister, Sara Khaki’s and Mohammadreza Eyni’s Cutting Through Rocks, Ugo Bienvenu’s Arco, and Mailys Vallade’s and Liane-Cho Han’s Little Amélie or the Character of Rain - left the ceremony empty-handed.

Here is the complete list of winners:

Best Picture
One Battle After Another – Paul Thomas Anderson (USA)

Best Director
Paul Thomas Anderson - One Battle After Another

Best Actress in a Leading Role
Jessie Buckley - Hamnet (UK/USA)

Best Actor in a Leading Role
Michael B Jordan - Sinners

Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Amy Madigan - Weapons (USA)

Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Sean Penn - One Battle After Another

Best International Feature
Sentimental Value – Joachim Trier (Norway/France/Denmark/Germany)

Best Documentary Feature
Mr. Nobody Against Putin – David Borenstein, Pavel Talankin (Denmark/Czech Republic)

Best Animated Feature
KPop Demon Hunters – Chris Appelhans, Maggie Kang (USA)

Best Original Screenplay
Ryan Coogler - Sinners

Best Adapted Screenplay
Paul Thomas Anderson - One Battle After Another

Best Casting
One Battle After Another

Best Cinematography
Sinners

Best Editing
One Battle After Another

Best Visual Effects
Avatar: Fire and Ash (USA)

Best Production Design
Frankenstein

Best Costume Design
Frankenstein

Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Frankenstein

Best Sound
F1

Best Original Score
Ludwig Göransson - Sinners

Best Original Song
“Golden” (KPop Demon Hunters)

Best Live Action Short Film (tie)
The Singers – Sam A Davis (USA)
Two People Exchanging Saliva – Natalie Musteata, Alexandre Singh (France/USA)

Best Documentary Short
All the Empty Rooms – Joshua Seftel (USA)

Best Animated Short Film
The Girl Who Cried Pearls – Chris Lavis, Maciek Szczerbowski (Canada)