Everything You Need To Know About The 2020 Oscars

Parasite Was The Big Winner

South Korean film Parasite was named best picture at this year's Oscars, becoming the first non-English language film to take the top prize in almost a century of the awards. Only ten foreign-language films have previously received Oscar nominations for best picture and none of them have won. Bong Joon-ho’s seventh film – a black comedy which deals with greed and class discrimination in his home country – won four awards in total, including best director, best screenplay and best international feature. Of the film’s success, Bong said: “I feel like I'll wake up to find it's all a dream. It all feels very surreal."

Elsewhere, Sir Sam Mendes's 1917 – the big winner at last week’s Baftas – took home three awards, all in technical categories. The WWI epic had been the favourite to win best picture.

The ‘Big Four’ Won Again

Given the unanimous results at the Baftas, Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild awards and Critics' Choice Awards, the four acting prize winners came as no surprise. Renée Zellweger won best actress for playing Judy Garland in Judy; Joaquin Phoenix was named best actor for Joker; Brad Pitt won the prize for best supporting actor for Once Upon A Time in Hollywood; and Laura Dern won the same prize for her role in Marriage Story.

Pitt – picking up the first Oscar of his career – was the first winner of the night and used his speech to attack the way the impeachment proceedings against US president Donald Trump were handled last week. It was a far cry from his humorous take on Brexit at the Baftas the week before.

As per his run of recent speeches, Phoenix also used the podium to send a message about everything from veganism to diversity. Not one to be hypocritical, he also said: "I've been a scoundrel in my life. I've been cruel at times and hard to work with, but so many people in this room have given me a second chance." His win was one of two for Todd Phillip’s Joker, which also saw composer Hildur Guðnadóttir walk away with best original score.

Meanwhile, Zellweger used her win to pay tribute to Judy Garland, who was nominated for two Oscars in the 1950s and 1960s. "Judy Garland did not receive this honour in her time," she said. "I am certain that this moment is an extension of the celebration of her legacy."

Elton John Headed Up The Brit Wins

Sir Elton John and his songwriting partner Bernie Taupin won best original song for ‘(I'm Gonna) Love Me Again’ from Rocketman. It's Sir Elton's second Oscar – 25 years on from The Lion King. Elsewhere, British costume designer Jacqueline Durran won her second Oscar for her work on Little Women; Dominic Tuohy won in the visual effects category for 1917; Roger Deakins picked up the trophy for best cinematography for 1917; and Mark Taylor and Stuart Wilson picked up the sound mixing award for the same film.

The Irishman Went Home Empty-Handed

All the main nominated films won at least one award – except Martin Scorsese's 210-minute epic The Irishman, which had ten nominations but went home with none. Scorsese did get a standing ovation, however, when Bong mentioned him as an inspiration while collecting his best director gong. 

A Lack Of Diversity Was Noted

"Think how much the Oscars have changed in the past 92 years. Back in 1929 there were no black acting nominees," Chris Rock noted in his welcome speech. "And now in 2020 we've got one." Like many times over the last few years, the Academy had drawn much criticism for selecting an all-white shortlist across all four acting categories. But there were some celebrations to be had across the non-acting categories: alongside Parasite’s four wins, Maori director Taika Waititi won best adapted screenplay for Jojo Rabbit; American Factory, the debut film from Barack and Michelle Obama's production company, was named best documentary feature; Matthew A. Cherry and Karen Rupert Toliver won best animated short film for Hair Love; and Kazu Hiro won best make-up for Bombshell. 

Read on for SL’s pick of the best dressed…