'Nomadland' swept the 93rd Academy Awards on Sunday with wins for its director Chloe Zhao and its lead actress Frances McDormand, as well as Best Picture.
Zhao, who was born in China, is the first woman from an ethnically diverse background to win the Academy Award for directing, and the second woman in history - after Kathryn Bigelow's triumph 11 years ago for 'The Hurt Locker'.
Accepting her statuette for her directing, Zhao told the audience in Los Angeles: "I have always found goodness in the people I met, everywhere I went in the world.
"So this is for anyone who had the faith and the courage to hold on to the goodness in themselves, and to hold on to the goodness in each other, no matter how difficult it is to do that."
'Nomadland' continued its dominant run, with Frances McDormand picking up the award for Best Actress, who told the crowd the night needed a karaoke bar.
Well said, Frances. #Oscars pic.twitter.com/BhoVLTcEa5
— The Academy (@TheAcademy) April 26, 2021
Best Supporting Actress went to 73-year-old Youn Yuh-jung, who played Soon-ja in 'Minari' - a film about a Korean family trying to make it as farmers in 1980s America.
Oscar winner Yuh-Jung Youn and her new best friend.
Photo by @QUILLEMONS for @VanityFair pic.twitter.com/Q8N4T9vBng— The Academy (@TheAcademy) April 26, 2021
She paid tribute to the other women in her category, declaring she "doesn't believe in competition" and questioned how she won over fellow nominee Glenn Close.
Anthony Hopkins, who was absent from the ceremony, won the award for Best Actor for his performance in 'The Father', with the film also winning best adapted screenplay.
His win came as somewhat of a shock, with Chadwick Boseman widely tipped to win posthumously for his role in 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom' - one of his final films before his death.
In a video on Instagram after the ceremony, Hopkins said that he "did not expect to get this award".
He added: "I'm very grateful to the Academy and thank you, and I want to pay tribute to Chadwick Boseman, who was taken from us far too early.
"And again, thank you all very much... I feel very privileged and honoured."
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However there was no Irish win this year, with Cartoon Saloon's 'Wolfwalkers' losing out to Pixar's 'Soul'.
This was also the first-ever ceremony to comply with coronavirus restrictions.
And Tim Gray, senior vice-president at Variety, told Newstalk Breakfast it missed the mark.
"They wanted it to be different, and they kept promoting it as if they were re-thinking it, re-inventing the wheel.
"But it was basically the same ceremony as usual.
"It was kind of dream-like, because everything looked familiar but unfamiliar at the same time.
"It was a weird kind of vibe for the whole show."
He said the biggest surprise of the night was saved until the very end.
"Probably the biggest surprise was the last award of the evening: Best Actor, which went to Anthony Hopkins for the movie 'The Father'.
"Most people, myself included, thought that Chadwick Boseman would win for 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom'.
"It was his last screen performance before he died, and he's really terrific in it - so there was a general thinking that he would win".
"That was a little surprising, and Anthony Hopkins wasn't at the ceremony as it turned out.
"So the show ended kind of with a whimper, rather than a bang".
Additional reporting: IRN
