CODAon Sunday made history, as it became the first streaming film to win a Best Picture Oscar. The feel-good drama, which debuted on Apple TV+ in August last year, won in each of its three nominated categories at the 94th Academy Awards, held in Los Angeles. In addition to the Best Picture win,Troy Kotsurwon the Best Supporting Actor award, and directorSiân Hederwon for Best Adapted Screenplay.
CODAalso became the first film with a predominantly Deaf cast to win Best Picture, and Kotsur is the first Deaf male actor to win an Oscar. His co-starMarlee Matlin—who wasn’t nominated—holds the honor of being the first Deaf actor to win an Academy Award, for her performance inChildren of a Lesser God.
The Best Picture Oscar was presented by previous winnersLady GagaandLiza Minnelli.CODAbeat out fellow nomineesBelfast,Don’t Look Up,Drive My Car,Dune,King Richard,Licorice Pizza,Nightmare Alley,The Power of the DogandWest Side Story.
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In his acceptance speech, producerPhilippe Rousseletthanked Heder for steering the ship in troubled waters. He said:
“Thank you to the Academy for letting ourCODAmake history tonight. On our first day, our cast and crew were supposed to be at 4 a.m. at sea fishing when we were told a giant storm was about to hit us. It was only the beginning of our problems. But Siân, you’ve kept the boat afloat and you’ve been the best captain a producer can ever dream of, really.”
Zack Van Amburg, Apple’s head of Worldwide Video, celebrated the victory in an official statement. In his own words:
The streamer edged out Netflix, which had been knocking at Oscars’ doors for years.CODAwas a late-bloomer during the awards race, slowly overtaking Netflix’sThe Power of the Dogto become a hot favorite as it picked up key precursor honors at theSAGs, theWGAsand thePGAs.
CODAis a remake of the 2014 French filmLa Famille Bélier.It premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Special Jury Award for Ensemble Cast, the Directing Award, the Audience Award, and the Grand Jury Prize. It was acquired by Apple for a record $25 million. The film also starsEmilia Jones,Eugenio DerbezandDaniel Durant. It tells the story of a teenage girl who wants nothing more than to find her own voice, as she grows up as the only hearing member of a Deaf family.
You can watch the Best Picture acceptance speech here, and read the film’s official synopsis down below:
Seventeen-year-old Ruby (Emilia Jones) is the sole hearing member of a Deaf family — a CODA, or “child of Deaf adults.” Her life revolves around acting as an interpreter for her parents (Marlee Matlin, Troy Kotsur) and working on the family’s struggling fishing boat every day before school with her father and older brother (Daniel Durant). But when Ruby joins her high school’s choir club, she discovers a gift for singing and soon finds herself drawn to her duet partner, Miles (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo). Encouraged by her enthusiastic, tough-love choirmaster (Eugenio Derbez) to apply to a prestigious music school, Ruby finds herself torn between the obligations she feels to her family and the pursuit of her own dreams.
