Welsh Talent Leaves Big Mark on 2025 Oscars With Wins for Lol Crawley and ‘Dune: Part Two’

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At the 2025 Oscars, the wide range of talent connected to Wales was showcased. On the night of Sunday at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, two out of the three Welsh nominees won their awards. Among them was cinematographer Lol Crawley from the film “The Brutalist”, who hails from Llansantffraid-ym-Mechain.

During his victory speech, Crawley expressed gratitude towards “all my friends from Wales” and later shared with BBC Breakfast (from the Vanity Fair afterparty), “I am incredibly proud… It feels like it wasn’t too long ago when I was there, honestly, and I have a deep love for that place.”

In his acceptance speech, Crawley thanked “all my friends from Wales” and later told BBC Breakfast (at the Vanity Fair afterparty), “I am extremely proud… It feels like just yesterday when I was there, and I have a strong affinity for that country.

The creative individual expressed his hope that the recognition and awards given to Brady Corbet’s post-war epic, highlighted at the Oscars – such as best original score and best actor for Adrien Brody – will broaden discussions about the possibilities of cinema. Crawley stated: “We’ve been somewhat limited by the length and format of our films, but I believe that [The Brutalist] has shattered these limitations.

Over in my gaming world, I, Rhys Salcombe from Aberystwyth, Wales, was among those honored with the prestigious Best Visual Effects award for my contributions to Dune: Part Two. This Denis Villeneuve masterpiece, featuring Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Austin Butler, and Florence Pugh, not only won the Best Sound Oscar but left many of us in disbelief when Villeneuve was overlooked for a director nomination.

At the Dolby event, it was Trevor Matthews, one of four producers of the movie “The Brutalist“, who eagerly hoped for a statuette. However, on that particular night, the prestigious best picture award was given to “Anora“. Despite this, Sean Baker’s film emerged as the big winner with a total of five victories.

Wales is among the four constituent nations that form the United Kingdom; the other three being England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.

During the BAFTA event, Conclave did its performance, but Edward Berger’s Vatican drama didn’t match that success at the grand Hollywood awards night. On that very night, English writer Peter Straughan was awarded the Oscar for the best adapted screenplay, adding another triumph to the British victories.

Straughan expressed gratitude towards “our team, our exceptional actors, the producers, and Robin House Productions, Film Nation, Indian Paintbrush, Focus Features.” He then made a heartfelt dedication to his daughter, Connie, saying “This one’s for you.

Among other global victories, Walter Selles’ film “I’m Still Here” was recognized as the best international feature film, outshining the controversy-surrounded “Emilia Pérez.” Additionally, the documentary “No Other Land,” produced in the West Bank, secured the award for best documentary feature Oscar.

In the awards ceremony, Mikey Madison, star of Anora, received the title for Best Actress. Meanwhile, Sean Baker broke a record by winning four awards for his film: Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Film Editing (alongside Best Picture). In other acting categories, Brody was recognized as Best Actor for The Brutalist, Kieran Culkin won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in A Real Pain, and Zoe Saldaña, an American of Dominican descent, took home the award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Emilia Pérez, marking a historic moment as the first person of Dominican origin to win an Academy Award.

Check out THR‘s summary of the evening’s standout moments right over here, or feel free to explore the complete list of winners by clicking this link instead.

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2025-03-03 13:54