Alexa, play Joni Mitchell's "Both Sides, Now."
On Sunday, March 27, the heartwarming drama musical CODA, which featured star Emilia Jones giving a moving rendition of Mitchell's epic anthem, won Best Picture at the 2022 Oscars. The Apple TV+ film starring Eugenio Derbez, Troy Kotsur, Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, Daniel Durant and Marlee Matlin, was a favorite among critics for the top prize as the cast previously won the Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture award at the 2022 SAG Awards.
Though the popular film wasn't necessarily a shoo-in, having been nominated against other critically-acclaimed favorites: Belfast, Don't Look Up, Drive My Car, Dune, King Richard, Licorice Pizza, Nightmare Alley, The Power of the Dog and West Side Story.
Still, the Academy couldn't get enough of the coming-of-age tale, which tells the story of 17-year-old Ruby (Jones), the only hearing member of her deaf family with dreams of attending Berklee College of Music. (For those who may not know, CODA stands for child of deaf adult(s), but can also be referred to as a concluding section of music.)
Of course, CODA's Best Picture win proved to be a historic one, as this is the first film with a predominantly deaf cast to take home the top award. We know this to be true as it was the first movie with a mainly deaf cast to be nominated for Best Picture. Oh, and it's the first streamer produced film to win this award. As fans of the award show will recall, Netflix's Roma came close to nabbing the Best Picture Oscar in 2019, but ultimately lost to Universal Pictures' Green Book.
"Thank you to the academy for letting our CODA make history tonight," producer Philippe Rousselet said during his acceptance speech. "And congratulations to all of our fellow nominees. Your movies were all so incredible. We're so honored to be here."
Fellow CODA producer Patrick Wachsberger expressed a similar sentiment, adding, "I really want to thank the Academy for recognizing a movie of love and family on this difficult time that we need today, and this is CODA."
In addition to Best Picture, CODA was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for Kotsur and Best Adapted Screenplay for screenwriter and director Siân Heder, both of whom won earlier in the evening.
For a full list of the night's winners, click here.