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The timeline

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Every story on the timeline, newest first: the films as art, the Academy’s honours and the audiences who made them matter.

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ACADEMY TIMELINES Parasite's Best Picture: The Night the Oscars Crossed the Language Line In 2020, Bong Joon-ho's Parasite made history as the first non-English language film to win Best Picture. This moment profoundly shifted how the Academy and global audiences perceived cinematic excellence. Read more → THE ACADEMY A Gold Statue, A Separate Table: Hattie McDaniel's Historic Oscar Win in 1940 On February 29, 1940, Hattie McDaniel made history as the first Black person to win an Academy Award. Her victory, though celebrated, unfolded against a backdrop of deep-seated segregation. Read more → ACADEMY & ART Citizen Kane at the Oscars: The Film That Lost Best Picture and Won the Century In 1942, a groundbreaking film arrived at the Academy Awards, polarizing the industry and ultimately losing the top prize. Yet, despite its modest win, _Citizen Kane_ would go on to reshape cinema and earn its place as a perennial masterpiece. Read more → THE ACADEMY Wings, Sunrise, and May 16, 1929: The Quiet Dawn of the Academy Awards On May 16, 1929, a small banquet in Hollywood quietly launched what would become the world's most prestigious film awards. This inaugural ceremony honored films like Wings and Sunrise, laying the groundwork for cinema's enduring institution. Read more → AUDIENCE HISTORY The Grand Café, 1895: The Night Cinema Found Its Paying Audience On a cold December night in Paris, a small, curious crowd paid a single franc to witness a miracle. It was the birth of cinema as we know it, transitioning from scientific novelty to a shared, paying spectacle. Read more →
ACADEMY TIMELINES Parasite's Best Picture: The Night the Oscars Crossed the Language Line Read more → THE ACADEMY A Gold Statue, A Separate Table: Hattie McDaniel's Historic Oscar Win in 1940 Read more → ACADEMY & ART Citizen Kane at the Oscars: The Film That Lost Best Picture and Won the Century Read more → THE ACADEMY Wings, Sunrise, and May 16, 1929: The Quiet Dawn of the Academy Awards Read more → AUDIENCE HISTORY The Grand Café, 1895: The Night Cinema Found Its Paying Audience Read more →