Ruth E. Carter, with her second Oscar for costume design, this one for “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” became the first Black woman to win multiple Oscars.
Carter, who previously won the same Oscar for “Black Panther,” now joins the ranks of other Black double winners including actors Denzel Washington and Mahershala Ali.
“Thank you to the Academy for recognizing the superhero that is a Black woman,” Carter said in a reference to the female-led story in “Wakanda Forever” after the late Chadwick Boseman carried the title role in the first film in the franchise.
“She endures, she loves, she overcomes, she is my mother,” Carter said, then referencing the loss of her mother a week ago. “This past week, Mabel Carter became an ancestor. Chadwick, please take care of mom.
“This is for my mother,” Carter finished. “She was 101.”
Earlier, the Oscar for best documentary feature went to “Navalny,” the story of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who remains imprisoned in the country.
After director Daniel Roher read a statement from Navalny about the need to end the Russian war in Ukraine and free political prisoners, Yulia Navalny spoke both to those watching the awards as well as her husband.
“My husband is in prison just for telling the truth,” she said. “My husband is in prison just for defending democracy. Alexei, I am dreaming of the day when you will be free and our country will be free. Stay strong, my love.”
Presenters Riz Ahmed and Questlove stayed on stage to announce that the Oscar for best live-action short had gone to “An Irish Goodbye.”
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Co-directors Tom Berkeley and Ross White briefly thanked their friends and colleagues in Northern Ireland, and then brought forward their lead actor James Martin, who has Down Syndrome, and whose birthday was Sunday, to hoist the Oscar aloft as his directors led the Dolby audience in singing happy birthday to him.
The Oscar for cinematography followed with James Friend taking the award for his work on the World War I epic “All Quiet on the Western Front.”
“It’s not my birthday, but I feel like it is,” Friend said as he arrived at the podium. “Academy, thank you so much.”
The Oscar for best makeup and hair went to “The Whale,” for which the team led by Adrien Morot, Judy Chin and Annemarie Bradley transformed Brendan Fraser into the film’s 600-pound protagonist.