Besides gadgets, Apple is finding a new path in movies, claiming a place among Hollywood finest. The Cupertino giant, who launched its TV subsidiary in 2007, has recorded significant success and has been well recognized with multiple awards. The 2021 Academy Award is the latest.
Apple made history at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences by becoming the first streamer to win the award for Best Picture for “CODA”. The movie, which is available on Apple TV+, also won the Best Supporting Actor for Troy Kotsur, and Best Adapted Screenplay for Siân Heder.
“On behalf of everyone at Apple, we are so grateful to the Academy for the honors bestowed on ‘CODA’ this evening,” said Zack Van Amburg, Apple’s head of Worldwide Video.
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“We join our teams all over the world in celebrating Siân, Troy, the producers, and the entire cast and crew for bringing such a powerful representation of the Deaf community to audiences, and breaking so many barriers in the process. It has been so rewarding to share this life-affirming, vibrant story, which reminds us of the power of film to bring the world together.”
In addition to today’s Academy Award honors, the globally beloved film has received numerous history-making accolades since its debut, becoming the first motion picture with a predominantly Deaf cast to receive a SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.
At this year’s PGA Awards, “CODA” became the first film with a predominantly Deaf cast to receive the Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures, recognizing producers Philippe Rousselet, Fabrice Gianfermi, and Patrick Wachsberger.
Troy Kotsur is the first Deaf male actor to ever receive an Oscar, a BAFTA Award, a SAG Award, a Film Independent Spirit Award, and a Critics Choice Award for his moving performance in the Supporting Actor category. “CODA” writer-director Siân Heder was also recently recognized with this year’s WGA Award and BAFTA Film Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.
At the Sundance Film Festival in 2021, where the Apple Original Film had its world premiere, “CODA” was honored with an unprecedented four awards, including the Special Jury Award for Ensemble Cast, the Directing Award, the Audience Award, and the Grand Jury Prize, making it the first top Sundance winner to achieve an Oscar for Best Picture. “CODA” has also received an AFI Award, an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Independent Motion Picture, and four Hollywood Critics Association Film Awards, including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay for Siân Heder, and Best Supporting Actor for Troy Kotsur, as well as an HCA Spotlight Award.
Since the debut of Apple TV+ just over two years ago, Apple’s series and films have earned 240 wins and 953 nominations, including recognition from the Academy Awards, SAG Awards, BAFTA Film Awards, Critics Choice Awards, Critics Choice Documentary Awards, NAACP Image Awards, Daytime and Primetime Emmy Awards, and more.
