It didn’t take long for Toronto to storm the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles and leave its mark on the 98th Academy Awards.
The first big winner was Toronto’s Maggie Kang who won the Best Animated Feature Oscar for KPop Demon Hunters.
The big win comes on the heels of the news that Netflix has green lighted a sequel to its most popular film in platform history.
Another Canadian project, The Girl Who Cried Pearls, won the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film.
The film, a National Film Board of Canada production, although not strictly speaking a Toronto project, did premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and featured the voice of Toronto’s Colm Feore.
“This award is a tribute to all the artists who shared this labour with us. They are not just names in the credits, they are our community, and their extraordinary talent and hard work made this possible. We’d especially like to thank the National Film Board of Canada for their enduring support, and the Academy for continuing to champion short animated film. Statue or no statue, the support we’ve gotten from friends and family these past weeks has been overwhelming. We can’t express how meaningful it’s been. Now we may finally get a free beer from our local pub,” said the acclaimed animation duo Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski in a statement.
Next up, Guillermo del Toronto’s Netflix project Frankenstein started taking awards in the visual categories including Best Makeup and Hairstyling (Mike Hill, Jordan Samuel, Cliona Furey), Best Production Design, and Best Costume Design (Kate Hawley).
Del Toro, an honourary Torontonian who has lived in Toronto off and on over the years and was given a key to the city by Mayor Olivia Chow in 2025, shot the film here, as he has done for most of his projects over the years.
“Toronto has been a second home to me and my creative endeavors. To have my name associated with these glorious stages where my beloved crew and colleagues share both work and memories is an immense honor,” he said at the time. “I am deeply grateful to Cinespace Studios for this recognition, and to the Toronto film community for its unwavering support throughout decades of my career. ”
The film had nine nominations.
