What is the Oscars?
The Oscars, officially the Academy Awards, are the most famous film awards in the world. They are presented each year by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Los Angeles.
The first Academy Awards ceremony took place on May 16, 1929, at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel and lasted about 15 minutes. Winners had been announced three months earlier. Wings won the top prize, then called Outstanding Picture.
Today, around 10,000 Academy members, all film professionals, vote for the winners in more than 20 categories, including Best Picture, Best Director and the acting awards. The ceremony is held each year in late winter or early spring at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.
The statuette
The Oscar statuette shows a knight holding a sword and standing on a reel of film. It is about 34 centimeters tall and weighs about 3.9 kilograms. Its official name is the Academy Award of Merit; nobody is sure where the nickname Oscar came from.
Did You Know?
During World War II, Oscar statuettes were made of painted plaster because of metal shortages. Winners could later swap them for metal ones.