Arts & Life

In the film Minari, Soonja develops a special bond with her grandson David, played by Alan Kim.

Arts

Youn Yuh-jung Is First Korean To Win Oscar For Best Supporting Actress

9:56pm April 25, 2021

by Neda Ulaby

In the celebrated film Minari, Youn Yuh-jung plays Soon-ja, the grandmother of a young boy whose family has relocated to rural Arkansas. "I really understood this script deeply," she told NPR.

The Disney/Pixar film Soul centers on Joe (voiced by Jamie Foxx), a middle school band teacher who longs to be a jazz musician.

Arts

Pixar's 'Soul' Wins Best Animated Feature — The Film Never Played In U.S. Theaters

9:28pm April 25, 2021

by Bob Mondello

Last fall, with most theaters closed due to COVID-19, Disney announced it would release Soul exclusively on its streaming service Disney+. Soul is the first Pixar film to feature a Black protagonist.

Viola Davis as Ma Rainey in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom.

Arts

'Ma Rainey' Hairstylists Are 1st Black Women To Win Makeup, Hairstyling Oscar

9:24pm April 25, 2021

by Mandalit del Barco

Hairstylists Mia Neal and Jamika Wilson, along with makeup artist Sergio Lopez-Rivera, won the Academy Award for Best Makeup and Hairstyling for their work on the film Ma Rainey's Black Bottom.

Director Chloé Zhao at the 2021 Oscars. She was the first woman to receive four Oscar nominations in a single year.

Arts

Chloé Zhao Is The First Woman Of Color To Win Oscar For Best Director

9:07pm April 25, 2021

by Mandalit del Barco

The Nomadland director was also the first woman to receive four Oscar nominations in a single year, in the Best Film Editing, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Director and Best Picture categories.

Regina King attends the 93rd Annual Academy Awards.

Arts

Regina King Opens Oscars As Emerald Fennell Wins Best Original Screenplay

8:49pm April 25, 2021

by Andrew Limbong

Los Angeles' Union Station is the new backdrop for this year's Academy Awards, as Promising Young Woman writer Emerald Fennell wins Best Original Screenplay.

Arts

2021 Is Oscar's Most Diverse Year — And Now We Know Why

7:56pm April 25, 2021

by Bob Mondello

A new study from UCLA shows Hollywood made big progress last year in terms of including women and people of color, both behind and in front of the camera — and that diversity is what audiences want.

The Oscar statuette is seen backstage during the 89th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif.

Arts

What To Watch For At The Oscars

7:39pm April 25, 2021

by Eric Deggans

Tonight's ceremony closes out the longest and most unconventional awards season in Hollywood history. Several presenters and nominees will appear in person, and there's even a red carpet of sorts.

Arts

#NPRPoetry: Natalie Diaz

5:09pm April 25, 2021

Poet Natalie Diaz — author of Postcolonial Love Poem, which was a finalist for the National Book Award — tells NPR's Michel Martin about some of the listener-submitted poems that caught her eye.

Books
Arts

Embarrassed By Your Parents? 'Watercress' Explores That Universal Kid Experience

8:43am April 25, 2021

by Samantha Balaban

A little girl is initially ashamed when her immigrant parents stop the car to forage for watercress by the side of the road — until she learns more about her family's history in China.

Books
Arts

'Curb' Uses Poetry To Scrub At The Wounds Of Anti-Asian Racism

7:00am April 25, 2021

by Jenny Bhatt

Divya Victor's new book is a compilation of poems, memories, histories and essays, considering domestic terrorism against Asian Americans, in urgent words that spill out on the page like blood.