Ottawa cinephiles, gather round, the 98th Academy Awards ceremony is set for Sunday, March 15, in Hollywood, and this year's race is being called one of the toughest to call in recent memory. Whether you're hosting an Oscars watch party in Centretown or settling in solo with snacks, here's what to expect when the envelopes are opened.
Best Picture: A Wide-Open Race
The Best Picture field this year is stacked with ambitious, diverse titles. Contenders include Bugonia, F1, Frankenstein, Hamnet, Marty Supreme, One Battle After Another, The Secret Agent, and Sentimental Value, a lineup that spans literary adaptations, high-octane sports drama, and intimate character studies.
No single frontrunner has dominated the conversation the way past juggernauts have, which makes this year genuinely exciting for casual viewers and awards-circuit obsessives alike. Hamnet and Sentimental Value have been generating serious buzz in critics' circles, while F1 has drawn massive mainstream audiences.
Performances to Watch
On the acting side, the race is equally competitive. The Best Actor and Best Actress categories have seen lead changes throughout the awards season, with no performance locking up the consensus until very recently. Expect surprises, upsets are very much on the table.
Supporting categories tend to reward transformative work, and this year is no exception. Keep an eye on the ensemble casts of One Battle After Another and The Secret Agent, both of which have earned strong supporting nominations.
Technical Awards and Below-the-Line
For those who appreciate the craft behind the camera, F1 is widely expected to dominate in technical categories like sound and visual effects. The film's racing sequences were a genuine spectacle, and the Academy tends to reward that kind of immersive filmmaking.
How Ottawa Can Tune In
Ottawa residents can catch the ceremony live on CTV and ABC, with red carpet coverage beginning in the early evening. Several local bars and restaurants have been known to host viewing events, check with spots in the Glebe, Westboro, or ByWard Market for any last-minute watch parties.
For those planning a home screening, the nominees are largely available on major streaming platforms or at local theatres. Bytowne Cinema and Mayfair Theatre are both great spots to catch any last-minute nominees you may have missed before the big night.
Our Pick
If forced to call it: Hamnet for Best Picture, with Sentimental Value as the sentimental (pun intended) upset pick. But honestly, this year, anything could happen, and that's what makes it worth watching.
Grab your ballot, pour yourself something nice, and enjoy one of the great annual rituals of cinema.
Source: Ottawa Life Magazine
