In a rare move, two films tied for the Oscar for best live-action short film, something that has only happened six times before.
“The Singers,” directed by Sam A. Davis and produced by Jack Piatt, and “Two People Exchanging Saliva,” by Alexandre Singh and Natalie Musteata, won the coveted Academy Award on Sunday night.
Kumail Nanjiani, who presented the award, made it clear that he was not joking when he said there were two winners.
“It’s a tie. I’m not kidding. It’s actually a tie,” he said. “So everyone, calm down. We’re going to get through this!”
He then announced each winner individually, creating two award speeches. Nanjiani joked between speeches: “It’s ironic that the short film Oscar is going to take twice as long.”
The award was the first Oscar win and nomination for Piatt and the first win and second nomination for Davis.
The “Two People Exchanging Saliva” team accepted their award in second place, and Musteata said, “We are so happy to share this Oscar with ‘The Singers.’ We love all of our fellow nominees.”
The award was Musteata and Singh’s first Oscar nomination and win.
Singh, in his acceptance speech, highlighted the diverse team that made the film and emphasized that art can “change people’s souls.”
“It may take 10 years, but we can change society through art, creativity, theater, ballet and also cinema,” he said, causing laughter from the crowd. His line mocked Oscar nominee Timothée Chalamet for his comments this month when he said “no one cares” about ballet and opera.
After their speeches, host Conan O’Brien joked: “I just want to congratulate both winners. They just ruined 22 million awards for the Oscars.”
Tonight marks the seventh tie in the 98-year history of the Academy Award.
The first was in 1932, when the matchup between Fredric March and Wallace Beery was considered a tie for best actor. In 1968, Katharine Hepburn and Barbra Streisand tied for best actress.
Before tonight’s tie in the live-action shorts race, the most recent was in 2012, when “Skyfall” and “Zero Dark Thirty” were recognized for their sound editing.
