Coogler’s achievements, and the critical and commercial success of ‘Sinners,’ are credited with bringing much deserved attention to Black storytelling, original films and the Bay …
HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 15: Ryan Coogler accepts the Writing award for “Sinners” onstage during the 98th Oscars at Dolby Theatre on March 15, 2026 in Hollywood, California. Going into Sunday night’s 98th Academy Awards, Ryan Coogler was aware that he and his film, “Sinners,” could make Oscars history.
Again.including for best picture, the most in the nearly 100-year history of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. While “Sinners” won in just four of those categories Sunday, its triumphs were still noteworthy, culminating in Michael B. Jordan’s trophy for best actor, with the star expressing gratitude to everyone who believed “in this dream, this vision of Ryan Coogler’s,” his longtime collaborator. US actor Michael B. Jordan accepts the award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for “Sinners” onstage during the 98th Annual Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California on March 15, 2026. Jordan also noted that “Sinners” is a film about Black culture and embedded in “original ideas and artistry.” In addition, the film’s director of photography, the Bay Area-reared Autumn Durald Arkapaw, also made history as the first woman to ever win the Oscar for best cinematography. During her speech, she asked all the women in the Dolby Theatre to stand, “because I don’t feel I get here without you guys.” HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 15: Autumn Durald Arkapaw, winner of the Best Cinematography Award for “Sinners”, poses in the press room during the 98th Oscars at Dolby Theatre on March 15, 2026 in Hollywood, California. While Coogler didn’t win the Oscar for best director, which would have made him the first Black filmmaker to be so recognized, he was given the award for best original screenplay, becoming the second Black writer to be so honored, following Jordan Peele, who won in 2018 for “Get Out.” During his acceptance speech, Coogler, 39, highlighted his Oakland and Richmond roots, saying “We can talk a lot!” With the figure of a guitar braided into his hair, Coogler asked his “Sinners” cast and crew to stand and take their bows, while he thanked his parents and his wife, Zinzi, who also his producing partner, for their support, saying, “Thank y’all for making me believe in myself.” In the Bay Area, Coogler’s friends and colleagues held Oscar watch parties and “crossed their fingers” for accolades to also rain down on everyone from the “Sinners” team. That included Ludwig Göransson, who won the Oscar for his atmospheric, blues-influenced score for the film, as well as other Oakland residents: Singer-songwriter Raphael Saadiq, nominated for best original song, “I Lied to You,” and veteran actor Delroy Lindo, nominated for best supporting actor. These latter awards, respectively, instead went to the song “Golden” from “KPop Demon Hunters” and to Sean Penn for “One Battle After Another.” This image released by Warner Bros Pictures shows Michael B. Jordan, center, in a scene from “Sinners.” Here’s a look at the Oscars’ hosts and TV ratings over the yearsBefore and after Sunday’s Oscars, Bay Area fans of Coogler, and of “Sinners,” said that his achievements, and the critical and commercial success of the film, had brought much-deserved attention to the region’s dynamic filmmaking community. The film, based on Coogler’s original story, also has elevated narratives about Black culture, as told by a Black artist, they said. “I think what ‘Sinners,’ what Ryan Coogler, being from the Bay and this being an original film, have been able to generate — it shows that our stories matter,” said Jamal Trulove, a filmmaker, community advocate and founder of Bay Area Film Night, a nonprofit that supports short film projects by local artists. On this point, U.S. Rep Lateefah Simon, whose 12th congressional district includes Oakland, concurred, issuing a statement Sunday night that said, “In a time when forces are working feverishly to silence what Black stories can be, this Oscar win is a declaration. Real power belongs to those who create with uncompromising integrity.” Set in 1930s, “Sinners” blends the genres of musical, Southern gothic, gangster and horror to follow twin brothers Smoke and Stack who return from Chicago to their Mississippi hometown to open a juke joint. With all the action packed into a 24-hour period, the film explores religion, sexuality, death, racial oppression, the origins of the blues and the interplay of white, Native American and Black culture in American music and identity. Coogler has said that some narrative elements for “Sinners” came from stories he heard from his great uncle and other relatives who immigrated to Oakland and Richmond from the South. HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 15: Delroy Lindo speaks onstage during the 98th Oscars at Dolby Theatre on March 15, 2026 in Hollywood, California. For Trulove and others, the 16 nominations for “Sinners” highlighted the global impact of artists cultivated within the Bay Area. “Oakland has shaped some of the most important voices in modern filmmaking,” Trulove said prior to Sunday night. Following Sunday’s ceremony, Trulove expressed disappointment that “Sinners” didn’t win best picture and director, and that Lindo was not honored as supporting actor, but he said it “was still a beautiful night.” Guests at the Bay Area Film Night watch party at the Kissel Uptown Oakland hotel still “celebrated and cheered when we won.” “At the end of the day, all we can do is to keep creating and inspiring and guiding,” Trulove said. He also said that “celebrating Ryan Coogler during the Oscars is also about inspiring the next generation of storytellers who will come from this community.” That next generation includes East Bay screenwriter and film educator Tajianna Okechukwu, who said it was “a joy to watch one of our own win Best Original Screenplay.” She also said she has been moved by Coogler saying on the campaign trail that he’s been grateful to be recognized for “Sinners,” but that individual awards for him are not the point. “The classiness and just the true artist Ryan is in making that statement about how is not a win for me, the win is that I get to make a film,” Okechukwu said. “I just think about how revolutionary that is for artists to be in this world, to be able to do art as our employment. You know, that’s the dream for all of us.” Anne Lai, executive director of SFFILM, agreed that it’s impactful for the local film community when someone like Coogler succeeds, because it builds interest in “who he is and where he came from.” The nonprofit produces the San Francisco International Film Festival and provides grants to aspiring filmmakers. That includes Coogler, who received two Rainin grants to help complete “Fruitvale Station,” his 2013 debut feature about the police killing of Oscar Grant. Coogler followed up “Fruitvale Station” by bringing his unique vision to the successful Rocky and MCU franchise films — “Creed,” “Black Panther” and “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” — before returning to tell his own story with “Sinners.” “What we’ve witnessed as an audience but also as a film organization is this ambition and that with every film he’s been able to grow, not just in scope and ambition but he’s been able to explore original works,” Lai said. She noted that his ambition extends to starting the Proximity Media production company with his wife, which is now supporting “a lot of other significant work.” This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Leonardo DiCaprio in a scene from “One Battle After Another.” Ahead of the Oscars, many industry experts and film critics correctly predicted that “Sinners” would not win best picture or best director — not because they didn’t think it wasn’t deserving. As expected, those top prizes went to the equally acclaimed “One Battle After Another” and its director Paul Thomas Anderson. One reason Anderson had an advantage is the “it’s his time” narrative. Over the past 30 years, Anderson has gained recognition as one of the great filmmakers currently working in the world today, though he had yet to win an Oscar until Sunday night, despite receiving 14 total nominations over the span of his career. “One Battle After Another” also had “the stats” behind it, as critics said. That is, it had won major precursor awards for best picture and best director from such bodies as Critics Choice, the Producers Guild of America and BAFTA. HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 15: Zinzi Evans and Ryan Coogler attend the 98th Oscars at Dolby Theatre on March 15, 2026 in Hollywood, California. But all along, Coogler was expected to win the Oscar for best original screenplay. To Rosemary Graham, an emeritus English professor at St. Mary’s College in Orinda, this honor is a long time coming. Graham is often credited — and by Coogler himself — with encouraging him to consider a filmmaking career after he took a required English class from her in 2003. Coogler started at St. Mary’s as a chemistry major on a football scholarship, but Graham told him he had a gift for writing scenes after he turned in a routine assignment that showed an ability to convey action, emotion and a strong visual quality. Over the years, Graham said, she and Coogler have stayed in touch. She said she’s read all his screenplays and seen all his movies, including the student film he made for his MFA thesis at USC. She has also seen “Sinners” five times. “I think it’s genius,” Graham said. “I’m amazed by the blending together of the history of the Jim Crow South, the development of the blues, and the Irish connection.” Graham also cited a recent New York Times story, quoting Joy Connolly, the president of the American Council of Learned Societies, as saying that the $280 million domestic box office for “Sinners” demonstrates that Americans want to learn about their history, as painful and complicated as it can be. “I’m enormously proud of and happy for Ryan and his wife, Zinzi, who produced ‘Sinners,’ and for their large and loving extended families who have nurtured and supported them all along the way,” Graham said. 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