Results Are In! Zendaya, Swan Song, The Lost Daughter, Candyman Among PETA Oscat Winners

For Immediate Release:
March 16, 2022

Contact:
Robin Goist 202-483-7382

It’s time to roll out the red carpet for PETA’s fifth annual Oscat Awards, with new categories and exciting winners honoring the stars and movies that promoted kindness to animals through storylines, costumes, and the use of special effects during the previous year.

Nia DaCosta took home Best Director for Candyman after she used computer-generated imagery (CGI) and shadow puppetry to depict honeybee swarms and a dog-beheading scene in her buzzworthy horror sequel. Swan Song won Best Ode to Oat Milk for proving that nondairy milk is the future when a robot serves Mahershala Ali’s character an oat milk latte instead of a dairy one.

Tom Holland, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Tobey Maguire, and Andrew Garfield of Spider-Man: No Way Home picked up the award for Most Animal-Friendly Ensemble for their combined efforts promoting animal adoption and sticking to meat-free meals. The Lost Daughter nabbed Teeth off My Tentacles for highlighting how those who eat smart, sensitive, resourceful octopuses still have some character flaws to work on.

Meanwhile, Saniyya Sidney (who doesn’t eat meat) landed the Rising Star award for her role in King Richard, Malgosia Turzanska was honored with Best Costume Design for relying on innovative vegan materials like pineapple leather and tree bark in The Green Knight, and Godzilla vs. Kong won Best Liberapetion for helping humans realize the error of their speciesist ways. Parallel Mothers, Pedro Almodóvar’s masterpiece starring PETA supporter Penélope Cruz, was this year’s PETA Pick. And the coveted Best Picture prize was bestowed on none other than Seaspiracy for its unflinching look at the devastation that the fishing industry has wrought on marine animals and ecosystems.

“Whether they’re detailing the cruelty of the fishing industry or relying on humane tech like CGI instead of forcing real animals to appear on-screen, these winners show that artistry and compassion can go hand in hand,” says PETA Senior Vice President Lisa Lange. “PETA’s Oscats spotlight the Hollywood leaders who show consideration for animals, whether or not the cameras are rolling.”

Finally, Close, but No Award went to Don’t Look Up, because it’s not a comet that we’re worried about destroying the planet—it’s the meat, egg, and dairy industries that are on a one-way track to ruining us all, which the film overlooked.

The winners will each receive a framed certificate, and the full list of awards is available here.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. Anyone who sees an animal used for a production or abused at an animal-training compound should report it at PETA.org/Report or 323-210-2233. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.