Another movie season has come and gone and the best films of the year have received their corresponding awards. With differing opinions every year, there is bound to be controversy over the winners and over the losers. So many great films are produced every year and it can be difficult to put labels on such a diverse kind of storytelling. However, the lack of an Oscar does not diminish the magnificence of a film in any sense and a win only makes the story that much sweeter.

The 88th Academy Awards were a little different from past years. There was hype over the fact that all of the acting nominees were white and offered little cultural diversity. This gave host, Chris Rock, the opportunity to roast the roast the academy in a hilarious monologue. This was also the first year that a Star Wars movie was ever nominated for an Oscar, quite an an accomplishment for such a famous franchise.

Mad Max: Fury Road pulled off an unexpected number of wins for categories such as sound mixing, sound editing, costume design, production design and editing. While the story of Mad Max may be a bit odd for a mainstream blockbuster, the creativity was groundbreaking and for those who didn’t see the film, they now have a reason. It can be argued that the sound awards could have gone to Star Wars: The Force Awakens, or the The Martian, but props to Mad Max for bringing home the win.

Of course, the most prestigious awards are saved for the end of the show. Awards such as Best Actor in a leading role and Best Picture are highly coveted and are quite hard to give out. This year, Leonardo DiCaprio finally won best actor for his role as Hugh Glass in The Revenant, a film that also won best director for Alejandro Inarritu. The award for best picture was given to the underdog Spotlight, a film whose scale was not quite as large as The Revenant or Mad Max: Fury Road, but one that definitely embodies the spirit of Storytelling. It is movies like Spotlight that are able to shed light on unfortunate situations and start to make the world a better place.

While the film industry often gets swept up in the expenses of a production and the fame of the stars, it is important to remember that the driving force behind them is of good storytelling. The best films of the year, such as the ones shown at the 88th Academy Awards, all have this storytelling characteristic in common and capitalize on what the audience can take away from it. Story is the backbone of any great film and that is what draws people in, year after year.