Two Welsh Oscar nominees win big at awards

Two out of three Welsh Oscar nominees have taken home awards in the 2025 Academy Awards.

Cinematographer Lol Crawley, who grew up in Llansantffraid-ym-Mechain, Powys, won best cinematography for The Brutalist at the 97th edition of the Oscars.

Meanwhile special effects artist Rhys Salcombe, from Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, was part of a team that won the best visual effects Oscar for work on Dune: Part Two.

In his acceptance speech, Crawley thanked "all my friends back in Wales" and said he had huge affection for the country.

Crawley told BBC News Breakfast it was "extraordinary" and "overwhelming" to hear his name read out when the winner was announced.

Asked what it meant for Wales, he said he was "very, very proud".

"It doesn't seem that long since I was there, to be honest, and I have a huge affection for that country," he said.

Crawley finished audio visual studies at college in Wrexham, followed by media production at university, before moving to Los Angeles in 2019.

Crawley, who was born in Shrewsbury and grew up in Powys, loved watching films with his father.

Asked about the film's much-discussed 15-minute intermission, he said he recalled going to the nearest cinema as a child on the Welsh-English border to see BMX Bandits which had an intermission, allowing him to buy an ice cream.

The Brutalist, which was nominated for 10 Oscars and won three, tells the story of Hungarian immigrant and Holocaust survivor László Tóth, who is trying to rebuild his life in post-war America through his work as an architect.

Trevor Matthews, son of business magnate and Celtic Manor Resort owner Sir Terry Matthews, was among four producers of The Brutalist who missed out on the best picture award.

Independent film Anora won five awards including best picture and best actress.