Organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Academy Awards, or Oscars, are considered the most prestigious award in American filmmaking. Taking place annually around late February or early March, the event often referred to as Hollywood’s biggest night celebrates the best of the theatrical releases from the previous calendar year.

Each year, the Oscars are voted on by members of AMPAS, referred to in shorthand as the Academy. There are 19 branches in the organization, all representing key figures in filmmaking, from documentarians and animators, to visual effects supervisors, cinematographers, and costume designers, to producers, talent representatives, and studio executives. Together, this group of seasoned filmmaking professionals determine which projects and peers should be nominated and win Oscars.

Preliminary voting usually begins in December, where voters for 10 categories determine a shortlist of 15 nominees. For example, members of the Shorts branch vote on which 15 films should be eligible for the Best Live Action Short category, and members of the Music branch vote on which 15 tracks should be able to be nominated for Best Original Song that year. 

Shortly, afterward, in mid-to-late December, the 10 shortlists are published, and the next step becomes nomination voting for all categories, which takes place in early January. Here is where members of the Actors branch determine which stars should receive nominations for Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Supporting Actress. Similarly, members of the Directors branch determine the Best Director nominees, the Writers branch members determine the Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Original Screenplay nominees, and so on. Though all active AMPAS members are allowed to vote on which 10 films should be nominated for Best Picture.

Finally, Oscar nominations are announced by the end of January, with final voting commencing a few weeks later, around mid-February, and lasting through about a six-day period. Again, a week or two passes, and then it is finally time for the winners to be revealed at the annual awards show.

The Oscars are broadcast on ABC each year live from the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, often hosted by a late night host or comedy figure like Jimmy Kimmel, Whoopi Goldberg, or Billy Crystal.