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Three years ago, Bong Jun-ho’s film “Parasite” swept the Oscars with wins in major categories including best picture and director, indicating that the Academy Awards had taken a step forward in terms of representation. This year, the Oscars took another step in that direction.

At the 95th Academy Awards, held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Sunday, Michelle Yeoh became the first Asian to win best actress for her role in “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” That was one of just seven Oscars claimed by the film in a triumphant showing at the awards. It also won best picture, best director, best supporting actor, best supporting actress, best original screenplay and best film editing.

This was especially significant not only because Yeoh, along with many of the other actors, directors, and producers, were of Asian descent but also because it recognized the artistic value of unpretentious creativity, rather than the highbrow art films highlighted in the past.

Prior to their debut in the film industry, Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert — the 35-year-old directors of “Everything” who have been dubbed the Daniels — cut their teeth on audaciously trashy music videos. And now they’ve won big at the Oscars with only their third film, which beat out “The Fabelmans,” a film praised as Steven Spielberg’s best ever.

“There is greatness in every single person. It doesn’t matter who they are. You have a genius that is waiting to erupt,” Kwan said in his acceptance speech.

Paul Rogers, winner of the Oscar for film editing, surprised viewers by admitting this was only his second film to edit. The award recognized the challenge of editing a film with far more cuts than usual, given the nonlinear nature of a plot based on the multiverse.

“Everything” was honored not only with best supporting actor for Ke Huy Quan but also best supporting actress for Jamie Lee Curtis.

Curtis was dubbed the “Scream Queen” for her frequent performances in horror films such as the “Halloween” series in her youth, but she had never been recognized at the Academy Awards. And now she took home her first Oscar at the age of 64.

“My mother and my father were both nominated for Oscars in different categories. I just won an Oscar!” said Curtis, daughter of Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh, both film stars.

“Everything” wasn’t the only film in the spotlight this year. The story behind best actor was as touching as that of Michelle Yeoh. That award went to Brendan Fraser, who was propelled to global stardom with his role in the blockbuster “Mummy” series in the late 1990s, but then was largely forgotten afterward.

Fraser was praised for his leading performance in “The Whale,” in which he portrays Charlie, a troubled university lecturer whose guilt over leaving his family and losing a loved one drives him to binge-eat, reaching a weight of 600 pounds.

“So this is what the multiverse looks like!” the actor said, contrasting the dark times he’d gone through and the enthusiastic applause at the awards ceremony. On stage, Fraser sobbed openly, not even trying to hide his surging emotions.

An injury suffered while shooting “The Mummy” series led to recurring surgeries and physical therapy, and he lost filming opportunities after he came forward with sexual assault allegations against a film executive. He gradually disappeared from the screen and spent more than 10 years without any major roles.

Fraser noted that he hadn’t fully appreciated the movies when he began his career 30 years ago. “I just want to say thank you for this acknowledgment,” he said, likening his remarkable comeback to coming up for air after being “on a diving expedition on the bottom of the ocean.”

“Everything” received the most nominations, with 11 in 10 categories, while Netflix’s German-produced film “All Quiet on the Western Front” came in second with nominations in nine categories and four wins with best international feature film, best cinematography, best original score and best production design.

Rihanna gave a tribute to Chadwick Boseman, star of “Black Panther,” who died of colon cancer in 2020, with her performance of “Lift Me Up,” the theme song from “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” during the award ceremony.

“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” won the Oscar for best costume design, while James Cameron’s “Avatar: The Way of Water,” now the third-highest-grossing film of all time, took home the award for best visual effects.

By Kim Eun-hyoung, senior staff writer

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