RIT connections plentiful at memorable Oscars as ‘CODA’ and ‘Encanto’ win top awards

It was a memorable and historic Academy Awards for Hollywood and a number of RIT alumni at the 94th Oscars from Los Angeles’ Dolby Theatre.

CODA was a big winner Sunday night, garnering two of the biggest prizes of the evening—Best Picture, plus the Actor in a Supporting Role statue for star Troy Kotsur, who was a member of RIT/NTID’s traveling performance troupe Sunshine, Too! from 1990 to 1991. Kotsur also made history as the first deaf male to win in the supporting actor category. The coming-of-age film about the only hearing member of a deaf family also stars RIT/NTID alumnus Daniel Durant ’11 (applied computer technology) in a major supporting role. The Apple TV+ film also won for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Among the known creative team connections to Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Encanto, which won Best Animated Feature, are Zac Retz ’12 (illustration), Jennifer Stratton ’05 (film and animation), and Sarah Dunton ’17 (film and animation). The animated movie tells the tale of a family living hidden in the mountains of Colombia in a magical house and charmed place called an Encanto. Retz is an art director, creator, and owner at Impetus Animation. Both Stratton and Dunton work at Disney Animation Studios—Stratton as a character look development supervisor and Dunton as a lighting artist.

Durant, from Duluth, Minn., has had several starring roles in theater and television. He made his Broadway debut in Spring Awakening in 2015 and took on the co-lead role of Moritz in the production, receiving rave reviews from The New York Times, National Public Radio, BBC, and others. He had a recurring role in ABC Family’s Switched at Birth, playing the character of Matthew, and co-starred in its 2013 Peabody-winning episode titled “Uprising.” In 2017, Durant joined forces with Teater Manu performing arts theatre for shows in Norway and France as the lead role of Jonas in Jonas and the Body.

He has received numerous awards and recognitions, including the 2016 Theatre Award for Outstanding 2016 Broadway Debut Performance; Broadway.com’s “Top 10 Show-Stopping Performances of the 2015-2016 Broadway Season”; Huffington Post’s “Top 10 Best Theatrical Performances of 2015”; Theatremania.com’s “12 Best Broadway Debuts of 2015”; and a 2014 Robby Award nomination for Excellence in Theatre. Durant was also the 2014 Deaf Awareness Month Honoree for the City of Los Angeles, honoring his outstanding contributions to the arts and deaf and hard-of-hearing communities in Los Angeles.

The cast of CODA— an acronym that stands for “child of deaf adults”—includes Marlee Matlin, who was the first deaf performer to be nominated and then to win an Oscar in a lead role for the 1986 movie, Children of a Lesser God.

Kotsur gave a moving acceptance that was signed to the crowd and viewers around the world. In addition to his father, he thanked “all of the wonderful deaf theater stages” where he was able to develop his craft over the years.

“This is dedicated to the deaf community, the CODA community, and the disabled community; this is our moment!” he added.