A rare special Oscar has been awarded to a virtual reality installation created by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu. The Academy recognized a "visionary and powerful experience in storytelling". It's the first special Oscar to be awarded since one for Toy Story in 1996.
The Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences voted to present a Special Award (an Oscar statuette) to director Alejandro G. Iñárritu's virtual reality installation, "CARNE y ARENA (Virtually Present, Physically Invisible)," in recognition of a visionary and powerful experience in storytelling.