2nd Academy Awards

The 2nd Academy Awards were presented on April 3, 1930, at an awards banquet in the Cocoanut Grove of The Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, and broadcast live on the radio. The awards were for films released between August 1, 1928, and July 31, 1929.

As the ceremony was being held more than eight months after the end of the eligibility period, it was decided that the 3rd Academy Awards would be held in November 1930, so as to bring the awards ceremony closer to the relevant time period. As a result, 1930 was the only year in which two awards ceremonies were held in the same calendar year.

The second ceremony included a number of changes over the first. Most importantly, it was the first presentation for which the winners were not announced in advance. Additionally, the number of categories was reduced from twelve to seven.

The 2nd Academy Awards is unique in being the only occasion where there were no official nominees. Subsequent research by AMPAS has resulted in a list of unofficial or de facto nominees, based on records of which films were evaluated by the judges.

The Divine Lady is the only film to ever win Best Director without a Best Picture nomination, excluding the first year where there was an award for comic director.

This is the only year in which no movie won more than one Oscar.