The red carpet during the 77th Annual Academy Awards

The Oscars! Every January, when the calendar has turned to a new year, the attention of the entertainment community and of film fans around the world turns to the upcoming Academy Awards. Oscar Fever hits, building to the crescendo of the annual presentation of golden statuettes, when hundreds of millions of cinema lovers glue themselves to their television sets to learn who will receive the highest honor in filmmaking.

After three-quarters of a century of recognizing excellence in cinema achievement, the annual presentation of the Oscars has become the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' most famous activity.

The Academy Awards Presentation is also the activity that enables the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to maintain its varied year-round calendar of programs and events and a wide-ranging educational and cultural agenda.

The annual Oscar presentation has been held since 1929.

All voting for Academy Awards is conducted by secret ballot and tabulated by the international auditing firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers. Secrecy is maintained by the auditors - the results of balloting are not revealed until the now-famous envelopes are opened on stage during the live television program. Because the Academy numbers among its members the ablest artists and craftsmen in the motion picture world, the Oscar represents the best achievements of the year in the opinion of those who themselves reside at the top of their craft.