Falling slowly: HOPE

During the Oscars I was truly moved by seeing host Jon Stewert bring Markéta Irglová back out after she had been ushered off before giving her acceptance speech. Markéta and Glen Hansard won the Oscar for Original Song for "Falling Slowly" from Once, the one and only category that the film was nominated in, and although Glen gave his speech, Markéta was ushered off stage before she could even begin to say anything. Thankfully Stewart brought her back after the commercial break and she delivered her unforgettable speech. Not only did the song (and film) certainly deserve the award, but it was a great relief to see it win, especially with Enchanted nominated three times in the same category. Her speech that she did end up giving was truly incredible and it is with great pleasure that I share it with all of you below.

Markéta Irglová at the OscarsHere is what Markéta Irglová said:

"Hi everyone. I just want to thank you so much. This is such a big deal, not only for us, but for all other independent musicians and artists that spend most of their time struggling, and this, the fact that we're standing here tonight, the fact that we're able to hold this, it's just to prove no matter how far out your dreams are, it's possible. And, you know, fair play to those who dare to dream and don't give up. And this song was written from a perspective of hope, and hope at the end of the day connects us all, no matter how different we are. And so thank you so much, who helped us along the way. Thank you."

Although she's supposedly a very shy person, Markéta did a great job and gave a very powerful speech. And to compliment this, her counterpart in "Falling Slowly", Glen Hansard, also gave a great acceptance speech before her. I'll include that below just as to give both of them the extra appreciation they deserve.

"Thanks! This is amazing. What are we doing here? This is mad. We made this film two years ago. We shot on two Handicams. It took us three weeks to make. We made it for a hundred grand. We never thought we would come into a room like this and be in front of you people. It's been an amazing thing. Thanks for taking this film seriously, all of you. It means a lot to us. Thanks to the Academy, thanks to all the people who've helped us, they know who they are, we don't need to say them. This is amazing. Make art. Make art. Thanks."