32nd Academy Awards 32nd Academy Awards The 32nd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, was held on April 4, 1960 and took place at the RKO Pantages Theatre to honor the best films of 1959. The epic drama "Ben-Hur" won 11 Oscars, breaking the record of nine set the year before by "Gigi". "Ben-Hur" remained the most honored motion picture in Academy Award history until "Titanic" equaled the feat in 1997, followed by "" in 2003. "Ben-Hur" was the third film to win both Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor, a feat not repeated until "Mystic River"
Shadows (1959 film) admirer. Avant-garde film critic Jonas Mekas highly praised the film, writing in the January 1959 issue of "Film Culture" that "Shadows" "presents contemporary reality in a fresh and unconventional manner... The improvisation, spontaneity, and free inspiration that are almost entirely lost in most films from an excess of professionalism are fully used in this film." The magazine, founded by Mekas and his brother, bestowed upon "Shadows" its first "Independent Film Award". Mekas then arranged to have the film shown six more times at the Young Men's Hebrew Association. Cassavetes shot new scenes in 1959 using a script he co-wrote with