After the audience watches a collection of clips from the early days of cinema presented by a stuttering Lauren Bacall, Jon Stewart shows a humourous video about the oddly-named best actress nominees and various dames having a joking poke at Dame Judi Dench.

But no awards for best actress yet - instead it's the documentary shorts section. Presenter Terrence Howard (nominated for Hustle & Flow, also appearing in Crash) notes that each movie has a war-based theme before announcing the winner as...A Note of Triumph: The Golden Age of Norman Corwin. Made by Corrine Marrinan and Eric Simonson, the film explores the lasting impression of the broadcaster.


The award for best documentary feature is presented by best actress nominee Charlize Theron (North Country). Predictably enough, the award goes to box office sensation March of the Penguins. Luc Jacquet and Yves Darondeau board the stage to accept.

A musical interlude now, with Kathleen 'Bird' York singing her Oscar-nominated offering In The Deep, the emotive song at the end of Paul Haggis' excellent Crash.