The
68th Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best
films of 1995 in the United States and took place on March 25, 1996, at the
Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles beginning at 6:00 p.m.
PST / 9:00 p.m.
EST. During the ceremony, AMPAS presented
Academy Awards (commonly referred to as Oscars) in 24 categories. The ceremony, televised in the United States by
ABC, was produced by
Quincy Jones and directed by Jeff Margolis. Actress
Whoopi Goldberg hosted the show for the second time, having previously presided over the
66th ceremony in 1994. Three weeks earlier, in a ceremony held at the
Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel in
Beverly Hills, California, on March 2, the
Academy Awards for Technical Achievement were presented by host
Richard Dreyfuss.