Daniel Scheinert and Daniel Kwan, who form the directing duo the “Daniels,” are Oscar winners.

The pair won for best original screenplay during Sunday night’s ceremony.

The co-writers, producers and directors of 11-time Oscar nominee “Everything Everywhere All at Once” etched their names in Hollywood history with a win at the 95th Annual Academy Awards.

Born in Birmingham, Scheinert attended Oak Mountain Elementary and Middle Schools before going to high school in Shades Valley. His parents, Ken and Becky, now live in Guntersville. His dad said Scheinert got into filmmaking through local competitions and musical theater during high school.

Humble Sidewalk beginnings

Scheinert recently threw a shoutout to his hometown Sidewalk Film Festival at the Film Independent Spirit Awards in Santa Monica, where the film swept every category in which it was nominated and won the most awards for a single film in the 38-year history of the show. As they took the stage, the Daniels made sure to thank those who inspired them early in their artistic journeys.

After his filmmaking partner Daniel Kwan shouted out out a few names, Scheinert interjected with a mention of his hometown fest: “Everyone at the Sundance Labs, the folks at the Spirit Awards, the folks at the Sidewalk Film Festival who believed in me.”

“But the film bug, it was 20 percent just me doing what my brother did, because he and his friends were all making movies for fun, and they had a public access TV show that they only made like two episodes of, but I loved it,” Scheinert told AL.com last year. “And Sidewalk Film Festival just blew my mind when I made a movie in high school with my best friends and it played for an audience and they liked it. I was like, ‘This is incredible.’ So we just started trying to make movies and do all the Sidewalk Scrambles and enter all the competitions. I interned at Sidewalk Film Festival for a while, and it became my favorite thing to do my last three years of high school.”

Scheinert said Sidewalk Film Festival is “still my favorite film festival,” so he attends anytime he can. “I always tell other filmmakers that it’s the right size of a film festival where you can walk to all the theaters, and it’s just one fun weekend. A lot of film festivals are like two weeks, and it’s all spread out.”

READ: Sidewalk Film rooting on Birmingham’s Daniel Scheinert ahead of Oscar night

Watch Scheinert’s 2005 Sidewalk Scramble entry “Brax to the Max” below.

How did the Daniels meet?

After graduating from high school in Alabama, Scheinert enrolled at Emerson College in Boston, where he met Daniel Kwan, who was from Westborough, Mass. The pair also attended college with actress and standup comedian Sunita Mani, who would later appear one of of their most famous music videos. Before their first feature, they made several short films including “Interesting Ball,” partially about a friend’s prank gone horribly wrong.

They directed the ‘Turn Down for What’ music video (and more)

The Daniels cut their teeth as professional directors making music videos, including the Grammy-nominated “Turn Down for What” by DJ Snake and Lil Jon. The video depicts one of the weirdest and wildest dance parties you’ll ever see. As of today, it has 1.8 billion views on YouTube. It earned a Grammy nomination for best music video in 2015 but lost to Pharell’s mega-hit “Happy.” Watch the video below. (Warning: It contains some mature content.)

They also directed the video for Foster the People’s “Houdini,” which also scored a Grammy nod for best music video in 2013, losing to Rihanna and Calvin Harris’ “We Found Love.” The Daniels’ video currently has 94 million views on YouTube.

They also directed music videos for Tenacious D, The Shins and Manchester Orchestra, the latter of whom filmed their video for “Simple Mash” in Marshall County, Alabama.

Made it to the big leagues

In 2016, the duo made their feature film directing debut with “Swiss Army Man,” the offbeat fantasy starring “Little Miss Sunshine” and “There Will Be Blood” actor Paul Dano and Harry Potter himself Daniel Radcliffe. It scored positive reviews, and the pair won the directing award at the Sundance Film Festival. The Rotten Tomatoes Critics Consensus says, “Disarmingly odd and thoroughly well-acted, ‘Swiss Army Man’ offers adventurous viewers an experience as rewarding as it is impossible to categorize.”

A splash of TV

Their television credits include directing episodes for “NTSF:SD:SUV::,” “Childrens Hospital,” “Infomercials” and “Awkwafina is Nora from Queens.”

Solo homecoming

The Alabama-made comedy “The Death of Dick Long” screened at Scheinert’s hometown Sidewalk Film Festival, marked the long-awaited follow-up to “Swiss Army Man” and the Birminghan native’s solo debut. Sidewalk programmer Corey Craft pitched it like this: “It all started as a normal band practice. But things got weird, and good ol’ boy Dick died. Now his buddies Zeke and Earl are left to cover their tracks and keep a shocking dark secret. But they aren’t exactly master criminals, and terrible things never stay buried in small Alabama towns. Soon, the two raise the suspicions of the cops and Zeke’s much smarter wife. Birmingham native Daniel Scheinert directs this lovingly Southern caper comedy with an outrageous twist.”

The film co-stars Alabama actors (including Roy Wood Jr.) and was shot in and around the greater Birmingham area.

‘Everything Everywhere’

“Everything Everywhere All at Once” follows an aging Chinese immigrant (Michelle Yeoh) swept up in an insane adventure, where she alone can save the world by exploring other universes and connecting with the lives she could have led.

The film features four Oscar-nominated performances from Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, Jamie Lee Curtis and Stephanie Hsu. You can stream it on Showtime Anytime and Paramount+ (with a Showtime subscription). One of the best-reviewed movies of the year, the film has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 95%. The consensus says, “Led by an outstanding Michelle Yeoh, ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ lives up to its title with an expertly calibrated assault on the senses.”

It also earned $107 million at the global box office, making it the highest grosser in distributor A24′s history.

“Everything Everywhere All at Once” marks the 55th film to receive at least 11 Oscar nominations; 27 of those films won best picture. The Oscars mark the culmination of a long award season in Hollywood. Multiple industry guilds, critics’ circles and other organizations hand out trophies, often considered precursors that indicate the likelihood of certain films and artists winning in the same categories at the Academy Awards. The film pulled off the rare feat of sweeping the all-important and predictive Writers Guild, Producers Guild, Directors Guild and Screen Actors Guild — something achieved only by “American Beauty,” “No Country for Old Men,” “Slumdog Millionaire” and “Argo,” all of which went on to win best picture.

READ: ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’: How to watch before Oscar night

What’s next?

Where does one go after reaching the summit of 11 Oscar nominations and potentially several wins for a film many consider the best of a given year? The Daniels (with producing partner Jonathan Wang) last summer signed an exclusive five-year deal with Universal, giving them more resources and power to develop original ideas on a much larger Hollywood scale.

“They’re trying to put together the framework of how they can move forward with both TV shows and movies and still maintain the creative spark that they have,” Daniel Scheinert’s father Ken said. “I know Daniel is struggling with that in terms of they’re used to working on such a low budget. They don’t want to get too big or too complex that they can’t do what they’ve done in the past. So that’s their big challenge right now. How do they top and continue what they’ve done in a different structure?”

His mother Becky said the success of “Everything Everywhere” and the subsequent awards circuit, where they’ve had the opportunity to meet other talented industry professionals, have given the Daniels a sense of whether various actors share a similar aesthetic and if they could work with them in the future. “I know that’s what he’s thinking, ‘Oh, let me see where this guy’s head is. What is he like really?’”

READ: Mom’s going to the Oscars! ‘Everything Everywhere’ director’s parents talk son’s success

During the annual Oscar nominees luncheon in February, the Daniels mixed and mingled in the same room as Steven Spielberg, Tom Cruise and Guillermo Del Toro. As they took their places for the nominee class photo, you can see Scheinert standing next to “Elvis” star Austin Butler as the two carry on conversation for several minutes while others get set for the picture. “He talked about meeting Cate Blanchett,” Ken said. “He said he was really kind of intimidated initially talking to her, then realized, ‘Wait, she’s kind of wild and crazy like me. This is fun.’”

Ken said they even got a phone call from Spielberg, who invited the Daniels to lunch where they spent the time talking and sharing ideas, which he called “a big deal for Daniel.” His mom said Spielberg shared advice on how to manage being a director with other components in life. “Some real philosophical things that Steven Spielberg can certainly pontificate on, if he so chooses,” Becky said, “that would give a pathway and good insight for the Daniels.”

READ: What Steven Spielberg learned from Oscar-nominated Alabama filmmaker

Quirky Fashion Sense

It should surprise no one that the creative force behind “Everything Everywhere All at Once” can make a splash on the red carpet during their run of award season dominance. In particular, Daniel Scheinert does not shy away from making one fashion statement after the next. From vintage Alabama Crimson Tide T-shirts to an oversized camo poncho (paired well with his amazing ‘stache), Scheinert has some fun with his ceremonial wardrobe. Read more about it.

Daniels’ Favorite Movies

It’s always fascinating to learn about the films that inspired Oscar-winners and eclectic artists like the Daniels. Scheinert has appeared in various videos talking through his all-time favorite movies, including (with Kwan) the popular Criterion Closet series and the Konbini Video Club.

During the Criterion visit, the Daniels went into the famous closet “where their eclectic taste was on display with a special focus on wildly stylized genre movies that reflect their own aesthetic sensibility.” Their picks included Richard Linklater’s “Before Trilogy” starring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, Jackie Chan’s “Police Story” films, “Godzilla,” “Tampopo,” Spike Lee’s “Malcolm X” and the Emilio Estevez cult sci-fi film “Repo Man.”

In the Video Club, Scheinert makes his picks solo inside the French store. He highlights Jackie Chan’s “The Legend of Drunken Master,” Bong Joon-ho’s “Parasite,” Stephen Chow’s “Shaolin Soccer,” Michel Gondry’s “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” Ari Aster’s “Midsommar” and Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Magnolia.” Watch the whole segment.

More on Daniel Scheinert:

One of the Daniels on his Alabama roots, fitting his state into ‘Everything Everywhere’

Alabama stands to win big on Oscar night

Mom’s going to the Oscars! ‘Everything Everywhere’ director’s parents talk son’s success

Stephen Colbert calls on Alabama filmmaker to save ‘Late Show’ opening

What Steven Spielberg learned from Oscar-nominated Alabama filmmaker