In what has been termed the most racially diverse Academy Award nominations in years, Moonlight the coming of age story of an inner city black queer youth, today received eight Oscar nominations, including one for Best Picture.
Others nominations for Moonlight include Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Film Editing and Original Score. Individual nominations included: Barry Jenkins for Best Director, Mahershala Ali for Best Supporting Actor and Naomie Harris for Best Supporting Actress.
“While other LGBTQ films have garnered major individual honors, Moonlight is notable for the number of nominations acquired within a single year within the Academy’s history,” writes Ray Bradford of GLAAD. “The last LGBTQ film to receive eight nominations was the Harvey Milk biopic Milk (2008), which took home two statuettes: Best Original Screenplay for Dustin Lance Black and Best Actor for Sean Penn.”
Following the announcements, GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis tweeted, “Congratulations to #Moonlight on a well-deserved nomination. This should be a signal to filmmakers to tell more diverse stories. #Oscars”
“It makes me feel good to see such a multifaceted group of people get recognized,” said Barry Jenkins, the director of “Moonlight,” Speaking by phone from Amsterdam to The New York Times, where he was promoting the film, he added, “It’s an affirmation that film has the power to erode barriers and reveal what makes us all human.”
Ruth Negga was nominated (Best Actress) for her performance in Loving, the story behind the Supreme Court decision that many say paved the way for marriage equality.
See the full list of nominations for the 2017 Oscars here and watch The Oscars live! Oscar Sunday Feb. 26 7e|4p on ABC.
