#OscarsSoBlack: Finally, Some Melanin-Proficient People Receive Nominations

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After two straight years of #OscarsSoWhite, in which black actors were shut out of all the acting categories, this year’s Academy Awards nominations featured so much blackness, some racist trolls on Twitter might just start calling the Oscars the BET Awards.

Moonlight, director Barry Jenkins’ stunning coming-of-age tale, received a total of eight nominations (the most nominated film this year was La La Land, with a record-tying 14), including best picture, best director, best adapted screenplay, best original score, best film editing, best cinematography, and best supporting actor for Mahershala Ali and best supporting actress for Naomie Harris.

Both Denzel Washington (lead actor) and Viola Davis (best supporting actress) were nominated for Fences, which received nominations for best adapted screenplay and best picture (oddly, Washington wasn’t nominated for best director); Octavia Spencer was nominated for best actress in a supporting role for Hidden Figures, which was nominated for best adapted screenplay and best picture. And Ruth Negga was nominated for lead actress for her role as Mildred Loving in Loving, which tells the true story of the couple who won the Supreme Court case that ended miscegenation laws in America.

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In the documentary feature category, four of the five nominated films were directed by black filmmakers: Ava DuVernay’s 13th; Ezra Edelman’s O.J.: Made in America; Raoul Peck for I Am Not Your Negro; and Roger Ross Williams for Life, Animated.

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Here’s the complete list of nominees:

Best picture:
Arrival
Fences
Hacksaw Ridge
Hell or High Water
Hidden Figures
La La Land
Lion
Manchester by the Sea
Moonlight 

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Lead actor:
Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea
Andrew Garfield, Hacksaw Ridge
Ryan Gosling, La La Land
Viggo Mortensen, Captain Fantastic
Denzel Washington, Fences

Lead actress:
Isabelle Huppert, Elle
Ruth Negga, Loving
Natalie Portman, Jackie
Emma Stone, La La Land
Meryl Streep, Florence Foster Jenkins

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Supporting actor:
Mahershala Ali, Moonlight
Jeff Bridges, Hell or High Water
Lucas Hedges, Manchester by the Sea
Dev Patel, Lion
Michael Shannon, Nocturnal Animals

Supporting actress:
Viola Davis, Fences
Naomie Harris, Moonlight
Nicole Kidman, Lion
Octavia Spencer, Hidden Figures
Michelle Williams, Manchester by the Sea

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Best director:
Damien Chazelle, La La Land
Mel Gibson, Hacksaw Ridge
Barry Jenkins, Moonlight
Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester by the Sea
Denis Villeneuve, Arrival

Animated feature:
Kubo and the Two Strings
Moana
My Life as a Zucchini
The Red Turtle
Zootopia

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Animated short:
Blind Vaysha
Borrowed Time
Pear Cider and Cigarettes
Pearl
Piper 

Adapted screenplay:
Arrival
Fences
Hidden Figures
Lion
Moonlight

Original screenplay:
20th Century Women
Hell or High Water
La La Land
The Lobster
Manchester by the Sea 

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Cinematography:
Arrival
La La Land
Lion
Moonlight
Silence

Best documentary feature:
13th
Fire at Sea
I Am Not Your Negro
Life, Animated
O.J.: Made in America

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Best documentary short subject:
4.1 Miles
Extremist
Joe’s Violin
Watani: My Homeland
The White Helmets

Best live-action short film:
Ennemis Intérieurs
La Femme et le TGV
Silent Nights
Sing
Timecode

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Best foreign-language film:
A Man Called Ove
Land of Mine
Tanna
The Salesman
Toni Erdmann

Film editing:
Arrival
Hacksaw Ridge
Hell or High Water
La La Land
Moonlight

Sound editing:
Arrival
Deep Water Horizon
Hacksaw Ridge
La La Land
Sully

Sound mixing:
Arrival
Hacksaw Ridge
La La Land
Rogue One
13 Hours

Production design:
Arrival
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Hail Caesar!
La La Land
Passengers

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Original score:
Jackie
La La Land
Lion
Moonlight
Passengers

Original song:
“Audition,” La La Land
“Can’t Stop the Feeling!,” Trolls
“City of Stars,” La La Land
“The Empty Chair,” Jim: The James Foley Story
“How Far I’ll Go,” Moana

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Makeup and hair:
A Man Called Ove
Star Trek Beyond
Suicide Squad

Costume design:
Allied
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Florence Foster Jenkins
Jackie
La La Land

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Visual effects:
Deepwater Horizon
Doctor Strange
Jungle Book
Kubo and the Two Strings
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story