Viola Davis attends a Q&A at a preview screening of 'Fences' of at BFI Southbank on January 14, 2017 in London, England. (Photo : Getty Images/ Tim P. Whitby)
The 89th Academy Awards nominees have been announced and the list highlights this year's diversity. The past two years have been heavily criticized for not including people of color, giving rise to the #OscarsSoWhite term first coined by writer April Reign.
The nominees are also well spread out through the different categories, Polygon reported. Of the 20 nominations for acting, six of them have gone to people of color. This breaks a new record of black people getting nominated in the Oscars.
Denzel Washington garnered the nomination for Best Actor for his performance in "Fences." Ruth Negga earned the nomination for Best Actress for her role in "Loving. Mahershala Ali, Dev Patel, Viola Davis, Naomie Harris and Octavia Spencer gained nominations in the Best Supporting Actor and Actress categories.
Of the 9 films selected for the Best Picture category, four of them have an emphasis on people of color. This list includes "Moonlight," "Hidden Figures," "Fences" and "Lion." The other Best Picture nominees include "La La Land," "Hell or High Water," "Hacksaw Ridge," "Arrival" and "Lion."
Berry Jenkins has also received both the Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay nominations for his work on "Moonlight." Bradford Young earned a nomination for Best Cinematography and Joi McMillon has been nominated for Best Editing.
Kimberly Steward, who worked on "Manchester by the Sea," is also the second producer in history to be recognized for the Best Picture category. The first honor goes to Oprah Winfrey as she served as a producer for "Selma."
April Reign still points out that the #OscarsSoWhite issue is still not done. There are still films where Caucasians are cast in roles originally meant for Asians such as Scarlett Johansson in "Ghost in the Shell" and Tilda Swinton in "Doctor Strange."
"While these films this year reflect the black experience, I'm still waiting for films that reflect the Latino experience, for a romantic comedy with two LGBTQIA members, for a disabled or differently-abled superhero," she told The Hollywood Reporter. "We haven't gotten there yet, but today was another step in the right direction."
The 89th Academy Awards will take place on Feb. 26. The announcement for the Best Picture category can be viewed below:
