Awards season · Reel 07

A Guide to the 2017 Oscar Nominees and Winners

The 89th Academy Awards had everything: an envelope mix-up for the ages, landslide victories, mixed feelings — and, at the end of the night, a ledger worth keeping. Here it is, category by category.

Golden statuettes under a spotlight before a navy curtain
Eighty-nine years in, one night still decides the year in film.

Introduction

We saw great movies and TV shows in the last quarter of 2016, and the bar rose even higher with 2017’s list of great TV shows and movies that charmed so many people to their screens. Now in its 89th year, the Oscars remain a celebration of the film industry’s cinematic achievements — and the 2017 nominees and winners are a testament to a growing movie industry.

Edition

89th

Best Picture

Moonlight

Most wins

La La Land · 6

Categories below

23

Controversies galore

Controversies and complaints have always trailed Oscar announcements — the previous edition was tagged the “all-white Oscars” by aggrieved actors. This time it was presenter Warren Beatty and co-presenter Faye Dunaway in the spotlight, after mistakenly announcing La La Land as Best Picture instead of Moonlight. Hours after the ceremony, PricewaterhouseCoopers — the accounting firm in charge of the envelopes — took full responsibility for the mix-up in its statement of apology.

Ever since, the events that led to the gaffe have been reported extensively in reputable outlets, including the LA Times. Some winners attracted mixed feelings; for others it was a landslide. Below is each category's winner, marked, alongside a selection of its nominees.

A hand opening a red award envelope on stage
One envelope, two announcements — the moment the 89th ceremony will always be remembered for.

The 2017 Oscar nominees and winners

Best Picture

Moonlight Winner

  • La La Land
  • Manchester by the Sea
  • Arrival
  • Hidden Figures
  • Hell or High Water
  • Hacksaw Ridge
  • Fences
  • Lion

Best Director

Damien Chazelle · La La Land Winner

  • Mel Gibson · Hacksaw Ridge
  • Barry Jenkins · Moonlight
  • Kenneth Lonergan · Manchester by the Sea
  • Denis Villeneuve · Arrival

Best Actor

Casey Affleck · Manchester by the Sea Winner

  • Ryan Gosling · La La Land
  • Denzel Washington · Fences
  • Andrew Garfield · Hacksaw Ridge
  • Viggo Mortensen · Captain Fantastic

Best Actress

Emma Stone · La La Land Winner

  • Natalie Portman · Jackie
  • Ruth Negga · Loving
  • Isabelle Huppert · Elle
  • Meryl Streep · Florence Foster Jenkins

Best Supporting Actor

Mahershala Ali · Moonlight Winner

  • Jeff Bridges · Hell or High Water
  • Dev Patel · Lion
  • Lucas Hedges · Manchester by the Sea
  • Michael Shannon · Nocturnal Animals

Best Supporting Actress

Viola Davis · Fences Winner

  • Naomie Harris · Moonlight
  • Nicole Kidman · Lion
  • Octavia Spencer · Hidden Figures
  • Michelle Williams · Manchester by the Sea

Best Original Screenplay

Kenneth Lonergan · Manchester by the Sea Winner

  • Damien Chazelle · La La Land
  • Taylor Sheridan · Hell or High Water
  • Yorgos Lanthimos & Efthymis Filippou · The Lobster
  • Mike Mills · 20th Century Women

Best Adapted Screenplay

Barry Jenkins & Tarell Alvin McCraney · Moonlight Winner

  • Eric Heisserer · Arrival
  • Luke Davies · Lion
  • August Wilson · Fences
  • Allison Schroeder & Theodore Melfi · Hidden Figures

Best Cinematography

Linus Sandgren · La La Land Winner

  • Bradford Young · Arrival
  • Rodrigo Prieto · Silence
  • James Laxton · Moonlight
  • Greig Fraser · Lion

Best Film Editing

John Gilbert · Hacksaw Ridge Winner

  • Tom Cross · La La Land
  • Joe Walker · Arrival
  • Jake Roberts · Hell or High Water
  • Joi McMillon & Nat Sanders · Moonlight

Best Foreign Language Film

The Salesman Winner

  • A Man Called Ove
  • Land of Mine
  • Tanna
  • Toni Erdmann

Best Documentary Feature

O.J.: Made in America Winner

  • Fire at Sea
  • Life, Animated
  • I Am Not Your Negro
  • The 13th

Best Documentary Short

The White Helmets Winner

  • Extremis
  • 4.1 Miles
  • Joe’s Violin
  • Watani: My Homeland

Best Animated Feature

Zootopia Winner

  • Kubo and the Two Strings
  • My Life as a Zucchini
  • Moana
  • The Red Turtle

Best Animated Short

Piper Winner

  • Pearl
  • Pear Cider and Cigarettes
  • Blind Vaysha
  • Borrowed Time

Best Live Action Short

Sing Winner

  • Ennemis Intérieurs
  • La Femme et le TGV
  • Silent Nights
  • Timecode

Best Original Song

“City of Stars” · La La Land Winner

  • “How Far I’ll Go” · Moana
  • “Can’t Stop the Feeling” · Trolls
  • “The Empty Chair” · Jim: The James Foley Story
  • “Audition (The Fools Who Dream)” · La La Land

Best Original Score

Justin Hurwitz · La La Land Winner

  • Nicholas Britell · Moonlight
  • Dustin O’Halloran & Hauschka · Lion
  • Mica Levi · Jackie
  • Thomas Newman · Passengers

Best Production Design

La La Land Winner

  • Passengers
  • Arrival
  • Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
  • Hail, Caesar! Arrival

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

Suicide Squad Winner

  • A Man Called Ove
  • A Man Called Ove Star Trek Beyond A Man Called Ove

Best Costume Design

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Winner

  • Jackie
  • Florence Foster Jenkins
  • La La Land
  • Allied La La Land

Best Visual Effects

The Jungle Book Winner

  • Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
  • Deepwater Horizon
  • Doctor Strange Kubo and the Two Strings
  • Kubo and the Two Strings

Best Sound Mixing

Hacksaw Ridge Winner

  • La La Land
  • Arrival
  • Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
  • 13 Hours La La Land Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Arrival

Best Sound Editing

Arrival Winner

  • Hacksaw Ridge
  • La La Land
  • Deepwater Horizon
  • Sully Deepwater Horizon Hacksaw Ridge La La Land

In conclusion

It must have been a tough call for the judges to cut down the long list and eventually settle on each winner. And I am pretty sure next year will be tougher still — especially with the line-up of jaw-dropping movies slated for release at the end of 2017 and into early 2018.