“And the Best Picture Oscar goes to… It goes to… La La Land.” The producers of the musical take the stage, begin to thank, then the frost. “No… Sorry, there's a mistake: Moonlight won… No, it's not a joke. Moonlight just won." Panic. It had never happened. The audience glares at Warren Beatty, guilty of having announced the wrong winner together with Faye Dunaway. But he justifies himself: “The envelope they gave me said 'Emma Stone', by La La Land. That's why it took me so long to read…”
Jimmy Kimmel, the presenter, tries to play down by joking: “It's my fault – he says – I knew I would have ruined everything before the end. Goodnight everyone, I promise never to come back”.
In any case, La La Land by Damien Chazelle was the showman film of this edition, taking home six statuettes, that is just under half of the 14 nominations that could consign it to history. The musical won the Oscar for best direction, making Chazelle enter the Guinness Book of Records: at 32, he is the youngest director to be awarded this prize. Best actress to a moved Emma Stone. Best Cinematography, Best Screenplay, Best Score, Best Original Song.
Fire Ammare didn't make it among documentaries. Italians Alessandro Bertolazzi and Giorgio Gregorini, together with Christopher Nelson, win the Oscar for best make-up for Suicide Squad and dedicate the award "to immigrants"
Here are all the other prizes:
Best Actress Emma Stone for La La Land
Best Actor Casey Affleck for Manchester by the Sea
Best Director to Damien Chazelle for La La Land
Best Adapted Screenplay to Barry Jenkins and Tarell McCraney for Moonlight. It is the second statuette for Barry Jenkins' film.
Best Original Screenplay to Kenneth Lonergan for Manchester by the sea.
Best song goes to “City of Stars” by Justin Hurwitz, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul in La La Land. It is the fourth statuette, out of 14 nominations, for Damien Chazelle's film.
Best Score to Justin Hurwitz for La La Land. It is the third statuette, out of 14 nominations, for Damien Chazelle's film.
Best Cinematography to Linus Sandgren for La La Land. It is the second statuette out of 14 nominations for Damien Chazelle's film.
Best short film to Sing by Kristóf Deák
Best Documentary Short to The White Helmets by Orlando von Einsiedel and Joanna Natasegara
Best Editing to John Gilbert for “The Battle of Hacksaw Ridge”. This is the second statuette out of 6 nominations for Mel Gibson's film.
Best Special Effects to Robert Legato, Adam Valdez, Andrew R. Jones and Dan Lemmon for “The Jungle Book”.
Best Art Direction to Sandy Reynolds-Wasco and David Wasco for La La Land. It is the first statuette for Damien Chazelle's film which has won 14 nominations.
Best Animated Feature Zootopia by Rich Moore and Byron Howard
Best animated short to Piper by the Italian-born director Alan Barillaro.
Best Foreign Film to The Client (Forushandeh) by Asghar Farhadi (Iran). The director was absent by his choice following Trump's anti-immigrant ban.
Best Supporting Actress Viola Davis for Barriere
Best Sound Editing to Sylvain Bellemare for Arrival
Best Sound: Kevin O'Connell, Andy Wright, Robert Mackenzie and Peter Grace for "The Battle of Hacksaw Ridge"
Best Documentary to “OJ: Made in America”. Beaten the Italian Fire at Sea by Gianfranco Rosi.
Best Costumes to Colleen Atwood for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
Best Makeup to Alessandro Bertolazzi, Giorgio Gregorini and Christopher Nelson for Suicide Squad. Recognition to Italy.
Best Supporting Actor Mahershala Ali for Moonlight.
Standing ovation for Shirley McLaine, who with Charlize Theron announced the Oscar for best foreign film went to The Client by Asghar Farhadi who was not present at the ceremony as widely announced in recent days, however she did read a speech in which the Iranian director underlined: “My absence is an act of respect towards my fellow citizens and those of six other countries who have suffered a lack of respect for an inhumane law. Dividing the world into two categories, us and our enemies, leads to fear”.
