Record number of black actors for the Oscars

Viola Davis and Denzel Washington take a photo beside their image cover for the movie Fences. Washington is in line for best actor category award in the Oscars. FILE PHOTO

What you need to know:

  • Denzel was picked for his role in Fences, an adaptation of a play about a working-class African-American family in 1950s Pittsburgh.
  • Isaacs vowed major changes last year after a selection of all-white nominees prompted calls for a boycott and widespread outrage on social media under the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite.

Hollywood breathed a collective sigh of relief this week after a record number of black actors were nominated for Oscars, averting a repeat of last year’s diversity controversy.

Voting members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences gave nods to six black actors — including two-time Oscar winner Denzel Washington — in the best actor category.

Denzel was picked for his role in Fences, an adaptation of a play about a working-class African-American family in 1950s Pittsburgh.

Ruth Negga, who is Irish-Ethiopian, was nominated in the best actress category for Loving, the real-life story of an inter-racial couple in mid-20th century America, when some states banned such unions.

Mahershala Ali and British actress Naomie Harris were first-time nominees in the best supporting actor and actress categories for Moonlight, the coming-of-age tale of a black man in Miami.

“I hope I wasn’t nominated because I was black,” Ali told The Hollywood Reporter. “I hope I was nominated for my work.”

Two-time nominee Viola Davis is also in the running for best supporting actress for her performance in Fences.

Oscar winner Octavia Spencer was also nominated for Hidden Figures, the real-life tale of NASA’s black female mathematicians.

Four of the five documentaries honoured by the Academy were by black filmmakers.

“This is not necessarily a message,” said Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs, commenting the list.

“It really has to do with the talent. Each year, we recognise talents and films of a particular year. And this year has been just fabulous.”

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Isaacs vowed major changes last year after a selection of all-white nominees prompted calls for a boycott and widespread outrage on social media under the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite.

Many of the Academy’s white male members had their voting privileges revoked and more women and minorities were invited to join.

On Thursday, the director of hit romantic musical La La Land said he was jolted and honoured when he learned that his film had earned a record 14 Oscar nominations.

Damien Chazelle’s whimsical tribute to Hollywood’s Golden Age of musicals topped the Academy Award nominations list, matching an all-time record set by All About Eve and Titanic.

“It was a little bit of a shock and it was a huge honour,” Chazelle told a press conference a day after the film’s Japan premiere on Thursday.

The movie scored nods for best picture, best director and acting nominations for its two stars, Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone.

Its 10 other nominations came in nine categories.

“Ryan and I were staying in the same hotel when we found the news, so we were able to celebrate together with champagne,” Chazelle said.

Shaun Harper, the executive director of the University of Southern California’s new Race and Equity Centre, said it was clear that the Academy’s nearly 6,700 voters had an “extraordinary” group of contenders to pick from.

“Moonlight for example was an incredible film with an all-black cast,” he told AFP.

Beyond the quality of actors and movies, Academy members were more conscious of black talent in the industry in light of the uproar of past years.

“I hope this is not the last year that we see an uptick in the nominations with black actors, and that we see it year after year,” he said.

“I hope it doesn’t take another digital campaign to get the Academy to recognise there are people of colour who deserve a nomination and recognition.”

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And while Hollywood may be patting itself on the back for honouring black actors this year, many in the industry and beyond are warning that the diversity push should not stop there.

The only other minority actor nominated in the lead categories was Dev Patel, who is of Indian descent, for his role in Lion.

“Hollywood’s diversity problem isn’t solved. By many measures, it’s still as bad as ever,” the Los Angeles Times said in an editorial.

“And the studios’ biggest minority deficit by far involves the very people living and working outside their walls in virtually every direction — Latinos.”

The winners of the 89th Academy Awards will be unveiled on February 26 in Los Angeles.

Only one Kenyan — Lupita Nyong’o — has won an Oscar for her role in 12 Years a Slave.

“Your dreams are valid,” she said after her victory in 2014.