Gay drama Moonlight gets 8 Oscar nominations

Moonlight, the gay coming of age drama, has received eight Oscar nominations, including best picture.

The nominees were announced in Los Angeles on Tuesday, with the musical La La Land scoring a whopping 14 nominations. This sees it tied with All About Eve and Titanic for the most ever received by a film.

Moonlight was nominated in the categories of: supporting actor (Mahershala Ali); supporting actress (Naomie Harris); cinematography (James Laxton); directing (Barry Jenkins); editing (Nat Sanders and Joi McMillon); original score (Nicholas Britell); and, adapted screenplay.

Most significantly, it was also nominated for best motion picture of the year. It is competing in that category against Arrival; Fences; Hacksaw Ridge; Hell or High Water; Hidden Figures; La La Land; Lion; and, Manchester by the Sea.

Moonlight chronicles the life of a young black man in Miami, from childhood to adulthood, as he comes to grips with his sexuality and his place in the world.

The film is divided into three chapters and the main character, Chiron, is played by three actors in different stages of his life. Its cast in particular has been lauded for their powerful performances. The film recently won the best drama award at the Golden Globes.

Moonlight is scheduled for release on 10 February in South Africa. The 89th Oscars will take place on Sunday, February 26, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.

Below are the nominees in the major categories.

Performance by an actor in a leading role
Casey Affleck in “Manchester by the Sea”
Andrew Garfield in “Hacksaw Ridge”
Ryan Gosling in “La La Land”
Viggo Mortensen in “Captain Fantastic”
Denzel Washington in “Fences”

Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Mahershala Ali in “Moonlight”
Jeff Bridges in “Hell or High Water”
Lucas Hedges in “Manchester by the Sea”
Dev Patel in “Lion”
Michael Shannon in “Nocturnal Animals”

Performance by an actress in a leading role
Isabelle Huppert in “Elle”
Ruth Negga in “Loving”
Natalie Portman in “Jackie”
Emma Stone in “La La Land”
Meryl Streep in “Florence Foster Jenkins”

Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Viola Davis in “Fences”
Naomie Harris in “Moonlight”
Nicole Kidman in “Lion”
Octavia Spencer in “Hidden Figures”
Michelle Williams in “Manchester by the Sea”

Best animated feature film of the year
“Kubo and the Two Strings”
“Moana”
“My Life as a Zucchini”
“The Red Turtle”
“Zootopia”

Achievement in cinematography
“Arrival” – Bradford Young
“La La Land” – Linus Sandgren
“Lion” – Greig Fraser
“Moonlight” – James Laxton
“Silence” – Rodrigo Prieto

Achievement in costume design
“Allied” – Joanna Johnston
“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” – Colleen Atwood
“Florence Foster Jenkins” – Consolata Boyle
“Jackie” – Madeline Fontaine
“La La Land” – Mary Zophres

Achievement in directing
“Arrival” – Denis Villeneuve
“Hacksaw Ridge” – Mel Gibson
“La La Land” – Damien Chazelle
“Manchester by the Sea” – Kenneth Lonergan
“Moonlight” – Barry Jenkins

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

Achievement in film editing
“Arrival” – Joe Walker
“Hacksaw Ridge” – John Gilbert
“Hell or High Water” – Jake Roberts
“La La Land” – Tom Cross
“Moonlight” – Nat Sanders and Joi McMillon

Best foreign language film of the year
“Land of Mine”
“A Man Called Ove”
“The Salesman”
“Tanna”
“Toni Erdmann”

Achievement in makeup and hairstyling
“A Man Called Ove” – Eva von Bahr and Love Larson
“Star Trek Beyond” – Joel Harlow and Richard Alonzo
“Suicide Squad” – Alessandro Bertolazzi, Giorgio Gregorini and Christopher Nelson

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
“Jackie” – Mica Levi
“La La Land” – Justin Hurwitz
“Lion” – Dustin O’Halloran and Hauschka
“Moonlight” – Nicholas Britell
“Passengers” – Thomas Newman

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
“Audition (The Fools Who Dream)” from “La La Land”
“Can’t Stop The Feeling” from “Trolls”
“City Of Stars” from “La La Land”
“The Empty Chair” from “Jim: The James Foley Story”
“How Far I’ll Go” from “Moana”

Best motion picture of the year
“Arrival”
“Fences”
“Hacksaw Ridge”
“Hell or High Water”
“Hidden Figures”
“La La Land”
“Lion”
“Manchester by the Sea”
“Moonlight”

Achievement in production design
“Arrival”
“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”
“Hail, Caesar!”
“La La Land”
“Passengers”

Achievement in visual effects
“Deepwater Horizon”
“Doctor Strange”
“The Jungle Book”
“Kubo and the Two Strings”
“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”

Adapted screenplay
“Arrival” – Screenplay by Eric Heisserer
“Fences” – Screenplay by August Wilson
“Hidden Figures” – Screenplay by Allison Schroeder and Theodore Melfi
“Lion” – Screenplay by Luke Davies
“Moonlight” – Screenplay by Barry Jenkins; Story by Tarell Alvin McCraney

Original screenplay
“Hell or High Water” – Written by Taylor Sheridan
“La La Land” – Written by Damien Chazelle
“The Lobster” – Written by Yorgos Lanthimos, Efthimis Filippou
“Manchester by the Sea” – Written by Kenneth Lonergan
“20th Century Women” – Written by Mike Mills