Opening Night Selection Makes Oscars History

Plus, a more diverse selection of nominees ever in the 89th Academy Awards announcement on Tuesday, featuring a dozen Festival selections.

Opening Night selection La La Land makes Oscars history with a whopping fourteen nominations for the 89th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director. Best Original Screenplay and many, many more. Writer/director Damien Chazelle attended the 52nd Chicago International Film Festival in October, just as the buzz around this magical musical started to build.

Filmmaker Damien Chazelle (and actor Rosemarie Dewitt) welcome the sold-out crowd at the 52nd Chicago International Film Festival. Credit: Timothy M. Schmidt

It’s just one of more than a dozen films featured at the Festival that are now Oscar nominees. Special presentation Moonlight received eight nominations this morning; filmmaker Barry Jenkins becomes the first ever African American writer/director to receive nominations for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay. A total of six acting nominations were claimed by people of color, proving that the strides The Academy has taken to expand its perspectives are paying off.

Other newly minted Oscar nominees Chicago first saw at the Festival include Arrival (Closing Night), Jackie, I Am Not Your Negro, Fire At Sea, Lion, Elle, The Salesman, Hidden Figures and even Trolls, nominated for Best Original Song. Winner of the Gold Plaque for Best Animated Short Film, Blind Vaysha is also an Oscar nominee.

The Chicago International Film Festival continues to be where acclaimed, award-winning films get their start in Chicago! View a complete list of Oscar nominees here.