So when Faye Dunaway announced that La La Land had taken the prize, viewers around Miami clicked off their TV sets in disgust. They missed one of the weirdest moments in Oscar history — and a surprise crowning of Jenkins and McCraney's masterpiece as best picture.
Here's how the insanity played out:
Even this morning, it's not totally clear what happened, but the working theory is that Warren Beatty and Dunaway were accidentally handed a duplicate of the envelope for Best Actress, which went to La La Land's Emma Stone. Zoomed-in shots on the envelope held by Beatty seem to show Stone's name rather than La La Land as Best Picture.
Let's hope the bizarre setup doesn't end up overshadowing an incredible achievement for two kids from the Liberty City projects. Everyone in Miami knew Moonlight was an incredibly moving piece of art — seeing it recognized as the best picture in America is the crowning achievement of a homegrown film industry.
And it wasn't Jenkins and McCraney's only big win: The pair also took home an Oscar for best adapted screenplay and gave an amazing speech about what the win means for minority voices in the era of Donald Trump.
"The ACLU has your back. We have your back. And for the next four years, we will not leave you alone. We will not forget you,” Jenkins said.
Mahershala Ali also won best supporting actor for his role as Juan in Moonlight.
Once Miami figured out that Moonlight had in fact won best picture, the accolades flowed in.
Right now I'm so f****** proud to be from Liberty City.
— LUTHER R CAMPBELL (@unclelukereal1) February 27, 2017
YES! YES! YES! @MoonlightMov and #Miami #LibertyCity #The305 for the win! #BestPicture #Oscars
— Billy Corben (@BillyCorben) February 27, 2017
STILL SPEECHLESS pic.twitter.com/qe3NUDWAHM
— Barry Jenkins (@BandryBarry) February 27, 2017
