As an avid movie buff, I look forward to the Academy Awards every year. Nominated for 14 Oscars and having won five Golden Globes, La La Land was expected to come home with its hands full. Two other big contenders were Moonlight, a coming of age tale about an African-American boy in Miami, and Fences starring Viola Davis and Denzel Washington. With recent backlash about the lack of representation of people of color at last year’s Oscars, with #Oscarssowhite trending worldwide, it was a pleasant surprise to see both Moonlight and Fences nominated for multiple Oscars. Other nominees for best picture included Arrival, Lion, Hell or High Water, Hacksaw Ridge, and Manchester by the Sea.

 As usual, there was no shortage of unusual and fabulous fashion and interviews. Emma Stone came in a stunning gold dress, embellished from top to bottom, and with beaded fringe. Keeping with the political tone of this award season, many stars were sporting blue ribbons representing the American Civil Liberties Union. One of the more untraditional looks, Casey Affleck came in the classic black tuxedo and bow tie — along with a full beard and man bun.

  The show started with a dynamic and political opening monologue by Jimmy Kimmel. Next was Supporting Actress and Actor, which were especially tough this year with so many electric and memorable supporting roles this year. When it comes down to it, Mahershala Ali was my pick for supporting actor. To my personal delight, Mahershala Ali won Best Supporting Actor. Winning Best Supporting Actress, Viola Davis was brought to tears as she accepted her well-deserved statue. One moment aside from the awards that warmed everyone’s hearts was when Jimmy Kimmel set up a Hollywood tour that got to join the Oscars. I thought City of Stars from La La Land would come home with the gold statue for best original song, as it is a deeply relatable and emotional song for artists and audiences alike. Putting me at two for two, City of Stars from La La Land won best original song, along with Damien Chazelle who was the youngest director in history to win Achievement in Directing. Getting to the big categories, I thought Denzel Washington would come home with Best Actor after his deeply complex portrayal of Troy Maxton in Fences. Surprising the common movie-goer and myself, Casey Affleck won Best Actor for his incredible work in Manchester by the Sea. Emma Stone accepted Best Actress, thanking the other nominees and her family. This year the Best Picture category was as tight as ever, but with the blockbuster success of La La Land, it was highly predicted to come home with the sought after award. Junior Alexandra Butler predicted, “I think Arrival will win Best Picture because the plot was very thought provoking and less focused on action and more so on the relationship between space and time, which is an interesting concept.” In the biggest surprise of the evening, as the final category was called, announcers Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway called out La La Land as the winner of Best Picture. As the cast and crew began their acceptance speech, they realized the card was meant for Best Actress, and the card for Best Picture said Moonlight. La La Land producer Jordan Horowitz graciously handed over the Oscar. This Academy Awards will most certainly be one to remember, wrong cards and all.