Graduate Acting alumnus Mahershala Ali and Dramatic Writing graduate Kenneth Lonergan were awarded Oscars last night at the 89th annual Academy Award presentation.
Mahershala Ali and Kenneth Lonergan, alumni of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, were awarded Oscars last night at the 89th annual Academy Award presentation, held in Hollywood, California.
Ali (MFA, ’00), an alumnus of Tisch’s Graduate Acting Program, won for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of the role of Juan in Moonlight, a film that went on to win the year’s Best Picture Award. Lonergan (BFA, 86), who attended the Rita & Burton Goldberg Department of Dramatic Writing, won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for Manchester By the Sea, which he directed and which also received nominations in the Best Director and Best Picture categories.
The Academy Awards recognize outstanding film achievements and are the most prestigious in the industry. Last night’s ceremony included six alumni nominees from Tisch and one from the NYU’s Washington Square and University College of Arts and Science (now the College of Arts and Science), which in addition to the winners included the following:
Best Documentary Feature
Fire at Sea
Gianfranco Rosi ’88 (BFA, Kanbar, Film & TV), director/writer
Life, Animated
Roger Ross Williams '87 (WSUC), director
Best Short Film
Borrowed Time
Andrew Coats ’05 (BFA, Kanbar, Film & TV), director/writer
Lou Hamou-Ladj ’08 (BFA, Kanbar, Film & TV), director/writer
Best Visual Effects
Kubo and the Two Strings
Brad Schiff ’95 (MFA, Kanbar, Film & TV)