With award season coming to an end, almost every media outlet and publication is anticipating the biggest show of them all, the 2017 Oscars. The Oscars are known as “show businesses biggest night” where the most popular names in pop culture gather to celebrate the most respected films of the year. As someone who is employed at a movie theater, I am constantly surrounded by film geeks and able to see as many movies as I like. Each year when the nominations come out I typically try to binge watch the most commonly nominated films (usually the best picture nominees) one last time before I form my opinions. With that said, here are The Fordian’s predictions for the most noteworthy categories at the  2017 Oscars:

Best Picture  

• Nominated: Arrival, Fences, Hacksaw Ridge, Hell or High Water, Hidden Figures, La La Land, Lion, Manchester by the Sea, Moonlight
• Prediction: Despite La La Land’s huge amount of well deserved praise, Moonlight is my favorite for Best Picture this year. Moonlight is able to tell a story that is almost unheard of in film today, that of a young black man growing up in the harsh streets of Miami. The film promotes diversity, something that the Oscars is typically lacking, and sends a message to any young minorities that feel helpless that they are not alone. Moonlight is most definitely deserving of this award.

Actor in a Leading Role

• Nominated: Casey Affleck, Andrew Garfield, Ryan Gosling, Viggo Mortensen, Denzel Washington
• Prediction: Casey Affleck’s heartbreaking performance in Manchester by the Sea leads me to pick him as the Best Actor in a Leading Role for this year. Although many believe that Affleck’s performance will lose to Denzel Washington’s performance in Fences, Affleck is able to play a role in which the character’s life was practically destroyed, and he does it almost flawlessly.

Actress in a Leading Role

• Nominated: Isabelle Huppert, Elle Ruth Negga, Natalie Portman, Emma Stone, Meryl Streep
• Prediction: One of the biggest reason’s La La Land stood out to me as one of the greatest films this year was its leading actress Emma Stone playing the role of Mia, a barista that is trying her hardest to make it as an actress in Hollywood. Stone is able to portray the most popular american dream of making it in Hollywood with such grace and allows almost any viewer to step into her shoes. Everyone wants to be praised for doing what they love. In addition to this, Stone surprised audiences across the world  when she showed her strengths in musical theatre and playing in a very romantic role, unlike her past popular films.

Best Directing

• Nominated: Damien Chazelle, La La Land Mel Gibson, Hacksaw Ridge Barry Jenkins, Moonlight Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester By the Sea Denis Villeneuve, Arrival
• Prediction: Each director involved in this category deserves recognition for their hard-work and dedication that went into making these spectacular films, but the one that stands out the most is Barry Jenkins for Moonlight. From the cast list to production design, Jenkins was able to convey a story in a such a moving way that no other director in this category was able to do.

Best Cinematography

• Nominated: Arrival, La La Land, Lion, Moonlight, Silence
• Prediction: In terms of cinematography, my prediction for the result of this category is not exactly my personal favorite. I obviously enjoyed films like La La Land and Moonlight, favorites in this category (and every other one), but I believe that Arrival showcased the most innovative and breathtaking cinematography this year. Arrival brought new life to the typical alien sci-fi type movie with wide and poetic shots, presenting human and alien interaction like no film really ever has. The cinematographer, Bradford Young, worked hard to show as much of the environment in each shot as he could. Despite this, I believe other movies that received more critical acclaim will take the win.

Best Animated Feature Film

• Nominated: Kubo and the Two Strings, Moana, My Life as a Zucchini, The Red Turtle, Zootopia
• Prediction: Moana and Zootopia, two majorly popular films from this past year, are my top two picks for Best Animated Feature Film. Moana is not only an amazing and well crafted film, but promotes diversity as it introduces another woman of color to the line of Disney Princesses. I know how important this film is for little girls across the world and I am extremely excited about its success. Zootopia, while silly at heart, deals with serious underlying societal issues such as racism and classism with such grace that many did not even notice. I commend this film for being something that anyone of any age can appreciate, which is very uncommon with animated films. In the end, I believe the Academy will choose Zootopia as the winner.

Best Original Score

• Nominated: Jackie, La La Land, Lion, Moonlight, Passengers
• Predictions: If La La Land is deserving of any award throughout the night, Original Score is most definitely the one. The countless amount of writers and artist that worked on this score made one of the most magical and enjoyable score of not only the year but the century. The music accompanying the film to me is what makes it so memorable.

In addition to these major categories, many more amazing films are being recognized for their excellence in various different parts of the film making process. With La La Land and Moonlight leading the night, many are tuning in to see if the Academy stick to their usual expectation or decide to choose something a little more diverse this year.