Coverage of the Oscars may have been dominated by the controversy of the wrong film being announced for best picture, but that wasn’t the only story of the night.
Award winners also thanked their teachers in their acceptance speeches.
Mahershala Ali, who picked up the best supporting actor gong for his role in Moonlight, was the first to say thanks.
“I want to thank my teachers, my professors,” he said. “I had so many wonderful teachers. And one thing that they consistently told me - Oliver Chandler, Ron Van Lieu, Ken Washington - is that it wasn’t about you. It’s not about you. It’s about these characters. You’re in service to these stories, to these characters. I’m so blessed to have had an opportunity.”
Oscars songwriter: ‘so grateful’
And he wasn’t the only one expressing his gratitude.
Justin Paul, who co-wrote the lyrics to City of Stars from La La Land, the winner of best original song, followed suit.
“I was educated in public schools where arts and cultures were valued and recognised and resourced, and I’m so grateful to all my teachers who taught so much and gave so much to us,” he said.
