Producer Jeremy Kleiner, winner of Best Picture for "Moonlight", poses at press room of the 89th Academy Awards at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles, the United States, on Feb. 26, 2017. (Xinhua/Yang Lei)
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- "Moonlight" received an unexpected surprise by winning the Best Picture of the 89th Academy Awards here on Sunday, after "La La Land" had been presented the award in error.
The award presenters, Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty, first presented "La La Land" as the winner, but later realized they had the wrong card. The Academy found out the mistake in the middle of "La La Land" producer's acceptance speech.
This was Oscar's first incorrect announcement in its 89 years' history and would be remembered for a long time.
When Jordan Horowitz, producer of "La La Land", held up the winner's card to the audience, explaining that "Moonlight" had just won the most important annual award of the Academy, he had to repeated saying "This is not a joke".
"Moonlight" focused on the story of an African American young man growing up with identity crisis. The film won the Best Motion Picture -- Drama at the Golden Globes -- earlier this year.
"There was a time when I thought this movie was impossible," Barry Jenkins, the director of "Moonlight", said on stage, "Because I couldn't bring it fruition; I couldn't bring myself to tell another story."
