Moonlight actor Mahershala Ali wins at SAG Awards

January 30, 2017 · found by

Moonlight has taken home another statue, this time at the Screen Actors Guild Awards. Nominated for 3 awards, Mahershala Ali easily won the award for best supporting actor and he gave a moving and inspirational speech.

Moonlight was also nominated for best supporting actress (Naomie Harris) and best ensemble performance, respectfully losing to Fences star Viola Davis, and the cast of Hidden Figures. The film has been well received by audiences and critics, and the wins are clear validation of queer cinema outgrowing its arthouse niche. Still as the Guardian pointed out earlier this month, do gay films need to drop the sex to succeed with mainstream audiences. But that fails to acknowledge that a beautiful story doesn’t always need sex to be real.

Read more: Moonlight scores 8 Oscar nominations as full list announced

Previously Moonlight won the Golden Globe for best picture drama from its 6 nominations. We now look forward to the Academy Awards next month, and what hardware Moonlight will take away. Nominated for 8 Oscars, including another possible win for Mahershala.

Moonlight can be pre-ordered on iTunes and it will be available on February 7.

Fences took another award with Denzel Washington winning best male actor. Emma Stone grabbed the only award for La La Land as the winner of the best actress. Netflix did well on the night, The Crown picked up two awards for best male and best female actor in a dramatic TV series, and Stranger Things won best cast in a TV drama.