The 2017 Oscar nominations prove what a difference a year can make, considering the racially diverse films and actors nominated this year compared to last year.

The 2016 Oscars faced a lot of backlash due to the lack of non-white actors and racially diverse nominated. #OscarsSoWhite spread, trending on Twitter.

Many prominent people in Hollywood protested the Oscars and the lack of people of color recognized for their hard work. Actors such as Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Spike Lee refused to attend.

Films like Concussion, Creed, and Tangerine starring black actors were passed over for films like Spotlight, Bridge of Spies, and The Revenant which all starred white people for the nominations at the Oscars.

The 2017 Oscars seemed to take note and recognized an abundance of racially diverse films that earned the Best Picture nomination.

Hidden Figures  features three young black women who defy all odds, working for NASA despite their oppression as women of color during the space race; Moonlight demonstrates the life of a black man growing up in a rough neighborhood in Miami trying to find himself; and Fences takes place in the 1950s, where an African-American father tries to raise his family while also coming to terms with the events of his life.

People of color even dominated the animated genre. Disney’s newest film, Moana, features a young Polynesian girl who sets out on a journey to the sea to discover who she is. Kubo and the Two Strings stars a young Asian boy who must locate a magical suit of armor that belonged to his father to defeat a vengeful spirit from the past.

Many talented actors and actresses of color were recognized for their individual talent and received nominations for Best Actor or Actress or Best Supporting Actor or Actress.

Denzel Washington is nominated for Best Actor for his leading role in Fences, and Viola Davis is up for her supporting role in that film. Mahershala Ali and Naomie Harris are nominated for best supporting actor and actress in Moonlight, and Octavia Spencer is nominated for supporting actress for Hidden Figures.

Dev Patel, whose ethnicity is Indian, is the only actor nominated for Best Supporting Actor for Lion, which has a predominantly white cast, and Ruth Negga is nominated for Best Supporting Actress in Loving, a film about an interracial couple who face a legal battle for their marriage in Virginia.

Celebrities and audiences alike are glad to finally have talented actors of color recognized for their hard work and hope to witness those actors take home an Oscar.