Which 2018 road-trip drama about pianist Don Shirley won Best Picture?

The 2018 road-trip drama about pianist Don Shirley that won Best Picture is Green Book.

Directed by Peter Farrelly, the film is set largely during a 1962 concert tour through the segregated American South. Mahershala Ali plays Shirley, a highly accomplished Black pianist, and Viggo Mortensen plays Tony Vallelonga, the Italian American driver and former nightclub bouncer hired to protect him. Their relationship forms the story’s emotional center.

The title refers to The Negro Motorist Green Book, a guide that listed hotels, restaurants, and businesses willing to serve Black travelers during segregation. The film won Best Picture at the 91st Academy Awards, along with Best Supporting Actor for Ali and Best Original Screenplay.

Green Book has also generated debate over historical accuracy and perspective, especially because Shirley’s surviving relatives disputed aspects of the relationship depicted. That criticism does not change the Oscar result, but it is an important distinction between the film’s dramatized narrative and the full historical record. Roma and The Favourite were fellow nominees, not the winner.