"La La Land" might have been an Oscar favorite but political activism steals the spotlight. The 89th Academy Awards saw "La La Land" sweep a total of 6 awards, including wins for best director, best actress, best cinematography and best original score. The musical rom-com had garnered 14 nominations. Coming-of-age film "Moonlight" scored a major upset when it took home the best picture award that "La La Land" had been expected to win. "La La Land" was mistakenly announced as the winner for best picture after actor Warren Beatty was reportedly given the wrong envelope. The ceremony this year was considerably more diverse than the last two years, when no actors of color garnered any nominations. The backlash over a lack of representation led the Academy to promise doubling membership of minority groups by 2020. It handed out 7 acting nominations to people of color, including Octavia Spencer and Dev Patel, this year.

One of those nominees, Mahershala Ali took home the best supporting actor prize for his role as a drug dealer in "Moonlight," making him the first Muslim actor to win an Academy Award. History was also made when Viola Davis won the best supporting actress award for her role in the adaptation of Pulitzer-winning play "Fences." Davis became the first black actor to win awards at the Oscars, Emmys and Tonys, often referred to as the triple-crown of the acting industry. Iranian director Asghar Farhadi won the Oscar for best foreign language film for "The Salesman" but was absent from the ceremony in protest of President Donald Trump's travel ban. "My absence is out of respect for the people of my country and those of (the) other six nations whom have been disrespected by the inhumane law that bans entry of immigrants to the U.S.," the director said in a statement that was read during the ceremony.