Stars come out for the Oscars

La La Land started Oscar night as the movie to beat and, towards the latter end of the broadcast, the contemporary romance and ode to Hollywood musicals dominated the Academy Awards.

Starting the night with a record-tying 14 nominations, the musical ended the evening as winner of best picture, its seventh win on the night.

The film's director, 32-year-old Damien Chazelle, became the youngest ever to win a best director Oscar, while Emma Stone picked up best actress for her performance in the musical as an aspiring starlet.

The musical also nabbed Academy Awards for cinematography, production, score and the song City of Stars at the Academy Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday night.

Casey Affleck's searing turn in Manchester By the Sea captured the best actor trophy.

The evening veered between lighthearted bits and jokes led by host Jimmy Kimmel and passionate arguments for inclusiveness and unity by winners and presenters.

Black stories came to the forefront over the first two hours, with Academy Awards presented to Mahershala Ali, Viola Davis and the documentary O.J.:Made in America.

Ali`s landed the first Oscar of the night for his widely praised turn as a drug dealer-turned-father figure to Moonlight`s central character — a young black man struggling with his identity and sexuality. He won best supporting actor and a standing ovation at the Academy Awards, taking place in Los Angeles.

Ali paid tribute to the teachers who told him: "it's not about you. It's about these characters. You are a servant.You're in service to these characters and these stories," he recounted.

Later on in the evening Davis earned the best supporting actress trophy for her role as a put-upon wife in Fences, reprising her Tony-winning role opposite Denzel Washington in his adaptation of the August Wilson play.

Mahershala Ali won an Oscar for his role as a kind-hearted drug dealer in Moonlight. (Elevation )

"I become an artist and thank God I did because we are the only profession that celebrates what it means to live a life. Here's to August Wilson, who exhumed and exaulted the ordinary people," said Davis, who has previously won Emmy and Tony Awards.

Ezra Edelman and Caroline Waterlow won best documentary feature for their film O.J.: Made in American, examining the O.J. Simpson trial but also the tumultuous social history of the United States.

Sylvain Bellemare gave a shout out to to his hometown of Montreal upon winning best sound editing for Arrival. Another winning Canadian is Alan Barillaro of Chippawa, Ont., who paid tribute to his "three little pipers" back home when his adorable Pixar film Piper won best animated short.

Politics, protest in the spotlight

With a former reality TV star who delights in creating controversy now in the Oval Office, politics has seeped into all aspects of American life and also had a place at the Oscars. Though there were few overt protests, a handful were peppered throughout the ceremony.

"I am an immigrant... this is for the immigrants!" declared Alessandro Bertolazzi, one of the Suicide Squad trio upon their Oscar win for best makeup.

"As a Mexican, as a Latin American, as a migrant worker, as a human being I'm against any form of wall that wants to separate us," actor Gael Garcia Bernal said between presenting awards.

When Iran's The Salesman won for best foreign film, Iranian astronaut Anousheh Ansari served as a representative for director Asghar Farhadi, who decided to boycott the ceremony because of U.S. President Donald Trump's travel ban.

"My absence is out of respect for the people of my country and those of other six nations who have been disrespected by the inhumane law that bans entry of immigrants to the U.S.," Ansari read from Farhadi's statement.

Music and sketches

Justin Timberlake gave the show a rollicking musical kick-off, leading a line of dancers into the Hollywood and Highland Center`s Dolby Theatre. His upbeat performance of Can't Stop the Feeling from Trolls brought the stars to their feet to join in. Other best original song nominees punctuated the show, including Lin-Manuel Miranda and Auli'i Cravalho performing How Far I'll Go from Moana, Sting singing The Empty Chair from Jim: The James Foley Story and John Legend combining Audition and City of Stars from La La Land.

Viola Davis delivers an emotional speech on stage after she won the award for Best Supporting Actress in Fences at the 89th Oscars on Sunday in Hollywood. (Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images)

Late night's Kimmel slightly toned down his typical snark for his debut as Oscar host, but still managed to take digs at Matt Damon, Donald Trump and the diversity problems suffered by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in his monologue. He also introduced an Oscars version of his popular Mean Tweets bit from Jimmy Kimmel Live! as well as a lengthy segment where Los Angeles tour bus visitors were led through the front row to meet the stars.

Best picture: La La Land

Actor: Casey Affleck, Manchester By the Sea

Actress: Emma Stone, La La Land

Director: Damien Chazelle, La La Land

Supporting actress: Viola Davis, Fences

Supporting actor: Mahershala Ali, Moonlight

Original screenplay: Manchester By the Sea

Adapted screenplay: Moonlight

Foreign film: The Salesman (Iran)

Animated feature: Zootopia

Animated short: Piper

Live Action Short: Sing