Minorities, their stories rise to top 2019 Oscars

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - In a night of firsts, the 2019 Academy Awards saw historically underrepresented communities and their stories ascend to the top of Hollywood's storied awards show.

Green Book, the biographical film about black Jazz pianist Don Shirley and his white driver and bodyguard, took home the night's top prize, winning best picture. Mahershala Ali, who is Muslim and plays Shirley, won best supporting actor for his performance.

Rami Malek, the son of Egyptian immigrants, won best actor for his portrayal of musical phenom Freddie Mercury in the Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody. The film took home the most awards on the night, netting four in total including sound editing, sound mixing and film editing.

Mexican director Alfonso Cuaron won his second best director award for his semi-autobiographical black and white film Roma, which chronicles the life of a live-in housekeeper.

"I want to thank the academy for recognizing the film centered around an indigenous woman. One of the millions of the domestic workers around the world without rights," Cuaron said.

The night was marked in many ways by the ever-present absence of a single host with ensemble presenters taking the role after Kevin Hart withdrew amid controversy.